I rush through my morning routine, not bothering with makeup or styling my hair. I throw it into a messy braid so I’ll be comfortable on the plane and turn to packing my bag, all the while grumbling to myself under my breath. I’m normally fairly even tempered, but being woken up and told I need to hurry is not the way to get on my good side, no matter how excellent someone might be at giving orgasms.
My cheeks flush and my skin tingles at the thought. I pause my folding to take some deep breaths, slowing my heart and causing the tingling sensation to recede.
That alone is enough to turn my entire mood around. I straighten with a smile on my face only to see Asher watching me, a knowing look in his eye.
“Nicely done," he says, and I don’t have time to wonder how he can read me so well.
“Thank you," I reply, my pride shining through.
We make it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, andI can admit my earlier grumpiness was mostly unwarranted. Like PDX, the San Diego airport is easy to navigate, and it takes less than twenty minutes to get through security. I grab some snacks, then we settle in at our gate where I pull out my book, quickly getting lost in the adventures of a badass female former-pirate overcoming magic and mayhem on the high seas as she takes on one last quest.
I barely take my nose from the pages, even as we board and find our seats. I allow Asher to guide me with a hand on my elbow or lower back, nudging me gently one way or the other as I somehow manage to survive treacherous waters, pulling off a daring rescue while dodging dangerous artifacts and magical attacks.
A short time later—or maybe a long time, I’m not sure—I finish the book and snap it closed with a heaving sigh. Unfortunately, the plane is still in the air and I didn’t bring another book with me. Nor did I stop by the airport bookstore to pick one up, even though I knew I was almost done with this one. (Admittedly, one of my worst life decisions to date.)
I close my eyes and relive some of my favorite scenes, wondering what it would be like if I lived in that world. I would like to think I’d be on the pirate captain’s crew, but realistically I’d more likely be a regular old village person. I don’t feel like I have badass female main character energy, and I’m totally okay with that.
The reminiscing doesn’t entertain me for long, and without realizing it, my leg starts bouncing. My eyes fly open when I feel a heavy hand on my knee, stilling the movement.
“Sorry,” I offer Asher a sheepish smile as he moves his hand back to his own leg, to which he nods and leans his head back against the seat, closing his eyes. I know he’s not sleeping, but he does have earbuds in. I drum my fingers against my thigh, looking out the window at the clouds swirling around the plane and wondering what he’s listening to.
I jump when his hand grips my knee again. Turning to face Asher, I wrinkle my nose and bite the inside of my cheek.
“What is it?” He pulls one earbud out and turns toward me.
“Nothing, I’m just bored," I say. I hold my book up with a shrug. “Finished my book.”
Asher flips his wrist to check his watch. “Only another hour, you’ll be fine.”
With that, he returns his earbud to his ear and tips his head back again. I chew on my lip, contemplating what I’m going to do for an hour, plus extra because landing and taxi time before we can deplane.
Before I know it, I’m tapping his biceps, and he plucks out his earbud again with a slight scowl on his face.
“Whatcha listening to?” I ask, blinking innocently up at him with a practiced smile on my face—the one that almost always gets me what I want.
“The news," he says, and I stick my lower lip out in a pout.
No thanks.
When he sees I’m not pleased with that, he shrugs and moves to put the earbud in again. I shift in my seat, pulling my feet up and resting my chin on one knee as I go back to staring out the window. I quickly become uncomfortable, so I try to sit criss-cross, nudging his arm off the armrest so I can fold it back and have more space for my legs. Asher rolls his eyes but allows it, shaking his head. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mind.
Tapping my fingers, I start wiggling my toes in my shoes too, making a fun new beat that I nod my head along to. When my knee starts bobbing too, rhythmically bumping into his leg, Asher pulls both earbuds out and turns toward me again.
“How do I make this stop?” he says, his voice exasperated, but a twinkle of amusement dancing in his eyes, too.
I widen my eyes, looking around as if there’s some other culprit that has offended him.
“Make what stop?” I ask.
“This—” he waves his hand up and down in front of me, encompassing my entire body. “The restless fidgeting.”
“I’m bored.”
“And?”
“And… I don’t know. You could talk to me," I say, trying not to pout for real this time.
Asher’s lips quirk and he pulls out the case for his earbuds, slipping them inside before he snaps it closed.
