Chapter 2 #2
I wasn’t a sneakerhead by any stretch of the imagination. But I loved fashion, and I loved anything that looked good on me. And the black-and-white abstract two-tone high-top sneakers that were in the box were hot.
“You like them?” he asked expectantly.
There was a hint of nervousness in his question that forced my eyes to his immediately.
“I love them,” I gushed, pulling one of them out to get a closer look. “These are so cool.” Leaning forward, I planted a swift kiss against his smiling mouth. “Thank you!”
He sat back in his seat, a self-satisfied grin on his face. “You’re welcome. You can dress them up or down. They even look good with what you have on.”
I put the shoe next to my thigh and nodded. “Yeah, it does,” I agreed. “Where did you get these? I’ve never seen them before.”
“I designed them.”
“What?” I gasped. “You did?”
Grinning, he looked down at the shoe, almost bashful for a moment. “I like to design. So, I grabbed a pair of all whites and created this. With you in mind.” He looked up, locking eyes with me. “I don’t get to design as much as I’d like, but I’ve been inspired this summer.”
My stomach flipped. “Any particular reason you’ve been so inspired?”
He licked his lips. “Yeah. One.”
The heat crept up my neck and flushed my face.
“I’m glad you decided to wear black tonight,” he continued before I could respond. “You’re going to need these in a few minutes.”
“For what—?”
“Here you are,” the driver announced, slowing to a stop.
I looked around, at first only noticing the warehouse building and the minimal foot traffic. I saw about a dozen cars—including Russ’s—and still no signage.
“Thank you, man,” Russ said to the driver before jumping out of the car.
I’d put the shoe back into the box and returned the box to the bag by the time my door opened.
“I’m not getting out of this car until you tell me why you brought me to an abandoned warehouse,” I stated, crossing my arms stubbornly. Turning to the driver, I leaned toward the front seat. “Are you in on this, Matt? Is he paying you to pretend you never saw me?”
The man’s eyes bulged, and a panicky laugh escaped him. “What? No!”
“Sir, is this a setup?” I pointed to Russ with conviction. “Are you working with this man to abduct me? Why did he just pop his trunk?”
“Oh my God, Nina, stop fucking with Matt and let him leave.” Russ ducked his head back into the car. “I’m going to increase your tip for having to deal with her bullshit.” Russ extended his hand to me. “Let’s go, Nina.”
“Sorry, Matt,” I giggled as I was pulled out of the car.
“Y’all are funny,” he commented. “I hope you enjoy your anniversary, ma’am.”
Surprised, my eyebrows shot up.
“Thank you,” Russ called out, closing the door behind me.
“Our anniversary?” I questioned as the car drove away.
“He assumed I was doing all of this for our anniversary, so I just let him believe it.” He shrugged, still holding my hand. “Let’s get you into your new shoes.”
I bit my lip as he led me the few steps to his car. “Oh, I need to wear these now?” I eyed him suspiciously, yet my smile grew. “What is going on?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
“You lied to me. You lied to Matt.” I shook my head. “Mm, mm, mm.”
He opened the passenger-side door for me. “Matt assumed, and I let him believe what he wanted to believe. And now that I think about it, didn’t we meet on a Sunday? It could be our anniversary.” He helped me sit sideways in the car, my feet still on the ground.
“We did meet on a Sunday, at the beginning of June,” I confirmed. “It’s been two months. I’d have to pull out my calendar to know the exact date.”
Crouching in front of me, he gently pulled my shoes off. “So, I didn’t lie to Matt.” He replaced my pumps with the sneakers he’d gotten me. “And you…” He looked up at me. “I’ve never lied to you.” As he laced up and tied the sneakers, he continued. “I’m going to always keep it real with you.”
“So does that mean you’re going to tell me what we’re doing here?”
He tossed the box with my heels inside them to the backseat. “Hell no.”
“Wow.”
He stood, helping me up along the way. Bringing his face close to mine, he whispered, “Enjoy the surprise.”
“I always do.”
“I got you the shoes for the date…” Licking his lips, he bypassed me and reached back into the car. Opening his glovebox, he pulled out a small velvet-covered box. “But when I was on my way from a meeting, I saw this and thought of you.” Popping it open, he presented it to me.
I gasped at the white-gold bangle with the twisted hook clasp. “Russ. This is beautiful. Thank you.”
“You like it?”
Ripping my eyes away from it, I stared up at him. “I love it.”
“Good.” He took the bracelet from the box and clasped it around my wrist. “Because it looks good on you.”
“Yes, it does. And it goes with almost everything.” Lacing my fingers with his, I gazed up at him. “You know what else looks good on me?”
“Everything.”
Grinning, I let him lead me toward an entrance. “You better stop flirting with me.”
His eyes danced and the excitement was teeming from his body. “Let’s go.” As we approached a door, he shook his head. “Oh, let me tip extra for the ride since you pulled that abduction stunt.”
I laughed. “He knew I was joking. If he didn’t, I would’ve immediately told him that I was a willing participant in anything having to do with you.” I checked him out. “I’m ready and willing, you hear me? Ready… and willing.”
He adjusted himself. “You better stop teasing me,” he warned.
“Or what?”
I saw his eyes flash.
He opened the door to allow me to enter first, but he caught me by my waist before I could breeze by him. “Remember this moment,” he whispered, sending a chill down my spine.
“Welcome to Sky High Tours!” a young woman greeted us, stealing my attention. “How can I help you?”
My skin was still heated from Russ’s warning, and since my mind was consumed with nasty thoughts, it took me a second to realize we weren’t in a random warehouse. We were in a hangar.
I gasped.
I wasn’t completely sure what was going on, but I felt excited. I loved the beauty, the colors, the perfection of the sky. And my intuition was telling me I was going to see it up close.
“Yes, we have reservations for seven forty-five,” Russ replied.
She checked the papers in her hand. “Mr. Long and Ms. Ford?”
“Yes.”
“Follow me. I’ll get you to Bruce.”
Two women who looked like they’d just had the ride of their lives were speaking to a man dressed similarly to the employee in front of us.
There was someone working in a small office to the side and a couple sitting on a leather couch outside of that office.
And since the big sliding doors on the opposite side of the building were opened, I saw a helicopter parked in the distance.
“… and the couple with the seven thirty reservation is getting briefed and will be taking off shortly,” she continued. “You can have a seat on the couch they just vacated. Bruce will be with you shortly with your forms.”
“I got them right here,” an older man announced, coming up to us from the side, waving clipboards in the air. “I just need you to fill out these forms and then we can get you squared away.” He looked me up and down before handing me my clipboard. “Have you read the rules and requirements?”
“I haven’t yet, but I will,” I assured him.
“I’ve read them and made sure we were in accordance before I paid for the experience,” Russ said firmly.
His curt tone caught my attention. I glanced up at him.
“Very well. We may have to verify,” the older gentleman stated before turning on his heels and scurrying away.
“Let’s have a seat,” Russ suggested, pointing to the leather couch. His tone was back to normal, but his expression was still perplexing.
“Are you okay?” I wondered as I took a seat.
“Yes, of course. How are you feeling? Are you surprised?”
“I’m so surprised. And I’m excited. How did you even come up with something like this?”
“I know how much you love the sky, so I’ve been planning this for a little while now.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“This is…” I let my sentence trail off as I shook my head. “I had no idea what to expect, and you just continue to blow my mind.”
He slipped his arm around my shoulder and leaned over to me. With his lips against my ear, he whispered, “I plan to do that repeatedly over the course of tonight.”
My lower body clenched. Turning my head so our lips touched, I let out a soft whimper that I knew drove him crazy. “Promise?”
He cleared his throat and placed the clipboard in his lap to cover the growing bulge. “We need to sign these consent forms before they’ll let us fly and then I’m taking you home.”
I smirked. “What about dinner?”
“Fuck dinner.”
Laughing, I focused my attention on the rules of the aircraft. Everything seemed pretty standard, and I signed the waiver.
“I’m going to run to the restroom before we take off,” I told him after we gave our clipboards to the man who’d greeted us when we walked in.
“Yeah, I should probably do the same.” He rose to his feet and then helped me to mine.
The restroom sign was not far from where we were.
The men’s room was first. Russ disappeared through the door.
Around the corner, the women’s room was waiting for me.
It didn’t take me very long, and after washing my hands and lathering on lotion, I exited.
I’d barely gotten out the door when I was stopped by the older Sky High Tours employee.
“Hi, Ms. Ford. Just wanted to catch you while you were alone.”
Instantly, I was uncomfortable. “Oh, really?” Continuing to walk until I was in the main part of the hangar, I waited until I could be seen by others before I turned to him. “What’s up?”
“I’ve reached out to my supervisor. He should be getting back to me at any minute now. I just need to verify something—you wrote down that you weigh two hundred fifty pounds. Is that accurate, or would you like to use our scale located in the women’s room?”