Chapter 20 #2
Reaching across her, I sink my fingers into her hair, pulling her towards me.
I don’t have to pull hard; she’s moving on her own, closing the distance between us.
Our lips touch, melting and molding together while her hands find purchase in my shirt.
Her lips are pliable and desperate. Needy. She wants this as badly as I do.
I need to remember we’re in a very public place on a very public plane.
It doesn’t stop me from nipping at her bottom lip as I start to pull away, eliciting a soft gasp from her.
When her eyes flutter open, she looks a little dazed.
It reminds me of the first time I kissed her at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
A memory that will live with me forever no matter what happens between us, because I realize that I’m not the only one that has an opinion on whether we give this an actual try. Jordan could very well turn me down if I put myself out there.
But that kiss. Even if it was short lived, and very public, it told me that it’s a risk I need to take.
“After last night I’m too sleep deprived to understand what that was,” she whispers to me, blinking furiously to clear some of the fog from her brain.
Now isn’t the time or place to discuss my plans with her. Not with Paul sitting in front of us. Not with a bunch of strangers and friends surrounding us. It needs to wait.
So I just shrug, giving her the grin I know she loves. “We’ll figure it out.”
Her eyes narrow at me, trying to figure out what I mean, but she doesn’t say a word. Instead she pulls her phone out of her pocket, opens it up, and bites her lip as she reads a text before turning it towards me.
Hailey: That sure as hell didn’t look fake to me. W.T.F?!?!
Glancing over at Hailey and Luke, I shrug nonchalantly, thumbing the seat in front of me like Paul should explain my actions.
The problem with that is I haven’t kissed Jordan in front of anyone all weekend.
With us fake dating, that would have been going a step too far.
Which means I just let the cat out of the bag.
Jordan’s phone vibrates in her hand, and I glance down at it since she’s still got it angled towards me, both of us reading at the same time.
Hailey: Do not tell me friends kiss friends like that. They don’t.
Hailey: Does Nate know??
Hailey: If he doesn’t know, I need you to take that kiss back.
“Miss, is that on airplane mode?” One of the flight attendants stops in the aisle between Luke and me, her attention on Hailey. “We’re about to take off and mobile devices need to be in airplane mode now.”
Before the flight attendant can say anything to Jordan, she puts her phone on flight mode and slips it into her pocket. The change in her is immediate. She leans away from me, wrapping her arms around her midsection. She won’t meet my eyes.
As much as I want to reach over and either pull her into my arms, or pull her arms away from her, I need to respect the boundaries she’s putting up.
I can sense the chaos that Hailey just set into motion in her head, and I don’t want to spook her any further by doing something she obviously doesn’t want me to.
But fuck, it kills me to not do it. Not to hug her and tell her everything is going to be okay. Even if they know, it’s going to be okay. Even if they tell Nate—they wouldn’t—it’s going to be okay. Even if he’s upset, it’s going to be okay. But am I glad he’s on a plane to Hawaii? Yes, I am.
Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I go to open my music app but pause before selecting it. Changing course, I go into my notes app, open a new one, and type out a message.
Whatever is going on in that beautiful brain of yours, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out.
I may not be able to embrace her, but I have no qualms about tapping her on the shoulder. When she turns to me with a sigh, her eyes devoid of anything but exhaustion, I turn my phone for her to read my message.
For a second I think she might smile. The corners of her lips twitch, but it falters and peters out before anything comes of it.
“Just tired,” she mumbles.
There’s more to it and we both know it. Putting a finger up for her to wait, I write her a new note and turn my phone back to her.
Shoulder?
This time the smile lives a little longer.
It doesn’t light her up, it doesn’t touch her eyes, but it isn’t fake either.
Her eyes meet mine as I lift my arm up, offering her a spot to bury herself into my chest. A battle wars within eyes that are less crystal clear and more stormy, but it doesn’t take her long before she’s putting the arm rest up between us and curling into me.
I exhale a deep breath. Tension I didn’t realize my body was holding releases, and I sink into my seat. I didn’t need to force her into my embrace. She came willingly, even if there’s an internal fight going on inside her. Jordan knows that my shoulder is always there for her. No matter what.
We spend most of the flight like that. I’m pretty sure we both nod off a few times, but she keeps waking herself up with a jerk and soft little gasp, like she can’t believe she’s fallen asleep, which wakes me.
Each time I kiss the top of her head and murmur for her to relax, and every time she does, only to repeat the cycle.
By the time we land in San José, I think I’m groggier and more exhausted than I was before the flight.
It doesn’t bode well for the hour-long drive home, plus the time it’s going to take me to drop everyone off, or the fact that I want to talk to Jordan.
Which might have to wait until later if the sleepiness she’s wearing in her eyes is any indication.
The conversation I want to have with her requires a clear mind.
Paul gives us both a dirty look as he collects his bags from the bin overhead, but he doesn’t say a word to either of us. He just waits his turn to head down the aisle, followed by his dude-bros who look hungover as shit.
I suppose that’s what Vegas excels in. Good hangovers and empty bank accounts.
It doesn’t take long for the plane to empty, and surprisingly enough, the baggage for all six of us comes out quickly, and mostly together.
Which means we’re just a short bus ride away from long term parking, and one step closer to my ass finding my bed.
I would love nothing more than for the last leg of this trip to go as smoothly as possible with zero issues, and no traffic to contend with.
Luke, Brody, and I help the ladies with their luggage, and then the six of us head towards the back. Jordan’s about to snag a seat beside Quinn, but I touch her hip and bring my lips to her ear.
“Sit with me.”
She half turns to see me behind her, her teeth catching on her bottom lip as she debates. Like the battle she waged on the plane, it doesn’t take her long to ultimately decide on me. Another indication that putting myself out there for her is a risk I need to be taking.
Dropping into the outside seat after she’s slid onto a bench, I lift my arm so she can cozy in beside me. No one from our group says a word, but I can feel everyone’s eyes on us. We don’t need to play the game. We don’t need to pretend. Yet here we are, cozying up together.
Then again, Quinn knows for sure. Luke and Hailey have a pretty damn good idea. And Brody, well…
I glance over my shoulder to find the big man staring at us, his jaw working back and forth. The look of disapproval he wears could win an Oscar for the best disappointed look of the year, if that was a category. Holding back my sigh so I don’t tip Jordan off, I face forward again, frowning.