Moral Devotions

2| Macy

"He's lost his fever. Just missing his Mama though."

I frown as I pull out a red ballpoint pen. "I know. I miss him too. I'm trying to get out of here but the flight has been delayed again. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Where are all the other teachers?" Beth, Axel's grandma asks.

"They all went back to the hotel. They're planning on the flight getting canceled. I have hope, though."

"I do too, sweetie. Just stay calm, it'll all be alright." Beth says and I find myself smiling.

"Thanks, Beth."

"You're welcome. Alright well, I'll let you get back to grading. Keep updating me, okay?"

"Okay, Beth. Bye." I hang up the phone and cross my legs underneath me.

The gate is pretty loud but I opt out of putting in headphones-music will only distract me and I need to get these essays graded, like yesterday.

I'm lost in the zone when someone takes a seat right beside me, making me internally groan. There are how many empty seats and they just had to sit directly beside me?

"Sorry, all the other free seats had kids or nosey grandmas wanting to hook me up with their granddaughters." A deep voice says, and I find myself wanting to shiver because of the goosebumps he just gave me-by only talking. Okay, I know it's been a while since I've been laid, but I didn't think it was that long.

I softly chuckle. "No, it's okay..." My words go softer than intended when I look up. Damn, he's pretty. Bright green eyes sit behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses. Dark brown hair, that barely sticks out of his backward baseball cap. A perfectly trimmed beard-that I'm oddly into. His nose is slightly crooked, like it may have been broken before.

I look around the seating area to find that most of the seats have suddenly filled up.

I also notice the way the man beside me fills up his seat. Broad shoulders, and long legs that are stretched out in front of him. He's definitely a Gym Rat. But something about his build unsettles me, it reminds me of him. But then he smiles, and all uneasiness fades away.

When I realize I'm checking him out, I clear my throat and go back to grading this essay.

After what feels like several minutes, his deep voice fills my ears again. "English major?"

It takes me a moment to realize he's talking to me. "What?" I look up again.

"Are you an English major?" The question almost makes me giggle-almost.

"English teacher, actually."

His eyebrows slightly raise. "So, you were an English major?" The corner of his mouth barely raises.

"At one time, yes."

"Can I ask how old you are? Since I definitely thought you were a college student, and now I'm finding that I'm wrong."

I bite back a smile. "I'll be thirty in May."

"There's no way."

I can't stop the giggle from escaping my lips this time. "Trust me, I'm having a hard time believing it myself."

"Well, take it from me, you look twenty-four, easily."

I feel a blush creep up my neck and I look back down at the paper, mumbling a quiet "Thank you".

"Going home, or leaving?"

I look up when I realize he's talking to me again. "Going home."

"Vacation?"