Oh Baby, I'm a Fool For You

“Why, thank you, Mr. Barnes,” I said as he offered me his arm as we walked towards the luggage claim.

“Anytime, Ms. Martin,” he said, effectively linking his arm through his. With his other hand, he pulled out a pair of large black sunglasses, and slipped them over his eyes.

“Hiding from the paparazzi?” I teased, elbowing him softly.

“Oh yes, because I’m the most popular actor in all of England,” he joked back, elbowing me as well. Unfortunately, he put in a bit too much force, and I stumbled to the side. “Oh, sorry Kaya,” he apologized, then stifled a laugh.

“I hate you,” I told him as we reached the baggage claim, watching numerous suitcases revolve around the conveyor belt.

“That’s not very nice, what would Veronica say?”

“Hey, just because you know something doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to use it against me,” I informed him, and placed my hand on my forehead, pushing my hair back. “You know, I’m always hyper paranoid that the airline will lose my stuff,” I grumbled, nervously surveying the bags.

“Me too,” he said. His eyebrows rose from behind his sunglasses. “Never mind, here is mine,” he said, unhooking our arms to grab a large black suitcase.

“You only brought one?”

“I live here, Kaya, I’m not just taking a holiday as you are,” he said, extending the handle on the bag and leaning on it.

“It’s not a holiday,” I said back, putting an English accent on “holiday.”

He pursed his lips at me, and then smiled. “That was possibly one of the worst English accents that I’ve ever heard.”

“Shut it, James Bond.”

“James Bond? Seriously?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Oh!” I exclaimed, seeing one of my bags. I made a mad dash over to it, hauling the hot pink mass over the metal barrier. “Now, where are the other two?” I tapped my sneaker against the linoleum impatiently, hearing Ben behind me texting someone. “Ah!” I rushed to the opposite end of the conveyor belt and picked up two other bags, one lime green and the other neon yellow.

“Wow, I don’t think anyone could ever misplace your bags,” he commented.

I laughed a fake laugh, then put one bag over my shoulder, and wheeled the other two behind me. “Keep up your little comments, and you’re no longer Benjamin Barnes. You’ll be James Bond.”

“That’s just mean, Kaya, why would you hurt me?” he asked, then snagged the bag from off my shoulder.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to,” I said, reaching for it.

He knocked my hand away and grinned. “I insist.”

“So there is such a thing as an English gentleman,” I commented, walking through the automatic doors that led to the outside.

Ben moved so he was standing in front of me. “So…”

“So?” I asked, shifting my weight back and forth on my feet. “Are you okay?” I asked, observing how his lips were tight and his brows were furrowed.

“I’m horrible with goodbyes,” he said.

“Oh,” I said softly. It had never occurred to me that I would be leaving Ben. The last four and a half hours were incredible. It was like there was an invisible cord was wrapped around us, and tightened with every minute we spent together. “I’m not good at it either,” I muttered.

“Well… It was great to get to know you, Kaya. You’re a pretty great girl.”

“Same goes for you. Except the girl part, I mean,” I said, releasing one handle to tuck my hair behind my ear.

Ben dropped one bag and pulled me into a hug. I awkwardly placed my arms around his waist and hugged back. He sighed into my hair and patted my back a couple of times, and pulled back, picking up his bag again. “Let me get you a cab,” he said, scratching the back of his head. He extended his arm and hailed a small white cab. It pulled over, and Ben began taking my bags and putting them in the trunk.

“Thanks Ben,” I said, tapping my foot again.

Ben finished pushing my last bag into the trunk and shut it. He turned and scratched the back of his head again. “Would it be odd if I were to give you my number? I would ask for yours but you said you didn’t have a number yet.”

I laughed and shook my head. “No, it’s not weird.”

He yanked a pen out of his pocket and grabbed my hand, scribbling a long number on my palm. “I look forward to hearing from you,” he said with a smile, then opened the door for me.

“I look forward to letting you hear from me.” I stepped into the car and sat down and buckled myself in.

He shut the door and waved. “Bye, Kaya.”

“Bye,” I muttered quietly, and the cab pulled away, leaving me to watch Ben shrink into the distance, seeing how he never turned his eyes away.