Layla / Bel prequel 1

Unplugged / Eric Clapton










There wasn’t an adult in the terminal that didn’t want to strangle the boy as he announced at full volume, for the trillionth time that the snow was ‘thicker than wolf’s fur.’ At first, several, mostly elderly people had found him cute. They had asked his age, to which he had promptly held up four fingers as he toed the carpet. Then they tried to discern if he meant an actual wolf or the name of some canine pet. Eventually, they smiled pleadingly at a set of parents who couldn’t have been more elsewhere and then moved away or buried themselves in reading material. Unfortunately, loosing his audience only made the child more persistent.


Kate Rose looked up from the mass-market paperback she’d bought a few hours before to a runway blanketed in white and groaned audibly. Her first thought being that it looked like she was trapped inside a coconut.


“We’re not getting out of here tonight.” She muttered as the child tried his line again. “And people were under the impression that hell was hot,” she glared at the child having long given up on the parents.


Denton Suthers, the man seated opposite her gave an almost imperceptible snort though he didn’t look up from his book. If Kate hadn’t been glancing in his direction she would never have noticed the slight shake of his shoulders and if she hadn’t been sitting facing him and checked him out two hours earlier, she would not have noticed that the corners of his mouth had twitched up.


“Sorry.” She growled taking the opportunity to look at him directly. He was handsome, but not her type. The build was right, slender yet strong. But his hair was short and blonde, his features sharp. He gave off clear vibes of wanting to be left alone. In fact, next to her, he seemed to be the most reserved person in the room. She had no idea what held her curiosity about him, but there was definitely something about him that attracted her attention.


“Not a problem,” his voice was deep and reserved, “unless …” he glanced up meeting Kate’s eyes holding them for a second, “you really were reading my mind?”


A militant surfer, that’s what he reminds me of, Kate thought meeting his steel gray stare, easily keeping her own stony appearance.


“How could I tell yours from everyone else’s?” Kate shrugged, sure with the amount of annoyance and fatigue she was feeling her eyes were glowing amber. She was glad to see the man’s mouth twitch again into a quick faint smile, for some reason unclear to her she didn’t actually want to offend him.


“Due to inclement weather, Delta flight 472 from Hartford, Connecticut to Orlando, Florida has been delayed one hour and fifteen minutes. If this status changes we will inform you as soon as possible. Thank you.” Even the flight attendant didn’t sound happy. She even winced as a general groan undulated through the boarding area punctuated by exasperated commentary.


“Why don’t you just cancel the flight? This is worse than waiting for Godot.” A elderly woman shouted across the terminal raising herself up with the help of a cane and heading with purpose toward the terminal counter. Despite her age and ability, she looked ready for war and all eyes had turned to her.


“She’s wrong.” Denton said matter-of-factly.


“They weren’t in snow.” Kate finished his thought.


“Are you sure you’re not reading my mind?” A quick smile flashed through both Kate and Denton’s eyes as they glanced at each other, each thinking the other might not be as they appeared.