MEETING NICOLE'S PARENTS

Instead, she just goes back to her work, smiling like she knows something about Nathan I don’t.

Whatever it is, I don’t have time to worry about it.

I need buy plane tickets for Atlanta.

NATHAN

“So,” I say, as I readjust my legs on the tiny plane for the millionth time. It turns out Nicole’s not just from Atlanta. She’s from small-farming-town-Atlanta. Like we got to Atlanta, and had to transfer onto an even tinier plane, because normal size ones don’t fly anywhere close to where she lives.

At least the weather is supposed to be in the sixties. It will be nice to get a break from New York’s harsh winter cold.

Nicole looks over at me nervously. She’s sitting by the window. The morning light makes her face look radiant. Like an angel up in the clouds.

I ignore the pull to reach out and touch her, just to see if she’s still as soft as she looks.

“Is there anything I should know about your parents, Nicole?”

“They don’t like city boys,” she says.

I bite back a smile. “And I’m a city boy?”