Locket full of Secrets (11 page)

              “Oh wow, tomorrow is Monday already,” Steven realized aloud.

              “Hopefully we aren’t in Russia too long,” I yawned.

              “Sounds like someone is ready for sleep,” Steven noted, planting a kiss on the top of my head.

              “No way,” I frowned with a shake of my head. “We might not have another chance like this. In case you haven't noticed, Olena is not your biggest fan.”

              “Wait, what?” he asked, shifting in his seat so he was facing me.

              “I don’t think Olena likes you much,” I began again. “I think she realized she interrupted something when she came back to the motel this morning. She was kind of shooting daggers at you with her eyes for a little while there.”

              Stevens’s laughter was not the response I was expecting, but it soon had me smiling as well. Wrapping his arm around me, Steven pulled me closer as his laughter faded.

              “I have a feeling she is so used to protecting you she is wary about letting someone else take the job,” Steven finally explained.

Leaning in for a kiss, Stevens’s lips lingered on mine for only a second before he pulled back. I wanted the moment to last longer, but it was better not to let things get heated like during our last kiss. It was not the time or the place for a kiss like that, especially with Olena sitting right next to me on our crowded flight.

              “Alright, new question,” Steven smiled. “What’s your favorite TV show?”

              With a smile I cuddled back into him, resting my head on his chest before answering.

              “Don’t laugh,” I warned. “But I really like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

“I don’t know that one,” Steven yawned, pulling the blanket a little closer.

              With a smile, I began explaining the show to him, starting with the movie that began it all. Closing my eyes I pretended we were having this conversation somewhere else. My dorm room, the library, even in class. As we continued to chat and share little things about ourselves, I found myself slowly drifting to sleep. We had a long day ahead of us, and my body would need to be ready.

              “Okay, how about this one?” I asked Olena, pointing to a photo in the magazine on my tray table.

              “No way,” she laughed. “You would look so weird with red hair.”

              I laughed and continued to flip through the pages in front of me. Olena had purchased the stack of magazines before we boarded our flight. Now, as Steven got a few more hours of sleep, we were passing time chatting about hair styles, clothing, and our favorite celebrities. If I didn’t know better, it was like we really were just some college students getting ready for a vacation in Europe.

              “Oooh, he’s cute,” I announced, pointing to a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of his upcoming film The Beach.

              “Yeah, he was really good in Romeo and Juliet,” Olena agreed with a shrug.

“Gotta love a cute guy with blond hair,” I giggled. “Gets me every time.”

              “You mean like Steven?” Olena asked, her voice taking on a sharp edge.

              “Exactly,” I nodded. “What don’t you like about him?”

              “What?” She sounded almost shocked, despite her less than hidden feelings for him so far on our trip.

              “Come on,” I sighed. “I saw the way you looked at him in the motel earlier.”

              “Oh that,” she mumbled, as if suddenly caught. “I just do not want him to take advantage of you.”

              Finally tearing my eyes off my magazine, I looked at her in shock.

              “How would he take advantage of me?” I asked, my mouth hanging open after my question.

              “Well,” she began slowly. “You are emotional right now. A lot is going on. And I just do not want him to think it would be a good chance to make things more serious when you are just responding to all the crazy stuff happening.”

              “I appreciate your concern,” I smiled, relieved at her explanation. “Steven and I have been getting closer for a while now though. We’ve known each other all school year, and spend a lot of time together. Sure, all the intense stuff is making us a lot closer faster than normal. But we were getting there on our own even before you showed up. Thanks to you it’s just like we skipped ahead a few weeks.”

              Olena nodded and smiled, but I could tell something was still bothering her a little. Then again, we were on a flight to Russia where we would likely be running from more men with guns. Worrying about Steven and me was the least of her concerns, but one of the only things she could talk to me about right at the moment.

              As the seatbelt light blinked on above us and a flight attendant began going over landing procedures, I pushed Olena’s concerns out of my mind and turned towards Steven. Shaking his arm gently, I whispered his name a few times until his eyes slowly opened.

              “We’re landing,” I explained, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Time to put your seat up.”

              Nodding, Steven fixed his seat while Olena packed up our magazines. Putting my tray table up I glanced out the window to see the view of dark clouds. We were too high up to tell if it was raining or snowing, but I knew it would only be a little bit before we found out.

              “Uh, thank you,” I heard Steven say next to me. Glancing over I could feel my heart speed up. The flight attendants were delivering immigration papers to everyone. We were now face to face with the lie we were about we weave.

              “Hey Olena,” I asked casually. “What’s the name of the place we’re staying at again? I can’t remember.”

              “Here,” Olena smiled, handing me a piece of paper. On the paper was the name of a youth hostel, written in both English as well as Russian. Copying the name with a shaking hand I passed the paper to Steven, before silently praying customs did not call the hostel to see if we had reservations or not.

              Looking at Olena’s paperwork I saw she had written we were buying return tickets in France two weeks from now. Once again I hoped this information was good enough to get us into the country. I didn’t want to have to call my parents and explain why I was in some Russian prison. Showing my filled out card to Steven he filled out his answer blanks as well before flashing me a quick smile.

              “This trip is going to be so much fun,” he said to me, his hand resting on mine. I could tell he was trying to build up my confidence before I had to face the customs officers.

              “Yeah, I just want to be there already,” I smiled, gripping his hand as tight as I could without hurting him. Lifting it up closer up to him, Steven gave my hand a quick kiss before lowering it back to the arm rest. Ignoring Olena’s soft grunt on the other side of me I rested my head on Steven’s shoulder as the plan began to lose altitude for landing.

              “How long are you planning to stay in Russia?”

              The custom officer in front of me spoke with an accent so thick I could hardly make out the words. Swallowing down my nervousness I tried to stay calm and answer simply.

              “A day or two,” I tried to smile. “We’re staying in Moscow tonight and then we’re going to get a car and head for Germany. We want to make it to France before we head home.”

              Nodding her head the Russian woman stamped my passport and customs forms a few times. Then, with a smile, she handed me my passport.

              “Have a good trip, Claire,” she said, pointing me forward.

“I’m going to go use the bathroom,” I quickly said to Steven and Olena, who were in line behind me. Without waiting for a response, I headed towards the ladies’ room sign. I walked through the door and into a stall before finally taking a deep breath. We had made it. We were in Russia.