A Mile High by Bethany-Kris Read Free Book Online Page A

made my skin tingle because I knew…knew
what he could do and how he could do it with me. The very thought made me ache,
but neither one of us made the move to bridge the gap between us on the flight
again. If he had, I wasn’t one hundred percent positive I would have had the
ability to say no.
    His hand found its way across our seats more than
once to touch lightly on the bare flesh of my knee, rising a little under my
skirt to grasp tightly with long fingers that made my breath catch all over
again.
    He was sweet, smart, and funny—more so than I had
first realized, even.
    Without even intending or knowing he was doing it,
Sal kept me calm and happy throughout the flight. He never once made me feel
awkward over what happened, or even that we were truly just strangers to one
another. Sal was familiar to me, his deep but quiet voice keeping me unfocused
from the sharp jolts of the plane when it landed on the runway, an action that
would usually send me halfway to a surefire panic attack. This strong man, with
his pretty eyes and handsome face, seemed to me like I had known him my whole
life…without ever having actually known him.
    And it sucked. Sucked that we were a few minutes
away from separating, that I didn’t have the guts to ask him who he was, or
where I could find him if I ever wanted to seek him out again. Sucked that I
was sure he probably didn’t want me to, either.
    In fact, Sal had kept me so preoccupied that I
hadn’t even remembered to open the curtain back up to expose our private little
world back to the rest of the plane until the flight attendant made her way
down the aisle and poked her head inside, informing us both that it was time to
prepare for landing.
    Buckle up, she asked.
    Put the duffle bag back up into the overhead, she
instructed.
    Close the curtain, she informed.
    And she was glad I was looking better as her
coworker was still terribly sick in the front bathroom.
    I had to turn away when she said that, a bright pink
blush coloring my cheeks as I shot Sal a look that I hoped he understood was
intended for him to kill me before I died of embarrassment.
    No one knew, though. No one seemed like they knew a
damned thing. When the plane landed, bussed to the gate, and people stood to
ready their belongings and leave, not one person caught my eye who acted as if
they knew. I was sure my insides would be churning, worry eating an anxious,
mortified path when I had to walk past these strangers who would smell my sex,
see the way my lips were pinked a little more than usual from my still-raging
desire.
    But, no. Nothing.
    Sal pulled my small carry-on bag out of the
overhead, handing it to me with a smile as coach passengers made their way down
the plane. First-class had already departed, but we took our time, noticing the
pilots and attendant were still up front, unbothered or unconcerned by our lack
of willingness to join the other passengers of the flight right then.
    “You have a sweater?” Sal asked, looking concerned.
    I cringed, seeing the slight drizzle of rain
pattering the porthole windows. “No, Barbados was my originally intended
destination, remember? Not exactly sweater-worthy weather, I suppose.”
    He chuckled deeply. Bending down, he unzipped his
bag and produced for me a black drawstring hoodie with white, block lettering
covering most of the front. “Here,” he offered, holding the article out. I
looked at it, confused and unsure. “Take it.”
    I did, then, still unsure of how I should feel about
his constant kindness and concern. “Thank you,” I murmured softly.
    “It’s not a problem.”
    I wanted to ask his last name, to see if he had an
address close to the place where I was staying, or if maybe he’d be coming to
Maine again anytime soon. Instead, I knew the reality of our situation.
Strangers, meeting under random circumstance. Not fate, despite his easy nature
that was so quick to match my high-strung personality. Not destiny stepping in
to show me a person