Deadly Deception | 18+

New York

After the minor miscommunication with the beautiful stranger, we minded our business. He took out his laptop and started working on it while writing things in Italian.

Do not judge me. We all look at the screens of other people's phones or computers.

It was in our DNA.

And I kept reading one of my favorite books, Never Let Me Go.

Being a bookworm helped me a lot when my parents passed away. My father introduced me to books when I was a child and read me to sleep when I was younger. We read so many books, novels, and poems together.

We even had a book club, which included only him and me, but it was there.

Every Sunday after breakfast, we would sit on the bench in front of the house together and read for hours.

Then, we would have a discussion about the books that we read.

He is the reason why I've decided to major in English Literature, to be close to him.

Anyway, I have always thought movies and books were lifesavers, too. They are as important as doctors, to be honest. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I open a book and get lost in its reality.

Movies do the same trick but are not better than books.

Many people might say losing yourself in the book is unhealthy, but it isn't.

Look at me... I turned out just fine...

I tilt my head and glance at the handsome stranger sideways to find him leaning back on his seat as if he owned the plane while typing on his phone.

How can someone as attractive as him can be equally asshole?

It is not only his looks but also his aura, as he demands respect just by being present without actually doing or saying anything.

But he has no right to treat me the way he does. I don't know who he is or what position he has on the social scale; He is not that important.

He is just a handsome slash-asshole stranger I will never see again.

"I believe I told you not to bother me, yes?" he glances at me sideways for a mere second before continuing to type on his phone.

I avert my gaze as quickly as possible, like a deed caught in a headline, before mumbling, ''I don't know what you are talking about.''

''I can see that you can't take your eyes off of me, '' he said with a coy smile, his gaze locked with mine. This is the first time I've seen his smile, which is mesmerizing...

''I don't blame you. Because no one can.''

''You are delusional.'' I snort and deny his claim with every fiber of my body, even though I know he is one hundred percent right.

"And FYI, I have seen better," I flash him a sly smile, trying to convince myself of my own lie.

''Oh yeah?'' He asks with a raised eyebrow. He locks his phone and tugs it in his pocket before turning to me.

My heart starts beating faster as he looks at me from head to toe. I become self-conscious because I wear orange yoga pants and a white sweatshirt.

Excuse me, but my comfort comes before my fashion.

I am not and will never get through an eight-hour flight with fancy clothes. Nah.

''Yeah-h..'' I can't help but stutter under his penetrating gaze.