Page 82 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

My breath leaves me softly, my eyes slipping shut as response after response flits through my head, each far too transparent to speak aloud. How do I tell this man he’s quite possibly the loveliest person I’ve ever met? That I admire him and respect him. That I want him to keep surprising me with his kindness and grace, just as much as I want to hear the rambling words that so frequently fall out of his mouth.

I want to know every single piece of him, top to bottom, inside and out. I want to spend my life learning who he is. Falling, again and again, in small swoops and in large ones.

“I think…” I take a breath and start again. “You said once that hugging releases endorphins that make people happy andcalm. Since meeting you, I’ve been more calmly happy than I can remember being in a really long time. Maybe ever. You’re like a hug, Brad. Always. Whether or not we’re touching. So if this gives you even a fraction of what you’ve given to me, then yes. Anytime you want it…or need it…I’m here.”

Brad spins, and I loosen my hold, hands coming to rest on his back once he’s facing me. We’re nearly the same height, Brad just a touch shorter. It makes it easy to look into his eyes, to let him see what he wants from mine.

“Kissing,” he says. “That’s a benefit, right?”

“Big one,” I agree.

“Yeah, good.”

Brad’s lips are warm as they meet mine. They’re soft and sincere. And maybe he’s onto something about the importance of intimacy outside of sex. Because what Brad and I are building—what we have been from the start—feels stronger than any other connection I’ve had. It’s a foundation I could see holding us up for years, decades to come if we let it.

Assuming, when all is said and done, this home we’re crafting…is one Brad wants to keep.

Chapter 21

Brad

“So explain to me again how this works. Is it going to hurt?”

Joey’s lips twitch, but he doesn’t appear bothered by my many questions. No, he’s utterly calm and serene as he sits beside me in the big metal death trap we’re about to go up in.

“It won’t hurt,” he promises.

“Unless we crash.”

Someone in front of us gasps, and I cringe.Yeah, maybe should’ve kept my voice down.

Joey squeezes my hand. “If we crash, you probably won’t feel a thing.”

I stare at him blankly. “That doesnot, in fact, reassure me. What the hell, dude?”

He huffs a small laugh, pulling my hand onto his lap and looking at me so fondly my heart tries to jump from its cage. “Once everyone is on board, they’ll close the plane doors and give us a speech about safety. We’ll buckle our seat belts, and the pilot will drive us out onto the tarmac, just like a car.”

“A really big car,” I mumble.

“Just like a really big car,” Joey says, not missing a beat. “Then we’ll probably have to wait a little while before it’s clear for us to take off. Once we go, it’ll feel fast. You’ll be pressed back against your seat, and then you’ll feel a small swoop in your stomach when we leave the ground.”

“Joy.”

“It’s not so bad,” Joey assures me. “Your ears will eventually pop and you might feel some pressure throughout the ride, but it won’t hurt.”

“And landing?” I ask.

“The same thing in reverse. We’ll descend, your ears will clear, you’ll see the ground coming closer, and then the wheels will touch down and the plane will slow.”

“You make it sound simple. I know it’s not simple.”

He shrugs. “It is for a pilot. They’re trained for this.”

I puff out a breath. “Who looked up at the sky one day and thought, ‘We should fly like birds! That sounds like agreatidea. Not dangerous in the least to be so far above the ground.’ I don’t have wings, Joey. I was not made for flight.”

He gives me an odd look. “But aren’t you Bee?”

“I…Fuck.”

---