A Defining Mistake

Chapter 7 - You

Ada's stomach somersaulted at the unexpected scene waiting for her in arrivals. She quickly deleted the text she had been typing to Jordan letting him know she had arrived and asking where to meet him, shoving her phone into the pocket of her floral shorts. Her chest almost caved in when he spotted her walking towards him and waved manically, unable to stop the immediate dopey smile that spread across her face when she saw him smiling just as widely back at her. She felt instantly at ease. Ada lifted her hand in a wave and rushed towards him. The closer she got, she saw he was holding a handmade sign that bore her name along with a few smaller doodles and scribbles. Ada dove under the barrier between them, dragging her suitcases behind her. Before she was fully standing, Jordan pulled her into a hug, lifting her off her feet and squeezing her tightly. When he eventually let her go, Ada, spurred on by the audible awhing from the crowds around them, found herself staring into his brown eyes. He gazed back at her blue ones, the air around them charged. Briefly, she imagined pulling him in for a kiss and she took half a step toward him to do so before she caught herself and stooped slightly to grab at the sign he had dropped on the floor while hugging her. Willing herself to cool down and stop flushing, Ada studied the pictures on the sign for longer than necessary.

"Don't you like it?" Jordan asked, laughing.

"I love it! I've always wanted to be greeted at an arrivals lounge with a sign, especially one so detailed and personal," Ada laughed, the atmosphere between them returning to normal. "I'm gonna keep it."

"Where?" Jordan asked, gesturing at her two suitcases and large backpack. "I thought I said one holdall bag only? And here you are with two suitcases and a holdall bag that might I add is double the size than the one I recommended."

Ada shrugged, turning her attention back to the sign. She shook her head laughing at the multiple penises adorned on the paper. Her fingers glazed over the drawing of Mickey Mouse and Stitch comparing calendars, both fixated on a date that was upcoming in the drawing and in the real world.

"I drew those," Jordan said, smiling proudly. "Mickey and Stitch are planning an upcoming visit to Disneyland. You can blame Jo for the penises."

"Wait," Ada paused. "The date on the calendar is in three weeks. Are we going to Disney in three weeks?"

"If you want to," Jordan shrugged, his cheeks pinking slightly. "We've got a show in Kent and then two days off. I thought we could all do with spending a few days in Paris, specifically Disney?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Ada laughed, bouncing on her heels. "I can't wait!"

They headed towards the car park, Ada struggling with her two suitcases and holdall until Jordan took a suitcase and the holdall from her. As they walked, a couple of photographers walked towards them, taking pictures and asking a multitude of questions that Ada ignored. The photographers continued to stand around behind the car Jordan had hired to pick Ada up in, watching them get in and put their seatbelts on. Once Jordan began to drive away, Ada sighed and rested her head on the chair.

"Sorry about that," she muttered. "I posted my ticket on my Instagram story this morning and didn't even think about being followed until my manager told me to take it down."

"To be fair I think you would have been followed no matter what. You and the guys had been publicly messaging about joining the tour and we took promotional photos, so you would've been found no matter what," Jordan pointed out.

Ada nodded, knowing he was right. Still she couldn't help the shiver that flowed through her as she thought about the consequences. Those guys had no doubt taken photos of Jordan greeting her and caught that little moment where she almost kissed him. That would be in the newspapers the next day, magazines that month and on social media within an hour and it was bound to get back to Amy. Ada sighed again before a little voice pointed out Amy seeing it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. She tried to squish the voice down and ignore it, but it wouldn't be quashed and kept going. It told her that Amy was likely to break up with Jordan when she saw the pictures. Ada argued with it, knowing that the more likely answer was that Amy would insist Jordan never speak to Ada again and quit his job.