Page 11 of Cloud Nine Love

She followed that request with about twelve prayer hand emojis. I didn’t need to find a hottie bo bottie; there was one sitting beside me.

The only one-night stand I’d had was with Kane. And I wasn’t even sure if that counted since we’d been friends for so long. We both immediately knew we’d made a mistake. I wasn’t sure of his reasoning, but I knew that our friendship was too important to me, and I didn’t want to spoil it by trying to be together. Not to mention that, as attractive as Kane is, when I looked at him, I had no desire to rip his clothes off.

I didn’t feel the same way about the man who was seated next to me. I had all sorts of desires when it came to him and most of them required him to be clothes-free.

“Everything okay?” Kyle asked.

The deep timber in his voice sent a thrill racing down my spine.

“Yeah, it’s just my cousin. I think she’s been watching too much porn.” I said as I put my phone back in my purse.

His brows lifted slightly. “Why do you think that?”

“She heard stranded at the airport hotel for the night and immediately thought one-night stand.”

I wasn’t sure why I was admitting this to him. No, that wasn’t true. I knew exactly why I was admitting this to him. It was basically to float the idea past him, or at least see what his reaction was to the prospect.

“I’ve never had a one-night stand,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Okay, that was not what I’d expected him to say.

“Really?” A man who looked like him would have plenty of opportunities. “Is it a religion thing?”

“No.” He shook his head and then sighed. “I’ve never even really dated, not casually, anyway. Not since high school. As an adult, all my girlfriends have been long-term, and there haven’t been any significant breaks between them. I’ve always been in a relationship.”

“Until now,” I reminded him. I didn’t mean it to be cruel, but as soon as I said it, I realized that’s how he could take it. I cut my stare toward him to gauge his response.

“Until now,” he repeated, his voice low and gravelly, as his eyes darkened with intensity.

Ding. Ding. Ding. That was the reaction I’d been hoping for.

The air around us felt dense, and I found it difficult to breathe. Intellectually, I knew that someone could not take another person’s breath away just from being near them. But it seemed my body was not respecting the laws of physics. It was taking its cues from some otherworldly force that being near Kyle tapped me into.

My body jerked forward as the shuttle came to a stop.

Kyle quickly gathered our luggage, and we made our way off the shuttle as other passengers dealt with strollers, babies, and children. When we got in line, there were only four people in front of us.

“I’m so tired,” a kid behind us complained loudly.

I turned and saw a man and woman who were both rocking dark circles beneath their eyes—a baby in a stroller, twin toddler girls, and a seven- or eight-year-old boy. Traveling with one child was hard enough; I couldn’t imagine traveling with four.

“You can go ahead of me.” Kyle moved to the side and held out his hand to the family of six.

“Are you sure?” the dad asked.

“Absolutely.”

I also stepped to the side to let them pass.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Kyle leaned down and whispered next to my ear. “I wasn’t speaking for both of us.”

“Yes.” I smiled up at him. “You were.”

When I said that, another phenomenon occurred that could not be explained by conventional science. It was a bond. A connection. A synergy that emerged between two people. I wasn’t sure how I would ever put what we shared into words; other than whatever the night held, we were a team now. We were in it together.

Kyle’s generosity did not end with the party of six. His charitable ways continued as more people lined up behind us. Within the span of five minutes or so, he’d let a mother and daughter who mentioned that they’d been up for over twenty-four hours, an elderly couple, a pair of newlyweds, and a solo mom with two kids pass in front of us.

Finally, after the entire shuttle was offered a cut in line, we settled in our place at the back.

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