Read my Lips
Chapter 40
Spencer ran until his lungs felt like they were going to explode. And then he ran some more. He gasped for breath as he slowed down just long enough to scan the gate numbers on the large blue screens under the sign that read DEPARTURES. Eliana's flight to Marrakesh was departing from gate B14. Thankfully, the gate was in the main terminal. But it was still far away, past another wing and down at the very end of a long, crowded corridor.
Spencer ignored the burn in his thighs as he skirted around a group of airport patrons. A portly old man hollered a few choice words at him after Spencer knocked into his suitcase and sent it rolling across the walkway. Having no breath for an apology, Spencer ignored him and kept running. His tie was flung back over his shoulder, flopping against his neck as he ran. It seemed to take forever for him to get past each gate. Eliana's was at the far end of the terminal. By the time Spencer reached it, the boarding door was being pulled shut.
"Open that back up!," Spencer hollered with the last bit of air in his lungs. His forceful tone startled the airport employee. She jolted, turning to face him with an irritated expression on her face. "I've got to get on that plane," he added between hard gasps of air.
"I'm sorry sir," the woman replied, using a tone that indicated she actually wasn't sorry at all. "You'll have to rebook your flight. Boarding is already complete."
"No!" Spencer cried out, bolting towards the giant windows and confirming with his own eyes that the woman was correct. The boarding dock was disengaged. The plane doors were shut. And the plane itself was slowly beginning to move. Spencer turned back towards the disgruntled stewardess. "You've got to bring that plane back here! This is an emergency!"
"Sir, I'm going to need you to calm down," the woman countered. "Before I have to call airport security."
Spencer whipped his badge out of his pocket, holding it up for the woman to see. "Go ahead and call TSA," he told her, slapping his other hand down against the counter of the little desk she was now standing behind. "I'm with the FBI," he told her. "...and I need that plane back here. Right now!"
A moment before, the woman was sure that Spencer was just another obnoxious entitled passenger. But seeing him display his badge confused and confounded her. She stuttered and stammered for a moment, picking up the phone she was planning to use to call security on Spencer and then placing it back in its cradle.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said, only sounding slightly more sincere than she had the first time she apologized. "I have no authority to bring a plane back."
"Get someone on the phone that does," Spencer suggested. He gripped the edge of the counter with his hand, feeling his panic rising as watched Eliana's plane move further and further away from the gate. The woman reached for the phone and began frantically dialing. But Spencer could tell it was already too late. He moved away from the check in area and towards the window. The plane was rolling out towards the tarmac. By the time that woman got anyone with authority on the phone, Eliana would be long gone.
Spencer lifted his hands and started pounding on the thick reinforced glass. He knew she couldn't hear him. But he screamed Eliana's name anyway. Finally he crouched down in defeat, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. Spencer tried telling himself that he could still find her. He could go to Morocco. He had two international passports. But watching Eliana fly away left him with a horrible feeling of despair. He felt defeated. He was running on very little sleep. His emotions were all over the place. And he very quickly switched gears from being desperate to see her to believing that he deserved the heartbreaking pain in the center of his chest. Eliana deserved better than the way he treated her in the hospital. She deserved better than him.
Spencer scrubbed his face with his hands. He forced himself to stand back up. After resting his head against the cold glass window for a moment, he moved back over to the check in area and apologized to the airport employee he screamed at. She was not to blame for any of this. The poor woman was just doing her job and minding her own business when he showed up.
Spencer let out a heavy sigh. There was nothing to do now but turn around and go home. So Spencer turned around and prepared to trudge his way back towards the car. He was staring down at his scuffed converse sneakers. He told himself not to glance towards the window again. He didn't want to see Eliana's plane actually take off. But he was unable to stop himself from taking one more look.
Spencer's body went stiff. His lips parted and his large hazel eyes widened. For a moment, he was sure he was seeing things. Because there, in front of the window, was Eliana. She was dressed in jeans and one of the long soft sweaters she favored. Her dark hair was pushed back over her shoulders. But a few tendrils hung loose around her face. Light from the window was flooding in behind her, making her look like the sun was shining just for her.
"Eliana." Spencer breathed her name. "You didn't get on the plane?," he asked, taking a tentative step in her direction.
"Oh, I got on the plane," she corrected. "Then I got kicked off the plane. There was suddenly some sort of computer error with my ticket." Eliana crossed her arms under her breasts, favoring Spencer with a look that was somewhere between irritation and total infatuation. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with that…"
Spencer didn't have anything to do with it. But he was quite sure he knew who did. And he owed her a week's worth of herbal tea and a new stress ball.
The shock of seeing Eliana standing there wore off as quickly as it came on. Spencer bolted towards her with so much force that she danced back a few steps to keep from being completely bowled over. His knees scuffed against the cheap airport carpet as he knelt down in front of her. He felt absolutely no shame for what he did next, which was to reach for Eliana's hands and start full-on begging for her forgiveness.
"I'm so sorry. I was so stupid. I never should have left you at the hospital. I don't know what I was thinking." The words just kept vomiting out of him, taking on every possible variation of an apology that Spencer could think of. There was a terrifying moment, as he stared up at her, that Spencer wasn't sure if Eliana was going to forgive him. But a few seconds later she was wrapping her arms around him. Her hands smoothed down the wild mass of his rumpled curls as she held his head against her stomach. His hands slid up her back, pulling her tighter against him. He murmured into the warm sliver of her exposed midriff, repeated more of the same apologies he offered up when he hit his knees in front of her.
"It's okay," Eliana soothed. She said his name. "Spencer, it's okay." It sounded like heaven on her lips. "Everything is going to be okay," she promised.
Spencer pulled slightly away, tipping his head back to look up at her. "Does that mean you forgive me?," he asked.
"Yes." There were no conditions on her acceptance. Eliana wasn't looking to negotiate. She just said yes. She loved him that much. He could see it written all over her face.
Eliana's eyes were full of unshed tears by the time Spencer clambered to his feet and pulled her into his arms. He dipped his head down and kissed her, forgetting that they were in a crowded airport until he heard some people clapping and whistling. Eliana tasted like chocolate and caramel from the coffee she'd been drinking. She smelled like the lingering aroma of her shampoo that she left on his pillows and bedsheets.
"I love you so much," he whispered, breathing the words into her hair after he pressed a kiss to the side of her face.
"I love you too," Eliana said as she lifted her hand and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. She lifted up onto her tiptoes, her hand circling his neck so she could pull him down for another kiss. This one came with the soft flick of her tongue against his lips. It sent tingles of warmth shooting out all over his body. "Let's get out of here," Eliana whispered. "I want to be alone with you."
The implication in her words was obvious. Even after what he did, she still wanted him. Spencer kissed her one more time before he let Eliana take him by the hand. He was so eager to get her home and into his bed that he almost forgot he had another question to ask her. They made it a few steps before he tugged her to a halt.
"Wait," Spencer urged. "I've got something to ask you."
Eliana knitted her dark brows together in confusion as he lowered himself back down on to his knees in front of her. Spencer fished around awkwardly in his pockets until he finally located the tiny velvet box he was digging for. He pulled it out and popped the lid open, enjoying the way Eliana's dark eyes went wide. She stared down at the ring for a moment, then met his eyes with hers. Her lips were parted like she wanted to speak. But she was too shocked to find the words. She only breathed his name again. And when she did, he could hear the raw emotion in her voice.
"You're the brightest star in my universe," he told her. "You'll never be less than everything to me." It wasn't a classic literature quote. Or an over the top gesture. But it was the truth. "Will you marry me?"
Eliana's lips parted in shock. Her head was still swimming from the concussion. And for a second, she was sure she fell asleep on the plane and dreamed this whole thing. She wasn't able to form words. But she extended her trembling hand, splaying her fingers to make it easier for Spencer to slide the ring on. Not only had his entire proposal taken her completely by surprise, the ring was quite easily the most stunning piece of jewelry she'd ever seen in her life. The center stone looked like it had an entire galaxy inside it. Expensive gestures never carried much weight with her. Eliana was perfectly happy with the tiny quarter carat on a plain gold band that Riley gave her when they got engaged. But the ring that was on her finger now took her breath away. She didn't even think she could have imagined something so uniquely perfect even if she tried.
"Ohmygod," Eliana gasped. "I love it."
"Does that mean you want to marry me?," Spencer asked.
Eliana turned her attention from her ring to the expression of nervous anticipation on Spencer's face and realized he was still waiting on an answer. He just asked her to marry him. And she didn't say yes or no or anything really. She was just standing there with her mouth hanging open like she forgot how to make words with it.
"Oh!," Eliana exclaimed. "YES!" Eliana tugged at him, repeating her answer a few more times as Spencer clambered back on to his feet and pulled her against his chest. He pressed a kiss into her hair.
"Are you sure?," he asked. "You know…"
Eliana could feel the long list of warnings and fears that were about to spill from between Spencer's lips. But before he could ruin the moment, she grasped him by his necktie and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him. She parted his lips, deepening the kiss in a way that she normally wouldn't be comfortable doing in public. When she finally broke the kiss, both of them were gasping for air.
"I'm sure," Eliana whispered, catching Spencer's face between her palms and resting her forehead against his. "Are you sure you want to marry me?," she teased, the corners of her lips turning up into a soft smile. Spencer smiled back before he answered.
"I've never been so sure of anything in my whole life."
"I swear that when our lips touch, I can taste the next 60 years of my life."
-Rudy Francisco
