The airport was awake with shifting feet, ecstatic voices and eager bodies moving around to begin their summer vacation. At the beginning of the semester, Harmony had planned to drive back home and do some volunteering at the hospital before her family had to go to Orlando for the Monroe Family Reunion. However, three weeks ago those plans changed when she let those two words slip in front of Laurent.

Family reunion. Laurent sighed as if she gave him nausea with words. The next day he proposed a trip to introduce her to a gang of O' Connor's, his words not hers. It would be the first week of summer break and in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was a difficult sale and going on a trip with people she only knew for a couple of months to visit people she didn't know in a state she never been to before was an even harder sale.

"Stop being a baby. Just tell 'em." Harmony insisted as she paced in front of Samuel. "It's better to do it now and get it over with before you'll within reaching distance." She chuckled remember the time he failed woodshop and their mother whacked him in the back of his head with her dainty hand.

Samuel scowled at her as he slouched in the paper-thin seat, "It's not funny." He stuck out his leg trying to disrupt her gait but she hopped over his limb.

"I mean." She smirked stopping her footsteps. "It kinda is funny, a football player failing kinesiology."

He threw his container of orange Tic-tac's at her, "I told you. I didn't know attendance was mandatory."

"You're not getting these back," She pleasantly proclaimed shaking the container of breath mints. "Did you read the syllabus?" He gifted her with an eye roll. "Don't get mad at me. I didn't make you miss class. That was Kenneka."

They weren't paying attention to the dry, loud voice over the speakers but a string of numbers made Laurent stand from his seat and Cecelia followed his lead—she tapped on Ariel's shoulder.

"What?" Ariel twisted around in her chair as she pushed her headphones off one ear and peered up at her mom.

"It's time to go." Laurent jabbed his thumb in the direction of the gate, where a substantial line had already formed.

Harmony looked up from the one word text from the person she was trying to avoid with puzzlement plaguing  her face, "We don't have to be the first ones on the plane." She studied the minute hand of her gold watch. "I mean we have seat numbers. We can wait ten minutes can't we?"

"Wait ten minutes." Laurent covered his wide mouth as a yawn escaped. "For what? We need to get settled."

"Please, dad." Ariel slapped her magazine closed as she hopped from her seat. "You don't want to get settled. You want to go to sleep." She grabbed her bag and added, "Mom get your husband." 

"Ariel." Cecilia gave her a pointed look as the girl joined the line then turned back to Harmony. "Sweetheart, you have about forty-minutes before this plane is fully boarded." Cecilia started as she nudged her husband to walk ahead.

"Who are you waiting for?" Samuel inquired as he heaved is duffle bag over his shoulder. "You want me to wait with you?"

"I'm fine." Harmony assured still feeling Laurent's concerned eyes on her. "It's fine." Her words were for Laurent hoping to quell his worries. 

"Let me know when you board." Laurent called out at the end of the line.

"I will." She affirmed then searched the passing faces for a familiar one. 

Laurent nodded in agreement then walked up to the ticket attendant.

Samuel wafted his eyes over his sister, "I'll save you a window seat." He jerked his head in the direction of the ticket attendant.

"Yeah." Harmony uttered before grabbing his arm. Samuel stopped his forward motion. His eyes fell on her hand then rose to her face, "Thanks for this. Coming with me. It means a lot."

A smile grew on Samuel's mocha face. "I'm your little brother. I always got your back." He playfully jabbed her shoulder. "See you on the plane."

"See ya." She watched him saunter over to the black-haired woman with the firm fitting blue uniform. He must've said something funny because she couldn't stop giggling as she checked over his paperwork.

Harmony chewed on her thumbnail with each passing minute. She was fooled twice as two handsome men with smooth chocolate complexions and dazzling smiles broke away from the crowd. But they weren't him because those smiles didn't rid her mind of all her thoughts or made her stomach do somersaults like Simone Biles.

The alarm on her phone bellowed as it vibrated in her hand. She tapped stop while sighing lowly to herself. 

She grabbed her messenger bag out the seat while taking in one last look out the window.

"You waited for me." The deep melodic voice painted a smile on her melancholy face.

"You asked me to wait." Harmony's pearly whites caught the sunlight as she turned toward him, "So..."

"So..." He repeated drinking in the sight of her prompting a smile to claim his lush lips. "Um..." He cracked his knuckles taking an apprehension look out the window at the plane then back to her. "Timing has never been something we got right. And I think isn't time for us...me  to be proactive."

"Meaning?" She clenched her phone.

"I emailed you ticket to Atlanta for two days the reunion because I think we need so time where it's just us. And if its just time as friends then so be it but if it turns into something more...I'll love it."

She bit hard on her bottom lip then breathed out, "Why?"

"Because I dream of you." The corner of his mouth quirked up as he brushed his hand over the soft hair at her temple. "You're my dream girl. Can't you tell?"

 She breathed in the subtleness of his sandalwood and vetiver redolence, which made her hormones sing its own symphony. "Cairo..."

"Yes..." He spoke as if her words as the power to end his life and all the rambunctious noise evaded her eardrums until the voice over the speaker uttered last call for flight 3827 to Pennsylvania.

"Let's make are dreams a reality." Harmony started walking backwards, "See you in Atlanta."

"Definitely," He winked at her before she twisted around and sprinted down the hall with the giddiness of a teenage girl.

What do you think will happened during the summer?