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“Yeah,” he answers. “Once or twice for the, uh...”
“Oh, the building manager retreats!”
“Uh-huh.”
The plane hits a slight bump and Oliver closes his eyes.
“I bet those are fun,” I say as I slide my window closed.
The noise gets Oliver’s attention.
“They’re not bad,” he says.
“We never went to those,” I say. “Me and Graham, obviously. I mean... we’re corporate and those are for, uh...” I nod, repeated. “Well, the building managers.”
“Right.”
I discreetly exhale every ounce of air from my lungs.
Man, I suck at this friend thing. No wonder I can’t keep a man.
“What are you reading?”
I look at Oliver again as he gestures at my book with interest. “Oh, it’s just, uh...” I turn it over to obscure the cover. “It’s just an old book.”
“What’s it called?” he asks.
“It’s...” I hesitate, “nothing.”
“Well, what’s it about?”
I realize that with the window now closed, he’s turning his focus to me. His shoulders are more relaxed. His knuckles aren’t nearly as white. The plane bounces slightly again, and he holds his breath, but he’s not nearly as freaked out now that he has a worthy distraction.
With a sigh, I reluctantly hand the book over.
Oliver inspects the cover. “Soulmates in Sixty Seconds by Melanie Rose,” he reads. “You can’t fall in love in sixty seconds, Melissa thought. Then, she met Richard…” His face screws up. “Wait, wait. Is this a kissing book?”
“No!” I try to snatch it back, but he pulls it away. “It’s not?—”
“It has a half-naked man on the cover,” he argues.
“It’s a romance!”
“So, it’s a kissing book.”
I extend my hand. “Okay, fine. It’s a kissing book, but it’s my favorite kissing book and I would appreciate it if you kept your snooty opinions about it to yourself and give it back.”
“No. I’m not done.” He pulls it away once more when I try to retrieve it. “And I’m not snooty.”
I exhale hard. Oliver glares at me, his eyes playful, before he flips through the pages again.
After a moment of skimming, he scoffs.
“What?” I ask, annoyed.
“How can you read this?” he asks. “There’s no pictures!”
“Give it back!”
