Julie 7:46 AM: At least your gawkers just leave you alone
Zach looks up from his phone. “Which flight are you on, by the way? I am heading to New York.”
I glare harder at Ryder, as if he can somehow fix this. “Yeah, that’s mine too,” I answer.
Ryder is one step ahead of me.
Ryder 7:47 AM: Let’s see how good you are on your feet.
Ryder’s masculine voice cuts through the air much differently than Zach’s; I’ll never get tired of it. The fighter says, “Hey, babe, you got any gum?”
With wide eyes, Zach snaps his attention to Ryder, and my heart flutters at him calling mebabe. It takes a second to realize what he’s doing.
“I do, actually,” I say, giving a devilish grin.
I always carry gum but never chew it.Did he notice that or is just a good guesser?I lean over to hand him a piece, and Ryder gives me a look that tells me he knows he’s won major brownie points.
Zach awkwardly says, “Actually, I need to go take a call real fast. I got to get going. Thanks, though.”
I’m polite enough about Zach’s departure, and I take the charger back without fuss. Once Zach leaves, Ryder moves to sit next to me, our elbows touching, unwrapping the minty gum.
Ryder lowers his hood, raising a brow as he suggests, “Should we make out in public to make it seem real? Might help with any others coming over.”
I laugh and lightly smack his arm. “Oh, great plan, genius. That won’t make Andrew’s head explode or anything.”
He seems hardly fazed by my remark. “How about you agree to be my fake girlfriend when I need it, and I’ll be your fake boyfriend? I could seriously use it at times.”
My grin widens, biting my lip as I look away. It’s like he can’t help himself, and neither can I. “Does it come with foot rubs?”
“I’m already getting those from you.”
I laugh harder, contentment swelling in my chest at the way he makes me feel. “Fine. Deal. Gotta admit that was nice just now.”
The two of us engage in a goofy game while we people watch, guessing who’s going where and why until it’s our turn to stand in line. I’m a mess of yawns until I’m guided to my seat: F6, the window seat. Ryder has F5, and Andrew has GA.
Andrew hates flying and demanded to have the aisle seat by the exit door, leaving Ryder and me to ourselves.
His masculine scent follows him as we sit down, like a cruel joke to mock how much I love it. The more I interact with him in a non-professional setting, the more I accept that Iamdeveloping a serious crush on this man.
The plane fills up, and a woman who looks to be in her fifties—and deep into whatever her headphones are playing—approaches Ryder, eyeing the seat next to him.
She appears nervous, or perhaps even shy, to sit in the empty seat, only doing so very carefully. Another passenger passes by with aWarlord 2018shirt on, his jaw dropping as he notices Ryder.
As I place my purse under the seat, I remark, “I should get signed headshots of you to hand out to fans.”
Ryder rolls his head to glance at me, raising a brow.
I lean back into my seat, shrugging. “Could totally sell them for fifty bucks a pop.”
“I used to do that, you know. They sell for a hundred bucks, by the way.”
I laugh, losing whatever witty remark is in my head with the way he looks at me and with how close he is. Even if it’s just our shoulders lightly grazing, it’s still sharing our warmth. I can even smell the mint from his breath, his jaw flexing every time he chews.
The flight attendant flashes the lights and begins her spiel as another demonstrates what she says, giving me a reason to look away.
When it’s over, and the plane is in the air, I open my Kindle. It’ll only take a little over an hour, and I’m looking forward to sinking into my book.I make it all the way to page fifty-six before I’m interrupted.
“ReadingFifty Shades?” Ryder asks after waking up from his nap. I bet he’s exhausted after everything he did this week.
