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7
MADDIE
I settleinto one of the four club seats in the front of the plane. The soft white leather squeaks when I shift around, to get comfortable. Unlike the private plane my mom usually travels on, this one is all clean lines and soft beige furniture. The carpet is black and gray diagonal stripes and surprisingly plush underneath my heels. There’s a blonde wood table in front of me and between the chairs across the aisle.
An L-shaped couch fills the space behind me, and then two more chairs in front of the bathroom. It’s smaller than the plane Mom usually uses, but still plenty big for us. I never really understood why the jet she used was so big, and once I got old enough to really understand what vacations with her were really like, I stopped asking whose plane it was. And why there was a queen-sized bed and a wide couch.
I have half a mind to ask where this plane came from and how we got it so quick, but the air is already thick with tension. And I don’t know if I want to add to it simply to appease my curiosity.
A bottle of iced tea and a brown pastry bag fill my vision, disrupting my view of the tarmac. I tilt my head back, following the tattooed arm to Dante's upside-down face.
“For you. It’s a small crew today, and I wanted to make sure you had something. It’s a long flight.”
Warmth settles around my heart, small fissures spreading outward like tiny tributaries branching outward. My path has been considerably darker lately, and it’d be easy to cast blame on them. But that wouldn’t be fair—to any of us. I’m the one that called Matteo that day at the warehouse, setting off a chain of events that feel more like the plot of a movie than my real life. I could chalk up everything after that to my acquaintance with them, but that doesn’t feel right either.
It’d be foolish to ignore the very real part of me that has never felt so alive, so seen, since I met them. A transformation is happening, a true transitioning from the me before them to the person I’m becoming now. It feels authentic, and a ripple of excitement flows through me at the prospect.
“Thank you, Dante.” Our fingers brush as I take the bag and bottle from him.
He walks around and sinks into the chair across from me. “You’re welcome. We’ll grab food once we get to the hotel.”
A small wood table is between us, but we're close enough that if we both lean forward, we’d touch. The leather creaks as he settles into the chair, leaning back and spreading his legs wide. His feet land on either side of mine, the inside of his shoes brushing against the outside of mine. It’s not an uncommon way to sit, especially when you’re sitting so close to someone. But for as common as it is, there's something almost primal about the way he's sitting.
His muscles aren't tense. He's not on a constant swivel looking for threats, yet he radiates protectiveness. It's in the way he picked up a black iced tea and a pastry for me. They're my favorites, but more than that, it feels like he's taking care of me, looking out for me.
I smile at him as I take out a blueberry muffin and smooth out the wrinkles in the brown paper bag, before setting my muffin on top like a makeshift plate.
“You’re going to spoil me, you know.” My voice is quiet, meant for him in this moment.
He holds my gaze, face serious, bordering on solemn. “You deserve to be spoiled, Maddie.”
I roll my bottom lip inward, scraping my teeth across it to hold in the wide, cheesy grin that's desperate to break free. “If you say so.”
“You deserve everything.”
My breath hitches inside my chest as I stare at him for a moment. The intensity from earlier is still there, lurking underneath his projected air of calm, and somehow, it only adds to my growing desire. I exhale a breath and peel off the brown paper liner. I break it in half and hold out a piece toward him.
“Want to split it with me?”
Dante shakes his head slowly. “It’s for you, and I’ll be fine until we land.”
I nod as Matteo and Aries walk down the aisle, their voices low and faces drawn. Aries pauses next to me and sets a white plastic bag in my lap.
“They didn’t have much, but I grabbed you a sweatshirt. We’ll get clothes once we land.”
My heart skips a beat. I’m just not used to the thoughtfulness, especially from anyone other than Lainey, occasionally Mary, and recently, Blaire. “Thank you.”
As if it was fate herself, cool air hits the cabin. I pull the sweatshirt out of the bag and slip it over my head. It’s black and oversized with NYC screen-printed across the front in white.
Aries flashes a smirk at me as he takes the seat across from me. The four of us swivel our chairs to face the aisle and each other. I slip off my heels and pull my feet up on the seat, so I’m sitting at an angle, leaning toward the table.
“This is your captain speaking. Looks like a smooth ride tonight. We’ll be arriving in Las Vegas in just under six hours, so settle back and enjoy the flight,” a voice over the speaker system says.
I wait a moment to see if he’s going to say anything else, but when he doesn’t, I break off a piece of the muffin and pop it in my mouth.
Sweet buttery deliciousness and fresh blueberries dance on my taste buds, and another wave of appreciation rolls through me.
“So,” I say as I lick part of a blueberry off the pad of my thumb. “What's the plan?”
