"Will you let me kiss you now?"

We were going our separate ways at the airport--James back to the States and me to Denmark. After unloading our luggage, Karam graciously handed us over to Bethany who was now standing at a far enough distance that she couldn't hear our bickering.

"Just one, please?"

"Fine."

James grinned and planted an audible "mwah" on my temple. "I'm gonna miss you, wifey."

I rolled my eyes. Ever since I'd come to terms with my feelings for him, we've been able to grow closer platonically. It felt like a breath of fresh air to not have to literally hold my breath every time he came close to me. If I had known that sleeping with him was all it took to get over it, I would've done it ages ago. "I'm gonna miss you, too, James." I pushed him away enough to look meet his eyes. "Honestly. I will visit, so you better not forget me."

"How can I?" He smothered me in one last hug before we parted ways.

The flight was relatively painless (save for my frustration with Solataire--I never did understand that game), and by the time I landed in Copenhagen, it was morning again. I grabbed a sandwich from a terminal convenience store and headed out to meet my driver. As I neared the exit, a man in a grey hoodie held the door open for me.

"Thanks--" I squinted at him.

He squinted back.

"I know you, don't I? Is your name Hal by chance?"

His expression cleared into a beaming smile. "Yes! And you're Claira! Wow crazy coincidence!"

"Yeah! How have you been? What are you doing here?"

Hal shrugged. "Just sightseeing and catching up with old friends. I'm staying with a buddy in Refshaleøen for the time being. How 'bout you?"

"Family. I'm visiting family up in Aalborg. Please visit sometime! We would love to have you!"

He nodded. "Of course! How long are you staying?"

I wasn't supposed to tell him that I was actually planning to stay long-term, so instead I said, "Oh you know, James is gonna be busy until the Orchid Daze Gala, so I'm just taking this time to get some travel in. But Denmark will definitely be my home base. How about you? Are you staying long?"

"I don't have much of a schedule either. Some of my favorite artists are from here, so my general plan is just gallery-hopping. Hopefully find a few new gems for my flat. Look, can we exchange numbers?"

"Yeah yeah I have WhatsApp. I always have it downloaded just in case, but I never really get any use out of it back home."

Hal chuckled while he scanned my phone. "Same. I swear my international friends would forget me if didn't wish them a happy Christmas every year."

"No way. You too?" I shook my head. "Anyways, my driver's probably getting antsy so--"

I waved as I got into the passenger seat. Hal waved back and accidentally flagged down a taxi, and I chuckled to myself as I watched him dramatically wave a decline to the driver. Evidentally the driver didn't understand because as we drove away, I caught a glimpse of him in the rearview mirror, reluctantly getting into the backseat as the taxi driver gestured enthusiastically.