Page 11 of Paradise

He scrunches up his face. “Incorrect.”

As he leads me down the stairs, I ask, “So what is it?”

“I just saw mybrothergetting blown by someone, and you expect me to still have a boner?!” He looks at me like I’m crazy.

I think over his question for a minute, stopping in the middle of the staircase, when I find a retort through my alcohol fog. “I mean… Technically, I’m your sister and you never have a problem getting hard.”

He bursts out laughing, pointing a finger at me. “You got me there.”

I laugh with him, shoving him playfully as I roll my eyes. “C’mon, let’s get a drink.”

We pass by Cassidy, who’s standing with a few of her friends against the wall in the living room, and I give her a displeased look before I point in the direction of upstairs. “Your boyfriend is giving Hayden head upstairs.”

Carson yanks my arm, guiding me away from Cassidy, just as her eyes go wide and she looks in that direction.

Carson shakes his head as I cackle. “Did you have to do that?”

“No,” I answer, pushing my way into the kitchen. “But it felt pretty damn good.”

four

LOGAN

Two days later, my parents, Levi, Carson, and I are finally boarding our plane to Hawaii. Hayden is going to fly out when he’s done visiting his cousin in New York next week, but he promised to bring me a keychain from one of the tourist spots since I’ve never been to the city.

“God, I hate flying,” I groan as I’m buckling into my seatbelt.

Our parents are in first-class, and we’re in business-class, but at least it isn’t coach. I’ve never been anywherebutcoach, so it’s definitely a better experience for me. Carson bitched for a whole day about beingshoved in fucking business-class, because he’s a spoiled brat.

He got over it quickly when I told him we could join the Mile High Club.

Our flight from Wilmington to Kahului is almost fourteen hours, and I amdreadingit. The only solace I have is that I’m with Carson, who makes me feel safe and comforted. I’ve always hated flying, and I’ve never been on a flight this long before, so I feel like I’m probably going to have at least one panic attack.

Carson squeezes my hand as the plane starts moving away from the gate, a little reminder that he’s here with me, and I look at him with a pout. “It’s going to be okay.”

Levi is snoring on my other side already, his head leaning on my shoulder, so I just nod and give Carson the most confident smile I can muster up with an endless stream of anxiety pulsing through my veins. “I know.”

The plane makes a slow turn, aligning with the take-off strip, and when the pilot floors it, I squeeze my eyes shut. I can handle the middle part of the flight just fine. It’s the taking off and landing that makes me want to avoid the whole thing altogether. The shaking and rumbling as the plane speeds up, the flip in your stomach when you lift off or touchdown, and not to mention when your ears pop. Everything combined is my worst nightmare.

My palm sweats in Carson’s, but he keeps holding on tight, giving me the confidence to look over at him once we’ve lifted off the ground. He grins at me, making my stomach flip for a completely different reason, and I release the breath I’m holding. My anxiety eases ever so slightly as I trace my gaze along his features, the mere simplicity of studying my favorite face making me feel safer.

“I love you,” I blurt, making him smile bigger.

The plane is lifting higher and higher, officially making my ears pop, so I swallow over and over to try to get it to dissipate. But thankfully, I’m almost completely calmed down just being with Carson.

“I love you, baby. You doing okay?” he questions, keeping his eyes on me, like he doesn’t want to look away for even a minute.

I flick my gaze over his head, out the little window sitting behind him, and I catch a glimpse of the sky so blue that it matches his eyes, making me grin. When I look back at him, my lungs deflate once more with a contented breath. “I’m okay.”

The plane continues to rise, and when we’ve finally reached a height so great that my ears start to feel normal again, I relax my tense shoulders.

“Come here and give me a kiss,” I order Carson, shooting a thumb toward Levi. “I can’t move, or I’ll wake up sleeping beauty.”

He chuckles, leaning forward to press his lips to mine softly.

When he pulls away, he sits back in his seat and yawns. “Wanna get some sleep before they serve dinner?”

I nod, lifting the armrest that separates us so I can lie down. I prop Levi’s head on the headrest carefully, then throw my legs over his lap so I can put my head on Carson’s chest once he’s leaned himself up against the wall. He slides the visor over the window, pressing the button at his side to turn off the lights shining on us.

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