Authors: Rochelle Paige
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I suck as a best friend.
Sorry I have to bail on you tonight. Maybe we could do a movie night sometime
this week?” I offered.
“Yay! But I get to pick the movie. No action
movies! Chick flicks only, got it?” Aubrey replied as she walked out of the
bathroom. I didn’t know which was worse—the idea of going to another party with
her or being stuck watching some dumb movie she picked out.
The things we do
for our friends.
By the time I had gotten ready to go, all three
girls were sitting in the common area, waiting on me to make them smoothies.
“Hey,” I greeted everyone, and they nodded their heads at me and went on
gossiping about the party last night.
“Did you hear what happened with Drake and Sasha
last night?” Natalie asked. I almost nodded my head before I realized she
wasn’t speaking to me. Normally I would have no idea what she was talking
about, but I was the only person in the room who had seen Sasha practically get
kicked out of the party.
“No, what happened?” Faith replied as she leaned
forward to catch everything Natalie had to say.
“I heard that Sasha showed up at the party, without
being invited, because she’d assumed that Drake wanted her there. I don’t know
why she thought she was so special. Word around campus is that he never invites
girls over to the house—ever. And certainly not for a party,” Natalie gossiped.
“And that when she showed up, he pulled her through the house and to the back
door so he could make it clear to her that he didn’t want her there.
Supposedly, she freaked out and he had to force her out of the house.”
“He did not force her out of the house,” I chimed
in before I realized what I was saying. Three sets of eyes swiveled towards me,
shocked that I had something to offer to this conversation.
“I heard it from a very reliable source, Alexa.
Sasha told her best friend what happened, and she told me directly,” Natalie
huffed at me. “How would you know any differently? I didn’t think you even knew
Drake or Sasha.”
“Well, I don’t exactly know them, but I was in the
kitchen when they were arguing and she left the house.”
“What were you doing in the Sigma Chi kitchen last
night?” Faith asked me. “We didn’t see you at the party at all. I thought you
didn’t make it there.”
“I went to the party with Aubrey. I didn’t stay
downstairs that long. Maybe that’s why you didn’t see me? Anyway, when Jackson
and I went to grab another drink before heading upstairs, we ran into Drake and
Sasha arguing at the back door. Jackson talked with them, and she walked off in
a tizzy over something. Nobody forced her to leave, but they definitely made it
clear that she wasn’t welcome.”
“And what happened next? I can’t believe you didn’t
tell me first thing this morning that you met Drake Bennett last night, Lex!
Best friends are supposed to share stuff like that,” Aubrey shrieked at me
while Natalie and Faith nodded their heads in support.
“Nothing happened, Aubrey. Jackson only talked to
the guy for a couple minutes, and he didn’t introduce us. So, I didn’t really
meet him last night. I just kinda observed him from afar,” I responded.
“How could you waste a golden opportunity like
that?” gasped Faith. “Drake Bennett is the hottest guy on campus. Every girl
wants to meet him. And you were in the same room with him and didn’t make sure
that Jackson told him who you are? You are crazy!”
“Nah, she’s not crazy. She probably didn’t even
notice how hot he is. Lex, you need to pull your head out of your ass and start
living again! If someone as sexy as Drake doesn’t even capture your attention
the teensiest bit, then I am seriously worried about you,” Aubrey wagged her
finger at me, and I started to blush in response.
Damn my fair skin.
“Wait a second! You did notice him, didn’t you? I
see that look. You’ve finally noticed another guy! Yay! So why didn’t you say
anything to him? Oh, crap. You were with Jackson. No way could you ask him to
introduce you after everything that happened the last time he introduced you to
a guy. Don’t worry though. We will just have to make sure you have another
chance,” Aubrey rambled on. Great, now I was going to have to admit to seeing
him again in the grocery store.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen. I already
saw him again this morning at the grocery store. And you saw what I looked like
when I left this morning. I bumped into him, he seemed nice, and then he was
super icy to me. I don’t think the third time will be the charm.”
I quickly finished making their smoothies so I
could get out of there. I really didn’t want to get the third degree about some
guy I was never going to date anyway.
“Here you go! This should help with the hangovers.
I need to head out if I am going to make it to the terminal in time. See you
guys on Monday.” I grabbed my backpack off the floor near the door and peeked
inside. “Thanks for throwing my stuff together, Aubrey. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t think that this conversation is over, Lex.
We will talk about this later,” Aubrey threatened.
chapter
4
I parked the Mini Cooper in my parking spot at the
terminal. I rubbed my hands together in excitement as I thought about the
upcoming flight. It wasn’t often that I was able to get extra hours in the Lear
since Dad used it for most of his business charter flights. I couldn’t wait to
get up in the air today.
As I headed towards the hanger, I could see my dad
running over his checklist outside the plane. We had both picked the same dark
purple polo shirt to wear today—my favorite color. I knew Dad wore it because
he knew I loved when he wore his. He had let me pick the colors out on the last
order of logo shirts, and he hadn’t been too excited when he saw the purple
ones, saying it was a little too feminine for him. Yet he still wore it because
he liked making me happy.
“Hey, Dad. Great minds think alike, eh?” I gestured
towards our shirts. He snorted in response to my teasing and reached out to
give me a big bear hug.
“Alexa! Since I can claim half of your great mind,
it only makes sense that we think alike. Right, sweetie?”
“Makes sense to me. Anything I can do to help get
ready for the flight?”
“Yeah, could you make sure there are drinks and
snacks in the cabin? We only have one passenger today, so we only need a few
things available.”
“Sure, Dad. Should I fluff a pillow and grab a
blanket while I’m at it?”
“Alexa Marie, you know that our passengers pay for
comfort and convenience. I know it’s a pain to cater to them sometimes, but
that doesn’t mean you need to get sassy with me.”
“Sorry, Dad. I’ll can the attitude. I promise.”
“Good, because he will be here any minute, and I
want everything ready to go before he gets here. His dad is paying us good
money to make sure his son makes it to some big party tonight.” Dad smiled back
at me, letting me know that he didn’t really mind my attitude all that much.
As I worked to get everything set up in the cabin
of the Lear, I could hear my dad talking to someone in the hangar. Sounded like
our passenger was here a little bit early. As I leaned over, peering into the
fridge to make sure we had a selection of beverages, I could hear footsteps
climbing the stairs onto the plane.
“Well hello. I didn’t realize the view would be
this good or I would have had my dad charter all my flights through Mr.
Hewett,” I heard a husky voice murmur at me. I stood and twirled around, coming
face to face with none other than Drake Bennett. Dammit! Three times now in
twenty-four hours. Really?
“Drake,” I gasped at him. His eyes were directed at
where my ass had been moments before, but he raised them to look at my face
now. And yet again, there went that molten gaze turning to ice when he realized
who I was. Seriously, what had I done to offend this guy?
“Wow! Didn’t see that coming. Does Jackson know
that you’re a stewardess? I can’t imagine that he’s cool with how often you
must get hit on when you hang around horny businessmen all day, bending over
like that.”
“Wait, what? Why would Jackson care if I was a
stewardess? Which I’m not, by the way.”
“Right, sorry. I should have said flight attendant.
Let me guess, you met Jackson because of the job. I almost forgot that he was
the one who’d suggested this charter line to me. Guess he doesn’t mind how
often you get leered at since he hasn’t talked you out of the job.”
“Hey! First of all, Jackson would never try to talk
me out of a job. He isn’t like that. And secondly—”
“Yeah, you say that now. But you must not know him
as well as I do. Your relationship with Jackson and your job choice really
aren’t any of my business. Let’s just forget we’ve met before and carry on with
this flight so I can get home for my mom’s birthday party.”
The nerve of this guy! He really was a total
douche. Just the reminder I needed never to trust my hormones again. Geesh!
Before I could respond, my dad climbed aboard and glanced over at us. He raised
an eyebrow at me in inquiry, probably wondering why I was standing there,
glaring at our passenger.
“Alexa, is everything all set for Mr. Bennett in
the cabin?” he asked.
“Yes, Dad. He should be fine. Why don’t you have a
seat, Mr. Bennett?” I asked Drake in a sweet tone of voice. His head swiveled
back towards me when I said Dad. Looked like that had surprised him.
Just
wait for the next shocker. Flight attendant, my ass.
Not that I have
anything against them, but I hadn’t spent years training to be a pilot for some
asshole to pass judgment on me for no reason at all.
“Why don’t you go ahead and get settled in the
cockpit?” Dad asked me. He recognized that sweet tone of voice of mine and knew
I was pissed about something. He might not know what had happened, but he knew
me well enough to know it was best to remove me from the situation.
“Sure, Dad. I’ll see you up there.”
“Cockpit? She doesn’t need to be up there with you
during the flight. She’s welcome to stay back here with me instead. I’m sure it
would be more comfortable for Alexa,” Drake offered.
“Well, that might make co-piloting the plane a
little difficult,” my dad responded. Damn, I really wished I could have seen
the look on Drake’s face at that news. I couldn’t help myself as I glanced back
over my shoulder. Yep, that was a look of total shock. His jaw had dropped and
he was looking at me like he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Served
him right for making assumptions. I deliberately left the cockpit door open so
I could eavesdrop on their conversation.
“I’m sorry, sir. Did you say she’s your co-pilot?”
“I sure did. And she’s a damn good one. Trained her
myself. I’m lucky that my daughter shares my interest in aviation.” I heard the
air of satisfaction in my dad’s tone as he replied. There wasn’t much he liked
more than the opportunity to brag about my flying. “Now, you’d better buckle up
so we can depart on time. We should have a tailwind on the flight out, so I
expect that we’ll land in less than two hours.”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks. I do need to make it to
Greenwich on time or else I’ll be late for my mom’s birthday party. Last thing
I want to do is piss her off.” That explained our morning run-in at the store.
He had been buying a card for his mom.
“Anything you’d care to explain to me?” I heard my
dad ask from behind me as he entered the cockpit.
“Nothing much, Dad. Just someone I met through
Jackson. He’s one of his frat brothers,” I replied.
Dad looked at me quizzically. I could practically
see the wheels turning in his head. “Seemed like there was more to it than that
when I walked in.”
“Nah, he just mistook me for a flight attendant and
got my back up a bit. Nothing to worry about, Dad.” I eased his concerns as we
went through the pre-flight checklist.
“That’s not usually enough to light your fuse. But
if that’s the story you’re sticking with, I’ll let it be for now. We’ve got
bigger fish to fry at the moment. Let’s hit the air, sweetie.” Dad winked at me
and then focused on our takeoff.
Everything went well with the flight, and we landed
in Greenwich right ahead of schedule. I let my dad take care of our passenger,
in the hope that I could avoid seeing him again until we left for home
tomorrow. There was just something about Drake that pulled me in, even as he
pushed me away.
When I deplaned, I expected him to already be gone.
I was surprised to hear his husky voice from behind me as I hefted my bag onto
my shoulder. “Alexa, I’m glad I was able to catch you before I had to leave.”
I turned to look at him as he was speaking. His
dark eyes gleamed as he gazed at me. “You are?” I asked.
Drake nodded his head at my question. “Yeah. I wanted
to apologize for earlier. I know I acted like a jerk. Jackson’s my frat
brother, and he would be pissed if he knew how I treated you before.” He
grinned at me as he was explaining, his lips turned up on one side in a sexy
little smirk.
“Yeah, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that
Jackson would find you thinking that I am a flight attendant pretty hilarious,
actually.” I wanted to reach out and smooth a lock of his black hair as it
flopped over his forehead when he shook his head.
“You really think so? ‘Cause I haven’t seen him
find very much of anything that funny when it comes to his girls,” Drake
replied.
“Jackson can be protective, but he also has a good
sense of humor. Trust me. He takes great enjoyment in teasing me all the time.”
I smiled at Drake, thinking that it was nice to be able to talk to him without
sounding like a complete idiot.
Drake’s deep chuckle in response sent shivers down
my spine. “Are you and your dad set for somewhere to stay while you’re here? If
not, you guys can head to my parents’ house with me for the night.”
“Aren’t your parents hosting a party this weekend
and that’s why you had to fly out?” I asked, confused as to why he was being so
nice all of the sudden. His mood swings were bound to give me whiplash.
He nodded, his eyes twinkling with humor. “Yes, but
there’s plenty of room at their place. I’m sure you and your dad could bunk
down in the pool house. It might be easier since I’m not sure what time I will
be ready to leave tomorrow, and I’d feel better if I could tell Jackson that
you were covered for the night. Your dad’s here to chaperone, so it’s not like
he’ll think anything is going on between us.”
“Why would Jackson think that we’d need a chaperone
to stay at your parents’ house for one night? He’s protective, but he’s not
that bad,” I answered.
“Hey, I just don’t want there to be any confusion
on his part. He’s my frat brother, and I feel like we’re becoming good friends.
I don’t want to step on his toes at all here.” Drake crossed his arms over his
chest, and it felt like he was putting up a wall between us even as we were
talking.
“Well, I am sure he would appreciate it, but he
knows I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. It’s not like he keeps me on
a leash or anything.”
Drake snorted in response, his smirk turning into a
full-out smile. God, he was even more gorgeous when he smiled at me. “You’d
know better than I would about that, wouldn’t you? From what I’ve heard, a
leash doesn’t sound too far-fetched. A shame he found you first.”
What the hell had he just said? Something about me,
a leash, and Jackson? I must have lost track of this conversation somewhere. I
could feel the blush burning its way up my neck and into my cheeks as I started
to get royally pissed off. “Whoa, hold up a second there. What in the hell type
of relationship do you think I have with Jackson anyway? ‘Cause I gotta tell
you, the closest he and I have gotten to a leash would be walking his mom’s
dog.”
“He takes you to his mom’s house?” Drake asked.
Apparently, he couldn’t feel the laser beams my eyes were shooting at him. He
didn’t seem to be quaking in fear since his damn lips were still smirking at
me. Even angry, I wanted to lean over and bite his bottom lip. Damn it!
“Yeah, why wouldn’t he? It’s not like I even need
an invitation from him since I’ve known his mom even longer than I’ve known
him. And asking me a dumb-ass question isn’t answering mine!”
“Language,” Drake growled at me. Now he was
correcting my language? In the middle of an argument? When he doesn’t even really
know me? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!
“Stop right there! I get that you’re hot. I am sure
lots of girls will put up with your crap because they want to be with you. But
that’s not me. First of all, you have no right to tell me how I can and cannot
speak. Second of all, the only reason I am swearing in the first place is
because you are being an A-S-S. There. Is it better for you that I spelled it
instead of just saying it?” I held my hand up as he started to answer me. “No,
I am not done yet. I don’t know what you think you know about me, but the only
thing you do need to know is that I will not put up with you judging me. You
got that?”
Drake’s head went back as he howled with laughter.
I started to storm off to look for my dad so we could head out, but Drake’s
hand gripped mine as I swung away from him. He held on tight as he pulled me
toward him.