Betrayal Down Memory Lane

The Unexpected (9)

"Hey," I felt someone tap my shoulder multiple times, awakening me. I blinked a few times. It was the lady sitting next to me.

"Flight's over." She smiled.

I sat up and quickly stretched out. "Thanks." I slightly smiled. I slept almost the whole flight and I didn't feel tired, thank god. 

I gathered my belongings and checked the time on my phone. 1:44am. It quickly updated itself to Pacific Daylight Time, 11:44pm. I got off the plane and made my way to the nearest restroom.

To this day, I never used airplane restrooms. It was a bad habit, but I held it in until the flight was over. After using the restroom and briefly making myself look more presentable after my heavy doze I decided to call Leo. I stood there, waiting as the phone rang.

I was hit with his voicemail.

Okay, that's odd. "Hey Leo, is everything okay? You didn't pick up. Well, it is late, you probably just fell asleep, that's okay. Call me in the morning okay? I love you." I hung up.

I looked up at the sign that lead down the escalator. Baggage Claim was one of the items on the sign. I sighed and made my way down. 

As I looked around, my heartbeat began to race. My nervousness kicked in, knowing Danny was here somewhere. 

I glanced down at what I was wearing. A gold butterfly necklace hung daintily around my neck, paired with a black lettuce trimmed crop top that had a small tie at the front and a swooping v-neck that shamelessly exposed a bit of my chest. 

Why had I made such an effort to look good?

Damn it, pull yourself together.

I stepped off the escalator, searching for the baggage carousel with Austin arrivals. 

I took a deep breath, trying to act calm as I poorly attempted to pull my crop top down, feeling slightly insecure. 

I slowly walked over to station 4, seeing the bags finally being delivered as they rotated on the conveyor belt, disappearing, and reappearing all over again. 

I eyed each bag that resembled my own. I wanted to quickly find mine, so I could get away from the crowd of people that only made me more anxious.

I caught sight of my suitcase making its way towards me. I smiled, reaching out to grab it when my backpack slid down my arm, hitting the floor.

That's what you get for only using one strap Nadia. Ugh.

I leaned over, quickly pulling my backpack strap up my arm, over my shoulder again. I glanced at the carousel, seeing my bag quickly elude me. "Dammit." I mumbled. I had to wait for another rotation.

I looked around at all the people who had already gotten their belongings and began to leave. I sighed, anxiously crossing my arms over my chest.

"Need help getting your bag love?"

My eyes widened. I knew that voice all too well.

Oh, no.

Oh, my god. I started to panic.

I could hear my heartbeat thump loudly in my ears. I slowly turned around, tilting my head up to get a glimpse of his face. His gaze met mine, and his lips formed an endearing grin.

"Well look at you."

Danny eyed my body and met with my face again. "You look lovely." 

I was at a loss for words; his looks had improved tremendously since the last time I saw him. His dark wavy hair was longer now, especially towards the back of his neck. 

I adjusted my backpack, finally pulling the second strap over my left shoulder.

"Um, you don't look too bad yourself."

He hung his head and lightly chuckled before looking at me again. It was like nothing had changed. I was still captivated by his different colored eyes. "What, that's it? That's all I get after three years? A 'you don't look too bad yourself'? As if I don't already know."

Here we go...

I sighed in annoyance, looking around to find a way to avoid this interaction.

"What do you want from me Danny?" I indirectly asked as I glanced back at the baggage carousel again.

He smirked. "Well, for starters, could I get a hug?"

I scoffed, turning back to face him before smiling sarcastically. "No."

I was in the process of turning around to the carousel again, hoping I could ignore his presence as I searched for my bag.

It didn't help that I was still extremely anxious. He quickly spun me back around and pulled me closer to his body.

"Danny," I warned. "let me go-,"

"Just let it happen." He lowered his voice.

"I know you don't like attention, and it would be such a shame if I caused a scene just because you're being difficult. It's just a hug Nadia, that's all I ask."

I sighed in defeat, and I wondered if he could feel how fast my heart was racing. Releasing the tension, I tried to let myself relax.

I slowly wrapped my arms around his upper body. He used my own tactic against me. I could have been the one to cause a scene to get Danny away from me, but he turned the tables.

His hands glided over the small of my back repeatedly, and the feeling felt foreign, yet so familiar. 

I scoffed in disbelief, pressing my palms on his chest to push him away. "Okay, know your limits." I sneered at him. 

He laughed, brushing his hair back as it effortlessly fell onto his forehead again. 

"Oh, what's that supposed to mean?" He smirked, raising an eyebrow at me. 

I immediately thought of Leo, and I wanted to tell him I was in a relationship with someone who couldn't even compare to him.

But I didn't.

"It's been three years Danny. You don't just go about touching me like we're still together."

Why didn't I say it?

"Well, you let me do it, you know. It took a while for you to push me away. So, I would say you liked it." He lopsidedly grinned at me and those stupid dimples that I loved so much revealed themselves. 

I rolled my eyes, sighing exasperatedly. I wasn't about to entertain his bullshit. "Whatever, can you just help me get my bag, so we can leave?"

He chuckled and walked over to the baggage carousel. "Which one is it?" 

"The olive green one."

He stood there, watching each bag until he saw the one that matched my description. He picked up my bag with ease, placing it gently on the ground, lifting the handle up. "Let's go." 

I stopped him. "What are you doing? I can take my own luggage." I tried to grab the handle away from his hand.

He grabbed my arm with his free one and locked it with his.

"God damn Nadia, calm the hell down. Why are you being so fucking hostile, huh? I'm just trying to be a gentleman." He roughly let my arm go, and walked away towards the parking garage, leaving my luggage behind.

I scoffed. "God." I took my suitcase and hurriedly rushed outside to meet up with him.

...

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