Kimberly

Thank you, stalker.

I've been smiling like an idiot since I got to my hotel room. The whole flight from Los Angeles to New York was just an entire out-of-body experience and I wasn't quite sure if it really happened.

Did I seriously get hit on? And did I seriously turn him down?

He was gorgeous. He was tall and tan, perfectly angled cheekbones and jawline, I could see his muscles etched out on his immaculately tailored suit. What the hell is wrong with me?

I should have taken his number. At least the possibility of seeing him again would have been there. Now there is no way.

Maybe this was for the best. I'm not the type of girl he's looking for. I'm sure he usually dates girls that scream Instagram model or influencer, whatever the hell that means. He needs a Francesca from Italy, not homely Kimberly Hart from Angel Grove. I was just a distraction to him, but damn, did he make me feel good. I suppose I should have properly thanked him from preventing me from having a full-blown meltdown on the flight. If it wasn't for him, there would have been an emergency landing somewhere in the mid-west.

I threw myself back on the bed and allowed myself a moment to giggle. This is what I used to feel. This was the Kimberly that I remembered. This is who I was before I put that part of me in the cellar. That girl had been screaming for attention.

I always had guys begging for my number, and Tommy fell right into that as well. He made me feel a way that I hadn't felt in years.

I almost feel bad rejecting him… almost.

The silence in the room was a nice welcome. I haven't had this luxury in a long time. I can't seem to recall a time when I was away from my kids. It had to have been before my divorce, not that I could trust Travis to watch the kids anyway.

I pulled out my cellphone and checked the time. It was a little after eleven my time, meaning that it was just after eight back in California.

I hit the contact for my house and waited for it to ring.

These kids better pickup.

"Hello?" I heard Tyler answer on the other end.

"Hi, honey, it's mom. How are you guys doing?"

"Hey, mom," he sighed, "We're fine. Just getting ready for bed. Mrs. Reynolds says we have to be in bed soon."

Mrs. Reynolds was a lovely older woman that lived across the street. She always watched the kids at a moment's notice since she lived alone and non of her grandkids lived in the area. The kids loved her when they were younger. Now they scowl whenever I mention needing to get a sitter because they think they're old enough to take care of themselves. I wish that were true.

"Okay. Please just be on your best behavior. She's a little bit older than the last time she watched you guys, so please don't give her a hard time. She might forget to lock the door or turn off the water, so just watch out for that."

"So what you're saying is that basically I have to babysit her?" His tone told me he wasn't amused. "I told you I didn't need a sitter."

"If you would have taken care of your brothers on Saturday without creating a disaster, then maybe I would have believed you, but you showed me that you weren't responsible enough."

"But that wasn't my fault—"

"—As the sitter, the kids are your responsibility. That's something you are going to have to learn." I rubbed the bridge of my nose, "Look, if I hear this weekend went fine and you three didn't cause Mrs. Reynolds any trouble, I'll consider giving you back your phone, okay?"

"Really?" His voice chirped up, "I can get it back?"

"Only if I hear that nothing went wrong. No fighting, no fires, no trips to the emergency room."

These kids can tick off each box and then some in a few hours.

"Deal," he chuckled. "I'll make sure Jeff and Maddox stay out of trouble. You can trust me, mom."

"I hope so," I sighed but gave him the benefit of the doubt. I had to learn to trust my kids… sooner or later.

We hung up and I took a warm shower in preparation for tomorrow. I had an early start in the morning, beginning with a seminar about communicating with patients. Unlike the other events that are specific to a profession, this was a melting pot. It included everyone from doctors and nurses to respiratory therapists and social workers. It was everything under the medical professional umbrella.

I slipped into the cold sheets of my room and processed what had happened today. Again, Tommy came into my mind.

"No one's ever turned me down before."

"Well then… I guess you won't forget about me."

My heart had been threatening to beat right out of my chest, and for a moment, I wondered if there was something wrong with me. There has to be if I rejected him, right? No one in their right mind would do such a thing. That's why he has such a great track record. Was I really crazy enough that now I wanted to be a part of that perfect score?

I exhale and cover my face with a pillow.

He'd be a good time. I know he would be… oh, god! what the hell is wrong with me? Why am I thinking this? Get it together.

Every time I closed my eyes I saw his face. His eyes that somehow made me feel safe, his smile that made me smile, and the way that he rubbed his chin when he liked something that I said.

He asked me to trust him without even knowing him and I don't know why but a part of me did.

I hope I left a mark on him. I hope that he thinks of me when he's on his next flight. I hope he remembers me the next time he thinks about ordering a drink for someone else.

Tommy… I wish I would have at least caught his last name. I don't regret turning him down, I know that my life is too complicated, but he made me feel alive. Oh, so alive. No one had ever looked at me like that before. The lust. I wasn't even provoking him, but he made it seem like I was.

That night, I fell asleep with the biggest smile on my face and I thought of him.

"Thank you for the drink. I owe you one."

Butterflies had been flapping in my belly since I first saw him. He was charismatic, but oh so desperate. He needed to be knocked down a peg—or many. I didn't want to be just another one of those girls that falls for his charm. I wanted to be different. I wanted to be remembered.

I was sure that getting any girl to fall for him was easy.

Leaving him to stew was the best thing I could do. If he really wanted me then he would run after me.

"Two," He called out to me, causing me to turn. "You owe me two."

He finishes and I smile because he's making me feel like a teenage girl that has finally been noticed by the most popular boy in school.

Don't let me walk away. Chase after me. Drag me over to a bar. I have time. And really, what happens in New York can stay in New York, can't it?

So I wave at him, which was really my definition of a green flag, and begin to walk away, but not fast enough that he can't catch me. But when I look back again, he's gone. And so is the hope that I wasn't just another piece on his board to pass the time.

"Shit!"

I looked at my phone when morning came and nearly fell out of bed when I saw the time. It was almost seven-forty! The meeting starts at seven-forty-five!

I overslept!

I was too busy dreaming about the hot airplane guy to remember to set my alarm.

Damn it!

This can't be happening. Not today. Not on my first day.

I dug into my suitcase and pulled out the first thing I saw. There wasn't any time to decide on what I wanted to wear, I needed to get something presentable on me and head downstairs.

In the bathroom, I quickly brushed my teeth, ran my fingers through my hair, and applied some mascara. That was as good as it was going to get. My shirt was half-buttoned when I ran out of my room.

"Hold the elevator!" I practically screamed as I ran down the hallway. My shoes were in my hand and my bra strap was sliding down my shoulder.

I have seen better days.

Brows were raised when I threw myself in the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor.

Did I really look that terrible? Yes, but we were in New York. I'm sure I wasn't the weirdest thing they were going to see today.

As the elevator made its way down several floors, I managed to button my top and slip into my shoes. At least I'll be decently dressed by the time I make it down to the conference room.

I'm not that late, am I? Stealing a quick glance at my phone and I note the time as seven-fifty. In all honesty, I'm a bit impressed with myself. I got ready in record time.

I pushed through the people to get out of the elevator first and apologized as I did so.

"I'm here," I croak out as I splay myself out on the check-in desk for the meeting.

My hair is falling over my face and I throw a quick hand through it to brush it back. "I'm so sorry that I'm late but I'm here. Can I please head inside?"

The receptionist takes a hard look at me from head to toe and I am immediately feeling self-conscious. Her blonde hair is perfectly pinned back and some thin frames are resting on her upturned nose. I can't help but notice her outfit. Neatly pressed and off the rack at J. Crew with a name badge that reads Lacey. She purses her lips together and begins typing on her computer.

Rude.

She sighs as she continues typing, and doesn't say anything else to acknowledge me.

Sure. Take your time. It's not like I'm late.

"Name?" She says after a moment.

"Hart," I answer without thinking.

Wait, I think this is under Trini. I had switched with her too late to transfer everything under my name. That's why the hospital had to pay up the ass to get me that first class plane ticket. It was the only seat left.

"Kwan, Trini," I answer and look at my phone again to catch the time.

Now I'm ten minutes late.

She looks at me over her glasses and asks, "Are you here for Doctor Oliver's seminar?"

Oh, fuck. I don't know. I was just told to be here.

"I'm not sure."

Lacey narrows her eyes at me and continues typing.

What is her problem?

"Here you go," she says and hands me a sheet of paper that just came out of the printer, "this is your schedule for the weekend. You have Doctor Oliver at seven-forty-five, so you're late. Best to not make a habit of that, yeah? Go down the double doors and make a left. He has the large hall."

The girl is testing my limits.

"Thanks," I reply

I speed walk my way through the doors and follow the directions that she gave me. When I make it to the doors of the large hall, I take a deep breath.

I can faintly hear the lecturer speaking as I push open the door.

"….as we know, the best practice for effective professional communication is establishing an interpersonal relationship with the patient and building rapport, but—"

The door makes an absurdly loud creak as I try to stealthily sneak my way in. I feel several pairs of eyes turn towards me.

What the hell did I do to deserve this?

All the blood drains from my face as I see a tall man at the podium holding the attention in the room. His dark hair is perfectly styled back, his suit is slicked to his body like it was fucking made for him, and his eyes are looking right at me.

It was him. Hot airplane guy.

My heartbeat pulses in my ear as he stops his presentation mid-speech. The room went eerily silent, causing my cheeks to heat up.

Maybe he doesn't recognize me! I mean, we had been drinking and I'm sure he picks up girls on airplanes all the time. I couldn't possibly be anything special. Maybe I could sneak out and hide for the remainder of the event.

I take a step back and blindly reach for the door, hoping that this could be my perfect escape.

Unfortunately, I'm not so lucky.

"Ms. Hart," Tommy says from the stage, drawing the attention from everyone else in the room, "nice of you to join us."

Author note: :) See you in my next update! Glad to hear you guys are enjoying it!