Stella came out of the bathroom stall wearing black jeans that hugged tightly to an objectively amazing ass and a casual but elegant boatneck sweater. She’d swapped her patent flats for spotless white sneakers. Even in her “casual clothes” she looked like an Ann Taylor model. Her hair was down, out of the tight bun. It cascaded over her shoulders in elegant waves. She was so not Olive’s type—except in her complete unavailability.
“Are you okay, Olive?”
Fuck.She’d been ogling her. And something about the way Stella said her name made Olive want to stare deeply into her eyes and ask her to say it again. This was a totally normal feeling when one was tired.
“I’m fine.”
Stella cocked her head to the side. “Fine like before, when you were actually having a terrible crisis, or actually fine?”
Olive adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag as it slid down her arm again. “Actually fine. Thank you again. I seriously don’t know how—”
“It’s fine.” Stella laughed. “Stop thanking me.”
Olive looked at the mirror and untwisted her hair from her topknot before pulling it back up into a pouf. There were dark purplish circles beneath her eyes. Why did she look like this after a flight? Was it something about the airport bathrooms that made people sallow? A quick glance at the woman beside her confirmed that it was not, in fact, the mirror.
Olive gave up on her reflection and grabbed her other bag. They stopped to get coffee—well, Stella got coffee. Olive felt too nervous about tomorrow to get anything right now. She crammed a crushed protein bar from her bag into her mouth as she walked, chasing it with a couple of swallows from her Hydro Flask.
As they reached the car rental desk down on the ground floor of the airport, Stella rummaged in her wallet.
Olive was quicker and yanked out her credit card. “I’m paying for the car.”
“But I want to get to Disney too.” Stella waved the card away. “And I’ll be driving and returning the car once we get there.”
“Please let me pay for the car?”
They held a stare, giving Olive a chance to marvel at how beautiful Stella’s eyes were. Stella nodded.
Olive handed over her ID, and Stella added her own to the pile. The man took the IDs and gave Olive a paper to sign. He checked her age and then her face twice. Olive always got mistaken for being younger than she was. She’d gotten carded for an R-rated movie within the last few years. No one ever believed she was thirty-four.
He tapped the driver’s license. “You’ve got the same birthday as me.”
“Really?” Olive asked.
“I’m just a couple years older, though.” He chuckled. “Not really looking forward to the big six-oh, but my wife’s already planning some big fancy surprise party next month. She can’t fool me.”
“Nice of you to play along, though.” Olive chuckled back politely. “I hope you enjoy it anyway. December birthdays get the shaft too often.”
“Don’t they just,” the man said with a wink.
Stella beamed at the man. “Happy early birthday, sir.”
After thanking them both, the man handed Stella the keys and then directed them out the door. They crossed a sprawling parking lot.
“Are you going to eat anything else?” Stella guzzled her coffee and then chucked the cup into a trash can.
“I don’t think so.” Olive’s eyebrows knit together. “You didn’t want to bring the coffee in the car?”
YOU ARE READING
Fly with Me: a novel by Andie Burke
Romance(Books you want to read but don't want to buy) A sparkling and steamy Sapphic romance, Fly with Me by Andie Burke is filled with sharp banter and that sweet, swooping feeling of finding "the one" when and where you least expect it. A one-way ticket...
