Away With Him

19 - Don't Poke An Angry Dragon

Taking the early morning flight to France was becoming quite a habit of mine. Though this time I did have my boyfriend to keep me company. And I would definitely need it. I wasn't too happy about taking this trip, though I wouldn't tell him that.

When Max told me he wanted to go back I tried to talk him out of it gently. But his mind was already made up. Nothing I could say would change his mind. And I had already promised him that I would be supportive of whatever choice he made. It was hard to be supportive when I didn't agree with what he was doing.

Max was fast asleep in the seat beside me. He's not much of a morning person. That might have been why he was so quiet in the car and in the airport earlier. Or maybe he could sense my apprehension at what he was doing and didn't want to start an argument.

He woke up just as lunch was being served. I leaned across the aisle and swept his dark black fringe out of his eyes and and pecked a kiss on his lips.

"How long until we land," he yawned as he ruffled my hair. I peeked out my window and could only see the bright blue shining ocean.

"A couple hours at least," I said turning back to face Max. He wasn't smiling anymore. He was staring at the back of the seat in front of him. His eyes looked distant and his lips were still, revealing no emotion. "Everything okay?" I asked softly.

Max exhaled and shook his head slightly. "I know you don't like that I'm doing this-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," I interrupted, "I wouldn't have made this choice if I was in your shoes, but I have to respect your decisions. If I really didn't like what you were doing I wouldn't be with you right now."

Max raised his head and made eye contact with me. He didn't smile but by the way his eyes reacted I could tell that he was happier. He reached across the aisle and took my hand in his.

"You don't know how much that means to me," he chorused, "I really have to do this. I have to face my parents again. And I need to make sure that Violette is alright."

"I know," I soothed, "It's just hard for me to see someone I love go back where terrible things happened, even if we're only going for one day."

"I get it. It's going to be hard for me too. But I have to."

"I love you." Max's smile wasn't as wide as it was on his birthday, but it was good to see him happy. And his smile was all for me. I didn't have to share it with anyone else.

Charles and his mom were once again picking me up from the airport. And once again they disregarded all of my attempts to thank them.

"You're literally the best," I blathered and Charles translated my words into French so that his mother would understand. She just shook her head and waved her hand at me.

"So... what have my two favourite gays been up to?" Charles said lightheartedly as he twisted around in the front seat to face Max and I in the back.

"Favourite?" I questioned, raising the tone of my voice. "You know other gay people?"

"Wow Riley. Max is right there," Charles laughed as he faked whispered to me, "Looking for another man right in front of your boyfriend, that's low." I chuckled, rolled my eyes and punched Charles in the arm. Not too hard though.

After only a few minutes in the car I was starting to realise just how much I had actually missed France. The air was so much fresher and cleaner than in Texas. There was real grass almost everywhere outside. And, most of all, the friends I had made were really great people. I texted with Charles a bit when I was home but the time difference made it difficult to talk a lot of the time.