The airport is heaving by the time Sarah pulls us into the adjoining car park. The seatbelt, burning my skin, flings across me hitting the door with a clang. I know it's pissed Sarah off, the car shaking as she slams her door and scans the lot for Daryl. I stay in the sanctuary of the car for a minute, before allowing myself the misfortune of having to converse with someone so incredibly boring they make watching paint dry sound fun. How Sarah can fool herself into thinking she loves this guy is beyond me.

"Daryl! Over here!" Sarah waves her hands above her heads as a red Toyota pulls around the corner into the same aisle we're parked. 

The six foot oaf steps out, goofy ass grin on his face and kisses my girl before nodding at me. Boy, I'll give him something to nod about one of these days. I flash the best fake smile I can muster, turning to the boot of the car to busy myself instead. I cringe as he pulls Sarah close, tips her backwards and kisses her noisily. What a tool. My suitcase, stuck beneath Sarah's, is difficult to budge, no matter how hard I pull. Just like that scene in Lyndsey Lohan's Parent Trap; only I don't appreciate it in the slightest when Daryl's hairy knuckled hands grip the handle and pull it free. 

"There you go darlin'," He beams, his eyes dropping to the floor. "What's this?"

My cheeks flush at the sight of the unopened envelope labelled Sarah bunched in his fist. I yank it from his grasp, tearing the paper slightly. Anger boils. Look what this dickhead has done? Who does this ape think he is? 

"None of your business. Now look what you've done." I stamp my feet, pull the handle of my suitcase out and, with a pathetic whip of my hair that sends my knickers flying in his face, I storm off towards the entrance of the airport. 

I briefly contemplating retrieving my underwear, but to be quite frank, now that his grubby paws have been on them, I wouldn't dream of covering my vagina with their smooth silky material. Even if they were the comfiest pair I own...owned. 

It's even more claustrophobic in the airport than I had first assumed. People barge past one another, some barely looking up from their phones. I know Sarah and Daryl are close by, I can hear her apologising for my rudeness, blaming it on the hangover rather than hurting delicate Daryl's feelings with the truth. She knows I despise the man, that I think she deserves better. You'd think being her best friend, my opinion would hold some sway over her actions. Hell, in the past if I didn't like someone she dated we never saw them again. I can't fathom what makes this idiot any different than the rest. She's an in denial lovesick puppy, and it's disgusting. 

I feel her body heat as she steps in close to me, our bodies almost touching amongst the crowd. The hairs on my arms stand, my scalp tingling as the scent of her perfume teases my nostrils. My fingers tremor, inching closer to her hand. They get so close, so damn close to touching her, before douchebag Daryl ruins the moment by draping his arm around her shoulders. Lord give me strength. 

"Our planes boarding soon, we should check our luggage in." He shouts above the hustle and bustle.

For once, I'm glad I remembered to check in online so that we only have to worry about our stuff. I'm grateful to not have to loiter around for hours, speaking to person after person just to sit on a plane. Sarah takes my hand in hers, pulling me forward through the crowd. My heart leaps with joy, the crowd dissipating as we walk. I see only her, the soft glow of light around her, the strip of white where her bra strap usually is, the little sun tattoo she got with me in college. 

I'm so engrossed in her, that I don't see the stranger heading our way until it's too late. We collide, I fall on my ass in front of everyone, the wind ripping from my chest. A hand reaches out, takes my wrist and pulls me to my feet.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry. Are you alright?" His eyes, riddled with guilt, look me up and down. 

"I'm fine. Just get me on this plane already."

He laughs loudly, head thrown back as though I've made a joke rather than spoken my mind. I watch in disgust as he pulls Daryl into a hug, slapping his back three times before hugging Sarah and kissing her cheek. So this clumsy idiot must be friends with Daryl. Go figure. I let the three of them take the lead, picking my nails as I walk as slow as possible behind them. I hope I'm not sat next to them. Sarah has already let me down by choosing to sit with Daryl, in an aisle seat no less! Meanwhile I'm stuck next to a window besides God only knows who. You'd think she'd be fine without lover boy for all of two and a half hours, but no. I just hope whoever I'm with doesn't stink or talk too much. Oh god, what if it's a screaming kid? 

When we're finally shepherded onto the plane, I scan for my seat, finding it fairly quickly. A man stands at the seat beside mine, his back turned as he puts his hand luggage above our heads. My breath stops as I take in his clothing, the closely shaved black hair. Oh lord you have got to be kidding me. 

"Come on love, some of us want to get to our seats." A middle-aged man snaps, brushing me forwards with his hands.

"Alright, alright. I'm moving. Give me a second, jheeze," I stand in the aisle beside my seat, arms crossed waiting for this dickhead to stop faffing about so I can store my own luggage and sit. "Can you hurry up a bit please? There's a queue."

I wave my hand behind me to the increasingly impatient people milling about. He turns and flops into his seat, patting the one next to him.

"By all means, feel free to join me." He smirks, not moving as I shimmy past his legs, holding onto his shoulders to get by before I can flop down myself.

I don't know who this asshole is, but he's clearly no better than Daryl. Perhaps a relative. Either way, sitting next to him after almost dying when he collided with me is not going to be fun. This is going to be one long ass flight.

I need a fucking drink.