“Because this is a big deal to me.” I decide to go for broke. “And because I want to treat you. I want to show you I’m not the guy you met when you first moved back.”
“By buying my attention?”
“No,” I rush out, combing my fingers through my hair in frustration. “No, that wasn’t my intention at all. Fuck, I can’t do anything right around you, it seems.”
I’m agitated quickly because I can’t clearly say what I mean. I’m already screwing this upagain,when all I’ve been trying to do is get her to talk to me, at the very least. I thought we were making progress after the wine spill, and then I just fucked it all up again by upgrading our flight.
This woman makes me a teenager, and I can’t pull myself out of it. I was doing so well too.
“Do you have other things planned in Vegas?” she asks calmly.
“Yes.” I’m not lying to her anymore. If she asks me a question, I will always answer her honestly.
“I suppose you aren’t going to tell me any of those plans?”
“I would prefer not to.”
She nods her head as she takes a bite of a Twizzler, then twirls what’s left around like a rope.
“I don’t think I’m ready to just forgive and forget, but I also like the idea of enjoying this trip. I don’t know where that leaves us, though.” She points at me with the Twizzler, and I have a hard time reigning in my chuckle. She used to do this in high school, and it’s nice to see that some things don’t change that much.
“I get it, I really do. It’s going to take time, and I know that.” I’m not about to act like she needs to just forget about my stupidity. “So, let’s have a fun trip, and we’ll figure out everything else later.” I need to continue to be confident. I know the plans I have for this trip will throw her for a loop, but I need to be secure that this will work, or all my insecurities will rear their ugly head again.
“Deal.” She snags another Twizzler, twirling it so hard, it flies out of her hand and smacks the flight attendant walking by in the face.
“Oh my god! I am so sorry,” Ainsley rushes out.
“No worries, miss.” She smiles as she picks up the candy, throwing it away as Ainsley turns bright red.
“What in the world is happening to me today?” she whispers, burying her head in her hands.
I do chuckle then because she’s right—this is very much unlike her from what I’ve gathered by just working together.
“Don’t laugh! I just hit her in the face!”
I laugh harder at her outrage, and it makes her crack.
“You might need to steer well clear of me on this trip if this is any indication of how things are going to go,” she says through laughter.
“Maybe I’ll just take all the projectile objects away from you. That should do the trick.” I smile over at her.
She holds my gaze for a second, and it feels like the mood shifts. The tension is palpable, and my dick starts to take notice.
Of course, I noticed when I picked her up how well herFavorite AuntT-shirt fits her and how the leggings she’s wearing look painted on, but it feels like I’m finally able to react to how good she looks. Until this point, I was trying to be respectful and more focused on talking to her, and not how she affected me.
But being this close to her, smelling her wildflower scent, it’s damn near impossible not to react.
She looks back and forth between my eyes like she’s looking for something.
“What is happening right now?” she whispers.
The pull is too strong, and I start to lean forward. She unconsciously does the same, and we’re so close I can see flecks of gold in her eyes.
“Can I get you something to drink? Champagne?” The flight attendant’s voice causes both of us to jerk back.
Ainsley clears her throat. “A red wine would be great for me, and a gin and tonic for him. Thank you.”
My head feels fuzzy. We were so close,so fucking close.I swear it feels like nothing is going right between us. Everything that could go wrong has, and this time, it wasn’t even because I was being stupid.
