Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
When we taxi down the runway, I try to act like an adult, not a young child flying for the first time with my face plastered to the window. But I don’t know if it’s possible not to feel like a child now. At the heart of all “firsts” is a childlike innocence. I gasp as acceleration pins me to the back of my seat. And when we’re wheels up, I feel it in my tummy. Fitz finds my hand, and I squeeze his like a woman pushing out a nine-pound baby.
We don’t say a word; we just exchange grins. I feel that in my tummy too.
After we reach cruising altitude, Fitz leans back and closes his eyes.
Not me. I gawk out the window and take pictures and videos like no one has ever seen this view. I’m sure my never-before-seen footage from a commercial airplane will go viral. When we experience turbulence, Fitz reaches for me, resting his hand on mine without opening his eyes.
I’m fine. I’m more than fine. It’s official—I love flying. But I don’t tell him. He might deem it unnecessary to comfort me with his touch, and that would be more tragic than the plane crashing.
Chapter Sixteen
“Jamie!” Melissa squeals the second we exit the secure area. She hikes up her denim crop top and slides her phone into her baggy white linen pants.
I drop my carry-on next to Fitz and run into my best friend’s arms.
“I’ve missed you so much!” I don’t want to let her go, but I do.
She narrows her eyes, glancing over my shoulder. “Um . . . is he with you?”
I chose not to explain Fitz to her over the phone. My plan was to think of a solid explanation on the plane. That didn’t happen.
With him at my back, I give her a tight smile and wide eyes. “Be cool. Okay?”
Her gaze remains glued to him. “Pfft. My middle name is Cool.” She shoulders past me. “Hi. I’m Melissa, Jamie’s BFF. You must be the gift she brought me.”
Yep. She’s so cool.
“Calvin, this is Melissa. Mel, this is my roommate, Calvin.”
Her merlot-painted lips twist as she offers him her hand. “Sex Dream Calvin?”
Please, God. Just let me die.
His smile swells in increments, right along with his ego. I think he’s two inches taller than he was just moments ago. “In the flesh,” he says.
They laugh while my skin ignites into a bonfire of embarrassment.
“How was your first time flying?” Melissa loops her arm around mine, and we exit the airport.
“I don’t want to jump out of the plane. I don’t know who would do something like that. But I love flying.” I glance over my shoulder at Fitz.
His gaze lifts from my ass to my face, and he winks. Fitz is not a winker. What’s that wink all about? My ass? My comment about jumping out of planes?
“Fitz’s hotel is not far from your apartment.”
“What?” Melissa opens her convertible’s trunk.
“He’s staying at a hotel.” I start to lift my roller bag in, but Fitz grabs it from me.
He’s full of little surprises; each one makes a new crack in my heart.
“Nonsense.” Melissa shakes her head as Fitz loads his bag.
“It’s not nonsense. He’s—”
“Shh.” She holds out her hand before opening her door. “Not another word.”
The second we step into Melissa’s one-bedroom apartment, I focus on Fitz and his wide-eyed inspection. It’s an oasis of white furniture, white paint, and white trim with hot-pink accent pillows, rugs, flowers, and washi tape, affixing black-and-white prints along one wall. Another wall displays a collection of hats in a gradient of pink shades.
“I like pink,” she says with a shrug before gesturing to the sofa. “I put clean sheets on my bed. You two can have it, or—”
“I’ll sleep with you. Fitz will sleep on the sofa.”
Fitz clears his throat. “Or, I can sleep with Melissa, and you can sleep on the—”
“Stop!” I giggle. “Mel, you have to promise to ignore everything Fitz says. Bullshit is his native language.”
She blots her brow. “What? Sorry. I didn’t hear anything after Fitz suggested he sleep with me.”
“Do you sleep on the right or left? Top or bottom?” he asks with a smirk.
Melissa bites her lower lip.
“Go.” I push my roller bag in her direction. “I just said to ignore him. Take my bag to your bedroom while I have a word with my roomie.” I give him a tight grin.
Melissa blows me a kiss and giggles before disappearing around the corner.
“Can you behave?” I cross my arms.
He wets his lips, barely hiding his grin. “I thought the point of coming here was so I didn’t have to behave.”
“I thought the whole point of you staying at a hotel was because you know you can’t behave.”
“No.” He steps to the window and peers out at the busy street. “The hotel was for your benefit. You knew you couldn’t keep from jumping me.”