Her Name...

Comfort - Part 3

We were a few hours away when the flight attendants woke us up for the last meal on the plane. We would be landing pretty early in the morning, around 3 AM. We were all pretty drowsy so we ate in silence as we slowly woke ourselves up.

"Where will you be staying?" Chelsea looked to me as she nibbled her croissant.

"My company's got me in some apartments. They'll take care of everything, I think."

"You must be pretty important, huh?" She cocked her head to the side ever so slightly, and it looked so cute. I was getting distracted.

"Well it was a huge opportunity for me. I'll be an executive here... but I'm still not sure it's worth what I had to leave behind."

"What do you mean?"

I still wasn't ready for this question, so I just shook my head.

"Well you'll love it here," Chelsea continued. "There's so much to do. And if you need a guide, I'm your girl." Then she blushed when she realized what she had said. "I mean your guide. I'll... ", she turned to look at Hannah. "We'll show you around. So how will you be going to your apartment?"

"The company should pick me up. They said they'll take care of everything."

"Or you could take a taxi with us. That'll be better than having no one to talk to but a stuffy old chauffeur."

"Hey CeeCee, your mom said she'd pick us up, didn't she?" Hannah said.

"Oh yea. Well I'm sure she won't mind dropping you."

I looked at her, incredulously. So did Hannah.

"Fine. Stay with your chauffeur. Ughh!" She huffed, and crossed her arms. She was so cute when she got like this.

We talked a lot; and it felt good. I wasn't missing Becca as much, and Chelsea and Hannah made me feel welcome. I felt like I was meeting with old friends after a long time. Things weren't weird or awkward and it felt so natural. Even Chelsea's childishness felt so right to me.

The topic turned to love, as it always seemed to do. Chelsea didn't have a steady boyfriend, but Hannah did. I could sense some sort of tension as they discussed this, and I guessed that something happened with Chelsea before they went on this trip. That's the reason Hannah was so interested in pushing us together. Well they had their secrets, and I had mine. I told them about Aleyna, skipping most of the details. I wasn't very forthcoming about Becca. I told them all about how she was everything I had needed. But I left out confessing my love to her, and her response. I needed to think about that on my own.

"You should have told her you loved her." Chelsea looked at me seriously.

"It's not easy. And why do you think I loved her?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's so obvious, and of course it is, you just take a deep breath and say it."

"Well I guess I'm not as strong as you are."

"You're right about that." She lifted her arm and flexed her bicep as she laughed. We all did. There was that feeling again. Comfort. It calmed me down, settled my indecisive heart. I wanted to be around Chelsea more. It wasn't love. I just wanted to be around her; and not think about anything.

I switched seats with Chelsea right before we began our descent. She looked out the window with such glee, I felt happy just looking at her. This also gave me a chance to talk to Hannah a little more, but she was much more guarded about herself than Chelsea was.

We finally landed. I took a deep breath. A new country, a new experience, a new beginning. It felt so magical, so unreal. The only real thing seemed to be this blonde angel in front of me. I helped them get their bags down from the overhead compartments, and we disembarked, my mind racing about what I wanted from Chelsea. I didn't want any emotional attachment, not when I was so unclear about Becca. But her presence...I felt like I almost needed it.

We stood next to each other at the baggage claim, and we collected our check-in luggage. It was now or never. I turned to Chelsea, and pulled out an old business card of mine, and a pen.

"Hey, can I get your number?"

"Um...why?" She blushed and looked at me.

"Er...well... you were saying you would show me around...."

"Oh yea....I guess I did..."

Hannah cleared her throat loudly, reached over and grabbed the card and pen out of my hand. She scribbled on it and handed it back to me. "That's her cell, and she'll be waiting for your call. We'll be here all day, if I leave it to you two."

She pushed her trolley forward and started walking towards the exit, leaving me standing there with a blushing Chelsea.

We ran into Chelsea's mom near the entrance. She looked me over, judging me as only moms can do. I was as charming as possible. And polite. Always polite. I thought I got her approval, because she warmed up to me after a few minutes of talking to me. I think it helped that I was a little older than Chelsea. I was dependable, she could count on me to take care of her daughter.

"Where's the apartment you're staying at anyway?" Chelsea asked as they were about to leave.

"I'm not sure." I pulled out the address from my pocket and handed it to her.

She glanced at it for a second. "Hey!! You're in my area!!"

I just smiled.

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A/N: Hey to everyone reading...if you could just do me a little favor and comment what you think the narrator's age is, and what he looks like, I'd greatly appreciate it.