The night seems to stay young, time moving slowly so we can spend it talking, laughing, touching. We finally close our eyes as the sky turns pink, the promise of sunshine imminent. My alarm goes off in the late morning, and Cal orders lunch in while I pack. We take one last shower together, staying in there so long that our lunch gets cold from being untouched. Once we get out, we eat in compatible silence, making small talk here and there. I leave him at the table once I am done to finish getting ready. Layla and Sean slept in my old room in order to give Cal and I privacy, so I text her to let her know Cal will be escorting us to the airport, and we’ll pick her up at the front of the hotel. I zip up my suitcase, take one last look around and leave the room. I enter the living room and come up short by the presence of a young woman sitting at the table, shuffling through some papers. She looks up and smiles at me.

“Hi, you must be Jenna. I am Valerie, Cal’s assistant.” She stands up to walk around the table to shake my hand. She is beautiful, with her blonde hair curled past her shoulders, brown eyes that are accentuated by perfectly applied makeup, and a friendly smile. “Cal has told me so many lovely things about you that I am sorry we won’t be getting a chance to hang out together.”

“He has said some wonderful things about you as well.” I shake her hand back, trying to squash the tiny hint of jealousy I feel towards her.

Cal and Sean enter the room, and Sean engulfs me in a hug. “I truly hope to see you again, Jenna. Thanks to you and Layla for the fun times.” He slaps Cal on the back and walks to his bedroom.

Cal tells Valerie he’ll be back, grabs my hand, and takes my luggage with his other. I wave goodbye to her and we depart.

We get into the awaiting car and pick up Layla at the front of the hotel. Our short car ride to the airport is filled with her enthusiastic chatter, telling us how her, Sean and the rest of the guys ended up the pub, where Sean taught the whole bar how to sing Irish folk songs. “I had so much fun last night! Good thing I wasn’t left alone, who knows what kind of trouble I could have gotten into.” She gives me a look, and I blush.

“Thank you for letting me intrude on your girls’ weekend.” Cal squeezes my hand as he talks to Layla.

“You can intrude any time if it always makes her look this damn happy.” They both laugh as my face gets red from the attention.

“Layla, do you mind if I have a couple of minutes alone with Jenna?” Cal asks, as we pull up to the curb for departures. She looks at her watch, nods her head, and exits the vehicle.

I turn to Cal, swallowing the lump that has now formed in my throat. “Thank you so much for an incredible week.”

“This doesn’t have to be the end, Jenna. Stop being stubborn and give me your phone number.”

“Cal...”

“Friends have each other’s phone numbers. Why can’t we?”

I bite my lip, trying to grasp for any excuse, but have none. How can you just be friends with someone after the type of week we had? I can’t be a casual friend with Cal. I don’t want to be just friends. I want more, and the reality of that is unrealistic. When I give someone my phone number, I expect them to call. I don’t want to feel the disappointment of knowing he has it and doesn’t call. I don’t need the emotions that come with empty promises.

“You are going to be busy with the movie, traveling to different countries, and I am busy with my career. I think it would be best if we just leave things as is.”

“Best for whom?” He pushes a strand of my hair behind my ears and kisses me softly on the cheek.

“Best for me,” I whisper, as he claims my lips in a hungry kiss. He has the ability to make everything around me cease to exist as I kiss him back, matching each thrust of his tongue with my own. Our kiss is about to take its usual heated turn, but the knock on the window from Layla pulls us out of our inferno.

“Email,” I say, trying to catching my breath. “I’ll give you my personal email. Let’s start with that.”

“I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.” I pull a piece of paper out of my purse and write down my email address for him. He, in turn, hands me a card with his cell phone. “Please call me when the emails start to not be enough for you.”

He opens the doors, steps out, and reaches for my hand to help me. He gives Layla a hug goodbye before turning and pulling me into his arms. I squeeze him tightly before I pull back and look into his eyes, willing my brain to memorize every single detail of his handsome face.

“Stop looking at me as if this is a final goodbye, Jenna, because it’s far from it. Don’t give up on me.” He kisses me one last time before releasing me. “You’ll have an email by the time you land. I’ll see you later.” He winks at me, waves at Layla and gets back in the car. I walk with Layla into the airport, my brain telling my heart to ignore the hope he has ignited in it.

* * *

As we settle into our cruising altitude of 39,000 feet back to Chicago, I can’t seem to keep quiet my sigh of contentment as I relax into my seat and reflect on what an amazing week it has been. Professionally, attending this conference will help launch my brand on a wider national level. I’ve already been invited to speak at three more conferences, and one of the local Chicago news stations called Robert, requesting a meeting to discuss a possible monthly segment on themed party ideas. This could really catapult my business in the local area with higher-end clients. So energized am I by the new possibilities, I grab my notepad from the seat pocket, and start writing down party ideas I think viewers would be interested in.

“I need you to stop what you are doing and talk to me about this weekend, sister to sister.” I turn to look at Layla, expecting her to have her usual shit-eating grin on her face, but am surprised by her serious expression.

“Okay…what’s going on?” I put my pen down to give her my undivided attention.

“I want to know what’s going on in that brain of yours. You haven’t said a word about what you’re feelings regarding Cal.”

I shrug, momentarily lost for words regarding my emotions. “Honestly, I don’t know what to feel about it. I feel it needs to be left as it is - two grown adults, who are attracted to each other, chose to act on it and that’s it.”

“Bullshit, Jenna. Don’t hide what you’re feeling from me!” Anger sparks in her beautiful blue eyes, and I can’t help but smile at how lucky I am to have her as my best friend. I look around to make sure none of the other passengers are looking at us before responding to her.

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell you everything, but you can’t interrupt me and must wait to speak until I’m done. Deal?” She nods in agreement right away, her eyes now beaming with anticipation.

“You, out of everyone, know how my divorce wrecked me. I thought I found the perfect person for me. Turns out, he wasn’t. I have come to terms with that, and am trying to work on how it has changed me - how the bitterness and skepticism are now more present in my thoughts on life. Trust me when I say, it definitely isn’t how I used to feel. It’s not that I want to be alone - I just don’t want to feel broken again.”

“But this week, I met someone who made me come back alive. He completely consumed me, and I didn’t want to fight it. I wanted him to overwhelm me because it felt so… amazing! He made me feel special. He made me feel beautiful. He made me feel worthy! He made the outside world disappear when he looked at me. And the realism of it all scares me. How does a person I just meet evict these kind of emotions out of me? Is it real or am I feeling this way because I am lonely?” I shake my head with a sad smile.

“While most of the time it was easy to forget who Cal is, the fact remains that he’s an actor, going up the roller coaster ride of his career. We live in different countries. He travels all the time. His life, and whom he is with, will always be public scrutiny. We couldn’t be more polar opposites with our own life trajectories. I don’t know why he chose me to spend this week with.” I hold up my hand to shush her interrupting reasons as to why he did. “But I have zero regrets about this week. If anything, I believe he was meant to help me feel again. And I will forever be grateful for that.”

“But Jenna, what if you two continue corresponding, and he wants more?”

“I can’t think about the what ifs, Layla. I can’t start to worry about whether he emails me or not. Because if I do, it’ll distract me. If I’m being honest with myself, based on how he made me feel, it would probably derail me. He’s a distraction that I can’t handle, so I won’t let myself whimsically daydream of a fictitious life with Cal Harrington. He’s a complete fantasy. I need to live in the present and the present is me and my career.”

She studies me and slowly nods her head. “I completely understand and probably would be thinking the same way.” I nod my head, not telling her that I regret giving him my email address. “Will you at least start dating again now?”

“Like I said before, I will if you will.” I smile with questioning eyes at her.

“I don’t know if I am ready,” she whispers, her watery eyes giving away her fears from her past experience with love.

“We don’t have to actively try, we can just be more open to it.” I give her hand a squeeze of encouragement.

“Yeah…I like that idea.” She slowly smiles as she thinks about it and squeezes my hand back with affirmation.

“I love you for loving me. Thank you for being such an amazing friend.” I lean over and hug her with all the strength I have.

“Right back at you. Now let’s get working together on creating some fabulous party ideas for you!” I laugh at her enthusiasm and we start brainstorming.

Five hours later, I unlock the door to my apartment and breathe a sigh of relief to be home. I leave my luggage by the door and sit for a moment on my couch. I have a spectacular view of Lake Michigan, courtesy of my Nana, who left me this amazing piece of real estate when she passed. She bought this place in 1976, which is located in a high rise overlooking Lake Michigan. She was astute enough to pay it off and now if I wanted to sell it, I would make at least ten times the amount she paid for it or more. I can never see myself selling it. Not only because of the sentimental value that it was hers, but also because it’s the perfect fit for me and where I need to be in the city.

I was exhausted when we landed, but now I sit with adrenaline pumping, my body still on Las Vegas time. The internal debate with myself starts on whether or not I should check my personal email, as I think about Cal and what he’s doing right now. This is exactly why I didn’t want to keep in contact with him. I should be going to sleep, not missing him and his touch as much as I do. With a frustrated groan at my lack of willpower, I give in and check my email. To my surprise, I find three emails from him.

I can’t help the giggle that escapes me from him last email. Of course I want too, but I can’t. Should I even bother emailing him back? It would be very rude of me not too. I ignore the warning signals my head is sending to my heart and email him.

I smile an evil smile as I hit send and get up to go get ready for bed, my heart beating with excitement at the anticipation of his response. Already I am falling down the rabbit hole of distraction.