She should've been in shock and horror but she wasn't. There it was, it bright green lettering for all to see – CANCELED.
Sydney spent the time wondering if canceled was misspelled. She'd always spelled it with two L's. It looked so funny with just one. Hearing the moans and groans of those around her, understandably upset about their canceled flights and missed connections, made thankful for her quirky sense of humor. It was the only thing that kept her sane during the middle of a snowstorm.
A snowstorm in Chicago and she was stuck at O'Hare out of all places. She couldn't understand at the time she traveled why it was rated one of the worst airports but now she clearly understood. That meant she wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon, or even that day. Sydney once again praised the Lord for giving her some common sense; packing her new Nikes. They were about to get a good workout.
Something told her that she should've stayed an extra day in her hotel room and she wished she did. When Sydney called the hotel to book a room, it was booked to capacity. She just barely left and already, there weren't any rooms. In fact, there weren't any rooms in any hotel.
It meant she needed to find a comfortable spot and get cozy at the airport. It was going to be a long night.
Of course it is.
Dean stared up at the monitor and saw his flight back to L.A. was canceled. Not postponed. Not delayed. Canceled. He was officially snowed in and there was no telling when any flights were getting up off the ground. He let out a heavy sigh and looked around him. Many people have predicted the canceled flight and headed out to the nearest hotel to sleep. Others got comfortable on the floor and created their own camps.
Dean got on the phone with his agent. "I'm snowed in and stuck at the airport."
"I told you flying to Chicago during a snowstorm wasn't smart, playa." John Layfield replied over the phone. He was a tall and muscular, clean-shaven man and had a constant smug look on his face that screamed, 'Try me if you dare.' He was smug for a good reason – his firm alone was responsible for the hefty contracts many athletes signed, taking them from ghettos to Lambos almost instantly. He was also responsible for Dean's very hefty and unprecedented contract as well. "Don't worry, I got you covered. You have a room booked at the Omni for the next three days. Just head over to the hotel and check in. I already told your coach you wouldn't be back until the end of the week."
"Thanks, J." Dean sighed. "I owe you one."
"Just become the leading scorer again and we'll break even." John replied. "I'll call you later, kiddo."
Dean picked up his luggage and was grateful he only had the carry-on. He hailed a taxi and promptly went to the Omni.
He had to spend a few more days in Chicago. It wasn't ideal but it could be worse; he could've been stuck at the airport.
Her dogs were barking. Screaming at her!
Sydney barely made it to the Omni hotel after two unsuccessful attempts to get a room at other neighboring hotels. Just her luck, every single room was booked and she was going to try the Omni in a final effort. It was beyond her budget and she honestly didn't know how she would be able to afford a room but she would worry about that later. Maybe she could charm the front desk crew into giving her into a discount.
When she entered the lobby of the Omni, Sydney already knew what the answer was going to be. She saw families pick up their bags and turn away with thick smear of disgust on the parents' faces. She heard a few parents mutter something along the lines of ridiculous and too expensive and airport floor is cheaper.
She really didn't need to hear all of that.
"Hello Miss," the front desk attendant greeted Sydney, "how may I help you today?"
"I need a hotel room for the night," Sydney paused and looked behind her at the streaming sheet of white pouring down, "maybe a few days."
"Well, we have our suites left." The attendant mentioned. "How many nights would you like?"
"I guess three." Sydney mentioned. "How much would that be?"
"Just one moment," The attendant pressed a few buttons in the computer. "That'll be 1100 dollars."
Sydney hated the fact that she never cleaned her ears that well. She truly hated gunk in the middle of her ears and she figured that had to be reason she misheard the astronomical price tag. "Come again? I thought you said 1100 dollars."
"That's correct," The attendant nodded, "how do you want to pay?"
"Um, let me get back to you on that." Sydney gave a polite smile and picked up her luggage. Muttering a rapid-fire explosion of profanities under her breath, she walked into the middle of the lobby. She had very little money, every reasonable hotel was booked, and the only available hotel had a price she couldn't even fathom to afford.
"I guess I will get comfortable at the lovely O'Hare…"
She began to walk again and ran into a brick wall of a man, knocking her clear off her feet. Sydney felt lucky the Omni had nice polished floors that somehow softened the hard blow she felt on her ass.
"I'm sorry, Miss. Are you okay?" The man helped Sydney stand up.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She rubbed her behind and tried to gather her belongings. "My big butt softened the blow."
The man smiled. "It's not too big." He noticed Sydney's sharp stare at him and immediately noticed his mistake. "I meant it's pretty small for your size." Sydney's eyes grew sharper. "I meant…shit…hi, I'm Dean." He held out his hand.
"I'm Sydney." She shook his hand. "Thank you for the compliment?"
"I thought you were calling yourself fat and I was trying to tell you you're not and it just went downhill so whatever." He offered a smile. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Dean's smile was charming and Sydney noticed it matched the glitter in his eyes. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"If you're not busy, I would like to buy you a drink at the bar. That is, if you drink?" He offered. "Just another way of saying I'm sorry."
"Another way of saying you're sorry or you're making a move on me?" She asked.
"Both," He was honest. "You're pretty and I want to buy you a drink." He held out an arm. "Shall we?"
Sydney interlocked her arm with Dean. With the day she was having, a drink definitely wouldn't hurt. "We shall."