Read Four Play: A Collection of Novellas Online
Authors: Amalie Silver
“I already got a text from Knox, Michael.” Robinson smirked just as the cab pulled up at the airport. “You’re in.”
A wave of euphoria rushed through me. At first I thought it was because I knew I’d gotten the job, but it was also because if I could find Lauren, we might just be able to make a long-distance relationship work. Seattle is a hell of a lot closer to Vancouver than Florida.
“I gotta go. I’ll see you inside. I’ll find you at our gate.”
Robinson nodded. “Good luck.”
I flew through the doors after checking in, and raced to the metal detectors. After a short delay, I ran to the first screen I could find, trying to figure out which flight Lauren would be on. I found the Vancouver destination and quickly scanned the line for her gate.
Finding the Vancouver flight abbreviation and time, I glanced at the clock on the wall.
Fifteen minutes to get across the airport. And she’s probably already boarded.
Fucking fantastic.
And so I ran.
I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could, gasping for air, sweating profusely, and dodging the masses by jumping over suitcases, only taking out one potted plant.
People gawked and stared—some of them frightened—and I just kept running.
I ran like the wind!
I laughed, thinking of the cliché.
Dammit. I
had
to get to her.
I turned the corner, breezing past the gate attendant.
But it was too late.
When I saw that the door had closed, I ran over to the window. I pounded on the glass, screaming Lauren’s name, but the only response I got was the attendant telling me to calm down or she’d have to call security.
That was it.
I’d lost her.
And I had no way of knowing who she was or where I could find her. I had no last name, no phone number, and no address.
All I had were the memories of a woman who I never thought could’ve existed.
I had time to think about the weekend, mulling over the what-ifs as I walked to the gate where a plane would take me away from that city. I knew Lauren was thinking about me at that moment, too, and the thought made me smile.
Vancouver was much closer to Seattle, and now that I knew I’d gotten the job, maybe the idea of seeing Lauren again someday wasn’t so impossible.
But perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. Only time would tell. The industry was small enough where there’d be a chance I might run into her again, in a city other than Seattle. A flutter of hope sparked in my chest at the thought.
The boys sat at our gate, but we wouldn’t be boarding for another hour. And with three anxious expressions staring back at me, I joined my friends at the chairs. But when they saw my head down and heard my exaggerated huff, they knew I hadn’t found her.
“It’s for the best, Mike,” Marty said.
“Maybe,” I said with a sigh. I watched the planes outside the window, some coming, some going, and wondered if anyone else was as remorseful about leaving as I was.
“Are you excited?” Robinson asked, changing the subject for my benefit.
“What is he talking about?” Duncan asked.
I shrugged. “I got the Bolten and Knox job.”
Duncan elbowed my arm. “Congratulations!”
“See?” Martin interjected. “You have things you need to do. A move to plan! Get that woman out of your head and focus on what’s important: your career.”
Martin was right. I’d already sacrificed the girl that weekend. Something good needed to come from it. And if I couldn’t have the woman of my dreams, maybe the position would lead me to the job of my dreams: a full-time novelist.
“You’ll remember the big things, Mike,” Robinson said, setting his hand on my shoulder. “But in six months’ time, you probably won’t remember the little ones. And if you never see her again, in two years you’ll probably even forget her name. It’s too fresh right now. The sting is too new. Just give it some time, and remember what I alluded to earlier: chalk this up to a lesson that prepares you for the one you keep for life.”
I slouched in my seat. “I don’t know if I could forget her. And yet I don’t know if I want to remember,” I whispered.
A year had passed. My job with Bolten and Knox continued, but unfortunately for Jack, they’d fired him six months earlier.
His novel tanked, as I’d secretly hoped it would, and last I’d heard from Marty was that he was back to square one with ideas of a new novel.
I‘d chosen to tighten up one of my mystery novels, and queried a few agencies. To my surprise, an agency called Glen & Glen responded, and they said they wanted to work with me on marketing my novel. I was ecstatic and living on cloud nine.
All except for one simple thing.
Regardless of what Robinson told me, I’d still remembered her name. I returned to the National Convention the next year, but I never did see her again. My memory of that weekend had already begun to fade, since I’d only known her for two short days. I could remember the color of her hair and the fact that we smiled constantly, but past that everything was hazy. And I thought of her every time I heard a cliché.
Maybe I hoped that it meant something to her, that
I
meant something to her. Maybe I hoped that she hadn’t found her Prince Charming and wasn’t on her way to bestselling glory. And maybe, just maybe, I hoped she’d return to me again.
It was for the best, I was certain. We weren’t meant to be, and so we weren’t. It was best I put that weekend in the back of my mind so it would lose its way forever. Because to be honest, I didn’t need the reminder that a woman like Lauren existed—and that I couldn’t have her.
So that’s what I’d have to do.
If I was lucky enough, I might find her again someday and we could start our love affair all over again. From scratch. We could relive all the same things we had in our weekend in Seattle.
Isn’t that what happens in all those romance novels? The hero gets the girl in the end?
To read
Word Play
, the continuation of Michael and Lauren’s story published in 2014, go here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LRZLLIC