I should be embarrassed, but he seems to love it so much, it’d be a waste of energy for me to worry.
“You are… fucking perfect, Baby Draper.” Happy grabs me, pulling me to him and kissing me. And I moan at the way his tongue glides into my mouth like he owns it, tasting myself on him.
I pull him closer, trying to deepen the kiss, but he cups my cheek, holding me back as he pulls away just enough to look at me, his dark, glazed eyes searching mine for a moment.
“What is it?” I ask, suddenly worried by the shift in his demeanor.
“I need to tell you something—” He stops himself, raking his teeth over his swollen bottom lip.
I stare at him, waiting, not even breathing. But just as he opens his mouth to talk, the seatbelt signs in the cabin illuminate with a gentle yet startling chime followed by the dinging of the speakers.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Slater,” the captain’s deep voice comes through. “We’re entering some rough weather over Maryland, and it’s suggested that all passengers please return to their seats and fasten their seatbelts, and we’ll be through the worst of it in a matter of moments.”
I scramble for my discarded clothing, quickly pulling my panties and sweats on with Happy’s help before we both move back to our designated seats and fasten our seatbelts, just as Chelsea walks through the door with a generic smile, tiding up and securing any loose items in the cabin.
I turn to Happy to find him already watching me, tugging on his bottom lip, the look in his eyes faraway and contemplative. “What did you need to tell me?”
He offers me a small smile, shaking his head once with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It can wait.”
He turns his head, and I watch him as he looks out thewindow, at the erratic flicker of what I assume to be lightening flashing through the darkness of night outside. And as the plane bumps and shudders with turbulence, falling out of the sky is the last of my worries because knowing that Happy has something he needs to tell me is enough to take my mind off everything else as I imagine nothing but the worst.
CHAPTER 41
HAPPY
Things have been awkward and quiet between me and Hannah since somewhere over Maryland. And sure, I can blame the turbulence, which was probably the worst I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve flown a lot in my lifetime. But the awkwardness has nothing to do with turbulence and everything to do with me pussying out at the last second. And as I drive us home, the rain hammering hard against the windshield, there’s an obvious tension hanging around us, and I hate that it feels like she’s pissed at me.
“You wanna come stay at my place?” I ask, breaking the silence.
Hannah looks at me from where she’s been staring intently out the passenger window. “Do youwantme to?”
I offer her a soft smile, reaching across the center console to touch her arm. “Of course I do. I always want you with me. I just didn’t know if you had to get home to Toast Malone or not.”
“Toasty’s with the dog sitter until tomorrow,” she says. “Since I wasn’t due back until Sunday…”
I squeeze her arm because I know her mind is again back at what happened between her and her bitch-ass mom earlier. I have never, and would never, lay a finger on a woman, but fuckme, the unbridled rage that was coursing through my veins, having to witness that moment—I’ve never wanted to slap a chick like I did right then.
“I can stay over.” Hannah nods, flashing me the hint of a smile.
I consider myself a moment, staring at the red taillights of the car in front of us as we follow FDR Drive while I chew nervously on the inside of my cheek. The words are right there, burning the back of my throat.
“Are you okay, Happy?” Hannah asks suddenly. “Because you were going to tell me something back on the plane, but then we almostdied, and you’ve been weird ever since.”
“I love you.”
Holy fucking shit. Did I just say that out loud, or was it in my mind? Fuck. I snap my head to look at Hannah, to check if she heard me or not, and judging by the way she’s sitting there in the passenger seat, gaping at me like she’s not quite sure which one of us has lost our minds, I assume she did. Loud and clear. I breathe for the first time in at least a whole minute.
Clearing my throat, I shift in my seat, turning back to watch the road. “That’s what I was going to tell you. On the plane. That I… I love you.”
A few silent beats pass, and I glance at Hannah from the corner of my eye. “You’re being awfully quiet over there,” I say with a nervous laugh that’s all high-pitched and strangled in the back of my throat.
Hannah is still silent, and I look over at her, reaching out and touching her arm. “You okay, Baby Draper?”
“Sorry, it’s just that no one has ever told me they love me before,” she says quietly.
“Good.”
Hannah’s head snaps to me, and I realize that probably came out totally wrong.
