Brick clears his throat and shifts in his seat. “Since we have a couple of hours to kill, I guess we should talk about the ceremony.”
I nod in agreement, feeling relieved to have something else to focus on besides the growing sexual tension between us.
“When we land, there should be a car service waiting to take us to the resort. We’ll just relax and get acquainted with the property for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we’ll have the rehearsal and then later the rehearsal dinner, and then the next day they get married and our jobs will be done.”
Brick smiles as I explain my thoughts on the food selections being prepared for the ceremony and my heart flutters inside my chest as he gives me his focused attention.
I find myself wanting to reach out and touch him again, but I’m forced to keep my hands to myself because of the obvious. We’re on a plane full of people who could see us. Plus… what would be the point? Like Dena so eloquently put it, anything between us would lead to nothing.
When I finish talking excitedly about seafood salads and mango salsa, Brick leans back in his seat and watches me with a knowing smile. “Have you ever thought about becoming a chef, Kaya?”
“You mean like your ex?”
Kaya
Brick suddenly frownsand instantly I regret bringing up his ex-girlfriend up when the conversation was flowing so easily between us.
“I’m not exactly sure what I’d call Lisa, but she’s definitely not a chef,” he says.
“I think there’s a few million Americans who would probably disagree with you.”
“No, you have a genuine appreciation for good food and you can cook your ass off. Your face even lights up when you talk about food and so does everyone else’s when they eat something that you’ve made. That’s the accurate definition of a chef, in my humble opinion.”
I really want to believe that Brick means well by bringing up this topic but it’s triggering for me. Anytime someone says something about me loving food or cooking my ass off, I usually associate it with them passive-aggressively calling me greedy or fat. I rarely can take it as a compliment.
“I just enjoy a good meal like the next person,” I blow his kind words off. “But I’m actually pretty good at the legal assistant thing.”
“Cool, it was just a thought.” He backs off, then changes the subject. “I’ve never been to Turks and Caicos before. Are you ready to explore the island?”
I nod and a smile returns to my lips. “Definitely,” I say.
Brick reaches out and takes my hand, sending a pulse of heat straight to my clit. “We should make a pact then,” he says, his voice low and commanding.
It’s as if my vagina is controlling my brain and motor functions, so I nod yes to his suggestion, knowing full well what he’s getting at.
“What happens on the island, stays on the island,” he says, his eyes burning into mine.
Absorbing the intensity of the moment, there’s an ache inside of me that leads to a moment of self realization. I need to take Brick up on his offer and get over this preoccupation, for lack of a better word, that I have with him.
I’ve hated him for ten years? Why? Can it really be about what happened in the gym that day, or is it about what happenedafterthe gym?
That kiss.
That damn kiss which has haunted me until last week.
And now the second one.
That second kiss last week which has me in a choke hold.
“Agreed,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
Brick smiles and squeezes my hand. “This is going to be fun,” he says, before leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. “Trust me.”
***
I’m startled when the flight attendant announces over the speaker system that we’re preparing for landing. I must have fallen asleep with my hand still intertwined with Brick’s.
I slide my hand out of his as the plane finally touches down in the paradise of Turks and Caicos. I was nervous about the flight at first, but now that I’m here, my excitement is growing, especially because now I have an undefined and clandestine pact with Brick and who knows what that’ll lead to.
