Page 90 of Not the Plan

“How—”

“That’s not true, I wasn’t afraid the whole time.” Her cheekswarmed, and she glanced down at their hands. “I wasn’t afraid when you were talking to me.”

He nodded, his shy-boy smile escaping as his neck got blotchy.

“Guess I’ll just have to talk nonstop for the next four and a half hours.”

She laughed out loud.

“But if you don’t like to fly, what was that about liking the thrust of takeoff?”

She’d forgotten that. Her whole face got hot. “That was a lie. I just wanted to say ‘thrust’ to you.”

A smile crashed across his face.

—

As the plane moved into position for takeoff, she closed her eyes. Her chest rose and fell as she fought off her panic. He leaned in close.

“It might sound silly,” he began, his forehead at her temple, his breath caressing her neck, “but you look the way I felt at the stadium inauguration.”

“What do you mean?” she managed, her eyes still shut.

“When I asked you to dance and you said yes, I got so nervous I wanted to run away. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe.”

In spite of her fear, she smiled.

“Breathe with me, Isa,” he whispered into her neck, before kissing her below the ear. She sighed. He nuzzled her and then drew a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. She followed his lead. Without her sight, other details consumed more and more of her attention: his pressure on her hand, the aroma of his cologne and shampoo, and the underlying smell she adored, him. The engines roared, and he whispered soothing nonsense words to her, giving her a different sound to focus on. Then there was the uncomfortable woozy feeling she always got as the plane climbed higher and higher.That means we’ve already taken off—I barely noticed.The plane banked to the right and she let her head roll with it. Her forehead met Karim’s. She opened her eyes, her gaze meeting his. She’d stopped shaking.

“Hello, beautiful,” he whispered.

“Thank you, gorgeous,” she whispered back.

—

After an uneventful flight, they stepped outside of the Atlanta airport, waiting for a taxi. He lifted her hand and held the back to his lips while scanning the taxis for an available one. A driver pulled up to the curb, and Isadora slid in while Karim tossed their bags into the trunk and gave the driver the name of their hotel. Once seated, he took her hand in both of his again and stroked it with his thumb.

Despite the buzz of the arrivals area, Isadora wasn’t stressed at all. Though headed into a situation that might otherwise have caused her a colossal amount of anxiety, with Karim next to her she felt like everything was going to be fine. There wasn’t the habitual fear of entering the arena that came when she had to be face-to-face with her mother. Maybe because she wasn’t alone, and she had the impression that Karim wasn’t going to put up with much nonsense.

“Thank you.” She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

“For what?” he whispered.

“For coming with me. For being here for me. I really appreciate it.”

“Thank you for letting me be here for you.” He gave her hand a squeeze, and they continued the ride in silence.

—

Karim had asked if she minded him choosing the hotel. She’d agreed and was impressed when they arrived. Isadora took in the lobby while he checked in, and a beautiful chandelier caught her eye. She was admiring it when she felt his hand on her lower back.

“You ready to get settled in, beautiful?”

“I am,” she said with a smile.

“Come on.” He led the way to the elevators, keeping her hand snug in his.

“What made you choose this hotel?” she asked on the way up.

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