The Pilot And The Dreamer

Chapter 27

I went down to the street and hailed a cab. One pulls over and I get inside, shutting the door.

"Valentino Pier, please." I tell the driver and he nods, pulling into traffic. I can feel my phone vibrate and I look at it.

Noah: Sweetheart? 

I shut off the phone before looking out the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I pay the fare before thanking him and he pulls away and I take a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of the Atlantic Ocean. I walk along the pier before taking a seat down on a bench. I resist the urge to cry, but it fails and I feel tears down my face. 

God, I am such a wimp.

"Miss, is this spot taken?" I look up to see Bentley and I leap up to hug him. "Easy there, Hazel." He chuckles before I let go.

"I'm sorry, it's just been a crappy couple days." I reply before sitting down and he follows suit. 

"I'm sorry, Hazel. Want to talk about it?" He says, turning to face me. I curl my legs up and settle against the arm of the bench.

"I lost my job, my ex-boyfriend is out to get me, and I may have pushed Noah away." I sigh and put my elbow on the back of the bench. 

"Ex-boyfriend?" He asks.

"Yeah. I put him away for abusing me and now he's toying with me, so I'm sure a man like Noah doesn't want that type of baggage." 

"Hey," He says and I look at him. "Even if I've known you guys for all of the rest of a four-hour flight, he really cares about you, just from the way he was protective over you when the airline messed up our seating arrangement and I was sitting next to you instead of him." I think over what he says, but Bentley continues, "He only wants the best for you." I feel tears fall down my face and I swipe at them.

"Oh god, what did I do?" I hold my hands to my face, ashamed of myself. 

"Just explain to him your fears." I look in Bentley's eyes and see promise in them. "My wife did the same thing, when we first started dating. She was terrified, but now," He says with a smile and a faraway look, "I love her with everything I got, and I show her that everyday." He turns back to face me before standing up and holding his hand out. "Can I take you home?" I nod and stand up before hugging him.

"Thank you." I say, letting go and he nods before holding his arm out for me and I take it, leading us towards the street. Bentley flags down a taxi and we get inside, telling the driver my address. We arrive at my apartment and I go to pay the cabbie, but Bentley shakes his head. He pays and opens the door, holding his hand out. I get out after thanking the cabbie and I stand by the door, not wanting to go inside.

"You okay, Hazel?" He asks and I nod, walking through the open door that Bentley was holding. I walk up to the apartment but stop when I hear voices.

"What did I do?" I recognize the accent and I lean up against the wall and put my finger to my lips to tell Bentley to be quiet. He nods and stands next to me.

"Noah, she's scared. She did this a lot when Logan went into jail. She loves you, but is just scared." Natalie says, "I'm practically her sister and I can tell these things." I hear someone stand up and start pacing.

"I'm head over heels in love with her." At the end of the sentence, his voice breaks, almost crying. "I love her personality, I love that she has a heart of gold." My heart breaks and I hold in tears, "But the biggest thing that I love about her is that she is the most beautiful woman in the whole world." I look at Bentley and he nods and letting the tears fall down my face, I open the door and all three heads turn towards me, but Noah looks the most relieved. 

"I-is what you said true?" I ask, shakingly and he nods. I run into his arms and I cry into his shirt as his arms tighten around me. "Noah, I'm so sorry." 

"Hey, sweetheart, it's okay." He rubs my back before gently pushing my shoulders so I'm looking right at him. "I love you, hell I'm so hopelessly in love with you and when you ran away, you took a piece of my heart." He says and I can tell there are tears in his eyes. I hold his face in my hands.

"I'm terrified that you will walk out on me, that you won't accept me for all the baggage that I have." He kisses me before touching his nose to mine.

"I promise, that I will never walk out on you." 

"And that my friend, is how you do it." I blush and turn to the door to see Bentley laughing with a smile on his face, but I didn't miss Noah tightening his grip on me.

"Hey man." Peter says, doing a bro handshake. "What are you doing in our neck of the woods?" Bentley looks at me and I nod.

"I ran into Hazel at the riverfront and she looked troubled." He says, before adding, "She's okay, now." I thank him.

"Bentley, how would you and your wife like to come over for dinner? We would love to meet her." Natalie asks.

"We would love to. What time would you like us to be here?"

"7, if that's okay." 

"That's perfect! She will be over the moon." Bentley says, "See you lovebirds later." He walks out the door and Noah turns to me, but I kiss him first and pour everything that I had into the kiss. His arms tighten around me and I press my body into his.

"Okay, lovebirds, get a room." Natalie says, laughing and Noah and I both pull apart, hiding my face in his shirt. Noah leads me towards the balcony and I sit down on the patio bench.

"Talk to me, H." Noah says, taking a seat down next to me.

"I want to file charges against Logan."