Page 4
A soft chuckle interrupts my reading, and I jerk my head up to see the guy with the book watching me.
“Do you need me to wait before turning the page?” he asks, brown eyes sparkling.
Embarrassment floods me, and I suddenly don’t know where to look or what to do with my hands. “I’m sorry,” I stammer out. “I wasn’t trying to—I was just, um… surprised, I guess? That a guy would be reading this kind of book.”
He laughs and the sound is warm. “Because the internet makes it seem like only women are into them?”
I shrug, trying to get my blush under control. “Yeah, I guess so. Sorry if that’s rude to say.”
“Not at all. I know what the perception is. I’m Tate, by the way.”
“Brynn.”
There’s a flash of recognition there, like me saying my name finally makes him realize where he’s seen my face before. I brace myself for the questions, the gushing, the scrutiny, but it doesn’t come. He just smiles again.
“Nice to meet you, Brynn.”
Tate seems determined not to make it weird, and I appreciate that immediately.
The flight attendants come into the aisle to start the before-flight spiel, and I feel the familiar grip of anxiety seize me around the middle. I buckle my seatbelt and try to take deep, unnoticeable breaths to calm myself down. We’re not even moving yet, I can’t make a fool of myself in front of this handsome man already.
But then we do start moving, just pulling away from the gate and heading for the runway, and it’s all I can do to focus on my breaths. Once the plane starts picking up speed, I can’t hide it anymore, and I grip both armrests hard, closing my eyes. I start counting each inhale and exhale, trying to let the familiar routine soothe me, but it’s not working right now.
This is always the worst part. When the plane starts moving faster than any normal vehicle should, the trees and asphalt blurring past the windows as we pick up more and more speed. And then the moment when everything tilts, and the plane starts launching itself into the air. My stomach always drops, making me feel like I’m leaving it and my sanity on the tarmac.
A hand on my shoulder startles me out of my anxiety for just a second, and I open my eyes to see Tate watching me with concerned eyes.
“Are you okay? You can tell me to fuck off if you want, but you’re just… very pale right now.”
I try to smile, but it probably looks like a grimace. “I’m just—not really a fan of flying. I understand how it all works and that it’s safer than being in a car most of the time, but I just…” I shake my head.
Tate smiles, and there’s understanding on his face. “I get that. I think focusing too hard on everything will just make it worse, though. What you need is a distraction.”
I don’t know what’s going to distract me from the earth falling away from us, but I keep looking at him all the same. “What do you suggest?”
He waggles his book at me. “You can keep reading my book if you want. You seemed to be very interested in what’s going on with Alanna and Dominic. And Christopher hasn’t even come onto the scene yet.”
That makes me laugh despite myself. Some of the tension bleeds out of my shoulders, and I relax the death grip I have on the arm rests little by little.
Tate opens the book again, shifting a little closer to me so I don’t have to strain my eyes to keep reading. The plane takes off, and my stomach does the familiar drop, but it’s not as all-consuming as it could be. The book works to pull my attention away from the altitude and the engine noises.
Dominic drops to his knees to eat Alanna out while she’s pressed against the door in the book, and I focus on that so intensely that by the time I blink, we’re already basically at cruising altitude.
“See?” Tate says. “Worked like a charm. All you need is something a little smutty to take your mind off things.”
“This is a little smutty? They’re in a full on sex scene right now.”
“It gets smuttier, believe me.” He wags his eyebrows at me, and I can’t help but laugh again. “You should start packing books like this when you have to travel. It might change your life.”
“Or turn me into a pervert.”
His smile turns into a smirk. “Nothing wrong with that.”
It’s so easy to banter back and forth with him, and it makes the anxiety gripping my chest let up even more.
2
BRYNN
