Page 4 of One Little Kiss

Walking down the ramp, thunder claps above. It’s loud enough to make the enclosure shake, and Jerry trip over his suitcase. He goes down with a heavy thud.

“Karma, Jerry, that’s what that was,” I glower as I step over and around him on my way to find another damn beer.

Pushing through the crowd, I catch the grumbling of unhappy passengers.

“Flight’s canceled.”

“Delay.”

“No idea when we’ll get out of here.”

Stepping to the side, I search the screens overhead for my connecting flight, only to see the word delayed in red down the right side of every monitor.

“They’ve grounded all flights until the storm passes,” someone says to my left.

“Wonderful.” Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and pull out my phone. It’s already late. There’s no way I’m getting out tonight.

“Hey, Halt,” I sigh when he answers on the second ring.

He chuckles. “How was your flight?”

“The plane almost got hit by lightning. Twice.” I don’t know if that’s actually true, but it sure as shit felt that way.

“Christ. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but they grounded flights for a while. I need to check, but with the number of people milling about, I’m going to guess I won’t get there until tomorrow.”

“That sucks. Glad you’re safe, though. What do you need?” I know he means well, but it’s another example of my family thinking I’m incompetent.

“Nothing, just letting you know. I’ll book a room for the night.”

“I’ll tell everyone else. Be safe and make sure you call when you get your new flight time. I’ll send someone to get you at the airport.”

“Thanks.”

“You got it. See you tomorrow, brother.”

“Yup. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He hangs up, and I move to the far wall out of people’s way so I can check my phone without blocking traffic.

It doesn’t take long. Flights are delayed, and so far, none of them are taking off tonight, so I text my friend, Lochlan. He has hotels all over the world. He can set me up somewhere for the night.

Colton: Hey. I’m stuck in Miami for the night. What are my choices for a place to stay?

Lochlan: Damn, mate. I was just there two days ago. We need to get our schedules synced.

Lochlan: I’ve got two hotels downtown. One at the beach. Any preference?

Colton: Nah, whatever you’ve got. Thanks.

Lochlan: My assistant, Jennifer, will send you confirmation in a few. It’s all electronic now, so she’ll also send a key code for your door.

Colton: Another new assistant, Loch?

Lochlan: Don’t start. Not all of us have in-laws to hire. Expect it soon.