Page 51 of The Flight Risk

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“Iowe you big time.” I take off my padding around my shoulders and chest.

“Yep, and I’ll hold you to that. Whenever Brooke and I have kids, I expect you to babysit for a whole weekend.”

“Hold up. Like a baby baby? You and Brooke are supervising a fourteen-year-old girl for a total of two days, bro. Maybe you can wait to cash in this favor until your future kid is a little older?” I ask.

“Fine. But don’t expect me to forget that you are taking away my very precious time with my beautiful, hot fiancée to go get laid in Chicago.” He throws on a hoodie and sets his backwards hat in place.

“Ew, your future brother-in-law requests that you stop talking about how hot my sister is. I don’t need to hear this,” Bradley chimes in.

“What do you want me to do? Lie?” Tristan says with a sly smile, knowing exactly the buttons he’s pushing.

“Just don’t say anything in the first place,” Bradley gruffs, clearly pissed.

I intervene before Bradley punches Tristan in the face again. Wouldn’t be the first time. He didn’t take it too well that even though Tristan and Brooke were seemingly enemies, Tristan was secretly pining for Brooke all those years. Plus, they hid their relationship from him.

“Bradley,” I say, “will you finally accept that Tristan is going to be with Brooke for the rest of their lives? That fact is never going to change. You should know by now that Tristan is never going to hold back how much he loves your sister since he had to keep his feelings on lockdown for a decade.”

“Saying he loves her is one thing. Calling her hot is another.” Bradley heads to the showers.

“Anyway…” I turn to Tristan. “I know you won’t forget, and neither will I. Thanks, man.” I pat him on the shoulder. “This is a big deal. Taking a girl home to meet my family. The only other girl I’ve ever been serious with was Molly, and my parents have known her since we were practically in diapers.”

“I know it’s a big deal. It’s really no problem. I just love giving you shit, bro.” He pats me on the shoulder.

I chuckle. “You’re such an asshole, I swear. I don’t know how Brooke puts up with your bullshit.”

“I don’t know either, but you now understand what it feels like to win the lottery with a woman who loves you no matter what. Even the parts of you that you think are unlovable.”

Since Tess hates flying, I promised her I would hold her hand the entire two and a half hours we’re in the air. And even though she was freaking out the whole time and deep-breathing through every minute, I couldn’t help but smile that I got to be the one to hold her hand through all of it. I love being the person she can depend on.

One good thing about traveling to another city is that I’m pretty much invisible, and with Tess by my side, more people are staring at how stunningly gorgeous she is rather than how tall I am. I can’t take my eyes off her, either. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Luckily, we don’t have to wait for our luggage or rental car for very long. Once we’re on the road, Tess seems more relaxed as she takes in the sites of one of my favorite places in the world. My heart tugs slightly because I really do miss Chicago. At the same time, it’s crazy to think that I desperately wanted to move back after my first year in Dallas. I missed seeing my family on a regular basis. But the moment I met the girl sitting in the passenger seat, bopping her head to the playlist she insisted on listening to, which mainly consists of Taylor Swift, something shifted. I no longer miss home as much. My heart is no longer empty, now that Tess is around.

My childhood home is in a suburb a little outside of Chicago. The neighborhood is lined with houses that all resemble Kevin McCallister’s house on Home Alone. Two stories, white exterior, black shutters, a beautiful door anchoring the whole house. My dad worked in the city in finance and my mom stayed home and managed everything about our lives. From practice schedules, to what we were having for every meal, to maintaining the house–my mom is a force. She put everything she had into being the best mom–it’s what she wanted to do with her life.

I park in the driveway and turn off the ignition. Tess’ hand falls on mine and when I look over at her, a tiny amount of fear is in her eyes. Now, I realize that Tess wasn’t just nervous about the flight here–she is nervous about meeting my family and friends, who are basically the goalies of my life. They are fiercely protective.

I turn my hand, lace my fingers with hers and squeeze. “It’s going to be okay. They are going to love you.” I bring her hand to my lips and softly give her a kiss. “How could they not?”

She smirks and her shoulders relax for the first time this whole morning. The wedding isn’t until five, so we’ll have plenty of time to hang out with my parents before all of us head to the venue.

I get out of the car and sprint over to her door so I can open it for her. She flips down the visor and opens the mirror to check herself, and I huff out a small laugh as she looks for any semblance of imperfection. Trust me, she won’t find any. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure I don’t have anything smeared across my face.” Then she inspects her smile. “Or anything stuck in my teeth.”

I lean my forearm against the door frame. “You’re perfect.”

“You’re just saying that to butter me up.” She closes the visor.

“No. I’m saying that because it’s the truth. You are perfect and I’m going to keep saying it until you finally believe me.” I extend my hand out to her.

She grabs my hand and shivers rolls through my body. I have to keep them at bay because as soon as I shut the car door behind her, I hear the front door open and my mom and dad appear.

“Adam! You made it!” My mom says loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. I let go of Tess’ hand to embrace my mom and I immediately miss Tess’ touch. We have been attached at the hip ever since the lakehouse, and yet I still can’t get enough. Any time I’m not touching her, it feels like I’m missing a huge part of me.

“Hey, Mom.”