Break Up with Him, for Me (You Belong With Me 1)

One motivational speech down, hundreds more to go.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying with Elite Airways.” The pilot’s voice came over the speakers. “Per the flight attendant’s previous announcement, most of you are taking this same plane to New York City in an hour. Please allow those who are not to get off first.”

“Also,” a soft voice came over the speakers next, “if you’d like to take the other flight to New York that’s in four hours, please see the gate agent at G-8 upon deplaning.”

I looked out the window as another plane rolled on the tarmac.

“Excuse me?” My seat-mate tapped my shoulder.

“Yes?” I turned to face him.

“Are you staying on this flight?”

“Yes.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and stood up. “After I get something to eat.”

“I wanted to say something to you earlier, but you had your earbuds in.”

“Yeah … ” I made a mental note to keep them in when I got back on later.

“I recognized your name from your bag.” He pointed to it and smiled. “Penelope “Perfect Feather” Carter. I was a huge fan of yours back in the day.”

I nodded, wondering if I should ask if he wanted to take a selfie together.

“You used to look really good in your costumes,” he said. “You started skating at six, I believe.”

“Four,” I said. “I skated several years after that, too.”

“Yeah, but—” He waved his hand. “I stopped watching once you turned sixteen.”

“Um, okay.”

“You just weren’t my type anymore.” He winked. “You were past my preference, if you catch my drift.”

Bile rose up my throat.

“You were far more fascinating to watch in the beginning,” he said. “I still use clips of your old programs plenty of times whenever I want a nostalgic night.”

I blinked a few times, rescinding all thoughts of offering anything except a police tip. “I uh, I need to go now.”

“It’s a shame what happened to you at the end, but are you coaching any new girls now?” he asked. “Any young hopefuls that I can look forward to watching this season? Better yet, don’t tell me now. I’ll wait until you get onboard again so I can write down their names.”

I turned around and rushed off the plane.

I was switching to that other flight. Now.

G-8. G-8. G-8…

Rushing through the crowds, I held my purse close to my chest and hoped I would run into an alternate version of reality.

“Excuse me, excuse me!” I pushed my way past a group on the moving sidewalk, then I made it past the food court.

As I was nearing Concourse G, I lost my balance and collided head-first into what felt like a wall.

For a split second, I could see exactly how everything after was about to unfold in slow, detailed motion.

Face meet ground. Everything in my purse flies high into the air, all before—

“Whoa.” A pair of heavy hands gripped my waist from behind. “Slow down there. Are you alright?”

I stared at the ground, my nose inches away from the concrete. I took a few seconds to gather my thoughts. I also couldn’t help but think that the deep voice sounded familiar.

I took my time standing up and turned around, finding myself face to face with a man I hadn’t seen in years.

He was a man who invaded my dreams whenever I wondered what could’ve been.

The one that got away …

My jaw slowly unhinged as I looked him over.

Somehow, all these years later, he’d become ten times sexier.

Dressed in jeans and a dark grey T-shirt that revealed muscles that were far more defined than they were years ago, he was also a lot taller. His dirty blond hair was cut low, and his full and defined lips were still tempting as ever.

As he stared into my eyes, I felt like we were in college all over again.

The memories flooded my brain frame by frame, blending into a beautiful montage.

I saw him asking me to stay later in his dorm room for “one more episode,” witnessed the two of us getting kicked out of the library for staying too long, and watched him subtly throwing hints and smiles my way that I never seemed to catch.

I’d always asked Hayden about every guy before I made a pursuit, but since we were in the middle of a “Cold War” then, I never got around to it. Instead, I watched some other woman intercept Simon’s hints and smiles, watched as she ran off the field with him and scored an engagement.

“Simon Gaines?” I said.

“Penelope Carter.” He smiled a perfect set of pearly whites. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again. Good thing I did, though. My memories didn’t do you any justice.”

I blushed, and we stared at each other for what felt like forever.

“Dare I ask why you’re running like someone is chasing you?” He smiled again.

“I think my seat mate was a pedophile. Well, is, and I need to change my flight before it fills up. That’s a perfectly reasonable explanation, right?”