Tara practically bounced onto the plane. Her stomach was a mess of nervous butterflies, but she was so excited she couldn't sit still. The other passengers returned her ear to ear grin with bemusement, yet she didn't notice. She was somewhere else, in her mind. She'd been waiting for this for so long, and now it was finally happening! She let out a nervous giggle and the person sitting next to her stared, making her blush. Shifting in her seat, she wondered if she'd miss the city that had been home all her life.
Definitely not
, she assured herself,
this is going to be the greatest adventure of my life!
---
The announcement cracking over the planes PA woke her up from a restless sleep. Tara's entire body screamed with exhaustion – 28 hours on a plane wore her out like she'd never thought. Here she was, thinking she'd land looking as immaculate as when she left, now her hair was a mess from falling asleep on it, and she felt like she
really
needed a shower. Slowly getting up from her window seat, she did her 'excuse me's and wandered into the bathroom at the back of the plane.
Geez!
It was worse than she thought. Her eyes were falling out of her head, her skin was pale and tired, and trying to do a sexy smile at herself in the mirror made her look like an alien. Cursing, she brushed her hair as best she could, washed her face in the tiny sink, then went back to her seat to prepare for landing and for the disappointment on her lovers face when she got off the plane looking like a train wreck.
---
Mark stood back from the throng milling around the arrivals gate. They were all pushing and shoving, waiting for the arrival of long lost relatives or some such, wanting to be at the front. Besides, he wanted to see her, to watch her for a moment, before he greeted her. He was nervous, but did his best not to show it as the passengers started to flow through the gates. Then he saw her. Her long auburn curls were tousled, her face showing a question mark as she looked through the small crowd for him.
God, she's even more beautiful than I realised,
he thought, stepping forward to greet her.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, almost walking into him, then blushed at the awkward meeting. They stood, suspended in time, his deep brown eyes looking into her cloudy blue ones. Mark snapped out of it first, reaching and pulling her into a breathtaking bear hug.
---
Tara was a little uncomfortable, sitting in the passenger seat of Marks car. After that hug, from which she still had tingles coursing through her body, he'd been the perfect gentleman and taken her by the hand to get her luggage, which he then carried to the car. But he hadn't kissed her, and this bothered her a little. Sitting as passenger on the right hand side of the car, and driving on the right side of the road was something different too. At least she hadn't embarrassed herself by trying to get in on the left side, out of habit. They made small talk, Mark pointing out various things as they drove along, which she smiled and nodded to, not really taking anything in but the sexy rasp of his voice. She was startled when Mark pulled into an apartment building parking lot. She hadn't realised they'd been driving for so long already.
We're here!
She thought excitedly, smiling to herself.
---
After setting Tara's suitcases down in his bedroom, he asked if she was hungry. She looked at her watch.
