MILE HIGH

28

How does this keep happening? It’s like the universe wants to test me.

Stevie seems overwhelmed at the bar as she orders herself a drink.

Is she by herself again?

I press my ass into my seat, willing myself to stay put. But all I want to do is go over there, buy her drink, and maybe mess with her a bit. I like seeing her get flustered, though lately, she seems to be the one flustering me.

Maddison’s gaze follows mine as he turns to see who it is that holds my attention.

“Are you f*****g kidding me?” he asks. “Did you tell her to meet you here? Zee, what the hell are you doing, man?”

“I didn’t tell her s**t. This keeps happening. It’s like the universe is begging me to f**k her.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I’m kidding.” Sort of. “But she’s kind of hot, right?”

“We aren’t talking about this.” Maddison shakes his head. “She works for us.”

Deciding to stay silent on that one, I keep my stare on the flight attendant across the room.

“Would it really be the worst thing in the world if we hooked up? I mean, it’d just be one time. To get it out of our systems.”

“Our systems? Like you and her?” Maddison laughs condescendingly. “You mean your system. Last I checked, she’s not a fan of yours whatsoever.”

“Everyone is a fan of me.”

Maddison peeks over his shoulder to the bar then back to me, shaking his head. “You do you, man. But that girl is going to be on our plane all year. You’re going to f**k her and never think about her again, and she’s going to fall for you, like they all do. But the difference is this time, you’re going to have to see her on the plane after every single road game.”

I kind of like the way that sounds—seeing her after every game.

Attempting to hide my smile, I bring my bottle back to my lips and take a swig. Finally, Stevie’s blue-green eyes meets mine.

“You following me?” I silently mouth across the bar to her.

“You’re so f****d,” Maddison quietly reminds me.

Stevie quickly averts her attention away from me, and it takes everything in my body to stay seated and not go over to her. She keeps her head down as she makes her way through the crowd, her hands full with three drinks.

She’s either extremely thirsty, or she’s not alone tonight.

As soon as she walks around the bar top, my d**k comes to attention, waking up real quick. She looks incredible tonight, tight little skirt pulled taut around her ass. Her legs are naturally bronzed, her thighs are thick, and those heels she’s got on add a few inches to her stature.

Glad she took my advice about showing off her body. She’s a f*****g smoke show, and I don’t think she has any idea.

My mouth gapes as she walks my way, partly in shock that she’s willingly coming over to me and partially in awe of how sexy she looks tonight. Her little outfit is vastly different than the sweats I saw her in last week. These clothes show off every dip and curve in her body.

But she doesn’t come to me. Instead, she keeps her focus anywhere but me and stops short at the table next to us with the two desperate girls who haven’t pulled their attention away from our table. She quickly turns to her blonde friends, pretending as if she has no idea who I am.

Setting the drinks on the table, she takes the seat facing away from me, and instantly, like a magnet being pulled, I stand from my chair.

“Leave her alone,” Maddison quietly scolds. “If she wanted to talk to you, she would’ve come over here.”

Fuck, he’s right. I retake my seat. When did I become such a desperate motherfucker? But also, why doesn’t she want to talk to me?

Just being honest here, I’ve never had someone refuse my attention, and now that I know my intentions, I think the chase is making me want to sleep with Stevie even more.

I try to focus on my conversation with my best friend as we both nurse the beers in our hands, but I’m having a hard time. It’s as if I have selective hearing tonight, and all I can focus on is the flight attendant to my left and her two friends.

If you want to call them that.

Over the last thirty minutes, all I’ve heard is them cutting Stevie down. She might not notice that these girls are not her real friends, but it’s pretty evident to me. They’ve mentioned her hair being all over the place, which I must say is ten times more amazing than either of their stringy bleached strands. They’ve underhandly made comments about her body, which makes me real sensitive about that topic for her after Stevie got upset last week.

Her body is ridiculous in the best way possible. It’s thick and curvy, and yeah, there’s a bit more to hold on to, but that’s definitely not a bad thing.

At one point, when one of them comments about wanting another drink and Stevie needing to be the one to go grab it, my eyes dart over in a scowl, unable to hide my annoyance.

Blondie number one takes my eye contact as some sort of open door instead of the “shut the f**k up” eyes I was trying to make.

“Those guys are on the team you work for, right?” she asks Stevie, keeping her eyes on me. I’ve looked away from her, but I can feel her stare. “Introduce us.”

“No,” Stevie says in a hush, though since she’s all I’m focused on right now, I can hear her perfectly clear. “I mean, yes, they’re on the team, but leave them alone. They don’t want us bothering them.”

I wouldn’t mind Stevie bothering me.

“You mean they probably don’t even realize you work for them. Do they even know your name?” The two blondes burst into grossly high-pitched cackles.

These girls are brutally mean, and I have no idea why the hell Stevie would hang out with them.

“Probably not,” she says, though I know she realizes that’s a lie. I’ve called her “Stevie Sweetheart” more times than I could count.

It’s strange seeing this side of her, the side where she won’t stand up for herself, because in the time I’ve known her, she’s had no problem putting me in my place.

Without thinking about it any longer, I stand from my seat, finally fed up with these girls for Stevie’s sake. But still, I need to play it cool. Or as cool as I can. I really feel like I’ve lost some of my f*****g game this week.

I casually turn towards the restroom, even though I don’t need to use it. As I walk by Stevie’s table, I gently run my hand over her shoulders, trailing my touch across the back of her exposed neck. I brush my fingertips against the goosebumps peppering her skin before giving her a light squeeze.