I had to buy a ticket to get to this point, but it would be worth it when I saw the look on his face.
When he saw me for the first time in a year.
When I laid eyes on him for the first time in just as long.
Finally, finally, the plane came into view.
I was left breathing hard as the people outside hurriedly started to hook things up to the walkway that would allow the passengers to deplane.
I backed away, farther back than I wanted, and waited on bouncing feet for the first passengers to depart.
I wasn’t sure where he actually got a ticket to sit, but I knew that he’d be getting off as soon as he could because he disliked being in crowded spaces.
But, after about the hundredth person got off that wasn’t him, I started to get worried.
“What the hell?” I muttered to myself.
A small, elderly woman got off, and then nobody exited for a long while.
My heart was now pounding a mile a minute, and it was then that I thought that maybe I’d gotten the time or date wrong.
Maybe he…
Then a dark-headed man appeared, leaving the breath to freeze in my lungs.
“Holy shit,” I breathed as I saw him.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and he’d put on some weight.
Not fat, though. Muscle.
All of it muscle.
The lean young man that I’d sent away was no more.
In his place was a strong, heart-breakingly gorgeous man that was making my lungs seize in my chest.
His hair, all that beautiful, longer dark hair was gone. In its place was a clean buzz cut that allowed me to see his eyes.
Eyes that were on the crowd but not sweeping it as if he was looking for someone, just watching it warily as if he didn’t know quite what to expect from them.
His square jaw was dotted with a small amount of stubble, and he rolled his eyes at something someone said—one of the flight attendants that was walking behind him—giving me my first glimpse of the old Troup since he’d exited the plane.
I clenched my purse’s leather strap in my hands and stepped into Troup’s path.
His eyes lifted some time later, and our gazes met.
He froze.
I froze.
And we stared.
Seconds later, I was running toward him, and he was catching me as if a year hadn’t passed.
As if we hadn’t just had the longest separation in history, and he hadn’t been MIA—missing in action—more than he should have been.
Everything disappeared but us as he wrapped me in a hug so tight that it slowly cut off my ability to breathe.
But I was used to that not breathing feeling. I dealt with it on a constant basis.
Not having Troup there, in my arms, was like a punch to the gut every time I thought about him.
“You’re here,” he rumbled.
Even his voice sounded different.
“You’re here,” I countered breathlessly. “Where else would I be?”
He pulled back and dropped a desperate kiss to my mouth, letting me know without words just how much he’d missed me.
“Oh, fuck,” he growled. “You’re so beautiful it hurts.”
I pulled back so that I could look into his eyes.
“Same goes, Mr. Aoki,” I muttered. “Having you back in my arms makes me want to scream with excitement.”
His lips twitched up at the corners as he finally set me down on my feet.
“Let’s go to the hotel,” he said. “I have a few things that I want to talk to you about.”
There were things that I wanted to talk to him about, too.
But there were other needs that needed to be taken care of first.
Which was why I had already taken my comforter from the back seat of my car, and placed it at a cozy spot that was not the hotel.
It was our spot.
The last year had been… hard.
At first, when he didn’t answer my messages, I felt betrayed.
But then, when I started getting his letters explaining about what was going on—how he was being kept away from a phone at first, then how he thought that my father might be responsible for his lack of ability to respond, I’d realized that my father had been rather smug when I’d mentioned the problems to him. How Troup hadn’t been responding as I thought he should be.
But seeing him now, holding him in my arms, all of that didn’t matter.
Not one single bit.
The last year was erased, and though we were a year older and wiser, it was like no time at all had passed.
“I’m so, so glad that you’re here,” I whispered into his throat as I once again threw myself into his arms.
He tightened his arms around me. “I was almost denied leave.”
The way he sounded so devastated about the thought of not getting to come had my throat nearly closing.
I felt my heart buck in my chest as I pulled back. “What?”
“They gave me this bullshit story about how I wasn’t up to date on all my medical shit. I hadn’t had the wisdom tooth extraction that they wanted me to have. So I begged a dentist to pull it out last night. Showed the paperwork to my superiors. They were able to clear me,” he said. “But it was close. I almost missed it.”
I felt anger rise in my chest.
“I’ll have a talk with him,” I whispered.
He’d spoken with me about what his superiors had said to him about my dad not long after he’d gotten there. Honestly, he hadn’t even wanted to tell me that because he didn’t want me to feel bad. But I’d all but forced him to tell me.
I was so glad that I did, because I’d let my dad know that I wasn’t happy with him and his meddling.
Troup patted my butt and then set me down onto my feet. “No, don’t. It won’t matter. And, honestly, if it makes him feel better that he’s accomplishing something, I’m okay with it. But… we’ll figure it out together.”
I was suddenly furious.
My dad had butted his nose into shit again, and I’d almost missed seeing Trouper! He’d almost missed his brother graduating!
That was important!
“Does Easton know that you’re coming?” I asked, pulling away and offering him my hand.
“Nope,” he said. “He told me that ‘I didn’t have to come’ knowing that it was a tough time for me with the end of the year tests. But I was able to finish them all up before I came.”
“How long are you allowed to stay?” I whispered, knowing I wasn’t going to like his answer.
“I have to fly back out tomorrow.” He looked at me with regret in his eyes. “We start training Monday. I have to be back by Sunday.”
I knew that my shoulders slumped.
To hide the fact that I was super bummed, I looked at him with a narrow-eyed gaze. “How did you do on your tests?”
“Aced them,” he replied.
I grinned wickedly at him. “I knew you would.”
He blew out a relieved breath. “I’m glad that you had the confidence in me, because I sure the hell didn’t.”
“Were you scared that you wouldn’t?” I asked. “Because you studied your ass off for those. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. You’re so damn smart, Troup.”
He looked away as if he still couldn’t take a compliment.
“Come on,” I said. “My car’s parked in the hour parking. If we don’t hurry, I’m gonna have a ticket.”