6. Eli
Eli
Ican’t stop looking at her.
She knows it, too. There’s no way she doesn’t. I see the way she tries to hide her glances over at me. I took her out of her comfort zone. Hell, it was out of mine too. But it was the hottest fucking thing ever.
Veronica was like putty under my fingers. So moldable. All I want is to see how far I can push her. To taste her. To have her come all over my face. I want her to be mine, and I don’t even know her.
Veronica sits with her legs angled away from me, one leg crossed over the other. She pulls a book from her bag and opens it, sending me a clear and deliberate message.
Don’t talk to me.
Yeah, sorry, Princess, but that’s not going to work.
Not after what just happened. Not after I’ve been inside you.
I lean back in my seat, dragging a hand over my mouth, trying and failing not to grin like an idiot. My pulse still hasn’t settled. Hell, I’m not sure it ever will.
I just had sex. In a bathroom. On a plane.
Jesus.
That was never even on my radar, and now it’s sitting at the top of the list like it was always meant to be there. Like it was waiting for her.
For us.
I let out a quiet breath, shaking my head. She was incredible. The way she reacted to me. Did just as I said. Begging for more. Did she know what she was doing to me?
She enjoyed it just as much as I did. She wanted it to happen, and didn't just allow it to.
I bite back a laugh at the memory of stepping out of that tiny bathroom behind her, trying to look like I hadn’t just lost all sense of judgment thirty thousand feet in the air. The flight attendant’s face killed me. She wasn’t fooled one bit about what we were doing inside there.
She didn’t fall for my weak excuse of having to help her with her pants due to a broken finger.
Yeah. Subtle was something we definitely weren’t.
And now Veronica is ignoring me. Her head is so stuck in the book she’s reading as she tries to ignore me.
I study the way her fingers rest against the page, how still she is. She’s aware of me watching her. I’d bet money on it. She may be reading, but she’s also using it as a barrier. A way of not having to deal with what happened. She’s distancing herself from me.
And I don’t want distance.
Not from her.
The thought hits harder than it should. I barely know this woman.
I don’t know where she lives, what she does, if she’s traveling alone or meeting someone when we land.
If she’s even single. Hell, she could be just what she said, a mother of six looking for her next husband.
And yet that doesn’t have me running for the hills. I still want her.
I close my eyes briefly, exhaling through my nose.
No condom.
What the hell was I thinking?
I’m not that guy. I never have been. I’ve always been careful, always the one in control, always thinking ahead. I’ve never not wrapped my dick before sex.
Except with her.
A rookie mistake. But even as the thought settles in, there’s something else underneath it, something far more dangerous.
I don’t regret it. Not even a little.
I shift forward in my seat, angling my body toward her in the small space we have. She turns a page, slow and deliberate. Still not looking over at me.
She’s trying to play it cool. That’s okay, because two can play that game. She’s not shutting me out.
There’s no way in hell I’m not walking off this plane without a way to find her again. I don’t care if this started as a reckless, impulsive moment. I’m not letting it end that way.
I want more.
Not just of what we did, but of her.
I want to know who she is when she’s not pressed up against me in a cramped airplane bathroom. What she sounds like in a real conversation. What makes her laugh. The way her face looks when she gazes at the person she loves.
I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans, already forming a plan.
The book. That’s my opening.
I’ll ask about what she’s reading. Then, when we land, I’ll offer to buy her a coffee. A little more conversation and I’ll get her number. We can make a date to meet, and maybe I can find out where she lives.
If she gives me even an inch, I’ll take it and run with it. I just need her to give it to me.
I take a breath. It’s now or never.
“Veronica, what are you reading?” I lean in to her and ask, my shoulder brushing against hers.
“Just a book,” she replies without looking up.
“What’s it about? I want to read and get cultured too,” I whine, causing her to shake her head.
I wish I knew what she was thinking.
Leaning over a little more, I try to read what’s on the page. She shifts, trying to pull the book out of my view.
“I’m trying to read,” she huffs.
“So was I. Kind of rude not to share. Wouldn't you say?”
“It’s also rude to look over someone’s shoulder.” She turns the page and really tries to focus on her book. Ignoring me.
“So, what’s it about?”
She closes the book and turns to face me. “Can you stop?” Then she adds on. “Please.”
“Stop what, Princess? Trying to get to know you? Ask you for your number?”
“Yes, all of those.” She closes the book and reaches down, placing it in her bag then crosses her arms over her chest, letting her head fall back against the seat. She closes her eyes, and I start to wonder if I pushed too hard.
But I have to.
Our plane will be landing soon and I need to know how to find her. There’s something about her that calls to my soul, and I refuse to lose her. I decide to leave her alone, but I don’t take my eyes off of her.
Time passes and before I know it the flight attendant starts her spiel before our descent. It’s now or never. I need to try to connect with her again. As I stare at the beauty before me, I see a tear sliding down her cheek.
Did I go to far? Have I upset her?
I reach out, wiping it away.
“Veronica, are you okay?” I ask in concern.
“Yeah, just thinking of my dad. He passed away a couple of years ago,” she tells me softly, her voice cracking. I can see the tears welling in her eyes as she turns her head to look at me.
I reach out, taking her hand in mine, squeezing it gently.
“I understand. My mom passed away about six years ago from cancer.” I’m not sure why I’m opening up to her about it.
I’ve not shared it with anyone. But I want her to know.
“We thought she could beat anything. She fought it twice, but it kept coming back with a vengeance, finally winning. We were there with her until the moment she took her last breath.” I fight back the tears that are forming.
“I’m sorry,” she tells me, squeezing my hand back. She shifts her body back toward mine, our knees touching now.
“There’s not a day I don’t think about her or want to pick up the phone and call her,” I continue. “So I won’t tell you that the hurt goes away. You just learn to deal with it a little better. The breakdown and tears become less, but never go away.” I give her a warm smile as I gaze into her eyes.
The plane lands and begins to taxi to the terminal. Almost there.
“So, Veronica, is there any way I can get your number? Call you sometime, maybe meet up and go on an actual date?”
“I’m sorry, you’re hot as fuck, and I really, really like you, but I don’t see this going anywhere. We most likely live nowhere near each other, and a date just seems a step backward after what we just did.”
Is she kidding me? I see it as a move in the right direction.
“Veronica” Just as I say her name, the flight attendant calls for us to disembark. Without saying a word back to me, she stands up quickly, snatches her bag from the floor and steps into the aisle. I get held up by people, and by the time I’m off the plane she’s rushing away.
“Veronica, Veronica!” I call after her but she’s moving fast. And before I know it, she disappears into the crowd, and I’ve lost her.
I’ve lost the woman who makes my heart yearn for something more. All I can do is hope that I see her before I leave. But I can’t stay and look for her. I need to make it to the shop and try on the suits.