Paging Dr. Vulcano

Chapter 7

The four had said their goodbyes just as the jokers needed to board their plane. The crew was going to drive the bus back to Staten Island, which allowed the boys to go back with their critical crew to start filming the new season.

"Promise you'll text me, I don't want to lose my girlfriend." Sal asked Faith

"Did you just casually ask me to be your girlfriend after three days of knowing you?" she responded to this major jump in the fresh relationship.

"Yes I did. I know that this long distance thing is going to be difficult, but I'll come out to see you as much as I can and I'd love to bring you out to Staten Island. I know it's fast, but I really see someone special that I want to get to know and date even if that means texting, FaceTiming and as many visits as possible. You're one special girl, I already know that much, it doesn't take a genius to see how special you are. If I don't ask you to be my girlfriend now, I don't want you to think that my intentions are to just have fun and not be exclusive about this."

"Sal, I've only known you for three days and that's asking a lot. You were my first kiss, let alone the first time I'd be in a relationship. It's a lot to ask this soon for exclusivity when you're in New York and I'm still a 5th year senior in college. I have to know you're serious about this and I'm not a California Fling"

"Faith, I can promise you that you are in no way a 'fling'. I haven't been on a date with a girl in 4 years. I promise that I am taking this very seriously."

Faith looked up at the man who was genuinely pouring his heart out to her at the entrance to the security check in the Sacramento airport. She could feel the sincerity in his intentions as he hugged her and held her like it was the last time he would be able to be with her.

"SAL, MURRAY, WE HAVE TO GO! THE FLIGHT IS BOARDING IN 10 MINUTES AND YOU STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH SECURITY!!" Joe yelled at them as he and Chá and Q were all on the other side of security ready to leave.

"We're coming!!!!" Murr yelled as he said goodbye to Nicole and leaned in to hug her. Nicole had another thing on her mind and moved to kiss him right as he pulled away from the hug.

"Don't forget about me" she told Murr. He reassured her that he wouldn't and said that he'd definitely be texting her after the kiss he had gotten.

"Well, Faith?" Sal asked her snapping her out of her thoughts. She was always the careful one, which was probably why she hadn't had any relationships up until this point. They would all show interest and then lose it once the hard stuff came up.

"Ok, yes. Yes, I'll be your girlfriend. But you have to promise to take things slow. It's not going to be easy. There's plenty of things that we need to figure out and deal with. I am willing to take a shot at this exclusivity thing because I also see potential in us Salvatore Vulcano."

"Did my girlfriend just say my whole name and warn me while she said yes to being my girlfriend?" he countered

"Yes I did, and you better get used to it Salvator Edward Antho..." Sal kissed her before she could even finish using his full name.

"I'm going to miss you, Faith"

"I will miss you too, Sal. If you promise me you'll be intentional about this and be good while we do this long distance thing, I will too. Remember, Chá and I are friends now so she'll tell me if you don't."

"YEAH I WILL" Chá says still from the other side with Sal being the only one now not with them.

Both Faith and Sal laugh and he leans in for one more kiss before leaving. He kissed her with such tenacity and sincerity that neither of them wanted to stop.

"I have to go. I'll text you soon. We'll make this work."

"Goodbye Sal. Thank you for understanding, I'll text you too." Faith said as she grabbed the sides of his hoodie to pull him in for one last kiss. "This is from your girlfriend, so you don't forget what it feels like while you're gone."

"Woah, I'm not liking this long distance thing already!"Sal said as he walked into the security line and went through while she waited until she couldn't see him anymore. She looked at Nicole and noticed her doing the same with Murr. Nicole made eye contact with Faith and came over to hug her as she could tell the tears could spill at any moment. They continued to watch, Faith remained determined to not let Sal see her cry. As he got through security, Faith stood on the other side of the hall before the ominous "No Cross" line. He came close to the line being careful to not cross it and threw her his hoodie. As she caught it from her side, the security guards looked on with concern.

"There's nothing to be worried about, I just gave my girlfriend my hoodie. She needs it more than I do." He told them as they looked away. Sal smiled at her and winked as he walked around the corner to where they needed to board. Just like that he was gone. Both of them were gone.

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Nicole and Faith made it back to Nicole's house where Faith had been staying for the semester because it was easier than commuting from her home 2 hours away. Both of them felt like they had been hit with a ton of bricks and said hardly anything to each other. They had met Sal and then in three days Faith was his girlfriend. To boot, Murr and Nicole were seeing where things took them.

They both fell asleep on the couch after they had tried to find something to watch to cheer them up. Usually they would have watched the boys to make them laugh but they both knew if they did that it would only make it hurt more.