“Wow.”
I padded across the floor to the little dining area and popped open the refrigerator. “Do you want something to drink? There’s soda and juice, and… Well, there’s usually champagne in here,” I mused, raising an eyebrow. “I guess my dad doesn’t want me drinking.”
Once I’d grabbed him a Coke, which I knew he liked best, I dropped down next to him, just in time for the plane to tilt back as it lifted off. He immediately tensed up, and I set the can into a little drink holder so I could rub my hands up and down his arms.
“Here, pick a movie,” I said, shoving the remote for the massive flatscreen mounted on the opposite wall into his hands before gently guiding him down into a laying position, settling comfortably behind him and slipping my arm over his waist to hold his back against my chest.
“You’re not actually going to try anything, are you?” He wondered, glancing up toward where our pilot had disappeared behind a curtain. He knew me just a little too well. Not that I was an enigma or anything.
“Just cuddling,” I promised him, nuzzling into the crown of his chestnut hair. “We have a couple hours, so you might as well get comfy.”
“Won’t he… Think it’s weird if we’re out here spooning?” Aspen asked wryly, and I chuckled.
“Well, I hope he’s more focused on flying the plane than worrying about what we’re doing out here, Cupcake.”
I also knew my dad was totally anal about vetting his employees, and he’d never hire anyone who was openly homophobic, at least. Being a passionate and devoted liberal was a huge part of his public image. It wasn’t exactly just for show, he’d raised me like that and was completely supportive about me being bi, even though he loved busting my balls over other stuff. Supporting marginalized communitieswasgenuinely important to him, but at the end of the day, he also wanted to make sure everyone knew it, too. There was nothing about him that was completely selfless, everything and everyone in his life served some greater purpose. That was part of what made it hard for me to trust him around my boyfriend, but I didn’t really have much of a choice in that matter anymore.
Seeming mostly satisfied with my response about the pilot, Aspen relaxed against me, scrolling through some movie options until he landed on a comedy and started it. It wasn’t the first time he’d picked something light and fluffy for us to watch.
“It’s always funny to me, you avoiding all the darker stuff.”
“It’s not like we can watch a horror movie,” he reasoned. “If it ends up being one Arie picks later, we’ll just have to rewatch it and pretend to be surprised.”
“That’s true,” I acknowledged, amused. “He’s definitely got his quirks.”
Sighing and settling more comfortably against me, Aspen was quiet as we watched the opening scene of the movie. Breathing in the woodsy scent of his shampoo had all my muscles limp and totally relaxed, as usual.
“But it would be nice to watch a horror movie with you like this,” I said. “I could feel you jump when you get scared and I’d get to console you.”
Aspen snorted. “Who do I look like? Maddox?” Maddox was definitely not the most stoic when it came to the scarier flicks, always grabbing onto Ren’s arm and probably squeezing it to death when he got startled.
Grinning, I shook my head against him. “You definitely do not look like Maddox.”
“Don’t sound so disappointed,” he teased, and I could hardly contain my incredulous bark of laughter. Maddox was objectively hot, but…
“You are the sexiest guy in the world to me. I wouldn’t want you to look like Maddox or anyone else,” I swore, even though I knew he was kidding.
After another little stretch of quiet, he spoke again. “What do you think everyone’s doing right now?”
“Ren and Maddox are together,” I said. We’d both seen the cute selfie Ren had posted in the group chat that morning. In some cheesy romantic miracle, their moms had become best friends, taking trips together and inviting each other over for holidays, which made it a hell of a lot easier for the two of themto spend time together outside of school. “And Arie and Che live together already.”
“That makes me kinda sad.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. What about Cyprian?”
“Cyprian’s spending time with his family. He’s with Kelani.”
“I know, but… It’s not the same,” Aspen insisted softly.
“Oh,” I realized, glad he was facing the TV so he couldn’t see my wide, delighted grin. “You’re one ofthosepeople.”
“Huh?”
“So now that you’re all lovey-dovey in a couple with me, you just want everyone else to experience the same happiness as you, right? It makes you sad to see someone all alone.”
“N-no!” He denied, twisting around to glare at me. “Shut up! I didn’t say that.”
