The plane shakes a little as it barrels down the runway before takeoff. Viv looks calm and composed, but she's got a death grip on my left hand. And really, that pretty much sums up Viv. One look at her, and you know she’s got her shit together. But when it’s just the two of us, she knows she can lean on me. She knows I’ll catch her when she falls. At least, I think she knows that?
“When did you and Maggie hatch this plan?” I ask. I feel like I’m fucking interviewing her, but I want the rest of the story. My brain needs some kind of confirmation that this is all really happening.
Maggie reaches up and brushes her fingers along my jaw like she needs the contact as much as I do. “This has been in the works for a while,” she says, shrugging. “I guess it started while you were on spring break, which you actually spent in Chicago with your new team. Maybe it started even before that? I felt empty as soon as things ended between us. I hate the things I said, and even more, I hate the things I didn’t say.”
“Viv,” I start, try interrupting her, but my girl—because, yes, she’s my fucking girl now—isn’t having any of it.
She puts a finger to my lips and then trails it down to the center of my chest. “Oh, no, Red. You’ve got to let me say this part.”
“Okay,” I agree. It’s weird because half of me wants to know the story. Scratch that. Half of me is desperate for it. The other half hates the thought of Viv torturing herself. But if she needs to get it off her absolutely perfect chest, I’m not going to stand in her way. I intertwine our fingers again and listen while she talks.
She takes a breath and starts again.“I was wrong. I know I was wrong. Hell, everybody knows I was wrong?—”
Three sentences in and I’m not sure my heart can take it. “Baby?—”
She silences me with an arch of her brow. “I was wrong, and I know that now. But the important thing is that I didn’t know it before you ended things between us. I wasn’t being cruel or careless with your feelings—at least, not on purpose. I truly thought I wasn’t cut out for relationships. I absolutely believed that if we made things official between us, it would all come crashing down. Turns out I was dead wrong on that one.”
Viv lifts our joined hands to her lips and presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “I felt your absence the minute you walked away. And for what it’s worth, I don’t blame you one bit. I hate that that’s what it took for me to finally see what was really happening between us. I hate that it took losing you to realize how in love with you I am.”
It takes all the restraint in the world—and this damn seatbelt sign—to keep me from leaping out of my seat and screaming, “Holy Fuckballs!”
“I don’t just love you like a friend.” she says, her eyes finding mine. “I’m completely and irrevocably in love with you. There’s no going back, at least, not for me.”
My fingers trace the outline of her lips. “Not for me, either. I mean, that’s probably pretty fucking obvious, right? I never could hide the way I feel about you. Even when I thought I was playing it cool, I wasn’t. And I won’t be playing it cool now, either, Firecracker. I love you. I have for more than a year now, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”
Her eyes get a little shiny. “Same here. I was afraid, so afraid. But I get it now, and I know that nothing is guaranteed, but you’re worth the risk, Mickey.”
My lips capture Viv’s and I let them say everything I’m thinking, everything I’m feeling. I give myself over to the feel of her mouth on mine, and I hope to hell I don’t let out an involuntary moan. That might draw some unwanted attention to Row Seventeen. Seriously, though, we’ve already gotten our fairshare of attention. I can feel eyes on us and maybe it’s just me, but that drink cart is pretty loud as it makes its way toward the front of the plane. I pull back before the flight attendants can yell at us or change our seats. Can they actually do that? I don’t know, but I'm not gonna risk it and find out. Don’t worry; it’s not that I’ve suddenly become a rule follower. But now that Viv is back in my life, back in my arms, I’m not giving her up for anything.
About ten seconds after we pull apart, the drink cart magically appears, and the flight attendant who cleared her throat at us earlier is now pouring our drinks. It seems like things are cool, but when she moves the cart up to the next row, she looks back at me to let me know she’s got an eye on me.
Viv and I spend the next hour stealing kisses from each other. “I just can’t believe you’re here,” I say. “I mean, I know you explained it all, and I believe you, but I just can’t get over the fact that you’re actually here.”
“You didn’t really think I was going to let you leave me, did you, Mickey?”
“Uh, yeah, I did. I’m just glad I was wrong. And you really turned down the job with the cruise line? I mean, I know you were excited about that, so we can make it work if you?—”
“Nope. You’re stuck with me. And I did my research. There’s a yoga studio near the arena where you play. And you better not have bunk beds at your new place. I’ve missed every single part of being with you, but I’ve really, really missed lying in bed together. I’ve missed laughing with you, and watching our favorite show.”
“Are those the only things you’ve missed?” I ask.
“Oh, hell no,” she answers back. “I’ve missed fucking you.”
“Same,” I tell her honestly.
We kiss again because it’s our favorite PG-rated thing to do. But we break apart when I hear the flight attendant comingthrough. I’m not scared of her or anything—okay, maybe just a little—but I also have trash to throw away so I can get this stupid tray out of my way and have more access to Viv. I wonder if she packed a blanket…
When it’s our turn, I drain the last of my sports drink, pop the last two cookies in my mouth, and toss the garbage in the bin.. Before she moves on, Viv stops her.
“Could I get some more seltzer, and do you have any more of the tiny cookies? My boyfriend loves them.”
“Sure thing,” the attendant, Deb, says, flashing a smile at my girl and handing over three bags of cookies.
“I feel like I just won the lottery,” I say as soon as Deb moves on.
“The lottery? Those cookies are good, but I’m not sure they compare with millions of dollars.”
I shake my head, and I can’t keep the grin off my face. “Nah, it’s not the cookies. It was the way you asked for them, for yourboyfriend.”
