“I’ve decided to stay for a while. The purpose of the trip was to see what my heritage was about, and we spent most of it working. Caryn said that the ticket can be converted for when I want to come home.”
“Does this have anything to do with a certain cute actor?” I asked.
“Some. I want to take some time getting to know him and see if there’s anything there. Please don’t tell my dad that,” she said, suddenly worried.
“I won’t lie for you, but if he or your uncle don’t ask, they won’t hear it from me,” I assured her.
◊◊◊
We survived the paparazzi gauntlet at the airport and were waiting for our flight when I received a call from Haru.
“I want to apologize for my boyfriend’s behavior. At first, he wanted to accuse you of assaulting him, but they caught what he said in playback. He confessed that he was jealous and tried to hurt you.”
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“For someone who lost a fight, he’s not too bad. He received a concussion, two black eyes, a broken nose, and a dislocated shoulder. Ricky always brags about how good he is at the dojo. I expect I won’t have to listen to that anymore,” Haru said.
“So, you and he are fine?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, I love him. If I didn’t, he would be hitting the curb as I kicked him to it, but I can’t see living without him.”
“Then, I can’t imagine why he would ever be jealous.”
“That is a topic we will be discussing for quite some time. I’m sorry Ricky acted like he did, and I hope you didn’t get hurt.”
“If he had followed through with his plans, I might never have played sports again. Tell him that if I ever see him again, I might do even worse,” I admitted.
She sighed.
“I really don’t know what to say. You helped the show and me so much. The guys all love you, and the director even admitted you weren’t too bad for an American. He didn’t understand how bad that sounded and said he is sorry if he offended you.
“They would all love for you to come back for a sequel,” she said hopefully.
“We’ll see. I honestly don’t know when I would have time to do it.”
She laughed.
“You did six episodes’ worth of scenes in two days. I’m sure they could get a full series shot if you came back for a week.”
“I was just a bit player in this one. If they could figure out a way to make it work, I might be able to do it,” I said.
“We’ll make sure Ricky is out of the country,” she said with a laugh.
I still wasn’t happy with him, so that might have to be a requirement. We said our goodbyes, and my plane was called.
◊◊◊
I was sitting next to Brook.
“So, you love me,” she began.
“I do.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“What do you want it to mean?”
“I’m not sure,” Brook admitted. “I have a feeling that if we become exclusive, things could get serious.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Are you ready for that?” she countered.
“I think I’m there. Tami did a number on me. I pushed it, and she wasn’t ready. To be honest, I probably wasn’t ready. I can’t say for sure if I’m ready now, either, but for you, I’d be willing to give it a shot. Over the last year, I’ve come to realize what a special woman you are. Then last night happened …”
“I had no idea it could be like that. You may very well have ruined me for other men,” Brook teased.
“You don’t think it was the same for me? Lord, woman. What we did makes me want to do it again as soon as possible. If we weren’t flying back tonight, I would have had you in bed by now.”
“I agree, but it can’t just be about sex. I hate to say it, but we may never be that good together again.”
“Don’t say that. I still have some tricks up my sleeve,” I said confidently.
“I’m sure you do, and I would love to see them all. Maybe I would surprise you, too.”
We snuggled up next to each other, deep in thought.
◊◊◊ Friday July 8 (again)
The flight attendant announced that it was Friday again. No, it wasn’t some kind of weird Groundhog Day. We’d flown over the International Date Line.
Brook woke up and looked up at me.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Every time I hear a woman say that, I know it can’t be good for me,” I said in mock seriousness.
“While I can see your point, I believe I know what I want to do with us.”
I waited for her to tell me. I guess she wasn’t used to Dawson men when confronted.
“Dork,” she said and shoved my shoulder. “You’re going to be gone most of the summer. If we’re going to do this, I don’t want to be sitting around at home while you travel the country and world. I want to start this with us both in the same town at the same time.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“There’s more.”
I sighed. There always was.
“You must realize I’ve become friends with Zoe and Halle. I want you to spend quality time with both of them. In the end, I’ll be fine if you pick one of them, as they would be for me. I want you to be sure when you choose,” she said.
“What about Pam?” I asked.
“Apparently she got her chance and turned it down,” Brook said, referring to the snap marriage proposal.
“And Beth?” I asked to cover all my bases.
“I know you care for each other, but frankly, I can’t imagine how that would work your senior year in high school. It would be the same issue I have with us over the next few weeks: she would never be able to see you. Think about it. What will you be doing on your weekends?” she asked.
“Mostly going on recruiting trips.”
“And I realize you could bring her, but this decision is too important for you to not be 100% focused, isn’t it? You need to find a place that can give you the education you deserve and prepare you for either the NFL or Major League Baseball,” she said.
“What about movies?” I asked.
“Find a place with a good theater department,” she said as if it were obvious.
I suddenly realized what a monumental decision I was facing. Brook was smart in pointing out that I needed to make this decision myself. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t get feedback and direction from people in my circles of trust, but it had to be my decision.
I smiled at her.
“You’re not just a pretty face.”
She got a glint in her eyes.
“Do we dare?” I asked.
“Follow me in a minute,” Brook said and left to use the bathroom.
I got up, and Cassidy grabbed my arm.
“You treat her right. She loves you.”
I squatted down so we were at eye level and leaned in and kissed Cassidy.
“I love her too.”
“Don’t make too much noise, people are trying to sleep.”
I heard some chuckles from other passengers. I guess we weren’t as stealthy as we thought we were.
Brook pulled me into the lavatory. There was hardly enough room for a guy my size to do his business, let alone have sex, in this cramped space. Fortunately, Brook had figured it out. She dropped her pants and put her hands on the wall over the toilet.
Now was not the time to mess around. I Freed Willy and just got busy. Sometimes you just needed fast and hard. We were almost there when someone knocked on the door.
“Others would like a turn,” came a female voice through the door.
We both laughed and finished what we were doing. It wasn’t the best sex, but it was fun. When I came out, the flight attendants were all standing there and smiling. I would bet we weren’t the first couple to grab a quick one on an international flight. We did the walk of shame back to our seats.
Thankfully, sex makes me sleepy, so I was out for the rest of the flight.
◊◊◊ Sunday July 10
Jet lag is a pain in the rear. It wasn’t nearly this bad flying west. It had taken me a full day to get over the worst of it. When I traveled to Japan, it had lingered until about Wednesday before I’d reset my internal clock. When I got home, I felt exhausted and irritable. They call it circadian rhythm, and it gets disrupted when you travel across multiple time zones. Your body clock, which is set by exposure to light, signals when it’s time to wake up and when it’s time to sleep. Saturday, I ran over to the Andersons’ and lay out to speed up getting back to normal. I couldn’t afford to have this mess me up for several more days.