He blinked a few times, then one corner of his mouth hitched into a terribly charming crooked grin.
“I like the way you talk. I bet you tell good stories.” One corresponding eyebrow rose. “Was your dad a Mazzy Star fanatic?”
“Fanatic is a stretch, but he’s a fan.”
“Tell me your middle name is Star.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. It’s Belle, named after my papa’s favorite Disney princess.”
Ben leaned forward, close enough for me to see the spray of freckles across his nose, which looked like it had been broken at least once. The bump and slightly off-kilter alignment only made him more handsome.
“You have two dads?”
I nodded. “I did. My papa died when I was little, though. It's been just Dad and me for a long time.”
His face crumpled like he personally knew our family. “Fuck, I’m sorry about that. My dad died a few years ago, but he wasn’t the type to have a favorite Disney princess. No warm fuzzies there.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. Considering my head was a hot mess of exhaustion, anger, and despair, I wasn’t my smoothest.
“Did you pay for my plane ticket?”
Ben’s smile widened. “I did. You seem like you’re going through it. I thought I could lighten your load a little.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, steadying my dizzy heart. “Thank you, Ben,” I nearly whimpered. “But it’s too much. I can’t even imagine what this seat must have cost you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I fly a lot and have a shitload of points. Makes it easy to do a good deed.” He squeezed my hand he was still holding. “I’d offer to put a hit out on your ex, but I don’t really know any hit men, and my brothers wouldn’t approve.”
“Are you always this nice to strangers?”
“Notthisnice.” He rolled his lips over his teeth, like he was working hard to hold back a laugh. “You seemed like you needed a break, and since it was easy for me to give you one, why not? I promise I have no ulterior motives. If you want to raise the divider and ignore me for the rest of the flight, you won’t hurt my feelings.”
“I don’t want to do that.” My hand twitched in his. “But I’m probably going to fall asleep. I’ve been awake alongtime.”
“I’m not a big sleeper, so I’ll guard you.”
Why did that make my lungs feel like bursting? “Do I need a guard?”
He looked around at the other passengers, his eyes narrowed. “I don’t know, Mazzy. Some of these people look a little hinky. I’ll keep an eye out.”
I finally let out a normal-sounding laugh, though I was feeling everythingbutnormal. “Thank you so much. That’s really kind of you.”
I finally slipped my hand from his. Only because I wasn’t sure if he was holding on or I was, not because I wasn’t thoroughly enjoying holding hands with this perfect stranger.
After the doors closed and the flight attendants went over safety instructions, Ben got my attention again.
“Hey, Mazzy.”
“Yes, Ben?”
“Would you rather, for one day a year, be able to jump from cloud to cloud in the sky or grow gills and swim like a fish in the ocean?”
I puffed up my cheeks and blew out a breath. “Gills, I think. I’ve flown enough times for the sky not to be super exciting. Now, if you’d said jump from star to star, that might’ve changed my answer.”
He tapped his temple. “Yes. I am a big fan of the way you think. Jumping from star to star would be incredible. Like, space, what’s even out there? Barring that choice, I’m gonna go with you to the ocean. I have a burning need to find out if mermaids are real.”
“I hope you’re a good swimmer. If I only have one day to see everything, I’m not letting you slow me down.”
He pressed a hand to his chest. “You’d leave me alone in the ocean?”
