There’sno way he doesn’t have somewhere to go forChristmas.
Noway.
Oh, no.He’ssitting down.Pleasetell me he has family inSouthCarolina.
Wejust happen to be going to the same state.That’sall.
VALERIA:Noway there’s that big of a coincidence.He’sgoing to the retreat.
Kelli!DATEHIM!
Ohmy goodness, that’s perfect.
Kellirolled her eyes.
KELLI:Wetried that once before, remember?Itwas a disaster.Mostawkward date ever.
VALERIA:Justbecause you accidentally wore two different boots on the date doesn’t mean you can’t try again.
Kellicringed at the memory.Whenshe had put on two different boots, she had planned to see which one looked better.ButthenParkertexted, saying that he was lost and thought he got the address wrong, and she’d forgotten that she hadn’t swapped into the winning pair before he got there.Aspeople kept staring at her the whole date, she assumed it was because her outfit was pretty incredible.Becauseminus the boot issue, it was.
KELLI:Youforgot about me knocking his soda into his lap at the movie theater during that jump scare.
OrthatIhad to leave the movie early becauseIgot food poisoning from dinner.
Orthat our waiter just happened to be someoneIhad dated and made comments about it the entire meal.
Thosekinds of things don’t exactly lend themselves to second dates.
VALERIA:Yep.Anyrelationship between the two of you is doomed before it even starts.
Nouse even trying.
KELLI:Stopit.They’reboarding us now, so sorry—no more time for sarcasm.Talkto you tonight!
Kellipushed the phone into its pocket on her bag and then wheeled her suitcase over to where everyone was lining up.Onceshe got on the plane, she put her suitcase in the overhead bin and her bag under the seat in front of her.Theseat on her plane ticket was the middle one, which was fine by her.Thatmeant double the people to talk to during takeoff, the part that made her the most nervous.
Plus, the middle seat was close enough to the window that she could see out without having to ask two people to move if she needed to go to the restroom mid-flight.
Shelooked up just in time to seeParkersit down in the aisle seat of the row right in front of her.Whatshe’d toldValeriawas true—this was a bad time for her to get into a relationship.Butstill, a part of her heart had hoped for a little bit ofChristmasromance in her life, even though she knew the pain it would bring.
Exceptnot withParker.
Thatobviously wouldn’t work.Thatone date they’d gone on two-and-a-half years ago had been only a couple of months after she started working atZentCube, and it had made work so awkward.Shehad constantly been reminded of the experience and embarrassed all over again.Itwas not something she was looking to repeat anytime soon.
Evenif he did look mighty fine in his jeans and t-shirt—something she never saw him in at the office.Nope.Shewas completely ignoring him and not even noticing how good he looked at all.
Instead, she chatted with the nice young man to her left who was flying home forChristmasand was very excited about it, and the mom on her right who was flying with her kids to visit their grandparents.Thewoman was nervous because she hadn’t seen her ex-in-laws in over three years and they always made her so uncomfortable.Butshe’d gotten a call last minute saying that her ex-father-in-law was sick and probably didn’t have long to live, so they booked flights just the night before and couldn’t even sit together.
Thewoman’s story was fascinating, so beforeKelliknew it, the plane was at cruising altitude and she had barely even noticed anything else during takeoff.Bothof her seatmates seemed to be done talking, so she pulled out her headphones, plugged them into her phone, and started listening to an audiobook.
Throughthe teeny space between the seats, she had the perfect view ofParker.Soshe just enjoyed the curve of the muscles on his arm and the perfect amount of scruff along that strong jawline.
Heleaned forward to get his water bottle out of his bag, and she got to see his back muscles in action through his t-shirt.Heflipped open the spout of the water bottle, and because of the change in pressure on the plane, a big burst of water shot through the straw and up in the air in a perfect arc, right in her direction.
Shedidn’t have time to do anything—not that she could’ve done anything, since she was trapped in the middle seat and wearing a seatbelt—before the water landed right on her lap.
Shelet out a yelp of surprise, along with the handful of other people who witnessed it, as the cool liquid soaked through her pants.
