Last Flight to L.A.

chapter nine: dinner and a show

"Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away."

-Hitch

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"So how's everything going there?' Sandy asked, her voice crackling through the phone's speaker.

"Good," Kelsey said, glancing at Roadkill, who was perched on her bed and thumping his tail against the wall.

"Anything crazy happen while I've been gone?"

"Uh no, nothing I can think of. Everything's going pretty normal."

Kelsey slid off the bench of her vanity and rummaged through her closet to find something suitable to wear before Ethan came in ten minutes. "What about you?"

"Oh, it's... it's good."

"You don't sound convincing."

"Well, you know how this business stuff goes. Alex and the realtor go off to look at different vineyards and I stay in the car. She seems nice though."

"She?"

"Yeah," Sandy offered a weak laugh. "Her and Alex seem to get along."

I'm sure, Kelsey thought. "Do you think he'll buy something?"

"I think so!" Sandy replied, her voice sounding more excited. "It's just beautiful up here, Kel! I love L.A., but a nice summer vacation would be so perfect here. I've snapped so many pictures for the blog, I can't wait to come home and edit them!"

They chatted while Kelsey tucked a white blouse into a loose pink skirt and buckled a leather belt around her waist. Though she'd been trying to do something nice with her hair, it had decided not to cooperate no matter what she did, so it ended up in a regular ponytail.

She glanced at her watch and said, "I'm going to have to let you go, but I'll see you tomorrow."

"Where are you going?"

Kelsey hesitated as she pulled on a pair of brown flats. "Uh, nowhere. We just needed some milk."

"Okay—oh, wait! I almost forgot to tell you; we're coming back tonight instead of tomorrow."

Kelsey's eyes widened. "Oh, good. What time?"

"Not until later."

"Alright then, I'll see you tonight. Be safe."

Kelsey hung up and grabbed her purse. She fluffed up Roadkill's bed and kissed his nose.

"Be good," she warned. Hopefully Sandy wouldn't come home before Kelsey got back.

A knock at the door made her jump as nervousness tightened her stomach.

"It's fine, it's not a big deal," she whispered, walking to the door and turning the handle.

Ethan stood there, wearing a baseball cap and dark glasses dangling from his shirt collar. When he saw Kelsey, his face melted into a puppy dog smile that made Kelsey blush and he straightened. "Hey."

Kelsey smiled back, finding that he looked different when she stood taller than him on the doorstep. "Hi."

"How're you?"