My face flushed even hotter, and I squirmed again. “Please let go of me now,” I muttered.
He chuckled, his chest rumbling with it, and with me held so close to him, it made me shiver. When he let go, I couldn’t even pretend to be cool. I jumped back into my seat with my arms folded over my chest, leaning against the window to be as far away from him as possible.
Abe just watched me in amusement, and I looked around. I couldn’t remember when I fell asleep, but I did know I’d been looking at a pamphlet for the wine event.
“Did I drop the pamphlet?” I asked, looking around, trying to calm my fast beating heart.
“No, you didn’t. I kept it.”
He pulled it out and handed it over to me, and I opened it up and held it up to my face, hiding from his view.
Shit. That was not the image I wanted to show him!
I heard papers rustling beside me, and lowered the pamphlet just enough to look at Abe. He looked completely unruffled, with his legs crossed and a serious expression on his face as he looked over some papers.
Is he really still working? I snorted silently, but frowned at him. Did he really never relax?
After I’d found out about his background, I’d done a bit of independent research, but all my research consisted of going through novels and browsing through the internet. It was all back in the beginning when I still felt hope. I thought Abe would change his mind and come after me, and I wanted to know what his life would be like from then on. I’d had fantasies that I could help him somehow, because we’d both majored in business.
The scope of his work was plenty higher than what I ended up doing, though. And to some extent, I knew that even if we’d stayed together, he might not have had enough time to spend with me anyway. I wouldn’t have minded, still, but he’d made his decision.
Watching him right then as he worked, my heart felt complicated.
I’d woken up just in time, because not long after, the flight attendant came by to make sure everyone had their seatbelts on. We were about to land. I was surprised just how long I must have slept that the flight was already over, but I was feeling excited.
“Stick close to me so you don’t get lost when we get off the plane, okay?”
I frowned at Abe. “Are you trying to be funny? Why on earth would I get lost here?”
I may not have lived in San Fran my whole life, but I’d gone on plenty of tours around the state. I lived in the suburbs where nothing ever happened, so I’d travelled quite a bit after graduating college.
“You don’t know where we’re going though, do you?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
“To a hotel? You could just give me the name, if we get separated, I’ll find it alone.” Actually, some time alone from him might make me feel better. I was heading down a rabbit hole that I needed to steer clear of.
Abe didn’t take me seriously, though, rolling his eyes at me. “We’re not getting separated, so there’s nothing wrong, right?”
I took in a deep breath and looked away from him as I did my seatbelt up for myself this time.
Half an hour later, we were walking out of the airport terminal. Abe had thought ahead and already had a car waiting for us. It wasn’t a limo this time, but as we sat in the back, I noticed there was a partition between then front and back of the car so we couldn’t see the driver. Abe must really enjoy his privacy.
“Where are we going?” I asked curiously, relaxing into my seat.
“There’s this quaint town a short drive from the vineyard, where I booked our lodgings. The event is going to happen out in the vineyard, we’ll be in a garden overlooking it so we can enjoy the site comfortable. I know the organizer of the event, I’ve met them before, so I can assure you you’re going to have a good time.”
I only knew about wine tasting events from watching them on TV and hearing about them from my parents’ friends, but I would take his word for it.
“How long until we get there?”
“At the speed we’re going, it’ll be a little over an hour. I have a car waiting for us so we’ll drive ourselves to the event. You must have looked over the pamphlet, so you know the event will be starting from mid-morning and end late in the afternoon. We’ll have breakfast and dinner at the inn we’ll be staying in, and lunch will be provided during the event.”
“We’re staying at an inn?” I asked, cutting him off before he could go on.
“Yeah. There aren’t any big hotels where we’re going, but I think you’ll like the inn.”
Again, I would take his word for it.
The drive went on quietly. Abe was working again, and I played on my cell the entire time. I browsed the internet a little to get some more information. I wasn’t even sure how I was supposed to carry myself tomorrow. I’d been to some company events and I knew how to act around a crowd, but I had a feeling the crowd we were about to go and join would be different from the one I’d been around before.