Excerpt
Nina tugged a large, red and black plaid suitcase out of its snug spot on the shelf and held it up. "What do you think of this one?"
"For?" Alicia arched her eyebrow and frowned.
With a huff Nina shoved the suitcase back into its spot and continued her search. "I told you we were shopping for luggage today."
Alicia gaped at her, eyes wide. "Well, yeah, but I didn't think you meant it.
Not like...meant it meant it. You're really going through with this?"
A smaller bag caught Nina's eye, and she shuffled down the aisle toward it.
"We've been over this. I'm going. Why do you refuse to believe me?" She caught Alicia's shrug out of the corner of her eye.
"I dunno. Because you never follow through with anything?"
Nina whirled around to stare at her friend, annoyed. "Since when?"
Alicia shrugged one more time. "Since always."
"Name one time."
"Um, okay. What about that trip to the Bahamas you got invited to, and you got all gung ho and went and got a passport, but never went?"
"That"
"Or the time you decided to go to Scotland to find a sheep herder and sleep with him in exchange for room and board?"
"I was sixteen!"
Another shrug. "I'm just sayin'. Ooh! Look at this one." Alicia kicked at a bright pink overnight bag with her sandaled foot.
Nina shook her head and turned away. So what if she hadn't ever followed through with anything? This was different. This was love, and she didn't have a choice. She had to follow her heart, no matter how foolish her friends thought she was.
"Even you have to admit"--Alicia poked Nina in the back--"flying halfway across the world to meet some guy you met in a chat room is kind of off the wall."
"Last I checked New York State was in America." She wiggled and wrangled the bag until it popped free. Basic black, with dozens of little inner pockets, and a strong, wide zipper. This would do nicely!
"Thousands of miles, then."
"There's barely over a thousand miles between Florida and New York."
"Waiting for Home" is featured in the Hot Shots Volume 2 Anthology!
Nina and Sean met on the Internet; they've never seen each other in person. Until now. Nina's leavin' on a jet plane, no matter what anyone says!
