Free Falling
Chapter 4- No Vacancy
Despite being crowded and loud, the shuttle bus to the hotel was light-years better than the tram ride between terminals. Apparently though, the majority of the passengers from the canceled flight had the exact same idea Dina and Ellie had.
By the time they arrived at the hotel, the lobby looked more like a TSA checkpoint. The line of stranded travelers stretched nearly to the front doors.
"Oh, this is bad," Dina muttered.
Ellie followed her gaze. "Yeah."
For the next forty minutes, the line crawled forward inch by inch, the lone hotel receptionist working as quickly as she could given the circumstances.
People checked phones, argued quietly with airline representatives, and desperately refreshed hotel booking apps.
Eventually Dina reached the front desk.
To her immense relief and surprise, there were still vacancies. Without hesitation, she swiped her credit card and booked the room.
Clutching her room key like a winning lottery ticket, Dina stepped away from the desk and found a quiet corner off the lobby to call Kat, who answered on the second ring.
"Are you boarding?"
Dina sighed. "Nope."
"Why do I hear disappointment in your voice?"
"Because my flight was canceled."
Kat groaned. "Noooo, you're kidding."
"I wish."
Dina explained the situation, absently nudging her duffel bag with the toe of her shoe.
"So you're stuck overnight?"
"Yep, but hey you can go out tonight now."
Kat cackled deviously. “And now I have an excuse to be late picking you up tomorrow."
"You were going to be late anyway."
"That's hurtful."
Dina smiled. “Yet, it’s the truth.”
“Hey, how was your flight next to the hot distraction?”
Dina chuckled and hesitated, knowing the can of worms her answer would open.
“It was good…we actually just had dinner together during the layover.”
There was a dramatic pause.
“WHAT?!!!! OMG, YESSSSS!”
Dina yanked her phone away from her ear for fear it would start bleeding.
“I need the details, D!”
Dina chuckled and shook her head, “And I need sleep, talk to you tomorrow?"
“You can’t drop something like that on me and NOT give me anything, Dina!”
“And yet, I just did...”
"Ughhh you’re killing me! Fine, but I want ALL the juicy details tomorrow!"
Dina chuckled, resigned to her fate. "Night, Kat."
As she hung up and slipped her phone into her pocket, she spotted Ellie in the lobby.
Ellie walked toward a seating area in the corner, dropped her backpack beside a chair, and practically collapsed into it. The defeated sigh that followed was audible from several feet away.
Dina hesitated then headed over.
"Hey, you okay?"
“Yeah,” Ellie laughed softly, though there wasn't much humor behind it. "The hotel's full."
Dina winced. "Oh shit.”
"Yeah." Ellie patted the arm of the chair she was sitting in. "It'll just be me and this baby tonight."
She ran a hand over the worn upholstery. "I think we're ready to take the next step in our relationship."
Dina laughed. "I'm happy for you two."
"Thank you. It's moving pretty fast but when you know, you know."
That earned a grin.
Then Dina glanced toward the front desk. "I actually managed to get a room."
Ellie nodded. "Nice, I’m glad you got lucky."
"Yeah..."
A brief pause followed.
Then Dina took a breath.
"You're welcome to stay with me."
Ellie's eyebrows rose immediately.
"Dina..." Ellie smiled, clearly touched, but shook her head. "That's very kind, but I can't ask you to do that."
"You're not asking." Dina shrugged. "I'm offering."
Ellie opened her mouth to object again.
Before she could, Dina continued. “There’s two beds. Do you really think I'm going to let you sleep in the lobby?"
Ellie looked around. The chair, the crowded foyer, the dozens of stranded travelers, then back at Dina.
A laugh escaped her, the sound carrying a note of surrender.
"When you put it like that..."
Dina smiled, nudging her foot. "Come on."
Ellie shook her head, chuckling in defeat as she stood and grabbed their bags as she had done since landing in Colorado.
"Lead the way."
For reasons she couldn't entirely explain, Dina found herself smiling all the way to the elevators.
xxxxxxxx
Like most of their time together, the elevator ride was easy.
They laughed about their impromptu sprint through the airport after the flight cancellation, and by the time they reached their floor, Dina had almost forgotten how nervous Ellie still made her.
Almost.
"Here we are," Dina said as they stopped outside room 515. She slid the keycard into the lock, pushed the door inward.
And immediately froze, her brain taking a moment to process the information before her.
There was one queen-sized bed sitting squarely against the right-hand wall.
One.
No second bed, no fold-out couch.
Dina's heart launched itself directly into her throat. "Oh shit."
Beside her, Ellie leaned forward to peer into the room.
There was a beat of silence.
Then another.
"Oh…”
Dina stared at the bed.
She distinctly remembered the clerk saying two beds.
Hadn't she?
Maybe she’d misheard her?
Maybe the clerk selected the wrong room?
Maybe the universe simply hated her.
"Well," Ellie said carefully.
Dina finally looked over and realized Ellie had noticed her reaction. Of course she did. There was no missing the way Dina's entire body had gone rigid.
A small, understanding smile appeared on Ellie's face. "Hey, it's okay."
"What?"
"I'll be fine downstairs," Ellie said, setting Dina’s bags just inside the door and adjusting the strap of her backpack. "Seriously, I appreciate the offer."
Dina blinked. "Huh?"
"The lobby," Ellie shrugged, “it won't be that bad."
"Ellie—"
"I'm sure they'll have coffee in the morning." She took a step backward. Then another, turning to leave.
Before she could get more than a few feet away, Dina reached out automatically, her fingers wrapping around Ellie's wrist.
Ellie stopped.
Both of them seemed equally surprised by the gesture and Dina immediately felt heat creep up her neck but didn't let go. "No."
Ellie's eyebrows lifted.
Dina tugged her gently back toward the doorway, “you're not sleeping in a chair downstairs."
"Dina—"
"—we'll make it work."
Ellie looked from Dina to the bed and back again. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "We?"
Dina immediately regretted her wording. "You know what I mean."
Ellie's grin widened slightly.
Dina rolled her eyes and finally released her wrist. "Get inside, you're staying here."
Ellie considered this then offered, "I can sleep on the floor then."
Dina stared at her for a full second. Then another. "Absolutely not, that's worse than the chair."
"It is not."
"It 100% is."
"Dina, people sleep on floors all the time."
"People also eat gas station sushi, but it doesn’t mean you should."
"That's not even remotely the same thing,” Ellie snorted.
“They’re both bad ideas,” Dina pointed emphatically toward the room. "No chairs. No floor. We have a perfectly good bed.”
Both of them fell silent.
Dina could practically hear her own heartbeat.
Ellie looked at the bed. Then at Dina. A faint flush touched the top of her cheeks.
Another beat of silence.
Then Ellie rubbed the back of her neck. "If you're sure..."
Dina was very much not sure. Not because she didn't trust Ellie, but because she didn't trust herself.
But there was no way she was letting Ellie spend the night on the floor—or worse, in the lobby.
So she stepped inside and flicked on the light. "I'm sure."
A smile slowly spread across Ellie's face. Small. Warm. A little amused. "Okay."
And somehow that single word made Dina's heart beat even faster than when she'd first seen there was one bed.
Ellie dropped her backpack onto the small table in the corner and took a slow look around the room.
The hotel room was clean but unmistakably utilitarian, furnished with just the essentials for weary travelers passing through.
Immediately inside the door, a tiny bathroom sat to the right, its narrow doorway revealing a compact vanity, toilet, and shower tucked efficiently into the small space.
Beyond the bathroom, against the opposite wall, stood a single queen-sized bed made with crisp white linens. Matching nightstands flanked either side, both topped with a simple lamp that cast a warm, amber glow over the room.
Directly across from the bed was a large rectangular dresser. A single oversized cabinet door dominated one half of the piece, while several drawers occupied the other. Resting on top was a modest flat-screen television, angled toward the bed.
Beside the dresser sat a small wooden desk with a rolling office chair tucked neatly underneath, the only real workspace in the room.
The muted earth tones, beige walls, and generic landscape print above the bed gave the room the familiar, anonymous feel of a hotel—a place designed not to be memorable, but to provide a comfortable night’s sleep.
“It’s not bad,” Ellie shrugged.
“By stranded-passenger standards?” Dina asked.
“Exactly.”
Ellie wandered toward the cabinet beneath the television. There was a pause followed by an excited—
“Oh, hell yes!”
Dina looked up from where she was unpacking her phone charger from her bag. “Hmm?”
Ellie stepped back to expose a mini fridge tucked into the cubby of the dresser. With a grin spreading across her face, she opened the refrigerator door, revealing a fully stocked mini bar inside. “Score.”
Dina laughed. “What goodies did you find?”
Ellie crouched in front of the open door and began surveying the contents. “You down for a nightcap or three?”
Dina considered it for roughly half a second. “Why not?”
“Yessss.” Ellie pumped a fist triumphantly.
Dina shook her head, smiling. “You are way too excited about overpriced, bottle barrel alcohol.”
“You say that like we aren’t stranded overnight.”
“Fair point.”
Ellie began pulling items out one at a time. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
She held up a tiny bottle. “Vodka.”
Onto the counter it went, then—
“Gin.”
“Ugh, Christmas tree in a bottle, hard pass.”
Ellie glanced with a chuckle, “Agreed!”
Pulling out another.
“Whiskey.”
Dina raised an eyebrow. “That’s promising.”
Ellie reached back into the fridge. “We’ve got Tequila and some mixers…sour mix, tonic water, ginger ale, club soda, coke…”
She lined them up beside the liquor bottles like a bartender preparing for a very disappointing shift. “Oh, and tiny wines to keep things classy.”
She held up two miniature bottles.
Dina laughed. “Those are adorable.”
“They’re trying their best,” Ellie said, setting them down and scanning their options.
For a moment she looked genuinely thoughtful. Then she pointed dramatically at the lineup.
“We’re either about to have a surprisingly sophisticated evening or wake up regretting every decision we’ve ever made,” Ellie shrugged like she was fine going in either direction.
“I appreciate that those are the only two possibilities,” Dina chuckled.
“It’s important to stay realistic.”
Dina crossed the room and joined her near the fridge. Their shoulders bumped lightly as they looked over the selection.
Ellie held up the vodka. “Thoughts?”
“I don’t trust mini-bar vodka.”
“Fair point, maybe later when we’re in more desperate times.”
The vodka was returned to the shelf, the gin following close behind.
A few minutes later they had assembled a pair of simple drinks in plastic cups and settled onto the floor at the foot of the bed.
The atmosphere shifted almost immediately.
Not because of the alcohol.
But because they were comfortable. The kind of comfortable that felt strange when you realized you’d only met someone a few hours ago.
Ellie lifted her cup.
“To canceled flights.”
Dina laughed and clinked hers against it. “To mechanical failures before takeoff.”
“And to whatever poor mechanic is having the worst day of their life right now.”
“Oof, definitely to that guy.”
They drank.
xxxxxxxxx
Breaking into the mini bar had proven to be a terrible idea.
Or maybe a great one.
Dina hadn't decided yet.
A handful of miniature bottles sat empty on the dresser while she and Ellie still occupied the carpet at the foot of the bed, backs resting against the mattress.
The conversation had continued to flow effortlessly for hours.
Every story seemed to lead to another.
A missed connection in Chicago.
A six-hour delay in Seattle.
A rental car disaster in Phoenix.
At one point Ellie laughed so hard at one of Dina's stories that she nearly spit out her drink.
"There's no way you actually got locked in the airport bathroom."
"It wasn't locked," Dina protested.
"That's not what you said five minutes ago."
"Okay, fine. It was locked."
Ellie pointed triumphantly. "Ha!"
Dina rolled her eyes, laughing. "You're so annoying."
"That's not the first time I've been told that."
“I wouldn’t doubt it…”
The warmth from the drinks settled comfortably in Dina's chest. Not enough to make her feel out of control, just enough to smooth away the remaining nerves and give her a buzz.
Somewhere along the way they'd drifted closer together, but neither seemed to notice when it happened.
Dina's attention caught on the tattoo disappearing beneath the sleeve of Ellie's hoodie.
"Can I see those?"
Ellie glanced down. "My tattoos?"
"Yeah."
Without hesitation, Ellie pulled her hoodie over her head leaving her in a black t-shirt and more body art than Dina anticipated.
Holy hell…
Dina didn’t know where to look first as Ellie offered her her arm.
The ink started at Ellie’s wrist and stretched the length of her arm before disappearing under the sleeve of her tee.
Dina gripped Ellie’s arm carefully and settled the limb across her lap.
"These are amazing."
Up close, she could appreciate the detail she'd only glimpsed earlier on the plane.
Dina gently rotated Ellie’s forearm in her hands, studying one of the larger pieces that stretched along the inside of her arm.
Below the crock of Ellie’s elbow was a moth, its wings spread wide as if frozen mid-flight. The artist had packed an incredible amount of detail into it—the delicate veins in the wings, the soft texture suggested in the body, the subtle shading that made it seem almost three-dimensional. Framing the moth were curling fern fronds that wound around it in graceful arcs, their leaves overlapping and intertwining with the design as they snaked to the top of Ellie’s forearm and down onto the back of her hand. The whole piece felt natural and understated, flowing beautifully without being flashy.
“I think this one’s my favorite,” Dina admitted, tracing one of the fern leaves.
Ellie’s expression softened immediately. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s gorgeous.”
A small smile tugged at Ellie’s mouth. “That one’s for my mom.”
Dina looked up.
Ellie was staring down at the tattoo now, her thumb brushing absentmindedly across part of the design.
“She loved being outdoors,” Ellie said. “Any chance she got, she’d drag me out onto a hiking trail somewhere. Forest preserves, state parks, mountains if we could afford the trip.”
Dina smiled. “The ferns remind you those trips…”
Ellie nodded. “Everything was always green. Always smelled like dirt and wet leaves and fresh air.”
“And the moth?”
A quiet chuckle escaped Ellie. “Mom loved them. Said they reminded her of new life, reminded her to always look for the light when things got dark.”
“That’s a great outlook.”
“Yeah,” Ellie said, her smile growing a little. “She used to leave the porch light on in the summer and then spend half the evening pointing out different ones she’d find. She acted like every moth was a rare discovery.”
Dina glanced back down at the tattoo. Suddenly it felt less like ink and more like a collection of memories preserved in skin.
“That’s actually really sweet.”
Ellie nodded. “After she passed away, I wanted something that reminded me of her without just putting her name on my arm.”
Dina’s gaze lingered on the design for a moment. The moth at the center. The ferns surrounding it. The care that had clearly gone into every detail.
“You chose well.”
For a second Ellie didn’t respond, then she smiled softly. “Thanks.”
The room fell quiet, but not an uncomfortable silence. Just one of those moments where neither person felt the need to immediately fill the space.
Dina carefully turned Ellie's arm a little further to get a better look at another tattoo partially hidden along her inner bicep.
This one made her pause.
A giraffe.
Not a cartoon or a stylized silhouette, but a beautifully detailed giraffe rendered in fine black lines. Its long neck curved elegantly upward, ears perked forward, expression almost peaceful. The artist had captured something surprisingly graceful.
Dina smiled. "Okay, I need the story behind this one."
Ellie glanced down and immediately laughed. "I get that reaction a lot."
"I mean..." Dina looked back at the tattoo. "The moth made me emotional, but this giraffe has me a little confused."
Ellie snorted. "That’s fair."
Dina settled back against the bed. "So?"
A fond smile appeared on Ellie's face. "A few years ago, Joel and I took a trip together—"
“Wait, I'm sorry to interrupt, but who’s Joel?” Dina asked. The way Ellie said his name carried obvious affection.
“Oh, he and his wife, Tess, are the folks in Wyoming who took me in after my mom passed, they’re basically my parents without the shared DNA,” Ellie explained with a fond smile.
“I like them already, go on,” Dina smiled.
"Joel always wanted to visit one of those wildlife parks where the animals roam around and you drive through."
Dina nodded. "That sounds fun."
"It was,” Ellie's eyes brightened as she remembered. "They had this platform area where you could hand-feed the giraffes, it was unbelievable."
Ellie glanced at the tattoo again. "I remember standing there just absolutely in awe of how huge they were. Up close they're enormous, they could seriously fuck you up if they wanted to."
Dina raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "That’s comforting."
"But they don’t,” Ellie's smile softened. "They’re so gentle."
For a moment she seemed transported back to the memory.
"These massive animals would lower their heads down and carefully take leaves right out of your hand." She held up her fingers to demonstrate. "They were so careful, like they knew how much strength they had."
Dina listened quietly.
"Their eyes were huge," Ellie continued. "And they were curious about everything. One of them almost tugged my hood over my head."
"You sound like you're in love with them."
Ellie laughed. "Maybe a little."
"I knew it!" Dina chuckled, taking a sip of her drink.
"But honestly?" Ellie looked down at the tattoo. "I think it stuck with me because it surprised me so much."
Dina tilted her head. "How so?"
Ellie considered the question.
"I expected something intimidating." Her thumb brushed lightly over the ink. "Instead I got something gentle…it kind of taught me not to judge a book by it’s cover."
Dina's gaze lingered on the tattoo, then on Ellie's face—at the fondness there. The way she smiled when talking about the people and memories connected to the artwork.
"You know," Dina said, "that's actually a pretty great reason to get a tattoo."
Ellie smiled. "Yeah?”
A beat passed.
Then Dina grinned. "I'm still going to tell people you have a thing for giraffes."
Ellie groaned and lifted her cup to her lips. "Please don't."
"No promises."
The laugh that escaped Ellie filled the room again, warm and easy, and for a moment Dina found herself thinking that she could probably listen to her tell stories all night.
She gave Ellie’s arm a gentle squeeze, running her fingertips over her inner forearm again, tracing the moth’s wings. “I think this one is still my favorite.”
Ellie’s smile returned, warmer this time. “Mine too.”
The next several minutes passed with Dina asking more questions and Ellie explaining pieces of artwork.
Some represented places. Others represented more memories.
A few were simply things she'd thought looked cool at nineteen.
"At least you're honest,” Dina chuckled at a band logo near her elbow.
"No point in lying."
Dina laughed, leaning closer to examine a small detail hidden among the lines. "Oh, that's clever."
"What?" Ellie leaned over.
"This,” Dina pointed out.
Ellie looked down then back up.
And found Dina watching her. For a moment neither spoke and the laughter faded naturally into silence.
Ellie suddenly became aware of how close they were sitting.
Close enough to notice the different shades of chocolate in Dina's beautiful dark eyes. Close enough to see the faint smile lingering at the corners of her mouth.
The room felt quieter than before.
Neither looked away.
Dina felt her heartbeat pick up as Ellie's emerald gaze flickered briefly downward before returning to her eyes.
The moment stretched.
Long enough for both of them to become aware of it.
Long enough for Dina to realize exactly why her pulse was racing.
They were both slowly leaning in—
—and that realization hit her like a bucket of ice water.
Dina stood so abruptly that Ellie jumped, recoiling so hard she ended up on her opposite hip, her arm sliding off Dina’s lap and onto the floor.
"I should—" Dina cleared her throat, "uh, get ready for bed."
The words came out far less smoothly than she'd intended.
"Oh," Ellie blinked. "Yeah, ok."
Dina immediately regretted her actions. But instead of explaining herself, she grabbed her duffel bag.
"I'll only be a minute,” she said quickly and then escaped into the bathroom.
The door clicked shut behind her and Dina leaned both hands against the counter, staring at her reflection.
Her heart was pounding.
"What are you doing?" she muttered to herself.
The answer was unfortunately obvious.
She'd panicked.
Dina groaned softly and covered her face with her hands.
There had been a moment there. A real, mutual moment. Everything she’d been not so secretly hoping for all day.
And she'd practically sprinted in the opposite direction.
Outside the bathroom, she could hear Ellie moving around the room, tidying up the empty bottles, giving her space.
Inside, Dina shook her head at herself.
When she’d first spotted Ellie outside the coffee shop, the attraction had been immediate. Simple. Easy to explain.
Ellie was beautiful, case closed.
Or so Dina had thought.
Now, things felt considerably more complicated. Somewhere between the coffee shop and sharing appetizers over beers, Dina had discovered that Ellie was more than just attractive.
Much more.
She thought about the way Ellie’s face had lit up while talking about her mother and the subsequent move to Wyoming. The obvious love she had for firefighting and being a paramedic. The pride in her voice when she talked about helping people.
Even the way she’d insisted on paying for dinner—not because she was trying to impress anyone, but because she genuinely wanted to.
There was a kindness to her, a sincerity that was so rare she hardly recognized it at first.
Dina found herself smiling. It was ridiculous, really. She’d known this woman for a less than a day yet somehow, she already felt more comfortable around Ellie than she had around people she’d known for years. She trusted her.
Maybe it was because Ellie seemed so unapologetically herself—no games, no posturing, no trying to impress anyone. Just genuine.
And God, that was attractive.
More attractive than the green eyes. More attractive than the tattoos hidden beneath that hoodie. More attractive than the smile that kept making Dina’s stomach do backflips.
The physical attraction had been what caught her attention, but it was Ellie’s heart that was keeping it.
Eventually, after spending far too long staring at herself in the bathroom mirror and replaying the last few hours in her head, Dina splashed cold water on her face and changed into her sleep wear— a pair of athletic shorts and an oversized t-shirt.
She adjusted the hair tie holding her locks in a high, messy bun and took a steadying breath before opening the bathroom door.
Ellie was sitting on the edge of the bed, with her phone in hand.
“I set my alarm for eight," Ellie announced, looking up.
And froze, just for a second.
Dina paused halfway through closing the bathroom door.
"What?"
Ellie blinked. "Huh?"
"You just made a face."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
A grin tugged at the corner of Ellie's mouth. "I was just surprised."
"By what?"
Ellie gestured vaguely.
"The whole..." Her hand circled in the air. "Not-airport version of you."
Dina laughed. "The not-airport version of me?"
"Yeah. No backpack. No coffee. No panic over canceled flights."
"I didn’t panic."
"You definitely panicked."
Dina rolled her eyes and finally took a proper look at Ellie.
She was still wearing the same jeans and t-shirt she'd been in all day.
"Wait."
Ellie looked up.
"Is that what you're sleeping in?"
“Yeah.” Ellie glanced down at herself. "The rest of my stuff is in my checked bag."
Everything clicked into place for Dina. "The checked bag currently trapped at the airport."
"Correct."
Dina winced. "That's rough."
Ellie shrugged. "I've slept in worse, I once passed out in the locker room after a call in full turnouts."
There was a brief pause.
Then Dina cleared her throat. "You know...you could take the jeans off if you'd be more comfortable."
The words sounded significantly more awkward once they'd actually left her mouth.
Ellie raised an eyebrow and grinned instantly.
Dina immediately regretted everything. "That's not what I meant."
"Are you trying to get me naked, Dina?"
For a horrifying second, Dina's brain completely stopped functioning. The joke landed so unexpectedly that all coherent thought vanished.
Ellie watched her struggle not to choke on absolutely nothing. Then she laughed. "I'm fucking with you."
"I know."
"You looked terrified."
"I was not terrified."
"You were."
Dina pointed at her. "You’re an ass."
"So I've been told."
Still chuckling, Ellie stood and undid her belt. She kept her head down while she unzipped and stepped out of her pants, leaving her in a snug pair of black boxer briefs.
"Happy now?"
"Very."
"That's a weird answer."
Dina groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Please stop talking."
Laughing, Ellie stepped over to the desk in the corner and folded her jeans neatly and set her hat and socks on top. When she turned back toward the bed, the casual confidence she'd carried all day was somehow even more disarming without the oversized hoodie she'd been hiding in all day.
Dina gave her a quick—and hopefully sly—once over, taking in her broad shoulders, defined arms, and general athletically toned body.
Fuck.
Dina quickly looked away before she could get caught staring. The last thing she needed was another awkward moment. Unfortunately, her brain seemed determined to create them tonight.
She busied herself with turning down the blankets while Ellie plugged her phone in on the nightstand.
Outside the window, the lights of the airport glowed against the dark Colorado sky.
"So," Ellie said after a moment, climbing onto the mattress on the other side, "how do we share this bed without making it weird?"
Dina laughed. "I think we're way past making it weird."
Ellie smiled and pointed to an invisible line down the center of the mattress.
“Alright, treaty line. Half the bed is yours, half is mine."
Dina smirked, quirking a brow. "What happens if someone crosses the line?"
Ellie pretended to think about it. "Severe diplomatic consequences."
Dina snorted. "Reasonable, yet frightening."
"I thought so."
The easy banter helped. The nervous energy that had built up after the almost-moment gradually faded into something softer.
Eventually they both settled beneath the blankets, careful to leave an exaggerated amount of space between them.
The silence lasted all of thirty seconds.
"This bed is smaller than it looks," Ellie observed.
"It really is."
Another pause.
Then both of them laughed.
The tension finally broke.
As the room grew quieter, conversation drifted from favorite books to terrible jobs they'd worked, and places they wanted to visit someday.
Somewhere in the middle of Ellie describing a disastrous camping trip with Joel, Dina found herself smiling into the darkness.
Somehow a random conversation on a plane had turned into one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable nights she'd had in a long time.
Eventually Ellie's voice grew softer, then slower until a yawn interrupted the story she was telling.
Dina smiled. "Tired?"
"A little."
"Liar," Dina teased.
"Okay, very."
The room fell comfortably quiet again.
"Good night, Dina."
"Night, Ellie."
And for several minutes after the lights went out, neither of them seemed to fall asleep right away. Both stared up at the ceiling, listening to the hum of the air conditioner and wondering about the strange chain of events that had put them in the same room in the first place.
