Jennifer practically snuck out of the hotel the next morning to leave for the airport. Not sure why she didn’t want to run into anyone, particularly Lorenzo, she was packed and driving away almost before the resort starting serving breakfast. Apparently she wasn’t the only one attempting to escape unnoticed. As she entered the airport lobby she spotted his tall, dark head of hair at the check-in counter. The silly, flirty looks the airline attendant was giving him made Jennifer roll her eyes. Lorenzo could always turn seemingly normal women into acting like gaga teenagers drooling over him. In college it had been entertaining to watch. Now, she was just annoyed.
Momentarily he turned around and caught her staring at him. Flashing that swoon-worthy smile he walked over on the pretense of helping with her luggage. “Hope you remembered my shirt when you packed this morning,” he joked. They compared airline itineraries and discovered they were on the same flight to Reagan National. Appearing happy about the situation, Lorenzo proceeded through the line with her to the check-in counter where he requested a seat change for her so they could sit together in first class. The same attendant as before did not seem thrilled to fulfill his request. Jennifer stifled a giggle as the woman banged away on her computer terminal to make the switch.
They had plenty of time to stroll to the concourse as the flight wasn’t for another two hours. Lorenzo suggested stopping for coffee and muffins. Jennifer agreed to the coffee. “Are you still not eating breakfast? No wonder you are so tiny,” he remarked. Two tall vanilla lattes later, they were seated in the terminal with nothing to say. In silence they sipped their coffees and stared out the window waiting on their flight to arrive.
Finally, Lorenzo broke the silence by saying, “Listen. You know my situation and I know yours. Neither of us is looking for a relationship, but I really do miss your friendship. I was kind of hoping we could keep in touch more, especially now that we know we live in the same metro area. Also, we could help each other out of awkward situations, like going to weddings or events without the stress of someone thinking it was a real date.” Jennifer nodded her head in agreement and looked up into his chocolate eyes. Having a sexy standby, go-to date was the perfect solution. She stuck her hand out to shake his to seal the agreement, but he leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
The return flight went quickly as they discussed a myriad of topics. He spoke mostly about his son and his genetically-inherited love of soccer. She discussed her work at the hospital and how she wished she had more time for research since she felt a big breakthrough was just around the corner. Before they knew it, the fasten seatbelts sign lit up and the airplane descended. Having the window seat, Jennifer always enjoyed the arrival into this particular airport as it gave the illusion that the plane was about to crash into the Potomac River right before landing safely on the thin strip of land.
After retrieving their luggage, Jennifer made to give him a swift goodbye hug. Instead she found herself in a giant bear hug. Neither really wanted to let go. Saying goodbye, they headed their separate ways. Lorenzo to the parking garage to drive back to the DC suburb of Warrenton, VA. Jennifer to the Metro station to take the train into the District.
Jennifer’s thoughts remained on Lorenzo the entire ride back to the station closest to her Georgetown condo. It was a long walk from there in the humid weather with the clouds overhead, threatening rain. She didn’t notice though. Her mind ran over the events of the past couple days. Never in the last few years had she allowed herself to daydream. She was just too busy for that. Nevertheless, as a spattering of rain drops began to fall Jennifer didn’t even notice as she replayed the Sinatra song dance over and over in her mind. She blushed at the memory of her skinny dipping escapade. But the image that kept asserting itself was of Lorenzo smiling wickedly at her as they played pool. Her skin still felt the faint trace of where his fingers had brushed against her back unzipping her dress. Perhaps agreeing to be each other’s go-to wedding date had not been the greatest idea.