Stay Beautiful (6 page)

“Should we do it? Return to reality and make the necessary
calls associated with that?”

She shrugged and attempted a smile that never succeeded
being anything but a frown. “I guess we don’t have a choice.”

Jonah’s phone was flooded with emails, text messages and
missed calls. Family, friends and his boss had tried to reach him. He stared at
his phone, unable to give a damn. He glanced at Violet who was doing the same.
With a sigh, Jonah placed a call to the airport.

“So? What’s the verdict?” Violet asked when they’d finally
each managed to get some answers. Several minutes on hold had done nothing to
lessen Jonah’s increasing anxiety.

“Tomorrow.” Jonah saw the anguish in her face. This
shouldn’t be so hard. “First thing in the morning. How about you?”

“Tonight.” Her voice was soft, almost inaudible. That one
word was like a knife in Jonah’s heart. “I fly out tonight, around seven. But I
have to be there early to deal with the airport chaos and security. You know
the drill.”

“Right.” He nodded, at a loss for words.

“Jonah…” She took the phone from his hand and set it aside.
Pulling him into her tight embrace, Violet pressed little kisses to his
forehead and temple. “We still have a few hours. Lay with me?”

He could deny her nothing. They buried themselves in the
large, fluffy blankets. Jonah was torn between wanting to make love to her
again and wanting to just hold her and talk. There was still so much he didn’t
know about her. So many things he wanted to ask. Even more that he wanted her
to know about him.

“I sleep with the radio on because I can’t stand the
silence,” Jonah blurted. “And I secretly watch romantic comedies but God forbid
I’d ever tell anyone.”

“Until now.” Violet laughed. “I’m honored you chose to share
that with me.”

Jonah buried his face in her neck and inhaled her sweet
scent. “I don’t know where that came from. I feel like I’m running out of time
and I want to share so much with you. Although maybe we should pretend I never
said that thing about the romantic comedies.”

“Sorry, no can do.” She ran a hand up his side, tickling him
playfully. He responded by tightening his arms around her. “Hey, I like to fall
asleep with the TV on for the same reason. The silence can be deafening.”

And it was. It descended between them like an unwelcome
guest. Jonah racked his brain for something to say to fill the void. He felt
like a dumbass for spitting out such random information as if it would mean
anything to her. The longer the silence lasted, the more comfortable it became.
He was content to listen to the sound of her breathing while he reveled in the
way she felt cuddled against him.

Violet broke the quiet first. “Would it be incredibly
inappropriate if I said I think I’m a little bit in love with you?”

Jonah let that sink in. Unexpected, yes. But not unwelcome.
He didn’t always handle the emotions of women as well as he’d like. Violet was
different. He didn’t group her with the rest.

“Is it crazy that I’m starting to think you’re the one? And
that life is punishing me for the sins of my past by dangling you in front of
me for just one night before it rips you out of my grasp forever?” A huge
pressure was lifted from him. If he never saw her again, he’d have no reason to
regret voicing his feelings.

“It doesn’t have to be forever.” Violet’s gaze locked on
his. “There is no reason that it has to end at today. Not if we don’t want it
to.”

“Lord knows I don’t want to let you walk out of my life so
soon. But I don’t want to risk what we have. It might be better left in this
room, where nothing can tarnish it but time.” Jonah resisted the urge to roll
his eyes in response to his own words. It wasn’t like him to be so sappy.

“How very poetic,” Violet teased, beaming a playful smile at
him. “But it’s also very true. I agree. There are always two sides to
everything, right? It’s up to us to choose. We can take a risk and find out
what might have been or we can walk away and live without ever knowing. Either
way, very dramatic and potentially life changing.”

Jonah couldn’t help but laugh at the melodramatic tone
Violet used. She was trying to lighten the moment. He knew that. It was working
for the most part.

“I think it’s already been life changing.” With a finger
beneath her chin, he kissed her. Her lips moved on his, a tender, delicate
touch. “Violet, you make me feel like I can do anything. Be anyone. I’d given
up on that way of thinking a long time ago.”

“Aw, Jonah.” She ran a hand through his hair affectionately.
“You’ve had an effect on me too. This was a wild adventure for me. My first
‘one-night stand’.” She did air quotes with her fingers and rolled her eyes.
“But you were a total gentleman and I won’t forget that.”

Jonah felt uneasy. He was conflicted with a storm of
emotions and thoughts that battered him. His instinct was to escape before they
could swallow him whole. If he didn’t, he may say or do something he could
never take back. He wasn’t sure he was ready for this. It felt like an
all-or-nothing kind of situation. It didn’t seem fair.

He kissed her again, this time with a passion that would not
be quelled. His tongue entangled with hers in a frenzied dance. He had to love
her just one more time.

* * * * *

Standing in the lobby with Violet and her bags, Jonah
couldn’t help but curse the elevator. Of all the times for it to stop, on their
way down to meet her cab would have been the most ideal. No such luck.

“Are you sure you have everything?” he asked for no other
reason than he didn’t know what else to say.

“Yes. I’m sure.” She beamed up at him, a blush coloring her
cheeks. “Thanks again, Jonah. It was nice. Really nice.”

“So I guess this is where we say we’ll never forget each
other.” He smiled and pulled her into his arms. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to
let go.

A taxi pulled to a stop outside and Jonah’s pulse raced. He
breathed a sigh of relief when a family waiting nearby claimed it as theirs. It
didn’t sit well with him that he was feeling so uptight over Violet’s
departure. An evening with a bottle of whiskey might help with that.

“I won’t forget you.” She seemed to be having a hard time
meeting his eyes. “Look, I know we figured it was better to just say goodbye
and leave it that way. But if you ever find yourself in Vancouver, look me up.
Okay?”

“Without a doubt.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead,
lingering so that he could smell her hair. “Now you’ll have me inventing a
reason to visit Vancouver.”

“I wish you would.” She laughed but it lacked humor. Violet
clutched his hand tightly, almost painfully.

“As long as you’re there, I have a reason. Work is tight but
as soon as I can get away…” He was afraid to make any promises he wouldn’t be
able to keep.

She nodded but her expression was absent of any emotion.
“Right. Look, I can’t do this. I suck at goodbyes and I just can’t let myself
walk out of here without knowing you have a way to reach me. So here.” Violet
pulled a folded slip of paper from her coat pocket and pressed it into his
hand. “I don’t expect you to call. I agree that it’s best if we don’t. Let’s
just say it’s in case of emergency or something… Throw it away if you want to.
After I leave, of course.”

Jonah’s mouth went dry. He turned the piece of paper over in
his hand. A sense of relief settled in. Though he may never even unfold it,
that paper was priceless.

“I’m not going to throw it away. Don’t be crazy.”

“Oh, that’s me.” She gestured to the taxi that pulled to a
stop outside.

“Let me help you.”

Together they wrestled her things out to the car. Jonah
piled the bags into the trunk while combating a serious case of nerves. He
slammed the trunk shut and hugged her to him with the desperate embrace of a
man in turmoil. The heat of her lips against his ear as she clung to him was
like a punch in Jonah’s stomach.

“When you get home, I want you to draw something, anything.
Just for me. Even if I never see it.” She pulled back to fix him with a serious
stare. “Promise me.”

Jonah’s thoughts strayed to the picture upstairs in his bag,
the one he’d drawn while she slept. He smiled. “I promise.” He ignored the
impatient look the cab driver shot him in the side mirror. “Take care of
yourself, Violet. I’m honored to have been a part of your life, even if only
for a night.”

“This is turning out to be harder than I thought.” She
forced a laugh but it sounded as fake as it was. “I’m going to get going before
this guy drives away with all my stuff in his car.” With a heartbreaking sigh,
Violet kissed him and it felt like goodbye. “You have beauty inside of you,
Jonah. Let it out.”

She never let him get another word out. Jonah watched as
Violet quickly got into the back of the taxi. It stung but he knew it was best
if she made a fast getaway. Rather than watch the car drive off, he hurried
back into the hotel and straight for the elevator. No looking back. One night
with the woman and his world had turned upside down. Between the lack of sleep
and the strange rollercoaster of thought and feeling, Jonah felt as if he’d
taken a beating.

Returning to the room didn’t help. Her scent lingered.
Evidence of their brief affair was everywhere. The bed remained a mess of
blankets and sheets. The unopened liquor bottles from their drinking game were
still piled beside the bed where he’d shoved them. The afternoon sun attempted
to shine through the cloud cover outside the window and Jonah felt betrayed by
the lack of snowfall.

He had never fallen for a woman as fast and as easily as
he’d fallen for Violet. Without unfolding it, he stuck the paper with her
number on it into his wallet. Maybe he would consider calling her after some
time had passed. Or maybe not.

Jonah sat heavily on the end of the bed. Against his better
judgment he dug the drawing of Violet out of his suitcase. Perhaps one night
was all some people ever knew of love. Was it better than never having that one
night at all? Jonah had no answer for that.

The chaotic atmosphere inside the airport quickly got to
Violet. It seemed to suck the energy from her as she struggled through the
throngs of people with her things. She still had some time to pass before
checking her baggage and heading to security. Casting a desperate glance
around, she spied a spot on a nearby bench.

“Oh thank God,” she muttered beneath her breath.

Violet all but fell onto the bench. She hadn’t brought that
many things. The insanity of the airport seemed to make carting her bags around
twice as awkward. The lack of sleep and emotional upheaval didn’t help.

She flashed an apologetic smile at the woman she had
squeezed in beside. Once settled, she checked her phone. One email from her
sister gushing about the honeymoon. With picture attachments.
Nothing like a
little salt in the wound.

She was happy for Jen, really. Happily ever after just
wasn’t something she wanted to think about right now. Tapping her foot
impatiently, Violet watched the minutes tick by on her phone. An attempt at
surfing the web and playing a game for distraction fell flat. Her mind was
preoccupied.

There was a lot of activity surrounding her. People seemed
to share the general irritation and impatience that she too felt. She couldn’t
complain though. It was evident with a good look around that some people had
been stuck sleeping there due to the flight cancellations. She had to be
grateful. She’d been in Jonah’s arms.

Was it possible to miss him already? It was a one-night
stand. As much as she’d said that to herself in the taxi, it didn’t shake the
feeling that they’d formed a genuine connection. It was certainly bittersweet.

Sitting there grew increasingly difficult. She began to
fidget with the strap on her purse. She turned to her phone again, seeking
numbness in technology. It was useless. The urge to get up and pace was
overwhelming. She just couldn’t sit still.

After receiving a dirty look from her bench mate, Violet
decided to head over to the baggage claim. Maybe if she ambled along it would
be almost boarding time when she was done. Time seemed intent on driving her
mad. It was insistent on dragging when all she wanted to do was get in the air
before she did something stupid. Like ditch her flight and head back to the
hotel.

Violet made her way through the people, trying to keep a
leisurely pace. It was difficult with everyone else rushing about madly.
Rushing along with them wouldn’t get her plane off the ground any faster.

Pulling two suitcases along behind her, she struggled to get
her purse and shoulder bag to stop sliding down her arm. One suitcase hit the
back of her heel and she stumbled. Both the purse and shoulder bag hit the
floor and Violet watched with dismay as the contents of her purse spilled out.

“Son of a bitch!”

With an exasperated sigh that ended in another curse, she
began to gather her things. She never saw him coming. Someone stopped to help,
bending to scoop up her phone and keys.

“I gotta say, I thought you’d be harder to find.”

Looking up into Jonah’s enchanting eyes, Violet was stunned.
Was this for real? Or had she fallen asleep on the bench and this was some kind
of cruel dream?

“What are you doing here?”

Jonah caught her up in a hungry kiss and she almost dropped
her bags again. It was surreal and unexpected but she’d never felt such raw
passion and joy. She was oblivious to any stares they got from passersby.
Violet fell completely into him.

“There was something I wanted you to have.” Reaching into a
jacket pocket, Jonah produced a folded piece of notepad paper. “Don’t look at
it until you get on the plane.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see.” Leaning his forehead against hers, Jonah
clasped her hand in his. “I don’t know how I’m going to sleep in that bed
tonight without you. I can smell you everywhere.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

He pressed a tender kiss to her temple and sighed. “Hell,
no.”

They stood together, content to remain steadfast as the
human traffic flowed around them. She wanted to drag out every last moment.

“I can’t believe you came all the way here.” With a laugh
she kissed him, unwilling to allow the moment to end. “You’re crazy.”

“I thought we already established that this was a crazy
situation. Why even question it? And while we’re on the topic of crazy, allow
me to take it to the next level.” He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze
directly. “We don’t want to do the long-distance thing. That blows. So let’s
just agree here and now to see each other again. We pick a date and we be here.
Just like that.”

Violet didn’t need to think twice about that. Everything in
her cried yes. “What date? Just something at random? How far ahead are you
talking?”

“What about this spring? March 25
^th
?”

Excitement bubbled up until Violet was almost bursting with
it. “Seriously? You want to do this? Just pick a date and see if the other
shows up? What if you don’t come?”

“Nothing aside from death will keep me from showing up. I
put my number on that paper. So you have mine too. If I can’t come for any
reason, I’ll call. You do the same. Otherwise, I’ll see you March 25
^th
?”

She knew it was spontaneous and poorly thought out but she
didn’t give a damn. Staring into Jonah’s expectant expression, she knew she’d
never be able to say no and live with herself.

“I’ll be here. And this is more than a little crazy so you
better not stand me up.”

“Never. We can meet at the hotel.”

“Shit!” Violet felt a sense of dread when the alarm on her
phone went off, indicating it was time to check her bags and head to security.
“I have to go. I can’t believe you’re going to make me say goodbye again.”

Jonah relieved her of the two suitcases and fell into step
beside her. “You didn’t really say it the first time.”

As they approached the baggage area, Violet felt that same
sense of dread at having to leave him. This time, it wasn’t quite so heavy. The
man had come to the airport to hunt her down so they could arrange to meet
again. Whatever this was, it wasn’t just a one-night fling anymore. And it was
bigger than both of them. She could feel it.

“Here we go. Again.” She beamed at him, almost unable to
contain the giddy school girl shrieking with glee inside her. “Goodbye, Jonah.
I look forward to next time.”

“Until we meet again. And all that jazz.” Jonah caught her
up in a tender embrace and kissed her like a drowning man getting that first
vital breath of air.

It left her almost dizzy. Violet had to steady herself. “You
make it hard for a girl to say goodbye.”

Jonah reached to caress her cheek, his hand lingering. She
leaned into it, knowing the heat from his touch wouldn’t last nearly long
enough. “Stay beautiful, Violet.”

Slowly, he began to back away. She waved, watching him go.
Dealing with security and finally boarding the plane was all a matter of going
through the motions. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She had little desire to
interact with anyone else, engaging only as much as she had to.

Once settled in her seat, Violet stared out the window,
clutching her purse tightly. The paper Jonah had given her was inside. She
didn’t want to look at it until the plane was moving for fear that whatever was
on it would make her want to get off the plane. It was agony waiting until the
plane launched into motion. Her fingers fumbled with the edges of the page as
she unfolded it.

Her breath caught as she looked at the sketch. He’d drawn
her while she was asleep. And he’d done an amazing job. Jonah truly had a gift
and he’d shared it with her. It meant more than he would ever know.

Violet stared at the picture for a long time. Every stroke
of the pen over each tendril of hair, the way he’d captured the curve of each
eyelash, it was uncanny. It made her feel close to him, as if she held a piece
of his soul in her hands. Leaving him hurt. Returning would be worth it.

The End