Page 7 of The First Time

Okay, so I only make it like ten feet, but that’s beside the point. I’m just trying to make a point that I don’t want to be anywhere near him right now while I consider my options.

I grab my phone out of my back pocket and dial Charlotte.

“Hi,” she says hesitantly. “I was waiting for your call.”

“I thought you were my friend,” I bark as my anger becomes a scolding fury. “How could you do this? And to not even warn me?”

“I know you’re mad, but just give me a second to explain myself.”

“Well, you have all the time in the world. Our plane is boarding in two minutes, but seeing as how I’m not going, you have all damn day.”

I feel his presence behind me, but don’t have it in me to turn around and face him. Figures he can’t even let me have this conversation alone.

“I knew if I told you last night, it would be impossible to get you to the airport,” she starts.

“Yeah, exactly. You were correct. So, why the deceit?”

“Because Avery couldn’t go! I mean, obviously, Asher was staying here with me, and your other brothers were busy working. It was nearly impossible to find someone who could just jet off the next morning without letting anyone at work know. But Josh works with Asher. Plus, I figured anyone was better than your mother,” she says, her voice smooth but insistent.

“Yeah, but Josh?” I whisper into the phone. “You know how I feel about him. He’ll make my trip miserable.”

“No, he won’t. He’s been sworn to be on his best behavior. He knows how much you need this. Plus, we didn’t get insurance on the trip. Are you telling me you’re going to let all of this money go to waste just because of Josh?”

Dammit, she has me there. There’s no way I can do that.

“See, you know I’m right,” she continues. “Just get on the plane. And if he starts to act up, you give me or Asher a call and we’ll have a word with him. And…” she stops talking abruptly.

“Charlotte? Are you okay?” I ask, wondering if I lost connection.

“I’m gonna be sick,” she says in a faint whisper. “Gotta go.”

“Shit,” I mutter to myself as the line goes dead.

“We will now be boarding Group C for the flight from Savannah to New York,” a male voice echoes on the intercom.

I glance down at the ticket in my hand, reminding me that I’m Group C.

“Shall we?” Josh grabs my bag from the ground and slings it over his shoulder.

I think this is happening. My brain is screaming at me to come up with a good excuse to get out of this as he walks towards the gate without a care in the world. Instead, I go through the motions of scanning my ticket and walking through the boarding bridge. Then as we walk on the plane, I realize this is it. There is no backing out now.

We take our seats in business class, which was one of my splurges for the trip. I push my purse under the seat in front of me, then let my head fall back on the headrest and close my eyes.

“Aw, come on. Cheer up. I’m not that bad, am I?” his voice washes over me.

I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to see the smug face he must be wearing. I can tell how much he is loving this. His favorite hobby is pissing me off.

“This is supposed to be a break for me. I’m supposed to be working on finding myself outside of my work,” I whisper, more to myself than to him.

I expect him to say some smartass response, but when nothing comes, I open my eyes.

“What makes you think I will get in the way of that?” he asks with no hint of sarcasm.

“Are you serious? You seem to do everything in your power to annoy me. You know you get some kind of sick pleasure out of it.”

His eyes are flat and unreadable. Instead of responding, he pulls out his headphones and places them over his ears. I guess that’s my cue to leave him alone.

Fine by me.

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