Chapter fifteen: Girl versus uterus

O L I V I A

Sam boarded next. She just hugged me and went on her way. I expected a better farewell, but the bitch spent more time embracing Josh than she did me.

Whatever happened to 'chicks before dicks'?

Meh. She looked genuinely happy in his company. Her laughs were more humorous and her eyes were brighter. That was all I could have ever asked for her. Joshua had better not break her heart or else he was going down. I'd hire people should the need arise.

And that also explained why she wanted me to make up with Kai. She was dating his best friend. She was kind of desperate. Now that everything was out in the open, I was relieved. For a minute there I had begun wondering if Kai and Sam had something going on. How stupid was that?

Kaison, Josh, and I were finally sitting at our terminal, waiting for our boarding call which could happen any minute. Josh was getting himself something to eat since Samantha had eaten everything he had purchased before. He must really love her if he was readily buying all that overpriced airport food. I was craving to eat or drink something but my stomach did not agree. It was feeling full from all the things I had consumed.

I was sitting idly, thinking about the apartment. I had two days from when I went back to when Griffin returned. I didn't mind the quiet but I wasn't looking forward to it either. My mom had moved to Colorado when I was in college so I was alone in NYC. I mean, I had Griffin, but it still made me feel a tad bit alone.

I had to go grocery shopping, too. Urgh. I had emptied most of our fridge before leaving to make sure nothing spoiled. Hence I was going to be jet lagged with no food available to eat. Wonderful, no? I made a mental note to order something on the way home. Or maybe I could order something the next morning. Have a nice brunch, and then go out to refill the empty fridge.

I sighed heavily. It was going to be a not-so-relaxing Saturday. I also had laundry to do. And I had to catch up on work. I was out of town for a whole week. I would definitely have to pay for that.

Oh, just kill me now.

"What's got you down in the dumps?" Kai's voice brought me out of my reverie. He lowered his voice, "Is it the cramps again?"

"No," I exhaled. "I mean yeah, a little, but no. I'm just a little pissed about my loaded weekend."

"Oh." He nodded. "You guys mentioned something like that this morning."

"There's a ton of shit I need to get done." I groaned. "I'm sure Jane is ready to chat my ears off about this whole 'vaccation'. She's a huge fan of yours. And if the news about you being with us is out, I'm sure she is ready to grill me till I tell her every last thing about you. Jessica is probably waiting to shoot me on sight. She was so reluctant to let me cash my leave. I swear, a hundred bitches must've died for her to be born. And Brian is probably ready to whine about his apparently one-sided love life."

"Breathe." He chuckled. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"You don't know these people." I shook my head. "They're crazy."

"I have a feeling this is your hormones and annoyance speaking," he commented.

Oh, he did not just go there.

"I have a feeling you don't value your life," I snarked.

"What's the worse you can do?" He laughed. He laughed.

"Push you off the plane?"

"Right," he scoffed. "Good luck with that."

"Drug you, poison your coffee, strangle you," I listed.

"Go ahead," he leaned closer. "Do it," he dared. His breath hit the skin under my ear and I shivered, clenching my legs together. Holy shit, I was sensitive. And by the looks of his smug expression, he was well aware of that fact.

He riled me up on purpose.

Sometimes I hated that he knew me so well.

"Cut it out," I hissed, leaning away in an attempt to regain control.

"Make me." He smirked.

"We are at an airport," I reminded him.

"Oops?" He shrugged unapologetically.

"Kaison," I warned. My heart thudded in my chest wildly. "Behave."

Was he a puppy? No. That would explain why he didn't listen.

"C'mere." He pulled me closer, grabbing my knee with his good hand.  Warmth tingled and spread everywhere from where he was rubbing circles on my thigh.

"Kai!" I whined, looking around to see if we were catching attention. We weren't, but it felt like it was going too fast. "We're friends," I blurted out.

He let go of me almost instantly as if the touch burned. "I never denied that."

I sighed, feeling jittery. My skin already missed his warmth. I righted myself back in my seat, letting our silence wash over me. I put my face in my hands to hide any display of emotions there. I was confused and I did not want to let that show.

He had done what I wanted. Then why the hell had my stomach dropped a few hundred feet into the ground when he had let go? Why did I feel so stupidly wretched?

"Hey, isn't that your boarding call?" I looked up at that to see Josh walking over with a donut in his hand. It looked appetizing.

"Whose?" I frowned.

"Kaison's," he replied. "Business class is boarding first."

"Fuck," Kai mumbled, fumbling with his bag.

"Let me help you," Josh offered.

"No, thanks," Kai answered curtly, evidently struggling with his shoulder bag because of the huge coat and the restricted arm. Josh looked hurt but didn't comment. He simply walked off to whisper something to an airport staff member standing near our terminal.

"I can help," I volunteered, tearing my gaze away from him.

"I'm fine," he grunted.

"Jesus, Kai-"

The lady that Josh was speaking to came over. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yeah," I spoke before Kaison could, shooting him a sharp look. He scowled at me in return. Stubborn asshole. "Could you please help him with his bag? He is injured."

"Sure." The lady smiled, showing off her extra white teeth. I could imagine her teeth sparkling like they do in toothpaste commercials.

"Thanks." I smiled back at her politely as she took the bag from Kai. "Bye." I waved mockingly at him next.

"It's not that easy to get rid of me," he spoke gruffly. "See you in New York."

"Um-hmm," I simpered as the woman urged him to follow her. Josh sat down beside me after that.

"You're not flying business class?" I asked him in curiosity.

"No," he sighed regretfully. "They were sold out."

I snorted. "That explains that."

"Hey," he protested, laughing himself.

Give him a chance, Sam's words rang in my ear and I sighed internally.

"How're things with Sam?" I asked him after a thought.

"Amazing!" He proclaimed, welcoming a conversation. "The long-distance is a little hard but we make do."

I peered at him curiously. "How long have you liked her?"

"Don't tell her this, but I've liked her since high school," he told me. "We were lucky to bump into each other in Chicago after all these years. I had almost lost all hope!"

"Holy shit." I giggled at the coincidence.

His ears tinged red. "Yeah."

"Young love." I chuckled teasingly.

"Oh, speak for yourself." He laughed. "I saw you out there with Kaison. Sparks were flying, hun?"

"No, actually." I smiled. "We're just friends."

He frowned slightly. "Oh."

"Yup," I popped the 'p' and stretched my hands in front of me, unsure what to make of that expression.

"Why is that?" He asked. "Sam told me you guys talked."

I debated whether or not to say anything. The Josh I remembered wasn't exactly trustworthy. Nor was he ever someone I would want to go to with my troubles. If he didn't know yet, would it be right to tell him what was going on? I mean, if Samantha hadn't told him already, should I? But then maybe she hadn't told him because it had never come up, or just for the sake of my privacy. I knew she trusted him and he was Kai's best friend. My gut wasn't rebelling either.

What's the worse that could happen, right?

"I just don't think I can trust him with my heart again," I confessed, sighing. "And then there is also the matter of my self-respect. It's hard."

"Hold on a second," he paused. "If it wasn't his fault then why is it hard?"

"What are you talking about?" My eyebrows knitted together. Wasn't his fault, my foot. "You must know by now that he cheated on me, right? How's that not his fault? Did his tongue accidentally find itself in Chelsea's mouth or what?"

He either had no idea why we had broken up which was unlikely because he had been Kai's best friend -- at least back then -- or he was the same Josh I remembered. Spoiled, crazy, unfaithful, and undateable. High on testosterone and always looking for hookups and one-night stands. An utterly dreadful thought occurred to me. What if he was playing Samantha? I was going to fucking k-

"Fuck him," he cursed. "He didn't tell you th-"

"This is the last boarding call for-" I heard the intercom.

"Dude!" I shot up in panic, cutting him off. "That's us! But we will continue this later."

He grimaced but nodded. He stood up and put on his shoulder bag. We sped up to the gates Kai had disappeared through just a few moments ago. There was no one there. Which made my panic rise even more when they turned towards the door to maybe close it. Ah, shit.

In my haste, I almost collided with a blonde figure racing that way too, beating me to the stewardess by just a foot.

"Chelsea?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

How inconveniently small is this world?

"Amelia," she greeted with a fake smile. "Josh," she acknowledged. He didn't even bother to hide his hostility, brushing her off coldly.

"It's Olivia!" I rolled my eyes at her. I was sick of her pretending she didn't remember my name.

"Whatever." She mirrored the gesture, handing her boarding passes over to the stewardess and walking out into the crisp autumn air. Josh and I followed, exchanging a painful glance. We knew we weren't sitting near each other, but now we both seemed to have a common thought of horror. It was rightly said that trauma brought people together.

What if our travel buddy was Chelsea?

* * * * *

I wished my travel buddy was Chelsea.

I was lucky enough to get the window seat. But the guy I was sitting next to was too fat for his own good. He was occupying two seats, having had removed the handrest between them, sitting leisurely.

I was scooching close to the wall, on the verge of crying because my cramps were gradually returning again, stronger than before. That month was particularly bad, and I had a feeling my reckless drinking was a huge cause. Caffeine definitely didn't help either.

Josh wasn't in my cabin and neither was Chelsea. My phone was thankfully well charged. I listened to some downloaded music to distract myself.

I opened the text Gabriel had sent me asking how I was and quickly shot him a reply, followed by an apology for being late. He had stayed true to the promise of staying good friends after we had broken up after almost a year of dating. Funny thing was that it wasn't even awkward. He was still single, but he was also ready to mingle. I laughed mentally. He was almost too ready if his trysts were anything to go by. He responded immediately.

He was just worried about the reunion. He knew my other ex was going to be there most likely, especially after he saw that he was missing in the NFL. He was checking in with me. I told him I was fine and that though things were a bit iffy, Kai and I had made up. We were friends now. He proceeded to tell me that he was happy for me. He told me he would be visiting NY soon. He wanted to meet up. I agreed easily. It had been a long time.

Look at me, going around and playing besties with my exes.

When the nausea that the intensifying cramps brought overwhelmed me, I told him that I was that the flight attendant didn't want me using my phone unless it was on flight mode. We said our byes and I locked the phone, putting it back into my pocket. My ibuprofen was up in my bag and I did not want to talk to the guy beside me. He looked way too unapproachable with that scowl on his face. And so I suffered in silence while I switched between watching the clouds outside and closing my eyes and fighting a war with my uterus.

In case you were interested, the uterus was winning.

In my defense, my cavalry was currently napping in the overhead compartment of my transport.

What felt like an eternity later, a flight attendant walked over. She said something to the guy next to me and he got up, following her towards the washrooms at the front. I wanted to take that chance and stand up to get the damned medicine when another cramp incapacitated me, making me wince.

That motherfucker.

I clenched my eyes and leaned my head next to the window. I ditched my boots and folded my legs up on the seat, curling myself up into a ball to ease the pain. It felt like a grenade just went off in there.

"Livvy?"

I squinted my eyes open.

"What are you doing here?" I croaked.

"Told you it isn't easy to get rid of me," he joked.

"Yeah," I gasped out, shutting my eyes again. My palms were sweaty despite the cold in the cabin.

"I thought you said you took the medicine!" He whisper-shouted, opening the overhead compartment and getting my bag out with one hand. He closed it promptly, sitting down on the vacant seat next to me.

I winced. "I did."

"Where is it?" He demanded.

"Front pocket," I rasped. He fumbled with the zipper, pulling out the packet. He popped a pill out.

"Water?" He asked.

"I don't have it," I groaned. He quickly reached up to press the button to call the flight attendant. The guy was quick to show up.

"Can you get me some water?" Kai asked urgently, not waiting for the steward to say anything. The guy eyed me and then nodded, walking back. Meanwhile, Kai rubbed my back soothingly, his immobile hand holding the pill.

The guy returned with a bottle of water quickly. Kai wasted no time in uncapping it and passing me the pill. I feebly put it in my mouth and washed it down with some water.

"Will she be okay?" The attendant asked uncertainly. So he hadn't left yet. "She doesn't look so good."

I don't feel good either.

"She will be fine, thank you," Kai replied. "Can you please get us a few pillows and our blankets too?"

"Okay." He sighed, walking away again.

"Why didn't you take this before?" Kai asked, his tone severe.

"That guy was huge," I muttered.

He groaned. "Are you kidding me, Livvy?"

"There." The guy came back. Kai took everything with quick thanks. "Can I help you with anything else?"

"Can you please put this back up?" Kai told him, handing over my carry-on. 

"Sure." He helpfully did just that, ignoring the fact that Kai was the one who got it out moments ago. "Are you sure she will be fine?" He asked when he was done.

"Yeah. I appreciate the concern," Kai returned politely yet it was evident that the guy was dismissed.

"Liv, do you want to go and lay down on my seat?" He asked me. "It reclines into a bed."

I shook my head.

"No. I don't want to be alone," I whispered back softly.

"I figured as much," he sighed, removing the handrest between us and putting a pillow on his lap, scooting over to the aisle seat. "C'mere," he beckoned.

I slowly and painfully peeled myself off the wall and carefully lay my head on his lap like he had gestured me to. I folded my legs up on the seats in an attempt to get comfortable. He gave me another pillow to clutch at my belly like I normally did and then threw the blankets over me, tucking me in with his good hand.

"Thank you," I mumbled when I was settled.

"Shh," he told me, stroking my hair soothingly. "Sleep."

With my head on his lap and his hands in my hair, I didn't need to be told twice.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A/N:-

Boys, take notes. This is how you treat your lady. You bring them chocolates, coffee, food, and then take care of them. No pressure, lol.

Girls, don't settle for anything less😂❤

Haha, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Comment your thoughts and drop a vote if you liked it.

QOTD: Slip-ons or shoes?

I'll see you guys tomorrow. Take care!

All my love,
xoxo.