“All right, all right. I want to propose a toast to the hardest working group in all the land.” Reagan made a grand sweeping gesture with her arm and everyone cheered.
The Greater Image Design team and Savannah raised their glasses as Reagan cleared her throat to continue. “This has been one hell of an adventure. Thanks for all the great experiences. And all that sappy shit. Bottoms up!”
The table cheered and Reagan started nodding her head to the beat of the music on the dance floor behind them. “This is my jam! Let’s burn it up!” She tugged Devon out of the booth and reached blindly for Olivia.
“I’ll meet you there, lush.” Olivia batted her hand away and shooed her toward the dance floor.
“When did you get so old?” Reagan stuck out her tongue before leaving.
“That’s our cue to go, gentlemen. Ready?” Farrah stood from the table and looked over at Randal and Daniel, who only nodded in reply. “Savannah, will we see you in the morning before the flight?”
“You bet,” Savannah replied as she embraced Olivia’s colleagues. Farrah held Savannah close and whispered something into her ear. Savannah nodded in silent reply as Farrah released her and waved.
Olivia waited until her coworkers had left before pulling Savannah back into the booth by her hand, cradling it in her lap. “What was that about?”
“Oh, you know, just Farrah telling me to make sure you make your flight.”
“Why do I feel like it was more than that?” Olivia gave her a skeptical look.
Savannah shrugged. “I guess you’ll never know.”
Olivia looked out at the dance floor and watched Reagan twirl Devon in dramatic fashion. “The launch went well.”
Savannah nodded. They had planned to a do a dinner before the launch party, but things got a little hectic last minute with the final touches on the space. They’d settled for drinks after the party ended, but it was late and they all had early flights. Well, everyone except Savannah. “It really tied up nicely, didn’t it?”
Olivia looked over at Savannah, whose expression was serious. “You were awfully frosty to that Dodd person tonight.”
“Was I?” Savannah looked at the contents of her glass.
“I would say you were borderline, uh, rude, actually.” Olivia bit her lip as she waited for Savannah’s reply.
Savannah glanced up. “Oh. You heard all that, huh?”
“Yes.” Olivia waited for Savannah to continue, frowning when she didn’t. “Is something wrong?”
Savannah looked at her for a moment and swallowed. “No.” She paused. “Yes—”
“Whoa. You two look very, very, very serious over here,” Reagan said a little too loudly, drawing attention from the booth next to them. She leaned across the table and pointed to their closeness, narrowing her eyes. “You’re looking awfully snuggly, too. Wassup with that?”
Olivia shifted a little away from Savannah and reached for her glass. “It’s loud in here, Reagan, and some of us prefer to talk instead of yell. That requires a bit of closeness.” Reagan had the worst timing ever. Always, it seemed.
“You’re cranky,” Reagan said with a pout. “Savannah, come dance and bring that ball and chain if you dare. It’s last call!”
Savannah chuckled and nodded. “I’m all over it.”
Reagan wiggled. “That sounds kinky.”
Olivia’s eyes widened as Reagan stared at her for a moment before Savannah took Olivia’s hand and pulled her out of the booth, “C’mon. Let’s enjoy the end of the night.”
* * *
Savannah had spent the entire car ride to the airport trying to figure out what to say to Olivia. She knew that once Olivia got settled back in New York, New Horizons would inform them that they didn’t plan to renew their contract. She had done everything in her power last night to keep Olivia’s mind off the conversation that Reagan had interrupted at the bar. They had an intense and passionate night at Olivia’s hotel room, both of them barely sleeping before the alarm clock went off. It had been a memorable time with slow kisses and soft caresses punctuated by sincerely whispered intentions. All of it made this moment that much harder. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Olivia yet. She certainly wasn’t ready to do it with an audience.
“We’re here, folks. Thanks for visiting, come back soon.” The driver of the shuttle pulled up to the curb and started unloading their luggage on the sidewalk in front of their terminal. Savannah held Olivia in place as the others trickled out to get their belongings. Farrah tossed them both a knowing look as she corralled the guys and Reagan toward the departure doors.
Olivia was watching her coworkers head toward the entrance when Savannah took her face in her hands.
“I promise I will see you soon. Thank you for last night, Liv. For all the nights.”
Olivia leaned forward and kissed her. “I’m not ready to leave yet.”
Savannah pulled back and blinked. When she spoke, her voice was soft but her expression was serious. “Then stay.”
“Stay?”
Savannah nodded. “Stay. Forget about the flight. Stay with me.”
Olivia hesitated. “Savannah. I can’t just stay. You know that.”
Savannah let out a heavy sigh. “I know.”
A gentle tap on the glass by the driver broke them apart. He stood with Olivia’s bags on the sidewalk and pointed to his watch. It was time to go.
Savannah squeezed Olivia’s hand before she slipped out of the seat and through the door. She spoke to the driver, who nodded and walked around the van to the driver’s seat, flicking on his hazards.
Olivia adjusted the purse on her shoulder as she stepped toward Savannah’s open arms and melted into them.
“I’m going to miss you.” Savannah kissed Olivia’s ear and squeezed her so tightly she was afraid she might hurt her. “Be safe.”
Olivia pressed her face into Savannah’s neck and nodded. “I’m going to miss you, too.”
Savannah pulled back and kissed Olivia with as much passion as she could muster. “Good-bye, Liv.”
“Bye.”
And just like that, Olivia was out of her arms and headed toward the terminal. The finality of the moment made Savannah queasy.
* * *
Farrah gave Olivia a sad smile as she plopped into the seat next to her. “I was a little worried you weren’t coming.”
Olivia frowned. “Me, too.”
“Seriously?”
Olivia nodded and looked out the gate window at the taxiing planes. Her heart felt heavy and she was pretty sure if Farrah asked her any more questions she might cry right on the spot. She glanced down at their boarding passes and panicked when she realized Farrah was in a different row.
“You’re not sitting next to me this flight, Liv. I can see if it’s one of the other guys. Maybe Reagan?”
“Oh.” Olivia was pretty sure this was what it felt like to be kicked while you were down. It wasn’t that she minded sitting with anyone else. But it would be a lot easier to quietly cry the entire flight back to NYC if the person next to her had some idea why she was so melancholy. Plus, Farrah always made her feel protected in that motherly way.
The agent behind the check-in counter spoke into the PA. “We are now boarding rows twenty and higher.”
“That’s us, c’mon, Liv.” Farrah pulled her arm and guided her to the door.
Olivia boarded on autopilot. She settled into her seat and stared at the tray table for a few minutes.
“I’m in the window seat, Liv.” Reagan’s face was blank.
“Sorry.” Olivia stood and shifted so Reagan could pass in front of her.
They sat in silence during takeoff and the initial ascent into the air. Reagan adjusted the air flow above Olivia’s head but looked out the window without saying anything. If Olivia was being honest with herself, she kind of enjoyed the quiet. Had Farrah been her seatmate they would undoubtedly be talking about Savannah and Olivia’s broken heart and blah, blah, blah. She closed her eyes and let the quiet sounds of conversation around her lull her into a restless sleep.
Light turbulence and the sound of the seat belt light dinging on above her woke Olivia from her doze. Her mouth felt dry and her head throbbed. She was regretting the lack of sleep from the night before until she remembered what had taken up the time. Savannah had been so soft and gentle with her last night. It was like she was trying to preserve the memory of Olivia’s skin, her smell, her taste. She’d been so attentive that Olivia had practically had to pin her to the bed to return the favor. She’d always felt Savannah’s attraction for her, but last night, she swore she could feel Savannah’s love for her. So much so, that at the airport she had to stop herself from saying the words to Savannah before they broke apart. She had been overwhelmed. There were few instances in her life when she had expressed true love to anyone, particularly a romantic partner. Her dating record wasn’t great—Christine always told her that she lacked vulnerability. But under Savannah’s intense gaze last night and today at the airport, Olivia had felt vulnerable. She felt downright fragile. And at the moment, a little broken, too.
She became aware of Reagan’s eyes on her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Reagan’s voice was low, annoyed.
“What?” Olivia blinked and turned toward Reagan’s voice.
Reagan looked around and over at the sleeping stranger to Olivia’s right, her eyes flicking between Farrah and Devon, both of whom were across the aisle and one row ahead of them. She looked down at her hands and crumpled the napkin on the tray table in front of her. “I saw you, you know.”
Olivia was confused. “Saw me what?”
Reagan grunted and turned in her seat to face Olivia more fully. “I saw you kissing Savannah at the airport.”
Olivia became aware of the warmth in the plane at that moment. She didn’t reply. She didn’t break eye contact. She was just still.
Reagan said, “You hadn’t come into the terminal, and it was getting late. Farrah told me to give you a minute, but I shrugged her off. When I went to get you, I saw you.” After another minute, Reagan scoffed. “Earth to Olivia. Did you hear me?”
“Yes. I heard you.” Olivia turned away from Reagan and stared at the seat back again.
“And?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Oh, I don’t know, how about, Sorry Reagan, must have slipped my mind to tell you I was fucking Savannah Quinn, my bad.”
Olivia whipped her head toward Reagan and hissed. “Lower your voice, Reagan.”
Reagan raised an eyebrow. “So you are fucking her? That wasn’t a denial, Liv.”
When Olivia didn’t reply, Reagan continued, “Well, that explains all those moon eyes you’ve been throwing in her direction. I just thought you had some unrequited crush.”
Olivia thought about their night last night and her heart ached. This was definitely more than a crush. In fact, it felt positively crushing.
“So, are you, like, in a relationship or something?” Reagan pressed her again. “How’s that going to work? You gonna rack up your frequent flyer miles just to scratch the itch, Liv? We both know you can’t hack that kind of life.”
Olivia bristled at Reagan’s statement. The words stung because they were true: Olivia had a terrible track record when it came to relationships. But she didn’t need Reagan pointing that out, not now, or ever. Her eyes welled with tears. “I don’t know.”
Reagan frowned and sighed. “Don’t cry, Liv. I didn’t mean to come at you so aggressively. I just…I guess I was hurt you didn’t tell me. You tell me everything. I didn’t, I just…Sorry.”
That only made Olivia cry harder. She had not done right by Reagan during all this. She was an absolute mess. “What am I going to do, Rea?”
Reagan handed her the tiny napkin square she’d been fiddling with and shrugged. “Well, why don’t you start from the beginning and catch me up to speed?”
Olivia nodded and took a deep breath. She was in for a bumpy ride.