Page 31 of Fixed Up Ever After
Lola pulled up to the parking area she prepaid for, scanning her barcode before the barrier went up to let her in. The parking area was only half full, so she took that as a good sign and hoped that Javi wouldn’t have any trouble finding a spot.
Getting her stuff from her car, onto the shuttle, and through baggage drop-off took twenty minutes, but she had not seen or heard from Javi yet. She sent him a quick text letting him know she was there as she waited in the TSA line. Her nerves skyrocketed when the sleep-deprived TSA agent barked orders at everyone to take off their shoes and remove all large electronic items from their bags. Not really knowing what counted as a large electronic, Lola dumped the contents of her purse out and tossed her carry-on onto the conveyor belt, and hoped for the best. Five minutes later she was through.
Their flight would take off from Gate 20 and judging from the numbers hanging on the walls, she wasn’t too far. A small crowd had already begun to grow, all seated with their headphones on and their noses in their phones. Not one of them was Javi.
Dread began to bubble in her belly as she pulled out her phone to check the time. There was still an hour and a half before takeoff and she had to remind herself that not everyone was crazy like her and arrived well before their flight. Javi would be here. He wasn’t the type of guy to just leave her hanging.
At least, she didn’tthinkhe was…
No, not him. She hadn’t known him for long, but from their work interactions and their date, she knew Javi wouldn’t just leave her stranded. To put her nerves at ease, she sent him another quick text to let him know she was waiting by their gate. He had not replied to her first text, so she wasn’t holding out much hope he’d replied to this one.
Thirty minutes went by and the crowd around the gate began to grow. She expected a full flight and knew it would be a mad dash to the boarding lines, even though they all had assigned seats. It was always that moment when they started calling boarding numbers that her anxiety began to spike and stayed high until they landed safely at their destination.
Lola’s knee began to bounce, trying to dispel the pent-up energy inside of her. Another look at her phone told her that Javi still had not responded. If she were being stood up, this was literally the most crappiest scenario.
“Fuck this.” She murmured under her breath and picked up her phone to call him. It started to ring immediately. And ring. And ring. And—
“Lola.”
Lola jumped in her chair, nearly chucking her phone at the poor elderly woman next to her. She scrambled to catch her phone and bring it up to her ear. “Javi? Javi, you there?”
A low chuckle came from behind her and a moment later the seat next to her was filled. The familiar scent of citrus and clove filled the air. He wore something similar to her, dark gray sweats that made her eyes wander down to the impressive bulge between his legs. Her body flushed as she averted her gaze up to his long-sleeved black shirt and up to Javi’s smug face. Clearly, he saw her checking him out, but she didn’t shy away from his gaze.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to drop Camilia off at my sister’s and I stopped and picked us up some breakfast. Did you eat?” He reached into the small duffle bag on his lap, pulling out a greasy white bag. How he got that through security, she wouldn't know. Her stomach growled at the sight and she shook her head. “Good. I like feeding you.”
Javi unwrapped her breakfast taco and when he asked if she liked salsa and Lola nodded her head, he opened up the tortilla and poured salsa on her taco. All she could do was watch as his man prepared her food. It was a simple gesture, but he still went out of his way to do it for her.
The taco was delicious and she avoided any spills on her shirt. The moment they finished their breakfast, Javi took the trash and tossed it away for them. When he came back, he placed his calloused hand on her shaking leg. “Are you okay? You seem…tense.”
“I hate flying. It stresses me out,” Lola admitted in a soft voice. She hated that she never knew if the seats would accommodate her, but she felt too embarrassed to say that, even to Javi.
“Ah,” Javi nodded his head like he understood. “Well, I’ve never flown before, but if you need a hand to squeeze, I have two ready.”
An involuntary smile spread across her lips. It surprised her that Javi had never been on an airplane before, but she was inexplicably excited his first time was with her. Maybe if she focused on his excitement for flying for the first time, some of her fears would slowly dissipate.
That theory was debunked the moment a woman’s voice came over the speaker and announced they would start boarding first class. Lola sucked in a breath and reached for Javi’s hand on instinct. He squeezed back gently, getting up and pulling her to her feet. “You ready, preciosa? I’ll be right next to you.”
His calming voice gave her the strength to move to the line and scan their boarding passes. Javi took the lead once inside the walkway, but he never once dropped her hand. That small gesture made her feel something she had not felt in a long time. Something she was not ready to identify quite yet. Instead, she pushed those new feelings aside and let Javi put their carry-ons away as she took the window seat.
CHAPTER20
Javi
Leaving Camilia had been harder than he expected. His little girl didn’t cry when he dropped her off, but she did pout and hug him extra hard right before he left. Ofelia assured him that she would be fine, and Javi had no reason not to believe her, but it didn’t lessen the hurt at all. He promised to call Camilia tonight once they landed and were settled in their hotel rooms.
When he arrived at the airport—arguably too close to boarding time—the first thing he spotted at Gate 20 was a stressed-out Lola. She jumped when he came up behind her and he hoped the breakfast he brought would ease her nerves. It did for a while, until boarding.
Now Lola sat tucked against the window, hands in her lap, bouncing her leg up and down. He was beginning to realize that was her go-to when she was anxious or worried. She shut herself down, keeping the fears within and he refused to have her suffer alone.
When the plane began its takeoff, he reached for her, tugging her hand to pull her body his way. Her eyes squeezed shut and her breathing became slightly erratic. He didn’t speak; he continued to hold her hand, rubbing soothing gestures with his thumb.
It wasn’t until they were far enough above the clouds that she finally opened her eyes. He wasn’t going to invalidate her feelings by saying takeoff wasn’t so bad, so instead, he said, “Thanks for holding my hand. It made takeoff easier.”
The surprised smile gracing her face would forever be etched into his brain. He wanted to always be the one to elicit smiles like that. To make her feel safe when they were thousands of feet above the ground. Perhaps this was the machismo in him, but he didn’t care. Not when Lola was looking at him like that.
“I’m sorry I’m so nervous. I swear I’m not normally like this,” Lola said, embarrassment coloring her features.
It bothered him that she thought she needed to apologize for her very normal human feelings. “It’s okay to be nervous, Lola. I want to get your mind off it. How about we quiz each other? We were supposed to do that on our bingo date to get to know one another before the wedding, but then my sister prevented that.”
