Drunk Dial

  The list went on and on.

  What if I never had a chance to tell him how I feel about him?

  What if he…died?

  DIED.

  What if he died?

  I finally garnered the strength to type out one more message.

  Rana: Is he going to be okay?

  Landon: I just don’t know anything right now. I’m sorry.

  No.

  No.

  No.

  Tears blinded me as I ran back out to the dining room, heading toward the restaurant manager. The band thought I was about to dance and started playing again.

  “Xenophon, I have a family emergency. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

  Not bothering to wait for his response, I grabbed my coat and ran out of the restaurant.

  My frantic breaths were visible in the cold night air. After running for about a mile, I finally tracked down a taxi.

  “I need you to take me to the airport.”

  Eyeing my uniform from the rearview mirror, he said, “A little late for Halloween, eh?”

  I simply faked a smile before closing my eyes and praying that I got to Landon in time, that he was going to be okay.

  Worrying about his impression of me had taken a major backseat to the more serious concerns now at the forefront of my mind. There was no time to fixate on myself anymore. This turn of events had put everything into perspective.

  He needed to be okay.

  It was all that mattered.

  I gave the driver all of the dollar bills in my possession. He must’ve thought I was a stripper. My cash barely covered the fare.

  With nothing but my phone and my wallet, I ran through the sliding doors to the Spirit Airlines ticket counter.

  “When is the next flight you have to Los Angeles?”

  “We’re all booked for the 8PM, but there’s one on Delta leaving in forty minutes. You’ll have to head to Terminal A, though. That’s on the other side in that direction.”

  Running aimlessly in search of Terminal A, I weaved in and out of the crowds until I finally arrived at the Delta counter.

  Unfortunately, there was a line. The old man behind me started ogling me and smiling. Creeper. I was too freaked out about getting to California in a hurry to care.

  Finally, my turn came.

  “I need a ticket for your next flight to Los Angeles.”

  After presenting her with my identification and credit card, she punched some buttons before swiping my card then said, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but your card was declined. Do you have another one?”

  “I only have the one credit card. Can you try it again?”

  “I tried it twice. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to take it up with the credit card company.”

  It occurred to me that I’d hit my limit a while back when I’d purchased some new winter clothes. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting to have to buy a plane ticket. Devastated, I pleaded with the airline employee.

  “Please. Is there anything you can do? Does the airline have a payment plan or something? I’m desperate. I’m not travelling for leisure.” I started rambling as tears poured down my face, “There’s this guy. I’m pretty sure he’s the love of my life. He just doesn’t know it yet. Anyway, he was in an accident. And I don’t even know how serious it is. I left work and raced straight here, and I’m so scared that if I don’t get on this flight, I may never see him again.” I was choking on my tears.

  Just then, fingertips tapped my shoulder.

  Whipping my head around, I snapped, “Please. I’m almost done.”

  The old man then pushed in front of me.

  I panicked. “What are you doing?”

  He spoke to the woman at the counter. “I’d like to pay for her flight, please.”

  What?

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s seven-hundred dollars plus tax, one way.”

  “Yes, I’m sure.” His hand trembled a bit as he took his credit card out of his worn, brown leather wallet and handed it to her.

  I stood in silence, shocked at the generosity that I was witnessing from a man I’d deemed a creeper just minutes ago. That old perv had become my guardian angel on Earth.

  He looked at me. “If the love of my life was in danger, you’d better believe I’d need to be on that flight. Actually, the love of my life is dead, but she was an old romantic, and if she were here, she’d be telling me to pay for that gypsy girl’s flight.”

  “Thank you, Mister…what is your name?”

  “Ralph Issacson.”

  “Mr. Issacson, I will forever be grateful for this. Please write down your information so I can pay you back.”

  He held out his hand. “That’s really not necessary. It gives me great pleasure to do this for you. And I don’t need the money.”

  There was no time to argue. I needed to thank this man before rushing onto the flight. The only thing I could think of that I knew he might want happened to be free.

  Taking his face in my hands, I planted a firm kiss on his lips. He looked frazzled but extremely satisfied with my impulsive gesture. A permanent smile seemed to be glued onto his face. I definitely left him dazed and confused.

  Running to the gate with only minutes to spare, I said five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys.

  With no bags, I was able to whiz through security without any issues, except one small snafu when the metal embellishments on my belly dancer garb caused the detectors to go off. They cleared me, and I arrived at the boarding area just in the knick of time.

  Did I mention I’d never been on a plane before?

  TELL ME SOMETHING FUNNY

  Every moment of the five-hour flight was spent shaking my knees up and down. I used to think I would be afraid to fly, but I found myself far more fearful of what awaited me on the ground.

  Unable to concentrate on anything but Landon, I couldn’t even read or focus on the movie to get my mind off of things.

  Once we landed, I asked a stranger for money to take public transportation, which let me off right in front of Los Angeles Memorial Hospital.

  I looked ridiculous, with runny mascara and a coat thrown over my belly dancer outfit. Feeling like I was going to pass out from heat, I took the coat off, which meant everyone was staring at me in my beaded bra top. It didn’t matter to me; all that mattered was getting to Landon.

  I stopped at the front desk. “I’m here to see Landon Roderick. Can you tell me where he is?”

  My heart was in my mouth the entire time the receptionist was searching the system. I braced for her response.

  “He’s in Room 410. Take the elevator up to the fourth floor and follow the signs to the East Wing.”

  I let out the breath I was holding as a rush of relief ran through me.

  He was still here.

  He was alive.

  Thank you, God!

  Having no clue what I was going to say or do, I ran into the empty elevator and pressed the number four button. My heart beat faster with each change of the digits.

  Suddenly, my nerves were starting to get the best of me. Unable to fight the tears that were forming in my eyes, I wondered if I was really going to be able to handle seeing him. Or worse, what if he didn’t want me here under these circumstances?

  The elevator dinged and opened to Landon’s floor.

  I lingered for a moment before taking a deep breath and stepping out.

  Unable to remember where the receptionist had told me to go, I must have looked as frazzled as I felt because a nurse stopped to offer me help.

  “Where are you headed?”

  “Room 410?”

  She pointed to a few doors down. “That’s right there, but it’s empty. The patient just checked out.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t give you that information. It’s confidential.”

  “Was he definitely discharged?”

  She hesitated. “I believe so.”

  “How long ago?”

  “Maybe about twent
y minutes ago.”

  Swallowing hard, I made my way back toward the elevators in shock. My throat was parched; I hadn’t had anything to drink in hours, and soon I was going to pass out on this floor and need to be admitted myself.

  Where was I going next? I had no clue.

  As I ventured back down to the lobby, I looked around in vain for any sign of him. It was getting late, nearing midnight, and I needed to find him. Where else was I going to go if not to him? I just hoped the woman was right and that he was truly discharged and okay as opposed to transferred somewhere else. I needed to know for certain that he was going to be alright.

  Pushing my way through the revolving doors, I was just about to text him when the world seemed to stop spinning.

  I quickly became aware that I wasn’t going to have to wait long to find out what had become of Landon.

  The sight of him knocked the wind out of me.

  I froze.

  I recognized his brawny, tattooed arms from the back immediately. At least, I was ninety-nine percent sure it was him. Landon was standing near the curb as he presumably waited for a ride.

  Now that I could see he was apparently fine, I became paralyzed by a new kind of fear.

  He hasn’t seen you yet.

  There’s still time to turn around and go home, Rana.

  Landon reached into his pocket to take out his phone and began typing something for a while. I just continued to stay still, watching him from afar.

  About two minutes later, my phone vibrated.

  He’d been typing a text to me.

  Landon: I know it’s late there. I’m sure you’re sleeping, and technically I’m in the middle of a self-imposed ban on contacting you, but I just wanted to let you know something. Life is fucking short. I’m okay…but I hit my head skateboarding. I got a mild concussion. Spent the whole day in the hospital so they could run tests to make sure my head was still screwed on straight. (Although that’s never really been the case, right?) Anyway, the whole point of this text is to let you know that it would have really sucked if for some reason I wasn’t okay, mainly because I would’ve never had a chance to tell you that I was sorry for hanging up on you. If by any chance you’re up, and you get this, I could really use a little of your crazy right now. Tell me something funny, Rana.

  Oh, my God.

  Okay, breathe.

  Without thinking it through, I just began to type. My hands were shaking.

  Rana: I’ve got one for you. It’s a long one, actually. So, I go to text you during my intermission at work, and you write back…except it’s not you. It’s your friend writing to let me know that you’re in the hospital, that you’d hit your head, and that he had no idea how bad it was. What does a sane person do in that scenario? She runs out of work and heads to the airport. I get there, and it turns out—big surprise—my credit card is declined. So, I wasn’t getting on a flight until the old man who’d been ogling me just minutes before decides to pay for my plane ticket. I proceed to kiss him on the lips and run to the gate. Never been on a plane before in my life. Six hours later, I’m at the hospital in L.A., still dressed in my beaded bra and sheer skirt, only to find out you were discharged. Broke, hungry, and dressed like a whore on Halloween, I come outside to find that by some twisted miracle of fate—you’re standing on the curb. So, I stay frozen, right behind you, scared as shit.

  I hit send.

  My entire body was now trembling as I watched him look down at his phone and read the message.

  I waited for that moment, and it came when his body whipped around.

  My chest was heaving. Finally, his eyes landed on mine. It was truly the most surreal moment of my life, as beautiful as it was terrifying.

  The night wind blew my hair around as Landon slowly approached me. He was even more stunningly handsome in person and up close. His eyes were even lighter than I remembered, the slight bump on his nose more prominent.

  Awestruck, his eyeballs were flitting back and forth as he silently took me in. He placed his large, warm hand gently on my cheek. I closed my eyes for a moment to cherish the feeling. The simple touch sent what felt like shockwaves throughout my body, nerves colliding with desire, fear clashing with comfort. So familiar yet scary.

  Landon said nothing as he just looked at me intensely and then began to gently trace the contours of my face. I closed my eyes again as he ran his index finger along the slope of my small, upturned nose. His finger then travelled over my lips then down my neck and stopped just before my breasts, which were busting out of the jewel-encrusted bra.

  “Holy shit,” he muttered. “It’s really you.”

  Say what you’re thinking.

  Say what you’re thinking.

  Just say it.

  He never did.

  Our moment was interrupted by a loud horn, which barely broke Landon’s trance-like state.

  A bearded, hipster-looking guy rolled down his window and yelled, “Yo!”

  “Who is that?” I asked.

  Landon was still looking at me in a haze and didn’t break his stare when he said, “My friend, Ace. He came to pick me up.”

  Ace put his hazards on, got out of the car, and came over to where we were standing just outside the main entrance.

  He lifted his chin once. “Who’s this?”

  For the first time, Landon’s mouth curved into a slight smile. “This is my girl, Ace. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Despite my frazzled state, I laughed a little. That sounded almost exactly like what I’d said to the airport attendant about Landon being the love of my life. He just doesn’t know it yet.

  “You picking up random chicks at the hospital now?”

  “Shut the fuck up. This is Rana, you dumbass.”

  Ace laughed. “Ohhh. Shit. I’m sorry. I should’ve realized with the outfit. Didn’t put two and two together. He told me about you.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We spoke via text earlier,” I reminded him.

  Landon scolded his friend. “How come you didn’t tell me she messaged me?”

  “I forgot to mention it.” Ace turned to me. “You just flew here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Cool. You guys ready to go? I have to be somewhere.”

  Landon held out his hand for me, and I took it, unable to remember the last time I’d even held a guy’s hand. His grip was firm and protective, representative of the type of man I knew he would be with me. I noticed he wore two silver rings on his fingers. It just felt incredible to finally be touching him. Like a dream, really.

  After he led me into the backseat of Ace’s Jeep, we drove off. I had no idea where we were going, although I assumed he was driving us to Landon’s apartment.

  Landon’s stare was focused on me the entire ride, but he said nothing. His eyes were expressive, as if he wanted to say something or ask me a million questions. We certainly had a lot to discuss, but he must have chosen not to talk about anything in front of his friend. Not to mention, our driver had the music on pretty loudly. He was blasting So What Cha Want by the Beastie Boys with the windows rolled down.

  A light that was on a sensor illuminated the walkway as Ace pulled up to Landon’s house. The purplish, gray stucco structure featured a garage bay on the first level and a balcony on the second. There were three identical units in a row. The beach was across the road in the distance but close enough to be able to hear the waves crashing.

  We got out, and Landon tapped the hood of Ace’s car. “Thanks for everything, man.”

  “No problem. Nice meeting you, Rana.”

  I nodded. “Same.”

  The sound of Ace’s wheels hitting the gravel meant that we were finally alone. I looked out into the distance at the welcoming palm trees dancing in the evening breeze as if they were serenading the dazed girl from Michigan.

  Landon turned to me, his beautiful, blue eyes shining even in the darkness.

  As I stood facing him, I asked, “Are you
feeling okay?”

  “Yeah. My head still hurts a little, but I really lucked out.” He smiled. “Even if I was in pain, I’m pretty sure I’d be numb to it right about now.” He cupped my face. “Holy fucking shit, Rana. You’re here.”

  “I know this is a shock.”

  “It’s a good one, though. A great one. I knew you’d cave and see me eventually, but damn, you really surprised me.”

  “I was scared. I didn’t even think twice about coming here when I thought you were in danger. There wasn’t even a decision to make as far as I was concerned. Wild horses couldn’t have kept me away.”

  “Not even a ravenous snake could keep you away,” he joked.

  “That’s right.” I laughed nervously, my body so incredibly on alert. “What happened to you?”

  “I go to the skating park to unwind, and sometimes I go a little too crazy. I slipped, hit my head, and blacked out. The next thing I remember, I was in an ambulance. I obviously didn’t even know that you texted me until you pointed out that Ace answered you. I didn’t notice it because it wasn’t bolded since he’d already responded.”

  “I was so worried about you.”

  His mouth curved into a smile as he rubbed his thumb along my cheek. “You don’t have to convince me of that, baby. The fact that you’re standing in front of me right now is all the proof I need of how much you care about me.”

  “Do you think I’m nuts for just jumping on a plane?”

  “I’ve always thought you were a little nuts, but you coming here isn’t one of the reasons why. I’m blown away—to the point where I’m clearly blanking out on anything compelling to say. Your getting on that plane means more to me than you can ever possibly imagine.” He moved in closer. “And I can’t believe some old dude got to kiss you before I did, by the way.”

  I thought maybe he was going to kiss me right then and there, but he didn’t.

  Feeling suddenly embarrassed, I looked down at my feet. “I know you probably have a million questions about my appearance. I—”

  “You don’t owe me any explanations.” He placed his hand on my cheek.