Draw the Line

chapter thirty-seven - part I

His smile was wide and wicked as he took a step back, hooking her bag over his shoulder. He nodded for her to follow him, and from where I was sitting, it looked a hell of a lot like an invitation.

She followed him through the door in the back of the plane, and when he came back out a few minutes later, his smile even wider than before, seconds before the sound of a shower's running water echoed softly through the main cabin.

Now, Olivia's braiding her freshly washed hair, her skin damn near glowing from the shimmer in her body wash catching the golden waves of sunlight streaming in from the open windows behind her. Her laugh echoes around the cabin as she ties off the bottom of her two french braids, and for a moment, for the three heartbeats that her laugh surrounds us, Luke's shoulders relax.

My chest tightens at the longing in his eyes as he pulls off his baseball cap and runs his fingers through his anxiously tousled blond hair, tugging at the strands with a frustrated groan before sliding his hat on backward. I can practically hear the thoughts screaming in his head — off limits, she's off limits.

"California. We're going to California, aren't we?" Josie beams, stopping at our aisle, her champagne glass pressed to her lips as she takes a small sip.

"No." Luke doesn't even look over at her as he slides the window cover up an inch to look out at the clouds before letting it slide back into place and leaning back into his seat. His eyes are closed, and his knee has picked up pace.

Josie's gaze falls to Luke's knee and her brow twitches slightly, the excitement in her eyes dimming as she meets my eyes.

He's an anxious flier?

I can read it in her eyes as if she leaned over and whispered it in my ear, and when I nod, running a hand through my hair to cover the silent interaction, her shoulders fall.

If I learned anything on this flight, it's that my girlfriend is not an anxious flier. She's been up and down the aisle of this plane to sit with Olivia and Thompson for a while before going back to sit with Halle in her own seat, and she even hung out with West and Coop for a bit while they were playing some kind of racing game on their phones. Not to mention the time she's spent on my lap at the beginning of the flight, pressing twenty-two sweet as fuck kisses to my lips and cheeks and nose. A display I would have rolled my eyes at if it were anyone else, but with Josie, I simply let my hands fall to her ass and enjoyed the feel of her in my arms as her sweet candy kisses peppered my face. Especially when the final kiss landed on my lips, which I deepend instantly, needing to taste her tongue and hear the surprised moan sound in her throat.

Glancing up at her now, I know I'm not about to get another round of affection when she slowly settles herself down on my lap, looping her arm around my shoulders. Her eyes are fixed on Luke.

I catch Olivia looking back from her seat two rows up. Her eyes are also fixed on Luke, and for the first time in a long time, they aren't brimming with anger or resentment. They're softer. And I have a feeling it's because, while he's trying his best to hold it in, he still looks like he's about to start breathing into a paper bag.

Josie doesn't say anything, she simply grabs his empty champagne glass and places it onto the cart of beverages in the aisle before interlacing her fingers with his.

His knee freezes mid-jump, and he cracks an eye open to consider their interlaced fingers.

When he looks up at her, the anxiety radiating from him seems a little less volatile.

"You see the private plane and now you're interested, huh?" he snorts, but his cheek twitches as he takes another peek out of the window.

Josie rolls her eyes, and I can feel her trying to pull her hand away, but his grip on her fingers tightens, refusing to let go.