Romantic getaway? I don't think so

Second thoughts

She's jealous, Mike beamed. He accidentally said the word "love" in front of her, and he almost apologized and said that he didn't mean it like that, but her reaction brought him to a halt. The feelings of joy bubbled up inside of him, and now he was very motivated to continue. He nodded to her as he paid for their breakfast at the Bridge, the restaurant on their terminal.

Mike ate there whenever he traveled, because the food was fresh and made quickly, so he never worried about missing his flight. They both ordered porridge, and Mike grabbed two packs of honey along the way.

He never thought of putting anything other than some sugar in his porridge, but Michelle made him try it while they were together. It became his favorite breakfast ever since then.

"For how long have you been together," she asked as casually as she could. He had to make it believable, so he cleared his throat and put a spoonful of porridge into his mouth before saying:

"A year and a half."

"Wow. That's a long time."

"The longest relationship I've ever had. I didn't expect it to happen, I didn't think I'd meet her or that we would last. It just happened."

She nodded and smiled. The expression of hurt in her eyes was so obvious that his stomach clenched.

"She makes you happy."

"Very happy. She...she understands me. We spend a lot of time together, mostly doing random things."

She bit her lip and started eating her breakfast, and his initial reaction was to stand up, take her hand and ask her to marry him. Instead, he gripped his spoon and silently took a deep breath.

"But she's not jealous. She knows this is just business."

"Sure."

Another heart-breaking moment. He was tormenting both of them but he couldn't find a way to stop. It was too important. Obviously, she still had some feelings towards him, and he was determined to get to the bottom of them.

"Do you want some coffee? Starbucks is a minute away from here. My treat."

"Only if you buy me a large Cinnamon Dolce Latte," she teased.

"Absolutely."

He looked at his wrist watch. They still had a good hour and a half before boarding, which meant that they will have to slow things down a bit. He took the coffees and sat at their table.

"You ordered the same thing," she looked at him with slight confusion.

"Well, I was thinking of an espresso, but this looked so delicious that I couldn't resist getting one for myself, too. Besides, I need as serious sugar rush to get me through the flight."

"Why? You look exhausted."

"I am. I couldn't sleep last night. I didn't want to miss the plane, and even though Anya had promised to wake me up, I couldn't relax."

"But you can sleep on the plane."

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust that someone won't try and have a look through my stuff."

"So you never sleep until you reach your destination?"

"Yup."

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"Well, you can make an exception today. I can watch over your stuff, and you can rest. It's a long enough flight, I have my book so I won't be bored."