Chapter 20
LUKE
Aspen dropped into the plane seat beside me. “When you said we were flying to LA, I thought it was going to be the commercial flight out of Bozeman.”
She looked around the interior of the private jet. It seated fourteen, but it was only the two of us as passengers.
“A perk of my job,” I said. I told her earlier I was rich, but she probably already made that assumption based on the fact that I was a TV star. But the jet solidified it.
“It’s a good thing because I snuck a full-sized bottle of shampoo in my bag.”
That’s what she had to say? That she was trying to break a liquids rule through security? Not a comment about my money or how I could get a private jet in a few hours’ notice or if they had champagne? Although, after her wine the night before, she probably had no interest in more alcohol.
Still…
Why was I surprised that she wasn’t in awe? She hadn’t recognized me. Didn’t care that I was a TV star. Hell, that was probably what she liked about me the least. A private jet and she didn’t bat an eyelash.
It was because I surrounded myself with so many fake people who wanted more. More money. More fame. More status. Working in the TV industry was filled with moochers and schemers who wanted more. Everyone pretended. Image was everything. LA, in general, was the same way.
I was the one who’d become jaded. Who’d lost track of what normal was. Aspen was being herself and reminding me of how much I needed a reality check.
I liked it.
“It’s a good thing because I finally, finally have you to myself.”
The flight attendant appeared and said, “We’re ready for takeoff. Seat belts. If you need me, just push the call button, otherwise I’ll be in the galley for the flight.” With a smile, she returned to the front just as the engines turned on.
I looked to Aspen. “Not quite alone,” she said with a smile.
“Seat belt, tiger.” Instead of letting her do it, I reached across and connected the two ends for her. Then, being that close, I kissed her.
“Tell me something about you,” I whispered when I pulled back. Eventually. The plane was taxiing to the end of the runway.
Her mouth was inches from mine, our breaths mingling.
“What do you want to know?” she asked, her eyes on my lips.
“You know the capital of North Dakota and the largest land bird.”
A smile pulled at her lips. “Those are important things. Especially if you want to win fifty dollars at trivia.”
“They are.”
“Favorite color?”
“Orange.”
I pulled back a little to meet her eyes so they didn’t merge into one on her forehead. “Orange?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but that color looks awful on me so it’s not like I wear it. I wished I liked pink. It would make it so easy, but it would probably make Sierra vomit in her mouth.”
I grinned. “She seems like a tomboy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Total. I like it. So much easier than being a girly-girl.”
“You know what that’s like?”
“Oh yeah. I know the right fork to use. I can match fabric on drapes with a nearby couch and I can make small talk about any topic.”
“Really?”
She nodded as the plane took off, pressing us back into our seats.
“That sounds useful. Especially the matching fabric. If I remember correctly, you don’t even have drapes on your windows. And now that I say the word again… drapes, drapes, drapes. It sounds weird. What exactly are drapes?”
I continued to whisper it a few times.
“Special curtains,” she said. “So no drapes in your house?”
“No. My house is… well, you’ll see it. We’re staying there.”
“Oh, right. I didn’t really think about that. What, um, do I need to do to be your fake girlfriend?”
“Keep kissing me, for one.”
She smiled and leaned in the few inches for our lips to meet again.
“What else?”
“People need to know we’re together. I need to start posting pictures of us. Can I take one?”
“Okay.”
I didn’t want to move away from her mouth, but if we were going to do this, we might as well start. I took out my phone and pulled up the photo app. Taking her hand, I set it on my thigh. I took the pic, then showed it to Aspen.
It was obvious I was with a woman on a private plane, with the luxurious leather seats, the view out the window of blue sky and clouds. The image was nothing fancy or complicated. Candid. I fiddled with the photo in the social media app, added some text and a few hashtags, then posted.
“There.” I dropped my phone onto the seat beside me. “Now we can go back to kissing.”