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The lonely and sad note in his voice rips my heart wide open. If I could punch the bitch who’d hurt him, I would. The hypocrisy in that doesn’t escape me. Maybe I should start with the bitch in the mirror first.
“I think you should wait until you talk to her before making any rash judgments.”
“Trust me, no rash judgments here.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” A tick goes off in his jaw.
“Do you know what you’re going to do about it?”
“Not a clue.” He clears his throat, and I think he’s going to say more, but he doesn’t.
God, how I want him to say more. Is he going to leave her? Give her another chance? The fact that I’ll never know eats at me.
We fall into silence for a while. The flight attendant brings more drinks and even a light snack. But I can’t eat, so I nibble, way too conscious of how close he’s sitting. The sleeve of his shirt brushes my arm every time one of us moves.
Who knew the caress of fabric had the power to cause goosebumps?
I should move away, but I don’t.
He doesn’t either.
It’s almost as if a magnetic force is bringing us together. The air grows thick. All around us, passengers are either asleep or glued to their devices, but this gorgeous stranger and I have found a private bubble where electricity sizzles. He has me captivated, his nearness humming above the roar of the engines and lulling me into the first speck of serenity since Chris left.
I should have known it wouldn’t last. Lightning streaks through the sky, and the plane hits a spot of wicked turbulence. For a few heart-pounding moments, I straddle the line between hyperventilating and not breathing at all. The aircraft lurches again, and I turn to him in a panic, my breaths coming fast and shallow. His face is mere inches from mine.
“It’s okay,” he says with a huskiness that turns me to mush. “These planes are engineered to withstand lightning.”
My heartbeat goes into overdrive. I dart out my tongue, wetting my suddenly dry lips, and that’s when he lowers his gaze to my mouth.
Another spot of turbulence brings us forehead to forehead.
“Oh, God,” I rasp, closing my eyes.
Adrenaline courses through my veins, and the thunder of my pulse drowns out all sound. I’m terrified from the air pockets we keep hitting, but in this moment, I’m mostly afraid that if I open my eyes, he’ll see the truth.
That I’m falling hard 35,000 feet above the ground.
“Just so you know,” he says, sliding a hand along my cheek. “I’ve never wanted to kiss someone as much as I want to kiss you right now.”
Oh wow. His voice is tortured, and when I finally lift my lids, I find his at half-mast.
He tangles his fingers into my locks, leaving me trembling and aching to feel his mouth on mine. I can’t speak, so I don’t even try.
“Jules…I don’t normally do stuff like this.”
“Do what?”
“Kiss strangers on planes.”
There is something so wrong about this. So off. Not to mention dangerous. Like diving into an empty pool.
Or boarding a plane that’s heading into a storm.
“You don’t seem the type,” I whisper as his breath warms my lips.
And he doesn’t, despite the fact that we’re an inch apart, our mouths aching to taste while his hand tugs on my hair, angling my head back.
“I’m not.” His fingers loosen their grip, and something inside him seems to deflate as he lets out a sigh of defeat. “So I’m going to chalk this up to high-level emotions and…”
“And?”
Cursing under his breath, he pulls away completely.
