Page 6 of Hostile for the Holidays

But he’s not fast enough. And I know I’m not going to make it.

I reach for the hem of my sweater to make a makeshift bowl or bag or anything that is going to catch what is coming up.

Then, I let it all go.

TWO

JASPER

I’ve imagineda moment like this before. Stella St. James’ head cradled in my lap as she looks up at me with sleepy eyes, her perfect lips curved into a content smile.

“Your lap is ridiculously comfortable.” She sighs. “I hate it.”

Maybe not this exact moment, but it’s a start because I’ve been in love with Stella St. James for ten Christmases, and this year, I’m determined to put our childhood rivalry behind us and tell her how I feel.

To say things are not off to a good start is all about perspective.

I could have done without her being violently ill for the past two hours, but things are looking up now. She drank some water and has been able to keep it down for the past thirty minutes.

Once Stella threw up for the third time, the man next to us was relocated to another seat, so she’s now stretched out across two seats with her head in my lap. I like her like this. Not sick, but softened enough to let her guard down.

She shifts, adjusting her head to get more comfortable. “I should mention this is a revenge plot and you fell for it.”

Okay, maybe her guard isn’t completely down.

“I thought to myself what is the grossest, most repugnant thing I could do to Jasper, and throwing up my Cobb salad was the first thing that came to mind.”

I have to smile. Even in the throes of food poisoning she’s thinking about me.

“I’m flattered you went to such lengths to make my flight miserable, Stell. A less committed rival would have simply opened their water bottle mid-flight and sprayed me in the face with it.”

“There’s still time for that,” she says softly.

When I helped the flight attendant clean up after Stella got sick in the aisle of the plane, she’d commended me on being such a good boyfriend. I didn’t bother to correct her. Partly because I liked the label but also because it occurred to me that what person, besides a significant other, would clean partly digested food and stomach acid up for someone? It was disgusting but I’d do it again in a heartbeat for Stella.

“It was the last salad, Jasper. I thought it was a sign of good luck, but I should have known it was a bad omen. And now the universe has put me right in the arms of the enemy and I’m too weak to fight back.”

“Shh. Or I’ll start playing your spicy romance novel on your phone again.”

“You enjoyed it. Don’t lie.”

I chuckle because, yeah, I did. It had been fascinating to hear what Stella was playing on her headphones. A glimpse into something she enjoys in her current life. One that I know so little about living on the other side of the country.

I brush a piece of her hair off her face and her nose scrunches, but from my observations of Stella’s disgusted nose scrunch over the years, it’s a half-effort at best.

“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to look like the good guy. Make everyone on the plane think you’re sweet andthoughtful and unreasonably handsome. But they don’t know you like I do, Jasper.”

“Unreasonably handsome?” The corner of my mouth pulls up.

Her eyes open suddenly, and for a moment I enjoy the way those blue gems stare up at me. For the last hour or so she’s been mumbling all sorts of things to me. It’s like having an inside track into her mind, I never thought I’d have such an opportunity. Over our teen years, Stella had made sure to keep a wall up between us. For once, I’m able to look over the top and see what treasures are hidden on the other side.

She lifts a hand toward my face, her index finger tracing lazily along the slope of my nose.

“Don’t argue with me, you’ll never win,” she says before turning her head away.

She shifts her head again, like she’s trying to get comfortable, and I realize her earrings are likely the issue.

“Let’s take these out.” I run a thumb over the eye-catching earrings, watching the green and red crystals shimmer under the airplane cabin lights.

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