Epilogue
EPILOGUE
SEQUEL BAIT
Ian
“How’s the pampered life in first class?” Bodie leans over the empty aisle seat next to me.
Trish’s seat.
“Just fine, thank you.” And it is true. So far this flight is going a hell of a lot smoother than the one from Atlanta to Houston.
Maybe it’s because this plane is a beast, nearly twice as long and twice as wide as the small puddle jumper plane I took just a few days ago.
But most probably it’s because the Xanax Dr. Brown prescribed for me kicked in while I was sitting at the gate.
No more bouncing legs or nervous sweats. It’s a weird feeling, because although the dose isn’t high enough to make me forget I’m in a small space, it makes me oddly undisturbed by it.
“Yeah, I bet.” Bodie slides into the leather recliner that is more like a fancy cot than an airplane seat to let the last of the people boarding pass by on their way to coach.
“And here I thought your recent promotion wouldn’t change you.
But the first chance you get you’ve separated yourself from the riffraff.
” He thumbs back toward coach where he and the rest of the NASA contingent heading to Germany sits.
“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes. “They haven’t given me the job yet.”
He scoffs. “Good as yours. Everyone knows it. Well-deserved too.” He gives me side-eye. “Just thought you’d like to sit with the rest of us poor civil servants.” He smirks. “You know, try bonding with your underlings and all.”
As government employees, our travel expenses are paid for by Uncle Sam. Which means coach and the lowest bidder. Unless you shell out the extra cash to upgrade. Which I did. “You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”
“Nope.” He looks extremely pleased with himself.
“I would’ve sat with you guys.” No, I really wouldn’t have. “But I thought Trish was going to come.” I nod at the seat he’s sitting in.
“Yeah, tough break on not being able to get her passport in time.” He lowers the seat back, raising his arms behind his head.
“I’d say you could console yourself when we arrive with a pretty blonde in lederhosen, but with the way you and Trish were looking at each other at the wedding, I figure you’ll be all work and no play this trip. ”
The smile on my face tells him he’s right.
He shifts in his seat, his brow pinching. “So, uh, speaking of the wedding…”
The unease in his voice, a stark contrast to his normal laid-back demeanor, has me concerned. “Yes?”
He focuses on the vent above us. “I met this girl.” He doesn’t look happy about it.
Whoa. I’ve never seen Bodie so serious. Even when hot wiring the International Space Station during the recent emergency spacewalk, the guy always has a grin on his face.
“At the wedding?” I run through the small list of people invited. All the women came with their husbands or boyfriends. The wedding planner? No, I shake my head internally. I heard her mention her husband and kids to Jules in a passing conversation. Faces flit through my mind. One of the waitstaff?
“Yeah, she, uh, sort of kicked my ass in bed.”
I stare for a beat. “You slept with her at Jackie’s wedding?”
He raises one brow in my direction. “This coming from the man who nearly rocked the trailer off its wheels just a few feet away from the reception?”
If it weren’t for the medication settling my nerves, I’d probably be beet red.
“Ah, yes, well…”
He laughs. “ Anyway .” Returning his gaze to the ceiling, Bodie frowns. “Then she just left.”
Concern gives way to laugher. “The great Vance Bodaway was loved and left?” I laugh some more. “That’s hilarious.”
His serious expression breaks, and he smiles. “Shut up.”
Relaxing back into my seat, I continue to chuckle. “What, she leave you in a horse stall somewhere?”
“Horse stall? Jesus, no. She took me to her room.”
“Her room?” Realization has my jaw dropping. “Wait. Do you mean?—”
“Is this seat taken, sugar?”
A petite brunette stands in the aisle, fingers curled around the handle of a carry-on bag. Her polished nails perfectly match the pink lipstick on her turned-up mouth.
“Trish?” I stare at her, unable to process what’s going on.
Bodie, shit-eating grin on his face, raises his seat back and stands. “I guess that means I’m headed back to coach with the rest of the peons.”
Trish frowns. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you already switch seats?” She lifts up on the tiptoes of her sky-high heels to look over Bodie’s shoulder. “I could take your?—"
“No!” I stand, cracking my head on the hard plastic above me. “Fuck.” I rub my head, giving Bodie, now laughing at my expense, a death glare. “Bodie was just leaving, weren’t you?”
Bodie smirks. “Ten-four, boss.” He leans down and plants a kiss on Trish’s cheek. “Glad you could make the trip.” Trish flushes. “We’ll have to drink one of those German beer boots on our time off from training.”
I shove his shoulder. “Move it, Bodaway, or I’ll boot your ass.”
Hands up, Bodie laughs again, but thankfully walks to the rear of the plane. I don’t stop glaring at him until the curtain separating the first class from coach sways shut.
“Aren’t you happy to see me, sugar?”
I turn back to Trish, who’s biting her pink lip.
“Of course.” I take her bag from her and pull her in for an awkward hug in the cramped space. “But what are you doing here? How are you here?”
“Please take your seats, we’re are getting ready for take-off.” A flight attendant squeezes by Trish, gesturing to her seat.
I step back toward the window, making room for Trish to sit down.
Once we’re both seated, Trish slides off her heels.
“You were so busy running around and making calls on how long it would take to expedite a passport, you never actually bothered to ask me if I had one.” She slides her bag off my lap and onto hers, pulling out her navy blue passport book from the front pocket.
“Which I did.” She tucks it back inside and places her bag in the compartment in front of us.
“I just never used it, because, you know, arrest warrant and all.” She shrugs.
“Luckily, it doesn’t expire for six months. ”
She already had a passport. I’m such an idiot. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, one, because I wanted you to make the decision to fly on your own.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand.
“I wanted you to know that you could do it, for you to believe in yourself.” She curls her legs up under her, looking tiny in the leather chair.
“And two, I thought you’d appreciate the surprise.
” She flutters her lashes at me. “Was I right?”
I nod, still trying to wrap my brain around it. Trish is going to Germany with me.
While one of the flight attendants begins the safety check spiel, Trish plays around with all the buttons and amenities in the first class nook, humming happily when she finds the sliding door that closes us off from the rest of the plane.
Clicking it shut, she pushes up the armrest that divides our seats.
My heart beats faster, but not because of the even smaller space she’s created. In fact, I barely notice the plane barreling down the runway.
Once in the air, Trish leans forward, grabbing one of the blankets and unfurling it before draping it over both of us. “You know, I was going to take a different flight and surprise you in Germany, but then Rose brought up a good point.”
Rose. Some vague sense that I should be asking Trish something about Rose flits through my mind, but quickly vanishes when Trish rests a hand on my thigh under the blanket.
I clear my throat. “And what point was that?”
She slides her hand off my thigh and reaches for the button that reclines both our seats. “We wouldn’t be able to join the club.”
Once the seats are fully reclined, essentially making a small two-person bed, she snuggles in close to my side, her hand meandering under the blanket once more.
“Club?” The plane isn’t the only thing lifting off.
Her hand squeezes my dick over my trousers. “The mile-high club.” Her breath tickles my ear. “Ever heard of it?”
“I may have come across that term before.” My voice is strangled.
She nuzzles my neck. “Wanna join?”
My brain finally gets on board with what’s happening and sends the signal to my hands to get moving. Shifting onto my hip, I pull her in even closer, my thigh between hers.
“Oh yeah. I’ve never wanted anything more.”
But that’s a lie. Because while one hand travels under her shirt and plays with the lace covering her nipple, and the other slides under the backside of her leggings and palms her ass, I know that I already have the one thing I want more than anything.
Her.