Page 6 of Someday You Learn

Her eyes drop down to my hands before lifting to meet my gaze. I can see the hesitation, the way she bites her bottom lip in contemplation. Then the plane starts moving and she lets out a small whimper that isn’t meant to make my dick twitch, but he definitely approves.

Before she talks herself out of the innocent gesture, I make one last attempt. “How about I play you for it?”

“For my hand?” Her eyes dart around me, watching the flight attendants check the cabin.

“Yeah. If I win, I hold your hand throughout the flight.”

“And if I win?” she asks, the pinch in her brow growing again as the plane starts to roll along the asphalt beneath us while we make our way toward the runway.

“Then you can suffer in whatever way you please.”

“What are we playing?” she squeaks out as the flight attendants begin their safety demonstration.

Leaning closer so as not to talk over the instructional recording, I say, “Rock, paper, scissors.”

She rears her head back. “Seriously?”

I arch a brow at her this time. “What? Afraid you’ll lose?”

“How did I manage to get seated next to you?” she asks rhetorically, but there’s a hint of disbelief in her voice.

“Flight attendants prepare for takeoff,” the captain says over the loud speakers as the plane continues to roll toward the runway.

“You’re running out of time, Cashlynn. Now what’ll it be?”

“Fine.” She sits up taller in her seat and twists slightly so we can face each other head on. “On three?” she asks as we both poise our hands out in front of us.

“Yup,” I agree. “One…”

“Two…”

“Three,” I say as she displays a closed fist and I flash my best set of spirit fingers underneath hers. “Ha! I win!”

“What the hell is that?” she practically shrieks. “That’s not a rock, or paper, or scissors!”

“Nope. That’s fire, baby.”

“Fire?”

I drop my hands back down as she follows suit. “Yeah, haven’t you seenFriends?” I ask, chuckling to myself because only a true fan would know why I knew I was going to win this game from the moment I suggested it.

“The TV show?”

“Yeah. Fire beats everything, at least according to Joey Tribbiani.”

Cashlynn blinks at me, still trying to process what just happened, but I reach for her hand just as the plane starts careening forward, the speed climbing higher and higher. She closes her eyes and whispers, “Oh my God, oh my God…”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” I murmur and squeeze her hand, stroking it with my thumb, and wrap my free arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to me. Big mistake.

Fuck. She smells incredible, like citrus and vanilla, with a hint of coconut in her hair. And the way she leans into me, her breasts press into my bicep, doing things to me that are not at all helpful right now.

“Just breathe, Cashlynn.”

“I hate this.”

“It will be over before you know it.” Just as the words leave my lips, the plane lifts off, climbing toward the sky. Cashlynn squeezes my hand so hard, I swear I hear a bone crack. “Easy there, Tiger.”

“I’msorry…”

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