Page 12 of Fairy Cakes in Winter

I abandoned my suitcase and used both hands to cradle his face, tilting my chin to deepen the connection, and ever-so-sneakily pushed my tongue inside.

Theo dropped his bag and stood on tiptoes, wrapping his arms around my neck. I scooped him close to me and made a damn meal out of that kiss, twisting our tongues in an age-old dance as if he were mine and I had a right to do so.

I had no idea how long we stood there, making out like long-lost lovers, oblivious to the world. If oxygen wasn’t something humans needed, I could have stayed there for hours. But I eventually broke the kiss, caressing his jaw and threading my fingers through his golden locks.

“You’re hard to say good-bye to,” I rasped.

He wobbled slightly as he stepped aside. “You too. I should, um…use the restroom. Code.”

“All right. See you, Theo.”

“Okay. Code.”

I cocked my head. “Huh?”

“You know…” He narrowed his eyes but didn’t move otherwise. “Like a secret message. A code.”

“Code?” I repeated.

“Yes.” He winked as if he had a bug in his eye, then turned on his heels, leaving me staring after him with my mouth open.

Was that—

What was he—

Did he…want me to follow him?

I watched Theo walk to the restroom and study the WC sign overhead for a beat before glancing my way. And that was no ordinary glance. It was a “what are you waiting for?” or “let’s do something wild and crazy that might just get us arrested” look.

What the fuck?

Let’s be real, my wild and crazy days were long gone. I was a business owner and I fucking lived in this country. I couldn’t afford to be caught in a compromising position, but honestly, neither could Theo. The right thing to do would be to leave, go home, and close the door on this chapter.

But someone had to let him know not to be so damn trusting. There were crappy people in the world who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of his naïveté.

I squinted as I rubbed my beard, wrestling with my conscience. He might not be my responsibility, but I couldn’t leave him.

Not yet.

I let out a put-upon sigh and wheeled my suitcase toward the restroom.

I hoped like fuck to find him washing his hands at the sink like a Boy Scout. ’Cause if he was waiting for me with his sweats around his ankles in a bathroom stall…all bets were off.

2

Theo

OMG.

I did not just do that.

Except I think I did.

That was me, not so subtly suggesting that hunky beast of a man follow me into the men’s room to do—gah! What? Sex things?

I gaped at my reflection as I vigorously lathered soap between my palms. What was I thinking? The bumpy ride and lack of sleep had obviously rattled my brain. Or I’d taken my quest to be a braver me in the new year a notch too far. Poor Scott was probably wondering how I’d gone from being a mild-mannered albeit nervous airplane acquaintance friend to a propositioning floozy.

No doubt he’d shaken his head in confusion and left to catch his train by now. Which meant I’d missed an opportunity to say a proper good-bye and maybe exchange contact information. Of course, I would have felt pressured to add something cooler than my parents’ dogs to my social media feed and I didn’t do cool well, so…I supposed it was for the best.