Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 2 - Jasmine

Jasmine finally found the gate for Ethan's flight and saw that the time was 9:53AM.

She raced up to the check-in desk, and as the final passenger moved to board the plane ahead of her, she handed her boarding pass to the attendant, completely out of breath. The attendant smiled and asked if she were okay, but being unable to form words, Jasmine simply nodded as she struggled to catch her breath. Relief filled her when the attendant handed her back her ticket and said, "You just made it. We're closing the doors now. Enjoy your flight."

Jasmine quickly rushed down the corridor towards the plane, and hopefully towards a future with the man that she loved. Her heart was pounding so fast and hard inside of her chest that she thought she would either pass out or throw up. She released a breath and inhaled another in an attempt to calm her nerves. Fear, excitement, anticipation, and insecurity all fought for dominance inside of her. Fear was winning in that moment because thoughts of Ethan being angry with her or the possibility of him having changed his mind about wanting to be with her and wanting her to come back with him to Chicago filled her with an almost paralyzing sense of trepidation. Would he still want her to fly back with him after the way she had behaved? What if he'd decided that he'd made a mistake by being with her.... or by loving her.

As she boarded the plane, she quickly scanned the first-class area, and saw Ethan. It amazed her at the way just looking at him seemed to cause her heart to flutter. Although it had raced earlier due to stress and anxiety about not making the flight, it now raced for a completely different reason. She was in love with Ethan. She was head over heels, ass over backwards in love with him, and as she stood cemented to the floor, she rubbed at the tightness that started to form in her chest, because for the first time in almost two years, she was ready to risk it all for love. Earlier, she had almost allowed Valentina's lies to keep her and Ethan apart, and she was determined to never allow that to happen again. Jasmine straightened her shoulders and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, as she put her big girl panties on before she exhaled slowly and walked towards Ethan.

As she approached where he sat, with his head laid back against the seat, and his eyes closed, to anyone on the outside, he appeared to be resting, but the look was deceiving, because he didn't appear to be relaxed to Jasmine at all. She saw the way that his brows were furrowed as if in deep concentration, and the lines of strain that were formed around his beautiful mouth. Jasmine knew that she was the cause of the deep lines of stress and worry that were etched on his handsome face, and it hurt her heart.

Jasmine's first attempt to speak failed, so she tried again, clearing her throat as she gave him a tentative smile and said, "Excuse me....is that seat taken?"

Ethan was sitting in an aisle seat with his head back, and his eyes closed. He was the most gorgeous man that Jasmine had ever seen, and as flashbacks of how she had touched his beautiful body only hours before, and how passionately he had made love to her flashed through her mind, her pulse began to quicken again. This, of course, only added to the nervousness that she was already feeling.

When Ethan opened his hazel green eyes, and smiled at her, Jasmine's heart began to beat wildly in her chest, and she released a slow breath to calm her nerves. When his features softened, relief filled her, and she gave him a shaky smile when he said, "Actually no, it's not taken. I was just waiting for the love of my life to come, but it appears as though she may have stood me up."

Feeling unsure of herself, Jasmine gave Ethan a tentative smile, and nervously shifted from one foot to the other before she bit the corner of her lip and said, "Wow...that's sad. I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe she got held up." She watched as he slowly shook his head, before giving her a rueful smile. Shrugging, he said, "Well...if she were coming, she would've been here by now." Sighing, Ethan smiled, showing off the dimples that she adored as he added, "I guess being stood up at the airport is better than being stood up at the altar." They shared a laugh, and Jasmine felt the tension that she'd been feeling since arriving at the airport began to melt away.