The Rules of Regret (19 page)

But
it was, and the entire plane partook in Operation Humiliate Darby, belting out
the final line of the classic song in an impressively loud ending note. I slunk
as far in my seat as humanly possible and was so grateful for Santa next to me
who shielded me quite effectively from the stares of the
passengers-turned-musical-chorus around us with his gluttonous midsection.

The
plane did that dipping thing as it lowered toward ground, and I readied the
barf bag
…
just in case. But we managed to land without any more dry heaving on my part,
and without any more embarrassing stunts on Torin
’
s. When the seatbelt sign went dark,
I clicked it free and waited my turn to deboard. Powering my phone on, I
anticipated the familiar buzz of a text, and within seconds, it did just that
in my palm.

Lance: Waiting outside security. See
you soon.

The
guy next to me took his time gathering his belongings, slinging his carry-on
over his shoulder like a giant toy sack. But I didn
’
t mind. In fact, the longer I could
dilly-dally, the better chance I had to shake Torin loose. Maybe he
’
d get totally lost in the terminal. I
doubted he
’
d
ever left that mountaintop of his back home. Sure, he could navigate that no
problem, but a bustling airport in the heart of Washington D.C.? I
’
d like to see him survive that
scenario. Or the scenario in which I confront him about the number he pulled
with the whole singing thing. I balled my hands into a fist. Yeah, his chances
of survival were looking pretty slim right about now.

What
the heck? Why had I turned all mean and feisty on him?

I
pulled my luggage out from the compartment and fit it to my shoulder, my purse
slung over the opposite one. I was literally the last one off the plane and
Torin was nowhere in sight.

I
walked up the aisle toward the exit, knowing in just a few moments, I
’
d be reunited with Lance. This was
what I
’
ve
been waiting for all summer. Forget Torin. Forget Quarry Summit. Back to my
ever-consistent, dependable reality.

“
You gonna leave me to fend for
myself?
”

My
heels dug into the tattered aisle carpet. I nearly skidded to an abrupt halt.

“
What?
”

Torin
was hunkered down into his seat, looking like a sad, lost puppy, no longer the
confident alpha dog that he was back at the forest.

“
You weren
’
t even going to wait for me?
”
He popped up and unlatched the
overhead bin to pull out his carry-on.
“
That
’
s not very nice, Darby, and I
actually considered you to be a nice girl.
”
He slid his shoulders into the straps of his backpack and wriggled until it
situated comfortably on his back. In the same, swift motion, he pressed his
fingers to my hips to guide me further down the aisle toward the cockpit.
“
It
’
s not nice to invite me here and then
completely abandon me.
”

“
You told me to forget. And then you
dedicated that song to me, Torin. Tell me how that
’
s supposed to help?
”
I nodded a
‘
good-bye
’
at the pilot and stewardess that
stood at the front of the plane and Torin did the same.
“
The easiest way for me to forget you
is to leave you behind.
”

“
Wait a minute,
”
Torin said, his hands still planted
on my hips. They were a thousand degrees.
“
I
thought that song was perfect!
Casablanca?
Totally fitting since we
’
re
heading to the home of the
White House
and all. And
‘
a
kiss is just a kiss?
’
Come on! I thought it was genius!
”

“
You use the term genius rather
loosely.
”
I kept my eyes forward, adjusted my straps and picked up my pace.
“
Embarrassing me in front of an entire
plane full of people does not help me forget what happened. It brands it into
my brain. The easiest way for me to forget is to not be around you.
”

Torin
froze, like I was some ice princess and had cast a spell on him.
“
I thought we were just trying to
forget the kiss.
”
His face fell noticeably and it made me feel absolutely horrible.
“
I didn
’
t realize you were planning to forget
me altogether. That
’
s
going to make this a little awkward then, don
’
t you think?
”

“
Make what awkward?
”
I scanned the terminal, looking for
the Baggage Claim sign. I located it to the left of us and headed toward the
escalators.

“
The fact that you drug me across the
country with you!
”
 

I
swatted his hand away and dodged the rush of people that barreled toward me
like they were obstacles in a video game.
“
I
didn
’
t
drag you across the country!
”
I squawked, pulling down on my volume when the woman in front of me eyed me
suspiciously.
“
You
were more of a stowaway.
”

“
No, I
’
m pretty sure I remember you saying
you couldn
’
t
survive a mile apart from my presence.
”

 
“
I
can easily survive without you, Torin.
”

With
an air of condescension, Torin shook his head and rotated sideways to skirt the
cluster of tourists that gathered in front of him to examine their boarding
passes. I continued my determined beeline toward Baggage Claim.
“
You can
’
t survive one night without me,
Darby.
”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, startling me and making me skip a step. Kind of
the same way my heart skipped a beat when I thought about that unforgettable
kiss
that was just a kiss
.
“
We
’
ve proven that already.
”

Lance: At the bottom of the
escalator. I
’
m
really glad you still wanted to see me.

I
ignored Torin and slipped through an opening in the crowd, pushing my way past
security. Torin was fast
—
and
determined
—
because
he successfully edged his way around the knots of airport congestion and was at
my back within seconds. Lance
’
s
text was weird, but I ignored it, because in all honesty, Torin was weirder and
that demanded my immediate attention.

“
Is that him?
”
With the tip of his index finger,
Torin pointed toward the landing at the base of the escalator. Sure enough,
Lance was there, his eyes wide, his hands holding a bouquet of long-stemmed,
red roses.

I
nodded.

Torin
didn
’
t
do me the favor of masking his smirk under a false smile, and instead wore it
bright and proud on his face, like those maniacal funhouse clown grins. He bent
over to whisper in my ear,
“
And
you
’
ve
been together six years?
”
His warm breath left a trail of goose bumps along the curve of my neck.
“
I
’
ve only known you three weeks and
already know you
’
re
all structure and concrete. Definitely not flowers.
”

I
swiftly elbowed him in the gut.

“
Babe!
”
Over the tops of the heads of those
that separated us, Lance called out as I stepped off the escalator onto the
marbled floor.

“
Babe?
”
Torin echoed quietly to himself, but
loud enough that I could hear. It was completely intentional, so I
intentionally made the choice to completely ignore him and raced toward Lance
’
s outstretched and open arms.

With
a move that rivaled those seen in romantic comedies, Lance engulfed me and
swung me around, my legs trailing out behind me as he nuzzled my neck. Those
goose bumps were still there and I worried that somehow he
’
d know what originally triggered
them. But he didn
’
t
seem to have any clue and continued twirling me, his cologne sweeping through
my nostrils. It almost burned and my eyes watered on cue.

“
Babe, how was your flight?
”
He placed the flowers into my grasp.
“
Any turbulence?
”

“
Oh, it was pretty turbulent.
”
Torin stepped up to my side and
answered for me like maybe I was mute or something and needed his vocal
assistance.
“
Hey,
I
’
m Torin.
”
He jutted a hand toward Lance.

“
Hi Torin.
”
Lance flashed his award-winning,
blinding smile. He really was ridiculously good looking.
“
I
’
ve heard a lot about you. I can
’
t wait to introduce you to my parents
—
I think you
’
ll really like them.
”

My
stomach tumbled and Torin cocked his brow, trying to figure out what that must
have meant, I was sure. I interjected quickly, firing my words into the empty
air.
“
So,
the big fundraiser
’
s
tonight?
”

“
Yes.
”
Lance slipped my carry-on bag from
my shoulder and transferred it to his.
“
And
that
’
s
why I really wanted you here. It
’
s
Mom
’
s
biggest one yet. One of those galas that will be heavily photographed. Can
’
t have my mug end up in the newspaper
without your beautiful face next to it. You
’
re obviously my better half.
”
He swept a soft kiss across my
forehead.

Behind
me, I caught Torin
’
s
gaze right at the end of his exaggerated eye roll. I had to give it to him;
Lance could be pretty cheesy. Either that or hopelessly romantic. I chose to
favor the latter description. Unfortunately, so did many of the other girls
that came in contact with him.

 
“
Our
driver is outside and will take you both to the hotel.
”

In
the distance, the bags from our plane rotated around the luggage carousel, and
I spotted my large pink duffle as it dropped onto the conveyer. Lance left us
to retrieve it, knowing exactly which one was mine because it had been stowed
on the top shelf of our closet for the past nine months.

“
So that
’
s him, huh?
”
Torin slid his thumbs under the
straps of his backpack like he did so often and scanned Lance up and down from
afar, giving him a very thorough once-over.
“
I wasn
’
t expecting him to be so
…”

“
Handsome?
”
I offered, because that was the
go-to definition when it came to Lance. Seriously, both Lance and his brother
were Kennedy material with their good looks and alluring prestige. Once, when
we were in high school, GQ came out with a cover that had a twenty-something actor
on it that was the spitting image of Lance, or rather Lance of him. I couldn
’
t even remember what Hollywood icon
it was, all I knew was that specific cover propelled Lance from high school
homecoming king status to model material. Even his crew of friends started
calling him GQ for short. He was no longer a boy, but a man, and had the
gorgeous doppelg
ä
nger
to match.