KIWI | H.S.

twenty six.

August 9, 2016

My hands grip the steering wheel like a vice as my heart pounds with anticipation while I wait at the curb of the airport. The two longest months of my life are coming to an end. Mitch, Harry, Delia, and the rest of the team should be walking out at any minute. According to the airline app, they landed about fifteen minutes ago. I scan the crowd from my car, in search of a familiar face and the second I see Tyler's long dark hair, I hop out to greet them.

Mitch is the first of the trio to appear, and a wave of emotion washes over me as I rush toward him, "Mitch!" I gasp, wrapping my arms around his talk frame tightly. "I missed you so much. How was the trip?"

Mitch grins as he hugs me back. "It was so good. I learned so much and I finally feel like I've found my place in the music world. I can't wait for you to hear it all."

"I'm so proud of you." I say, breaking away from the hug. My eyes catch on Dede before we can talk any longer and I have to wave her over to say hi.

"Oh how I've missed you Sisi." She gushes. "How is the pregnancy going? Any crazy cravings or wild stories?" She asks. "Harry only tells me what I pull out of him."

I laugh, even though she's never been pregnant, it's still nice to have a female friend to confide in, she seems to understand me more than the guys. I have a feeling we'll get really close during some of these final months. "Nothing too strange. But you'd be surprised the amount of people that will just touch your stomach, unprompted. And I can't go longer than three hours without fresh fruit. The craving is so intense I genuinely don't think I'd survive if I didn't satisfy it. Fruit cups are practically a daily ritual now." I tell her.

"Kiwi girl really lives up to the name, eh?" She laughs, grinning down at the bump.

"Definitely." I nod, but the breath leaves my lungs when my eyes lock with green ones.

This is the moment I've anticipated and feared for days now. Is this going to be awkward? Normal? Are we a couple? We talked about us when he came back, but what does us even mean?

"He's excited to see you." Dede whispers in my ear, nudging me towards him, my eyes never leaving his.

I nod, inhaling a deep breath as he gets closer, saying his goodbyes to other members of his team as they all get into their Ubers or meet up with their own family members. Excitement and nerves rush through my system as I wait for him to make it to me and next thing I know,  he's directly in front of me.

I'm about to open my mouth, but before I can say anything, Harry has me wrapped in a tight hug, his familiar scent grounding me. He presses a chaste kiss to my cheek, refusing to let me go, "Missed you so much, Sise." He whispers.

I can feel the blush creeping up my neck and I do my best to hide it, "I missed you too, H."

The reunion is quickly broken up by an airport security guard though. "Excuse me, but you're going to need to take this elsewhere. We need to keep the line moving along." She speaks in a flat tone.

"Keys, Sienna." Mitch requests, holding up a hand, and I toss them over. Harry helps Mitch load up the bags, before Mitch climbs into the drivers side. Dede takes the passenger seat, sending me a wink, leaving Harry and I in the back.

The drive home is filled with stories from their time away. Dede talks animatedly about all of the Jamaican men lining up for her and Harry and Mitch back up her tales, laughing along.

"Dede was like a magnet for men, it was crazy, every time we went down to the beach, it was like boom: ten dudes came out of nowhere." Harry interjects.