Page 32 of Hurry Up And Wait

Kavanaugh turned to me curiously. “Not ever or not with him?”

“Why? Are you propositioning me?”

The brown of his eyes deepened as mischief spread across his face. “Maybe.”

“Uh…we don’t have a room set up for that here,” Dash pointed out.

“And even if we did, that wouldn’t get us any closer to finding out what’s inside this beauty.” IRIS moved around the table, examining the package carefully. His eyebrows were pulled down in intense scrutiny and his fingers drummed against the table as he considered the contents.

“Can’t we just open it?” I asked.

All three of them jerked their gazes at me.

“Just like that?” Dash asked.

“Yeah,” Kavanaugh said hesitantly. “You just want to open it?”

“How else are we going to find out what’s inside?” I asked curiously.

“Guess,” IRIS said, staring at me like I was insane.

“You…just want to stand around and guess.”

Kavanaugh chuckled, walking over to me and taking my hand. “Look, Isla. I get that you’re new at this, but there’s a method to our madness.”

“And that would be?”

“I don’t think you understand the repercussions of opening the box.”

I thought for certain he would tell me it was dangerous or maybe too much for me to handle. Instead, he completely shocked me.

“Once we open it, we’ll know what’s in there.”

I waited for the hook. There had to be something else that was missing. “And?”

“And once you know, it’s no longer a mystery. Don’t you get it? Right now, there’s a world of possibilities. It could be anything.”

“Well, not anything,” Dash spoke up. “A plane wouldn’t fit in there.”

“Or an elephant,” IRIS pointed out.

“Or a host of other things,” Kavanaugh gritted out. “But the point is, right now, that box is treasure. And if you just tear it open…that’s it. No more mystery.”

I couldn’t believe I was standing here with three grown men who were looking at me like this little box held the keys to the universe. It was just a box from my ex. There was nothing in there that would change the world. At least, I sincerely hoped not. Yet, they all watched me with hopeful eyes.

That’s why it was really kind of sad to watch their faces fall when I snatched the box off the table and tore the brown paper wrap. Gasps filled the small room as each of them watched in horror as I decimated the wrapping. The secret was partially out. It was a box. A plain, ordinary box.

“Well, no plane.”

“So far,” Dash muttered. “It could be extremely tiny.”

“It’s not a plane,” I huffed. “Trust me. I know Shawn. He wants to send a message, not buy me a trip to a luxury island.”

I dug my finger under the tape along the edge, peeling it up slowly. I could feel the anticipation growing in the room as I unsealed the first edge. Then Kavanaugh walked over and took the package from me.

“I’ll do that.”

“Why?”