Page 12 of Forced Proximity
Because that was the only acceptable option right now.
“We’re out,” he denied.
“She can have mine,” the man at my side said. “I’ll take a Coke.”
I looked at him with a soft smile. “Oh, that’s okay. I can just have wa…”
“I can go to the back and check to see if they have any,” the flight attendant offered, cutting me off.
He moved then, heading to the people on my right.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“It’s no problem,” he murmured quietly, his voice deep and raspy.
I glanced over at him with a small smile before saying, “I’m not a huge fan of anything but Dr Pepper. Water’s meh.”
He nodded. “I’m sure your kidneys love that.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I can’t say that they’re too happy about it, but my heart is.”
He had nothing to say to that, so I turned back around and started to slip my headphones back on, but his next words stopped me.
“What’s your name?”
I bit my lip, realizing that I was crazy because I was about to give a strange man my name whom I knew was a bad guy.
“Uh, Dru. Drusilla Rossi.”
His brows rose. “You have a mouthful with that name. Family name?”
“Crazy mom who liked to name her kids something that they would take shit from in school,” I disagreed with him. “Can’t say that I’m too happy about all the added bullying in my formative years because of my name, but it is what it is.”
“Can’t say that I know what bullying is like myself, but kids are dumb,” he murmured roughly.
We were quiet after that, not saying a word to each other until our food came.
“I only found Coke,” he apologized to the man, setting the Coke down in front of me instead of the man at my side’s table.
“Uh, can I also have water?” I asked, because there was no way that I was going to drink that Coke or take the Dr Pepper away from the man who’d asked for my name, but hadn’t shared his.
Even though I could guess it based on what I’d heard earlier.
Finnian.
“Uh, sure,” the flight attendant said. “I’ll be back to get that once I get these other trays passed out.”
He left and came back with the next set of seats’ food and drink.
I stared at the drink angrily.
I really wanted that Dr Pepper.
I…
The can of Dr Pepper came into my vision, and then the man’s long, work-rough fingers reached for my Coke.
I opened my mouth to tell him it wasn’t a big deal, but before I could he said, “I don’t have a preference. I like them all.”
