𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞

20 | goodbyes

Pretending to be asleep during the most turbulent flight of my life was something even I struggled to pull off.

As a flustered flight attendant barked something about securing seatbelts over the speakers, I tried not to wince. Jameson had been caressing my hair for a few minutes now, and I worried that once he realized I was wake, he'd stop.

This was our last day together.

At least, before school started.

Before we'd be living apart for the next four years. Even more than that if either of us ended up doing grad school.

The plane swerved as though it had narrowly avoided a flock of birds. Squeezing my eyes tighter shut, I nestled my face in the crook of Jameson's neck. He was warm, his arms strong and secure around me.

His breath tickled my ear a moment later. "You're a terrible actress."

Repressing a sigh, I opened my eyes.

Jameson smiled teasingly. "Why, may I ask, were you pretending to be asleep?"

"Because you touch me when I'm asleep."

He quirked an eyebrow, but the expression was overshadowed by another bout of turbulence.

"I touch you when you're awake, too." His lips were smirking.

"Not like you do when I'm asleep." I guided his hand back to the back of my neck. "It's lazy . . . like you can't handle not feeling me beneath your fingertips."

Jameson flashed me his signature crooked smile. "Hate to break it to you, heiress, but I always feel like that."

Sighing, I pressed my body closer to his. "And I hate to break it to you, but I'll miss falling asleep to this."

Jameson's eyes saddened at my mention of being apart. Since our schools were only an hour away from one another, I figured we'd see each other every chance we got. But that didn't mean we got to share a bed.

He pressed his warm lips to my ear. "I'll sneak into your apartment," he murmured, smirking, "every once in a while."

Since he was the one that would suffer the consequences upon getting caught, I simply smiled and said, "I'll hold you to it."

Jameson kissed me.

In any other circumstance, it would've been a hot, passionate kiss, but with all the turbulence outside, our noses collided and our jaws hit one another as we tried to pull away.

When I started shaking, I tried to blame it on the rocky flight - but Jameson saw right through me. I was toying with the small heart locket he'd given me as a parting gift. The metal links were soft against my skin, but for some reason, the locket itself felt heavy.

Though I'd only had it for a week, my nervous habit had already become playing with it.

"C'mere," he murmured, even though I was about as close as we could get, considering our seatbelts.

I tucked my head into his shoulder just as a sob bubbled up in my throat.

"You're scared," he deducted. "But as scary as this flight has been, you're not allowed to blame it on the turbulence."

Stubbornly, I didn't respond.

In less than an hour, we'd disembark from the plane. Expect this time, we weren't in Texas, but Connecticut.

And Jameson and I weren't going home together.

"Is it arrogant of me to assume that you'll hate being away from me?"

"Yes," I muttered, fighting the tears. "But you're right."

Grinning softly, he lifted my chin. "Heiress, we've almost died a thousand times. We can handle a little long distance."

"It doesn't feel like a little when we have to do it for four years."

"And in four years?" Jameson gripped my chin and forced me to meet his eyes. "I'm going to be the one cheering the loudest when you accept your diploma."

I smiled. "And after that?"

Smirking, Jameson leaned his head back against the headrest. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."