Page 11 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions

I ignored him, desperate to get to my seat and as far away from him as physically possible.

He occasionally bumped my back as we shuffled past the already full seats that lined the aisle, headed toward the empty rows at the rear of the plane. Itwas slow going as the passengers in front of us found their spots, and I did my best—but failed—not to inhale his cologne. In my defense, Alex was inappropriately crowded right against me. It was nearly impossible not to breathe him in.

“What’s your name again?” a feminine voice cooed. More than likely the woman Alex had charmed to get in front of.

“Alex,” he replied, warm and flirty.

“Oh!” She laughed, the sound grating on my nerves. Almost as grating as Alex’s presence, but not quite. I could not wait for this whole ordeal to be over.

“Are you from New York?” she questioned, and I rolled my eyes heavenward, begging for patience. The pen in my pocket taunted me. It would be so satisfying to pull it free. To pop the cap off. To jab it into those fancy, fancy slacks and see if I could wipe that smug look right off Alex’s face.

Not that I knew for sure he looked smug.

I was actively refusing to turn back.

I was less than zero percent interested in watching Alex flirt.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t picture his face. The twinkle in his eyes. The smirk that made me want to do evil, wicked, not very nice things to him. Those dimples that begged me to act on impulses that were as foreign as they were…mildly liberating.

It’d been a long time since I felt so strongly about anyone new—even if my feelings were negative.

“I’m afraid not,” Alex said in response to the woman’s question. “I’m here for business in New York.”

“Business?” she echoed, sounding delighted. I was sure she’d noticed how expensive his suit was too.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She tittered, and I had to fight not to gag.

The closer we got to my assigned seat without separating, the more I despaired. There was no point wishing for a different outcome. Not when itwas clear that fate had decided to fuck with me. Alex continued to flirt, and as my unease grew, I gave in to the urge to turn around and sneak a glance.

What I saw nearly made me stumble.

Because the woman Alex was currently chatting with was well into her eighties. And I was…shocked to say the least. She was beaming at him, her round face lit up with delight that this young, flirty thing was giving her attention.

I had no idea what to do with that—especially not when he blew her a kiss as she slid into her row beside two other older women who all seemed equally delighted by Alex. They whispered back and forth to each other as we moved on, voices quickly lost in the murmur of the rest of the crowd as the distance between us grew.

By the time we reached my assigned row, I had already come to terms with the fact that this journey was not going to be a pleasant one.Proving me right, rather than move the rest of the way down the aisle, Alex stopped when I did.

His body pressed into mine as he reached up to stuff his carry-on bag in the compartment above our seats. There was no use denying it now, was there? We, no doubt, were about to sit right next to each other.

Fuck my life.

“You 16B?” Alex inquired against my ear. I had to fight the urge not to smack him away. He did not sound surprised by this turn of events. Which…was odd, but not overly alarming. His breath tickled and sent a hot flicker low in my belly that I pointedly ignored.

Twisting around to glare at him, I opened my mouth to say something biting—but nothing came out. Judging by where Alex was looking, he’d clearly been peeking at the boarding pass that was still pulled up on my phone screen.

“Why?” I huffed, despair and irritation growing stronger with every second that passed.

“I’m 16A. Window seat.” Alex’s grin turned wolfish as he tilted his head to the side, arching a brow at me. “I’ll need to get past you.”

Right.

I’d anticipated this.

I should not be surprised.

And yet, hearing him say it out loud made the situation far too real. Sitting beside him at the gate had been bad enough. Being stuck with him for hours? Yeah. Not my idea of a good time. If I wasn’t careful I really might stab him by the end of the flight.

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