Page 45 of That First Flight
“It's just… I don’t know how to explain it really. Everyone kept treating me like the new girl. From one small school to another. The other kids looked at me funny.” She wrinkles her nose. “One boy made fun of the bun I was wearing in my hair. So I haven’t worn my hair in a bun since that day.”
I grip her shoulder lightly, stopping Mackenzie in her tracks.
“You mean to tell me you haven’t worn your hair in a bun since a little asshole, excuse my French, made fun of you for it?”
Her shoulders lift in a shrug to brush off the question, but she remains silent.
“Put it up now,” I urge her.
She does as I ask, but I quickly regret it. I don’t know much about Kenzie but I can tell that she doesn’t want people to not like her. She wants people to be happy with her decisions.
Within seconds, her hair is in a messy bun perched on the top of her head. Her bun matches the one I first saw Macey wearing on the flight, except hers is bright blonde.
“Do you like wearing your hair in a bun?”
She gives me a small nod. “It’s easy to do and keeps everything out of my face.”
“Do you know why I asked you to put it up?”
She shakes her head.
“Because I want you to remember that from this moment on, you’re not going to give a hoot what anyone thinks about you. If it’s somethingyoulike, then you do it. If it’s somethingyoufeel good about, keep it. Don’t dim that sparkle you have inside of you for anyone.”
She doesn’t answer me as she tries to process all the words I just threw at her. But after a few heartbeats, she jumps to me and wraps her arms tightly around my waist. James has hugged me tons of times, but I’ve never felt the tightness in my chest that I feel right now when Mackenzie hugs me.
“Thank you, Ollie,” she murmurs into me. “You’re the best.”
“Anytime, Kenzie. You know I’ve always got your back.”
And that’s turning into the damn truth.
I’ll go to bat for this girl. There’s no doubt about it. I knew there was something so insanely special about her from our first interaction together, not just because she’s a part of Macey, but because she’s quickly becoming one of my favorite humans.
Mackenzie pulls back and I look down at her, into familiar green eyes. “So, are you ready to head out of here and eat some tacos?”
“Let’s do it!” She fist pumps the air. “I’m excited to meet your family. You think they’ll like me?”
“I think they’llloveyou. I know James is going to love you the most.”
“Who’s James?” she asks.
“My nephew. He’s a little younger than you, but he’s funny as all hell. As a matter of fact,”—I tip my head to the side to give her a knowing look—“he’s a lot like you. He acts way older than he really is. Too smart for his own good.” I tap her nose with my pointer finger, earning me a chuckle.
“Does he like puzzles?”
“He loves puzzles! But they have to be the ones with bigger pieces. He’s not ready for the ones with tiny pieces and he gets flustered when there’s too many at once.”
“Perfect. I’m going to pull out the one Flora gave me before we left. I think he’s going to love it. It’s the solar system and the pieces aren’t super small!” She beams as she talks about it as if it’s the greatest gift she’s ever received.
“You’re right. I think he will love it.” I wrap an arm around her shoulder, guiding her towards the check out.
“One more thing.” She stops me.
I give her a questioning glare as I narrow my eyes.
“You probably shouldn’t tell my mom you cursed in front of me. I mean, I’m not a baby.” She rolls her eyes like a teenager. “But she won’t like it. Especially that you called that little boy a donkey butt.”
I blink a few times before a laugh breaks free. “I probably shouldn’t have said that, right?”