Part 30
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are making our final approach and we will be landing at LAX shortly. Thank you for flying with American Airlines and enjoy your stay in Los Angeles.”
This was it! She was about to step off the plane into a whole new world and she was extremely nervous. Growing up, Chelsea had been accustomed to the frequent moving because of her father’s career but there had always been a certain level of familiarity no matter what base or what country they were in. There was always a school full of other military ‘brats’ like herself so she never faced the ‘new’ kid problems. The housing was usually the same and of course, she always had her family, which included Monique. The only familiarity Chelsea had now was Annie and Kevin and Kevin was a whole other issue. She had so many ‘what ifs’ bouncing around…what if things fell apart with AJ?....what if Annie didn’t like her school?....What if….
A gentle squeeze of her hand interrupted her thoughts and she looked up into AJ’s warm, brown eyes. God, those eyes!! Kevin had teased her about being a sucker for eyes and he was right. The minute he’d looked into her eyes, she’d fallen for him. She’d always adored the ‘bad boy’ image but face to face, looking into his eyes, she saw the warm, caring man he truly was.
“What are you thinking about, ‘Beautiful’?”
“Everything! I’m
scared, Alex. What if things don’t work for us? What if Annie….”
AJ silenced her with a kiss. “We’re going to take it one day at a time, baby…just like I do with my sobriety. Today we get you settled into our place.”
“But….”
“No ‘buts’.”
”What about Annie?”
“We’ll swing by
Kevin’s to see her first but let her stay with Kevin until we know what the
doctor is going to do about your ankle.”
“Are you sure you want us living with you?”
“I’m positive, my beautiful woman,” purred AJ as he leaned to her claiming her mouth in a passionate kiss. His tongue swept in to taste her as his free hand reached to pull her close, his fingers tangling in her hair. Pulling back, he said, “I wanna be able to do that whenever the urge strikes and I don’t want to have to drive across town to do it.”
Chelsea put her hand on the side of his face. “I tried so hard to not fall in love again after Kevin but you came along and stole my heart. You’ve been so amazing from the very first time we met and as nervous as I am about starting over, I’m glad that I have you with me.”
They felt the plane touch down and AJ said, “I’m glad you’re with me too.”
The two continued to talk as the plane slowed and then started making its way to the gate until a soft voice interrupted, “Mr. McLean, do you need a wheelchair for your lady friend?”
AJ looked at Chelsea, “Well?”
Looking up at the stewardess, Chelsea said, “I’ll be okay with my crutches but thank you anyway.”
“No problem. As soon as we come to a complete stop, you may get your things and you’ll be allowed to disembark first.”
“Thank you.” Alone again, AJ gave Chelsea a quick kiss. “Ready, ‘Beautiful’?”
“I think so.”
As soon as the plane came to a stop, AJ stood and handed Chelsea her crutches then got their carry-on bags out. Allowing her to go first, AJ followed Chelsea out of the plane and down the long corridor that was leading them to a new life…together.
