Page 7 of That First Flight

I don’t have a chance to respond before he’s plopping down, and stuffing the backpack he has around his shoulder under his seat. He turns to face me again, letting his eyes scan my body up and down the same way he did the flight attendant. I feel every part of my body light up from just the way he looks at me.

I want to look anywhere else but at this gorgeous specimen of a man sitting next to me, but I just can’t find it in me to stop staring. It should seriously be illegal to look as good as he does.

“Where’re you headed?”

The corner of my lip tips up. “Well, this is a flight to New York, no?”

“Oh, she’s a ball buster.” He laughs, nodding his head. “I like you.”

“You don’t know me,” I deadpan.

“Lucky for me, we have four hours and some minutes together so I can get to know you.” Then he shoots me winks before he settles into his seat, resting his head back on the headrest.

I should not be affected by the way this man just winked at me, but my body betrays me.

He is… gorgeous.

I mean, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a razor sharp jawline is a deadly combination when it comes to a man that looks the way he does. There’s no doubt in my mind that when he was a child, his parents knew he would be a heartbreaker. Just his presence and a glimpse of the personality he’s given me, tell me he breaks any heart that crosses his path.

Not to mention he’s built like a true outdoorsman. He’s dressed in dark wash, distressed jeans and a plain black t-shirt that complements his tanned skin perfectly. He takes up most of the seat, and I can tell he’s probably double my size. Then again, everyone is double my size. I’m a solid four-foot-eleven on a good day. And damn, his arms… his muscular forearms tell me that he’s probably really good with his hands.

Stop.

I didn’t even realize we’ve taken off already and are cruising midair until the same flight attendant interrupts my dirty thoughts of the stranger sitting next to me.

“Can I get you anything to drink?”

“I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks,” he says before looking over at me. “What’s your poison?”

“I’ll take a Diet Coke. Please.”

“With vodka,” he adds, looking at the flight attendant. “She hasn’t picked up on the fact that it’s always five o'clock when you’re traveling in the sky.”

She lets out a chuckle and I see her cheeks heat up at the way he speaks to her. So carefree and easy going.

He probably doesn’t even realize he’s about to crush another heart in his path.

But my brain quickly stops itself, remembering what he just asked for.Vodka.

“Oh, no.” I wave my hand in the air, catching her attention before she walks away. “No vodka for me.” I avert my gaze away from the Adonis sitting next to me so I don’t see his reaction to my next words. “Thank you, but I don’t drink.”

The flight attendant simply nods as she retreats to the back of the plane to make our drinks.

I nervously look down at my hands as I clasp them together in my lap. People look at you differently when you don’t drink alcohol, let alone tell someone you’ve never had a sip of alcohol in your life. But I’ve never had the desire to drink it.

I watched people around me in my hometown fall into addiction, thinking they need it to have a good time. My priority for years has always just been Mackenzie and I never wanted to give anything the power over me to take the place of that.

Every time I say I don’t drink to someone new, there’s always a series of questions. For some reason ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘I don’t want to’ aren’t good enough reasons for them. Which leads to an uncomfortable game of twenty-one questions. Like ‘Are you in recovery?’‘Are you pregnant?’‘You know one drink won’t hurt right?’

Saying that I’m sick of having to explain myself to people is an understatement.

“I respect that.” His words break my trance.

My head snaps in his direction and I see a grin plastered on his face. There isn’t anounceof judgment in his tone.

I offer him a feeble smile back.

I’m not entirely sure of this man's intentions. Is he just being nice because he’s stuck next to me for the next few hours?

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