The next morning, Tanner and I accidentally oversleep following the Halloween party last night, which means we have to rush out of his Fraternity house in order to make it to the airport in time for our flight back to DC.
We're both feeling the effects from our alcohol-fueled night, and while Tanner is opting to sleep his hangover off for the flight, I'm wide awake with a splitting migraine and anxiety from being thousands of miles in the air.
It's not exactly how I was imagining spending our five hours together away from everyone, but it sure is comfy to rest against his chest that rises and falls at a pleasant rhythm as I look out of the window, watching the sky below.
We have less than forty minutes until we land at the airport, where my parents will be waiting to pick us up. I tried to convince them to let Tanner drive home with his parents in order to avoid the potentially awkward questions heading our way on how we became involved, but my mom said it was nonsense to have two separate cars make the same trip.
I close my eyes, trying to get a bit of shut-eye myself, but after fifteen minutes of failing to do so, I give up and decide to read a magazine instead.
After another ten minutes, Tanner sits up in his chair with bed hair and a sleepy expression on his face.
"Nice of you to join the living," I joke as he rubs his tired eyes.
He gives an affectionate smile and then pulls me into his side, nuzzling his nose in my hair. "Mm, you smell of vanilla. Did you get any sleep?"
I sigh solemnly. "Nope. My headache kept me awake. I'll just crash later on after my parents kick you out of the house."
He chuckles at my response and strokes my arm.
"Yeah. It's going to be eventful. Both our families in the same room, gloating at us. At least my sister and her husband will be there. It'll be nice to see how big she's gotten since I've been away."
I smile at the thought of getting to see Maggie and her baby bump.
"Only a couple of months until she has him. You must be getting excited about being an uncle soon."
"Yeah. Still slightly nervous, but I can't wait until the little scamp gets here, and I can teach him my ways."
I elbow Tanner in the side playfully. "Not everything. Remember, you were an asshole before I changed you."
He scoffs. "You changed me? Oh, baby. I think you have that all wrong. I'm still amazing as I was back then. You just didn't want to see it."
I give a soft snort. "Whatever."
A mischievous look crosses Tanner's face, and before I have time to move, he begins to tickle my ribs, causing me to squirm and squeal loudly so that everyone on the plane can hear us.
"T-Tanner s-stop!" I squeal during my fit of uncontrollable giggles in reaction to his tickling.
After a few more seconds, he relents and lets go of me.
"I'm gonna go for a walk; my back is killing me from sitting in the same position for too long," Tanner tells me.
"Okay."
When he gets out of his seat, he gives me a peck on the lips before exiting the aisle. I rest my head against the leather seat and think only of Tanner. I can't wait to have a week off with him in our hometown, going on dates and spending time together relaxing. These last couple of months have been amazing with him and I've been thinking about our relationship for some time now and I finally feel ready to take things a step further with him. I can't imagine sharing this special part of myself with anyone else, and I feel comfortable at the thought of having him own me completely, body and soul.
Even though my inexperience is daunting compared to his colorful experience of sex, I know with my heart that he will treat me with affection and make sure that I am at ease throughout. I also spoke to Zara about it beforehand and her advice to me is to be open with Tanner about my worries so that he is able to know to take things slowly. She also recommended buying some condoms in case Tanner doesn't have any on him, and even though I felt mortified going to the shop and buying it, I'm now fully prepared to share this momentous experience with Tanner.
Tanner eventually rejoins me and sits back in his chair as the captain announces that we will be landing shortly. I buckle my seat early and bite on my fingernails anxiously at the thought of landing. My mind starts to go into overdrive depicting various ways our landing could go wrong. What if the plane's engines catch fire, or the landing gear fails to emerge. The more my traitorous brain conjures up horrible scenarios, the harder I bite down on my nails.
"Hey, enough of that. We're going to be fine, Le-Le," Tanner coos as he pries my hand away from my mouth.
"Sorry. I just hate flying so much. Taking off and landing is the worst part for me."
He kisses the back of my hand and keeps hold of it. "It'll all be over soon. And once we land, we'll grab our luggage and go find your parents so they can start interrogating us."
I groan and bury my head in his shoulder. "Ugh. Let's just get a cab. I'm in no mood to answer their barrage of questions about you."
He chuckles deeply and slides his hand over my hair. "I'm disappointed in you. I'd have thought my girlfriend would be more than happy to gush about me to her parents."
"Hmm. Maybe it's not so bad."
I'm grateful for Tanner distracting me for the remainder of the flight, even if it is him teasing me.
He carries on holding my hand as the plane makes its descent and heads towards the lights of the runway. I close my eyes just before the plane touches the ground, and the little bump from the landing causes me to yelp aloud and dig my nails into Tanner's hand. As soon as we're in the clear, I release my hand from Tanner's and watch him shake it to ease the pain away.
"Sorry," I lament.
"It's fine. Damn, your nails are sharp."
"Sorry, I'll cut them when I get home."
He winks at me and leans over to whisper in my ear. "No, you won't. I want these nails to claw down my back when I get you alone."
My eyes go wide, and I gulp as his eyes focus on my lips for a few seconds before shaking his head and grinning to himself.
The plane soon stops, and we get our hand luggage out of the overhead and wait in the aisle patiently to exit the plane. Once we make our way through the terminal, I look for my parents, and it doesn't take me long to spot them as my mom is holding up a sign with our names on as they lean against the bar separating visitors from fliers. We trundle our suitcases over to them and are met with warm embraces.
"Oh, it feels so good to hold you again," my mom sighs as she strokes my hair while she hugs me.
I hug her back and then withdraw from her hold so she can hug Tanner. I give my dad a quick hug, and he kindly takes my suitcase without asking and wheels it next to himself.
When my mom finally lets go of Tanner, he shakes my dad's hand. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Preston."
"Likewise. I was happily surprised when I found out you and Leah were traveling together. I hope her nervousness for flying didn't affect you too much," my dad jokes.
Tanner holds open up his palm, showing faint little fingernails marks. "Only a bit. But she's easily forgivable," he says as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.
I blush profusely as both of my parents' eyes land on me with inquisitive expressions on their faces. I duck out of Tanner's hold and re-adjust the bag on my shoulder.
Tanner looks down at me with a questioning glance at my brush-off, so I subtly stroke my hand down the back of his hand to appease him while my parents discuss heading back to the car.
As I predicted, my parents are all over Tanner, engaging in conversation with him the entire way back to the car as I follow behind them, looking in from the outside. I catch a few things here and there, and it seems my mom is prying for information about our relationship. Tanner keeps his responses short, giving them the bare minimum of how close we really are.
I note that they were never like this when I was with Shawn. They were nice enough to him when we were together, but they never seemed to warm to him.
Maybe it's because they've known Tanner since he was little?
When we get to the car, Tanner helps my dad put the suitcases in the trunk, and then he slides into the seat in the back with me, leaving the middle seat free. I buckle up my seat belt and rest my hand in the middle, and Tanner does the same and hooks his pinkie finger around mine. I smile shyly at him as my dad starts the car and pulls out of the space.
My mom pulls down her visor as she talks to us on the journey home, and it doesn't take her long to see our hands entwined.
A smug expression crosses her face, and she raises her brows in the mirror as she stares right at me. I squirm in my seat and roll my eyes dramatically, silently telling her, 'yeah, yeah. I'm with him.'
Well, Leah did warn him she's not a good flyer ha ha. What do you think of her parents fawning over Tanner?
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