Page 22 of Fly with Me

Stella was at the mirror, finger-combing her hair and attempting to smooth creases out of her blouse. Her hair was wavy and wild, scattered with flyaways and pillow frizz. Still gorgeous. Pink indentations ran down one of her cheeks.

Olive stood beside Stella and raised a finger to the circular marks. “You have—I think that’s from my buttons.” The buttons down the center of Olive’s romper. At some point Stella’s head had rested directly between Olive’s tits. And she’d slept through it. Jesus fucking Christ.

Cheeks flushing, Stella covered the indentations with her hands.

“I think you’re dehydrated.” Olive went to get her a bottle of water from the stocked fridge.

Stella guzzled the water, and for the first time since they met, she seemed shockingly incapable of speech. She didn’t say another word until she’d drank the entire thing. The food on the table was soggy and glacial, but Olive picked at it anyway out of desperation.

“You know what I really want right now?” Olive asked.

Stella tilted her head. “What?”

“Fried chicken and waffles.”

Stella snickered. “That’s a super specific craving.”

Olive went to her bag, torn about what she wanted to do and whether it would be weird. Jake would tell her to go for it. She held up a box that held two park entry bands. He’d picked the colors when he’d surprised her with the trip. Again, telling her the only way she’d get it was if she trained for the race with him. Asshole. Lovable asshole.

“Want to come with me to Disney World?” She pulled out the green band and handed it to Stella. “My brother… I know I should have canceled his pass or whatever. But I hoped I would have someone to bring with me.”

Stella flushed. “I—I’d love to.”

Stella scrolled on the app on her phone, looking for rides with short waits. Olive looked over her shoulder, chin almost grazing the smooth skin between Stella’s neck and collarbone. They’d already done several of the classic rides that weren’t too crowded.

“I know which one.” Olive led Stella back into the park all the way past the teacups and Dumbo to the Barnstormer. This area of the park was always a little less crowded, and a late afternoon thunderstorm had cleared it even more before they arrived.

“All the other lines are too long, but I want to ride a roller coaster.”

Stella stopped. “A roller coaster? But there’s so many other rides. Why this one?”

“It was the first one Jake ever took me on when I was a kid. It’s really fun. A lot of people forget about it now since there’s bigger coasters here.” She grabbed Stella’s hand and pulled her up the ramp. There was almost no one in the line. “I know it might seem lame, like it’s a kids’ one or whatever, but it’s great.”

Stella’s hand was tight on the railing, knuckles blanching. Her throat bobbed.

“Are you okay?” Olive angled her body toward Stella’s.

“Of course I am. I mean, it’s not even a big roller coaster, right. So of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Her voice was at least a register higher than usual.

“Allied Airlines pilot Stella Soriano is afraid of roller coasters?”

Stella’s eyebrows knit together. “I’ve never been a big roller coaster person.”

Olive turned around, walking back down. “I’m sorry. It’s not a big deal. Let’s find another ride.”

Stella shook her head and marched back up to the top where only about ten people stood ahead of them.

“You don’t need to do this for me, Stella.”

She shook her head. “I’m not. It’s about time I try something new.”

“Are you sure?”

“If you can run a half-marathon after sleeping all night in a car, I can ride a rickety…” She swallowed again and turned back to face Olive and away from the “rickety” roller coaster. “This is good for me.”

All right, maybe Olive had a lot more in common with Stella than she originally thought.

Olive’s eyes were wide as she faced Stella.

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