Faulkner wanted me around, if only to keep Caelyx in line. I didn’t have to worry about him thinking I wasn’t good enough and keeping us apart. The only thing I could imagine that would cause us any problems was the fact that I’d basically lied to him about what was going on with my mom, and that I’d secretly met with his dad behind his back. He’d forgive me… Probably. Hopefully. Even though he’d been open and honest with me since day one.
“What are you thinking about, Cupcake?” He finally wondered, when the silence had stretched out too long.
“Nothing,” I croaked out, my throat dry and scratchy from all the embarrassing moans.
“Are you feeling… Bad?” He asked carefully. “I know I kind of went too far with the whole… You know, edging thing. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s not that,” I assured him, bringing my arm over his torso so I could squeeze him. “Excluding the freak out, it was good. You always make everything so good for me.”
“You make everything good for me,” he responded, stroking a hand down my hair and over my back.
“Sorry for kind of… Almost ruining everything.”
“You didn’t. You could never ruin anything for me,” he promised. “I mean, you basically ruined every other guy in the world for me. And every woman. And anyone who identifies as something other than that. But, uh, yeah. Besides that part.”
I snorted, warmth washing over me at his completely sincere honesty. It was so easy for him, just opening up and letting himself spill out all over me.
“That’s funny. I was just thinking the same thing about you,” I admitted quietly, raising my head a bit to look at him.
He looked surprised by my confession, but the slow way his smile stretched across his handsome face made the brief moment of anxious anticipation worth it. He cupped my face in both hands, his thumbs stroking lightly over my jaw.
“Love when we’re on the same page, Cupcake.”
“Let’s… Let’s make sure we stay on that page,” I said, forcing the words out, even when my brain warned me they were dangerous. “I don’t want…” I stopped, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to lose you.”
That was as far as I could go. That forbidden four letter word, the one lurking just on the outskirts of my brain, waiting like a cobra to strike out and seize my whole being, was just something I couldn’t say or even think yet. But I could tell from his expression, and the way he dipped down to plant the most perfect, gentle kiss on my lips, that for now, it was enough.
CAELYX
“SO… WE DON’Thave to go through the, um, security or any of that?” Aspen asked, fidgeting in the passenger seat as I pulled the Porsche through the gate to the private terminal. He’d been too nervous to drive, worrying about how his first time ever flying in a plane or even being in an airport would go.
“No,” I assured him. “It’s an FBO. Fixed base operator,” I explained, at his confused look. “We’re just going to park in a hangar. The jet will be waiting there for us, and we’ll bring our bags in, and that’s it. Everything is all taken care of.”
“That’s good,” he said, though his eyebrows were still furrowed together in obvious concern. “I was worried because, well… You know, my driver’s license still has my old gender marker and… I didn’t want anyone to get confused. I heard that can be kind of a nightmare.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “It’s not like the kind of flight you’ve seen in movies and stuff. My family owns the plane, so there’s no check-ins or anything like that.”
On one hand I hated to see him so freaked out, but on the other, he was so cute like this.
“Okay.”
Once I’d parked and we’d grabbed our bags out of the backseat, I led him back out onto the tarmac, where my family’s familiar private jet was waiting for us. My dad didn’t pull it out for daily use or anything, but I’d ridden in it more than a handful of times.
The pilot, one of my dad’s guys who I’d known for over a decade, greeted us with friendly enthusiasm as always and ushered us on board, asking me how school was going and making general small talk as we did.
“Going to be just about two and a half hours,” he told us, before retreating to the cockpit.
Aspen was exploring the cabin, his eyes wide with awe as he took everything in. It was an open floor plan, the seating area leading back into a galley with a refrigerator and espresso machine.
“There’s no seats,” he observed, with just a hint of confusion.
“There are seats,” I said, gesturing to the divans along the wall.
“Well, yeah,” he agreed, making his way over and sitting on one, testing the cushion with a few little wiggles. They were spacious and very soft. I’d never brought a date or romantic partner on a trip before, but I imagined they would be great for… cuddling. “I just meant, like, the smaller chairs.”
Smirking a bit, I knew he meant the uncomfortable seats they usually had on commercial flights.
“This is our smaller jet, just for short trips. But on the bigger one, the sofas convert into beds, too.”
