Standing By

Saved By Barbecue

(Avi)

I was struggling to keep it together. I did not want my family to see me cry. I didn't want Jessica to see me cry. They took me as far as they could before turning to me.

Mom wrapped me in a warm hug. "Love you, baby. Come home when you can."

"I will," I promised, kissing her cheek before Dad stole me from her.

"Remember what I told you earlier. Believe in yourself and stand up for yourself. Don't let them take you for granted."

I smiled slightly. "Love you so much Dad."

"Love you most, Avriel," he joked, Josh sliding into us.

"Don't be an Avi-hog, Dad," he teased before he hugged me. "So glad to see you, even if it was too brief. And slightly traumatic."

I laughed, holding my brother tight as we hugged. "You too, Josh. Be careful out there."

"You too." He winked at me. "Don't get in treble, or cut yourself on a sharp note, or get a-rest-ed."

I laughed heartily at that. "Good one!"

"I'll see you around." Esther grinned at me, kissing me noisily on the cheek.

"See you. Love you." As I hugged on Esther, Darien plopped a hand on my shoulder and we hugged.

"Be careful," Darien whispered in my ear. "I worry about you."

"No need to," I assured him lightly. Surely he didn't mean... I pushed the thought out of my mind as Jessica slid her arms around me. Yeah, no time to worry. I looked deep into those blue eyes and let myself get swept away, my heart doing a tap dance in my chest. She was mine. This angel was my girlfriend. God, I was going to miss her. I lifted my hand and swept her hair back, gently running my hand through it. I didn't want to cause a scene or have a major PDA, but I didn't want to waste a minute or squander an opportunity. Resting my hand on her chin, I tilted her face up to mine and brushed my lips over hers, just twice, enjoying her feel, her soft skin, her gentle touch. "I miss you already."

Jessica smiled slightly. "No need to. We'll see each other another time. And there's this little thing called a telephone."

"I'll call you lots," I promised. "So much you'll get tired of me."

"Never," she told me decidedly, reaching up and pulling my lips to hers again. "That'd be impossible."

I grinned, wrapped up in her entirely. "My heart belongs to you, sweet Jess."

"And mine to you, Avi," Jessica whispered seriously. "I want you to have fun and try to enjoy time with your friends. I'm glad you worked things out with your band and I can't wait to hear some of the new music."

"Me either," I admitted, now actually looking forward to working on the album, especially since I could actually have some leads and some new exciting notes to play with. "I need to head on, but I want to leave you with this." I gave her one last longing kiss, savoring her lips on mine. Finally, I pulled away and with one last wave, headed on.

I found my gate without a problem and settled into a chair, pulling out my phone to amuse myself. Then somebody walked by with the biggest barbecue sandwich I'd ever seen, sat down, unwrapped it, and began eating it.

"What?" he grunted at me, sauce dribbling down his chin.

"Where did you get that?" I asked politely. "I want one."

He swiped at his chin and gestured to the right. "End of the concourse on the right. Porky's BBQ Joint."

"Thanks." I made my way down the concourse, glad I'd gotten here early enough for a snack. I ordered me up the same monstrous sandwich of my own. It was nice and hot, good and saucy, even escaping the confines of the bun. I grabbed some napkins and snagged a stray bite of meet with my fingers. Ooo, this was good! I got me another small bite, starting to walk back up the concourse. I paused, an airport TV se to the news catching my attention. A winter storm was settling over the southeast. Three and a half inches of snow in the mountains to the north. With ice. Yikes. I stood there watching the delayed flights flash by, hoping my friend's flights would be safe. Looked like Kevin might get the worst of it. I took my sandwich back to the gate, sat down, and started to call him. No sooner than I'd pressed the call button, they started calling my flight. Ah, what's five minutes? I let the first call to board go by, ignoring it.