One Wish Left

CHAPTER 2: QUESTIONS

Laura had changed in the bathroom at LAX as soon as she'd retrieved her belongings from baggage claim. The whole pat-down scenario had really put a damper on her sexy surprise idea for Chad. She didn't think she'd be able to wear that lingerie ever again without thinking about the look on that officer's face when she'd turned around to face him.

She'd been staying with Chad for three days now, with one left to go, and she was already itching to return to Chicago. It wasn't that she didn't like spending time with her boyfriend. She loved being with him. She just loved being home more. Laura adored her work, her apartment, her family. What with her busy schedule, however, she wasn't sure how soon she'd be able to come back to visit, so she made up her mind to be fully present with Chad for this last day.

"What are you watching?" she asked, playfully poking him in the ribs.

"Huh? Oh. It's just a clip of a rookie heavyweight doing some crazy ground-and-pound shit on this veteran. Pretty crazy shit," he replied without looking up from his iPhone.

Sometimes Chad's lack of eloquence made Laura squirm, but she tried to remember that not everyone had a masters degree in communications. She tried another approach.

"I thought we could grab some In-and-Out for dinner, maybe go to a movie afterward?" she suggested.

Silence.

"Chad."

"What? Oh yeah. Sounds good."

"Okay. Well I'm going to go shower, but let's try to leave in an hour if that works for you."

He mumbled in agreement.

As much as she felt disappointed in his lack of enthusiasm at times, she knew that Chad loved her and would do anything for her. She reminded herself yet again that relationships are not perfect, nor are boyfriends, and that commitment was more important than compatibility when it came to her love life.

Laura was just rinsing her favorite spiced pear conditioner out of her hair when she heard the glass door sliding open, accompanied by a blast of cool air, making her shiver.

"Chad! Close the door! It's freezing now," she said with a fake pout. Her eyes were still squeezed shut to keep out the conditioner, so she jumped when she suddenly felt large hands pull her close, body to body.

"Here. Lemme warm you up," he said, rubbing his hands quickly up and down her back and arms. "Hey babe, I'm sorry I was distracted out there. I'm just getting stoked for my next fight, so I've been doing a lot of research."

She could tell by his serious tone that he was trying to sound impressive. He could be pretty adorable sometimes. Chad was an amateur mixed martial arts fighter, and they had met at an MMA event when she was working on an opinion piece about the evolution of martial arts. MMA wasn't her cup of tea, and she often felt scared that he would be seriously injured, but she loved that he felt so passionate about it.

"It's okay, Chad. I get it," she said, cracking an eye to see if it was safe to open them fully.

"No, babe. This is your last day. I want you to have a good time. And I wanna leave you with some memories to remember me by," he winked and squeezed her rear end.

Her girlish giggle was cut short by a firm kiss, and then she was pinned to the wall of the shower by his muscled body. She didn't mind.

Only this time, she couldn't help thinking of another person who used to call her babe.

+++

As her plane landed back at O'Hare, Laura's thoughts went immediately to her strange interaction with the law enforcement officer, and she found herself wondering if he was working again today. His reactions to her had been so puzzling: first acting as if she were invisible, then showing surprise and warmth at her recognition of his accent, then anger at seeing her tattoo, then.... What was his last reaction? Fear? Sadness? Shock? Two things she knew: he was Australian, and he did not like some guy named Brodie.