Page 14 of Like You Know

“I need a drink,” Mena declared, releasing a breath. “With a little umbrella in it. Do you think they’ll let us drink at the resort?”

The conversation turned to lighter topics, and I wondered if the driver would notice if I cracked a window and lit a cigarette. But we were turning into the gates of the airport and driving over the tarmac before I could dig the packet out of my bag.

The car drove right up to the side of the small jet, and the driver came around to open the door for us.

“Fashionably late, as always!” Nicola called from the bottom of the stairs leading up to the plane, but she was grinning.

“You know us, darling! We like to make an entrance,” Donna joked. I jammed my sunglasses on to hide my eye roll. Sure, that was why we were late. Not because my psycho mother delayed us with her tantrum.

Our friends—about twenty of us—were all mingling around the bottom of the stairs, greeting each other and chatting while our luggage was loaded. I took my cigarettes out but was thwarted yet again by a stern man in a neon orange vest. There was strictly no smoking on the tarmac. Fair enough, I supposed—all that jet-fuel ...

We boarded the plane, and almost every seat on the small jet ended up occupied. I settled into my seat and closed my eyes, resting my head back and listening to the sounds of seat belts clicking and my friends chatting excitedly.

This vacation was exactly what I needed. A break from studying stress. A break from Mom’s bullshit. A break from the insanity of having a cult in our hometown. A break from everything.

The engines started up, but when I opened my eyes, the door was still open. Nicola stood next to it, speaking with a woman in a smart uniform and a nametag.

What now?I frowned. If this trip got canceled, I was marching my ass to the commercial terminal and buying a ticket on the next flight out of here. I didn’t even care where to—I was leaving.

Footsteps sounded on the metal stairs, and the reason for the delay entered the plane to a chorus of cheers and applause.

Jet held his arms up over his head, hands in fists in a kind of victory pose, grinning at all my friends. Then he hugged Nic, and they both went to find seats as the flight attendant closed the door.

Dammit! Too late to get off the plane.

I turned my face to the window as he passed my seat, but not before I caught the little wink he sent my way.

This was supposed to be a trip to escape all the stress of my life for a while—literal escapism. Yet here was this guy who seemed able to see right through me, coming along to make sure I couldn’t enjoy it.

Fucking perfect.

CHAPTERFIVE

He was stealingmy damn friends! I glared at Jet over the top of my phone—where the screen was stuck on the same page I’d been rereading for the past half hour.

Jet was a few rows down, sitting with Hendrix and Drew. Donna sat perched on Hendrix’s lap, and Mena had wandered over to them too. I couldn’t blame her. I’d whipped my phone out to read before we even took off, and Harlow was engrossed in something on her computer screen, her bright pink headphones firmly in place. I really hoped she wasn’t doing exactly what we’d agreed not to do in the car, but no one could really tell Harlow what to do.

“... flew through the air, and landed right in my lap!” Jet’s voice rose over the hum of the engines as he finished telling some story. Apparently, it was hilarious, because my friends all lost it.

I wanted to stuff something into his mouth so he’d shut up. But I also really wanted to hear the funny story. I thought about just getting up and joining them, but then I realized I was staring at Jet’s crotch. He’d gestured to his lap as he delivered the punch line, and my eyes had gone straight to the area.

I shot my gaze back up and caught him glancing at me as he listened to something Mena said. The moment our eyes met, he gave me a knowing smirk and adjusted his position in his seat, making sure to thrust his pelvis up as he did so.

That smug, infuriating jerk!

“Ugh!” I slammed my phone down on the seat next to me and got to my feet. Harlow looked up and frowned at me, but I waved her off and made my way to the bathroom.

I didn’t really need to go, but I needed some space and privacy to get my shit together. I knew he wasn’t really stealing my friends—my girls and I were solid. Chicks before dicks and all that. Jet’s presence still felt like an intrusion though.

The whole point of the trip was to get away from our responsibilities and worries, and I couldn’t do that with him around. He made me want to ask him questions, to get to know him more (ugh!), and to tell him things about myself. Like in the gym that night. It had been so easy to talk to him about real shit, shit I hardly talked to anyone about. It was disconcerting to feel so out of control with another person—to feel so seen by someone I hardly knew.

How was I supposed to relax on the beach and forget all my worries when I had to be vigilant around that asshole?

I leaned on the little sink and stared myself down in the mirror.

“You are not letting one arrogant, admittedly hot guy with a frustratingly good ass ruin your spring break,” I told myself with a firm look. “You’re better than that, Amaya.”

I refused to be this affected by a guy. I’d just avoid him as much as possible. It was a big resort and there were a lot of us. How hard could it be to keep my distance?

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