To Infinity and Beyond

Wind under my wings

Alice's POV

Last week had been pure bliss. Mark's devoted attention and unconditional pampering had become the wind under my wings, making me nothing short of a free-spirited bird who was soaring the skies with this newfound credence.

"Who are you? And what the fuck did you do to my friend?" Elsie's irritating shriek got me out of my reverie as she entered my cabin with a sandwich in her hands.

"How many times do I have to tell you? No munching in my office. I hate the unwelcoming after-smell that lingers for hours." I gave her a soft reprimand. Honestly, I was angrier at the fact that she disturbed my day-dreaming spree. I was happily lost in my world, only if she would have cared to leave me alone.

"And how many times do I have to tell you? I don't give a rat's ass about that." I rolled my eyes at her retort, and mindlessly opened the file of my next patient, a meek attempt to show that I was ignoring her.

"Alice?" She jerked both my shoulders, forcing me to pay some heed to her.

"What?" I snapped.

"Do you even realise how different you are these days?" I gave her the pout of indifference and shrugged my shoulders in response.

"You are behaving like a ghost. You hardly spend time with me, moreover, I often catch you stupidly smiling in your thoughts. You are unfazed by your surroundings, and you haven't had your usual psychotic breakdowns in days." She gaped at me like I was some alien before repeating her question, "who are you? and what the fuck did you do to my crazy friend?"

"Jeez relax. I am just... happy and calm and sorted."

"And in love?" Came Elsie's instant tease.

"Oh, shut up! Who said anything about love? Yes, Mark is amazing, and he treats me so well. He is just so passionate and God! That intensity in his eyes. You know, how he went from zero to a hundred in less than a week." Not that I was complaining. I was equally crazy for him, if not more. "It just... feels surreal."

"That's maybe because he was holding back as much as you did? Just sit back and embrace it. You don't deserve anything less Alice, in fact, a lot more. I am so happy for you both. He sounds like the perfect guy."

"He is. The perfect guy." I whispered, and our conversation got interrupted by a phone call. Think of the devil. Looking at his name flash on my phone screen, I felt instant butterflies in my stomach. That's what he did to me even with a simple call.

"Hi, Mark."

"Hey, Beautiful. What are you doing?" His cheerful voice fell on my ears, causing me to smile warmly in return.

"Nothing, I just have one more session for the day and should be free before lunch. What about you?"

"It's a busy day for me. I hope you didn't forget. Emma had invited us for dinner tonight?"

"Crap! Is it Friday already?" I turned to check the calendar that stood tall on my desk and yet felt like an invisible object a minute ago. Remembering the days of the week seemed to be a farfetched priority these days.

"Yes. It is Friday. I will pick you up at seven?" He confirmed after chuckling at my ignorance on routine things.

"Okay. But I didn't prepare at all. I don't even know what to wear." My anxious self paced back and forth in the cabin. From my peripheral vision, I saw Elsie was giving me a weird look.

"Relax Alice. You would look good even in a potato sack. And I know that you know that." His words sounded sincere, earning a short-lived blush from me, which was immediately replaced by an anxious frown. Part of me wanted to look my best tonight. I wanted to dress up for him and make him lose his shit so that he couldn't take his eyes off me. He anyway had his eyes only on you, idiot, but you can't keep yourself from overthinking. Can you?