Spotlight

23

Looking out the window of the airplane, Sarah can't help but feel butterflies swell up inside her the closer she gets to landing in Raleigh and being able to see her parents and Abby. It's only been a few days since her girlfriend left her in California to join her US teammates for a couple of friendlies, but it's felt like forever to her and she can't wait to be able to wrap her arms around her tall, blonde, beautiful girlfriend.

The intercom comes to life with the announcement that they will be landing soon and she ignores the spiel that follows about returning to an upright position .... in favour of ensuring everything is inside her carry on and then applying a fresh top coat of lip gloss and doing a quick check on the current state of her makeup.

Once the plane lands, she waits with one of the stewards before disembarking and is met by airport security who then help to guide her through the crowd of on lookers and out to a rental car that Tanner had gone ahead and made arrangements to have waiting for her upon her arrival. Thankfully for her, most people in the airport aren't there for celebrity spotting and only a few pictures are taken of her arrival in town. Her appointment with her agent had run much longer than anticipated and then traffic enroute to LAX had delayed her departure, not wanting to use the label's private jet, Sarah instead was left waiting at the airport as Tanner made alternative arrangements for her travel. With only one seat available on the next flight out, Tanner stood watching on as his friend and employer disappeared into the clouds. In the midst of everything, Sarah hadn't taken the time to tone down her appearance from Selena to Sarah and was beginning to regret that decision as she hoped to be able to avoid any eyes on her while making the drive to the suburbs.

The time spent in her agent's office did provide a glimmer of hope in terms of her securing a possible early release from her contract with the record label without the need for a buy out, and Sarah wants to discuss the idea with her Mom and girlfriend before making any decision around it.

Driving through the dimly lit streets on autopilot, a smile forms on Sarah's face as she stops and then makes the turn onto the street where she was raised. Pulling the car into the drive beside her mother's, the vehicle is no sooner turned off then the front porch light comes on and her Mom comes walking towards her. Sarah opens the door and climbs out, to hug her.

"Were you watching in the window?"

Her Mom smiles and nods. "Tanner called and let me of the change in plans, I figured that unless you stopped to grab something to eat on the way, you should be pulling in anytime. Did you eat?"

Sarah shakes her head. "I had a few snack on the flight, but I haven't really eaten anything since lunch time, why?"

"Grab your luggage, we've got guests." Pam Davis smiles at her daughter before walking towards the house.

Sarah collects her suitcase from the trunk of the car and follows her Mom, "What guests? Who's here?"

Her Mom smiles and takes her suitcase from her. "Livingroom and take your shoes, off I just washed the floors!"

Sarah chuckles as she takes her shoes off and hangs her jacket up before then making her way to the living room where the television is on.

Seeing a smile across the room that she's missed, she moves quickly towards Abby and wraps her arms around her, before kissing her. "What are you doing here? I thought that you had team commitments and that I wouldn't be seeing you until tomorrow."

"They ended earlier than expected and I convinced Sam to come with me, so that I could surprise you. Wasn't expecting you to miss your flight, though."

"Couldn't be helped. It's so good to see you, beautiful. Do you guys have to get back to the hotel tonight or can you stay?"