EVERGLOW

XXIX. What he kept from her

"We're here."

She tried to snuggle deeper into her warm coat and the callused hand he slipped under her jaw. She moaned as he rained kisses on her face, already awake and yet unwilling to open her eyes just yet.

"Hey. You'll miss your flight, sleepyhead."

"Why are you so eager to get rid of me?" she muttered, grabbing his collar when he made to lean back into his seat.

He chuckled right in her ear, reinforcing her misgivings about leaving.

Why do I have to go to New York again?

The last three days since they came back from Thailand had been nothing but domestic bliss. Cai hogged her during the day, trying to get her to make up for her short absence. But her body clock was back to normal and she was back to sleeping straight through the night.

Then it was her husband's turn to take up her attention, both of them trying to make up for the long time apart and the short impasse they went through. On those days, she'd gotten used to falling asleep with his fingers combing through her hair as she laid on his chest. And waking up trapped snugly against him, all his limbs wrapped around her, his light snores filling the room.

Three days were nowhere near enough.

But she needed to leave for work. So he'd driven her to the airport at just a little past midnight, and now she was stalling in the car park.

"The sooner you get there, the sooner you can come back, right?" he whispered, right before he tilted her chin and kissed her, long and slow.

She sighed.

New York today really was a wrong call. She slipped her hand under the collar of his downy jacket, trying to touch a little more of him despite the restrictive clothing.

"Keep this up and you'll really miss your flight, Yue."

"Hmm you can afford to book me another one, Dylan."

"If you're sure then.."

He called her bluff. Without warning, he pulled the lever and she fell back as her seat reclined.

She opened her eyes. And laughed in his smirking face.

"All right, all right! I'm up. Jeez, stop wasting money, Dylan."

He pulled back from leaning over her and reached for his glasses on the dashboard.

"Me? You're the one who wanted to rebook."

She looked at him as she righted her seat. "Would you really have?"

"No." He paused to look at the rearview mirror before turning to her. As expected, she wasn't pouting, or sulking. He could see the disappointment she tried to curb with her steady gaze though.

He grinned. Women.

Or more accurately, in his case, Yue.

Chastising him for going out of his way for her, and then denying to the ends of the earth that she loved him doing it.

He reached for her hand and kissed her cold knuckles. She found an excuse to drop her dismayed gaze and watched as his mouth curved against her fingers.

"You know if I could, I would rather just get a ticket for myself, right?"

He saw the delight in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried not to smile, and he knew he would be waiting in vain if he thought she'd say it out loud. But he knew better. She didn't need to.