Page 24 of Hartley

We had a full crew of guards with us. Jordan would have brought more if he could have. He’d said repeatedly he didn’t enjoy going into the unknown. At least Sheldon and Oleander were already down there, scoping things out and making sure the hotel was secure enough. Although, I didn’t think any place could be except Jordan’s home, as far as he was concerned.

Jordan’s hand slipped into mine. I didn’t realize I was nervous until I relaxed at the touch. It was going home, possibly seeing my parents. Cat had told them I was flying down to check in on Hartley’s grandfather’s house with my partners. My parents had my number, could call if they wanted to see us. And I meant us. If they wanted to see their son, they’d have to with Hartley and Jordan by my side. Would they call? Doubtful. It was still enough to have my anxiety kick up a little.

Neither Cat nor I had mentioned a word to them about Ava. If they couldn’t accept me with Jordan, I wouldn’t introduce them to her. She didn’t need hatred in her life. She waswarming up to Jordan and Hartley more and more. If my parents met her and set her back, I’d fume.

The pilot and co-pilot came back to greet us. The pilot was a good twenty-five or more years younger than the co-pilot.

“Good morning,” the pilot said. He had light brown hair and matching warm eyes. The other man had salt-and-pepper hair, but with them standing near each other, I could see a resemblance. “For those who don’t know us, I’m Miles and this is my father, Anthony, but you can call him Tony. We fly Mr. Altair anytime he needs us. Your safety is of our utmost concern. If there’s anything you need during the flight, please don’t hesitate to tell Kirsten and she’ll make sure it’s taken care of. We’ll be departing shortly.”

“Thank you, Miles,” Jordan said. He didn’t bother to introduce us. We were at the point where the people who worked for Jordan knew who we were. Our pictures had been in the news enough, especially after what happened with my ex.

Kirsten greeted us, introducing herself. She didn’t dress up like the pilots did. She had on a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a black V-neck tucked in. “I apologize for my appearance,” she told us. “Normally, I’m much more put together. On the way here, the car I was riding in stopped short and, well, coffee spilled. There was no getting that out, so I grabbed this from my luggage. I should have brought a spare suit but for a short trip I didn’t think I’d need it. I’ll have it cleaned when we arrive.”

“You know I don’t mind,” Jordan told her.

“You might not, but I do. This isn’t me.” She looked from me to Hartley. “Just picture me in a navy suit and we’ll be good. As soon as we’re in the air, I’ll be by to ask you if you’d like drinks or snacks. Is anyone nervous or do you get motion sick? I have remedies.”

No one said they were, though Ava practically vibrated in her seat. As soon as Kirsten stepped away, Ava turned to me and said, “I’m so excited.” She admitted on the way here that she’d never been on a plane. I asked her why she didn’t say so sooner. She said she didn’t want me to think poorly of her mother, that she couldn’t afford to take them on trips. I assured her there was nothing that would make me think of Celine in a negative light.

Ava then turned to Jordan and said a bit shyly, “Thank you for taking me with you.”

“Of course. You’re part of our family. We want to spend time with you.” Was it possible to fall more in love with him than I already was because, damn, that was sweet.

Hartley batted his eyelashes at Jordan, obviously feeling love like I was.

We had little time to dwell on it before the door to the plane shut and the pilot told us we should buckle for takeoff.

Ava was quick to put her lap belt on and stare out the window. Her eyes stayed glued to it as we taxied. The plane eventually sped up, pulling us in our seats as the wheels lifted off the ground and we were airborne.

My excitement rose the more I watched Ava and how happy she was. It warmed me to see her joy and bask in what a wonderful thing it was. If only it was Celine here instead of us. She deserved these firsts with Ava. I couldn’t undo the past though. Instead, I’d keep looking forward and find as many experiences as we could give Ava.

Once we were higher and had broken through the white, fluffy clouds, I relaxed against Jordan, my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me and let me soak him in while I watched Hartley and Ava talk. She wore a pair of the leggings they’d made together. When she showed us what they’d done,I couldn’t believe they’d made them. Sure, Hartley was an amazing designer, but Ava was new to it. Not only did he show her around his studio, but he taught her while she was there. She couldn’t stop giving us details about their day.

Now, sitting on the plane, I let my eyes drift to Forest and remembered the times we had together growing up. Whether it was in school, or when we had our licenses and would go for drives with no destination in mind. When we’d spend nights talking for hours. He was someone I could always trust, always tell my secrets to. I hated how we’d drifted apart over the years. There was Gil to blame, of course, but I could have reached out once I was free of him.

I’d been given a second chance though. Forest had easily slotted back into my life since he showed up at Jordan’s building. He’d been there for me countless times growing up. Now I was going to be here for him and Hartley. Seeing their grandfather’s house again wouldn’t be easy. They had a lot of memories there. It wasn’t in the best shape, but that didn’t minimize what they had.

Like he knew I was thinking of him, Forest turned my way. His light brown hair was a bit shorter now. He’d gotten it cut since he came to Dremest. Not enough to get rid of the natural wave, but it looked more like the Forest I remembered, no longer hanging down to his chin. Forest had also filled out a bit, thanks to my cooking. He didn’t join us for dinner often. That didn’t mean I didn’t send food in with Hartley when he went to work.

“What are you thinking about, V?” he asked.

“Remember when we snuck into my pool and spent hours floating out there until my dad woke up and started hollering at us about trespassing?”

“You snuck into your own yard?” Jordan asked.

“Not the best parents, remember? We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but I had an amazing pool growing up. Forest and I didn’t get caught that night. We knew how to be quiet after that and to not stay so long. We’d drive there, park down the street, and swim when the nights were too hot.”

“Pop only had window air-conditioning,” Forest added. “It got hot as hell in there if you weren’t in one of those rooms.”

Hartley chuckled. “There were many nights the three of us were in open sleeping bags on the floor in the living room. Worn out, dated carpeting that didn’t have any padding left under it, but we weren’t sweating.”

“Until it broke,” Forest said. “That was a long two months. The other unit was in Pop’s room. He said we could stay in there, but none of us wanted to.”

“That’s because he snored loud enough to shake the windows.”

“Do you remember when Mrs. Morris called the house at one in the morning on a school night? I thought Pop was going to storm out the door.”

“She could hear him snoring thanks to his window and hers being open and facing each other. She didn’t run hers as often as he did. Hers was in a different window. She slept with the windows open a lot. I thought it was partially to listen for people doing shit they shouldn’t.” Hartley turned to Jordan and me. “She gave him an air conditioner. She’d said it was a spare, but we all knew the truth. With that running and the window closed, it drowned out his snoring.”

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