Happy thoughts…
Happy thoughts.
Happy thoughts!
“Away we go,” Peter practically sang as she closed her eyes to focus on her breathing.
The plane leveled out, and she exhaled. Peeking through one eye, she saw stars and clouds against the night sky. They were doing it. She was going to the Never Lands with Peter Pangbourne. Her grip on the armrests loosened, her body a mixture of nervous excitement and terrified exhilaration.
“Take a look at that skyline.” He pointed toward the dark window where London’s lights glowed below.
There was something intimate about sharing that view. Their vibrant, pulsing city was alive with light yet so calm and still from this distance.
Thinking of her family at the Club XXVII gala tonight, she smirked. Her envy was gone. This was far better than some stuffy party. Even John and Michael had never been to the Isles of Kassel.
In a few hours she would be able to claim that she’s seen more than both her brothers! How rebelliously marvelous!
Her belly swooped at the realization that her family would return home before her and find her bed empty. She should have left a note, but there hadn’t been time. Peter rushed her out the door so quickly she was lucky to have put on shoes. She could always text her parents once they landed. They needed to realize she was an adult, and if they couldn’t come to that conclusion naturally, she’d force them to see.
Although she wasn’t breaking any laws, they would be furious with her decision. Her father would see her rebelliousness as deliberate disobedience. He never explicitly said, “Don’t go to the Isles of Kassel,” but she was pretty sure the Never Lands were on the list of forbidden places she wasn’t meant to visit.
She hid a smile, exhilarated by her defiance. This was precisely the wake-up call they needed if they were ever going to see her as a free-thinking adult.
The moon beamed as they passed the twinkling stars. She recognized the dome of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and London Bridge looked tiny from such a height, as did Big Ben. They reached full height over the River Thames, and she sat back, much calmer than she’d been at takeoff.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“It is—oh.” He was looking at her, not the view.
They were alone in the cabin, and in the silence, she could hear his breathing and hers. Realizing her actions not only sent a message to her parents, she considered what this might imply to Peter, and the gravity of her choices settled in.
Shit.
Was this what people meant when they accused women of using men for their money? She didn’t want his money, only his access to the unknown, but perhaps that was the same thing.
Did she care?
At the moment, no.
Later would come. But for now, she reveled in the excitement of spontaneity and ignored all thoughts of consequence.
Weightless. Aimless. Helpless. Truly reckless. She laughed, still able to taste the sweetness of her mother’s wine on her lips.
Peter’s nearness stretched around her until his proximity was all she could feel, yet no part of his body touched hers. Her heart raced at such a surreal predicament. She was taking a fantastical journey with a man who was essentially still a stranger. She was at his mercy. Was she insane for doing this?
The thought made her laugh.
“What’s funny?”
“This.” Was it not obvious? “I’m on a private jet with a man I hardly know, in my nightgown, flying off to the Never Lands.” She covered her face and laughed some more. If only he knew how utterly boring her day-to-day life was. “Pinch me. I must be dreaming.”
He slid his hand to her inner thigh and pinched.
She squeaked, slamming her hands over his. “Hey.”
“You asked me to.”
“I didn’t mean literally.”
