Page 56 of Guarded Love

The fact that he knows about it catches me off guard. "Knox told you?"

"He mentioned it." Blaise's eyes drop to his hands for a moment before returning to my face. "Sounds like a great opportunity."

"It is. A great learning opportunity that will hopefully lead to many more, including a job after graduation. Plus, it’s a paid one so that’s a relief.”

"Paid internships are unicorns," Blaise says. "I spent last summer working for free at a political consulting firm. Great experience, terrible for my finances, but things are slowly getting better in terms of paying versus not paying interns."

"What about you?" I ask before I can stop myself. "Any post-graduation plans yet?"

"A few possibilities." He taps his fingers lightly against his thigh. "I’m hoping I get drafted, but I do have an interview with a think tank in D.C. when we get back. And Coach knows someone at the NHL Players' Association and there might be an opening there."

"Both sound very...you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Structured. Strategic. Places where your color-coded notebooks would be appreciated."

This time he chuckles and it tickles my brain and other places. "You make me sound like a robot."

"Not a robot," I reply quickly. "Just...methodical."

Two flight attendants interrupt us because they’re wheeling the beverage cart down the aisle. Tyler finally removes his headphones when one asks what he'd like to drink.

"Water, please," he says before immediately putting his headphones back on and returning to his window gazing.

"For you?" she asks me.

"Ginger ale, if you have it." My stomach's finally settled, but I'm not taking chances.

"Same," Blaise says when she turns to him.

The flight attendant hands us each our drinks, and I'm suddenly conscious of how I need to lower my tray table without accidentally elbowing Blaise in the process. I manage it with minimal awkwardness, though I feel him watching my movements carefully.

"Thanks again,” I say as I give the flight attendant a small smile. Blaise does the same and then we sit in silence for a moment, both sipping our drinks. This is the perfect opportunity to put my EarPods in.

As I make a move to do so, Blaise speaks up. “How’d the senior hockey spotlight article go? The one you interviewed me and the rest of the guys for?”

I hate that it takes me a few seconds to realize what he’s talking about, but this small talk with him is throwing me for a loop."It turned out well, actually. It got published right before finals." I take a sip of my ginger ale. "My editor said it was one of my strongest pieces."

"I'd like to read it sometime," he says. “When I have the time, that is.”

I tuck my hair behind my ear and shrug. "It's online. Crestwood Chronicle website. Your quotes worked well with the brotherhood angle I ended up going with."

He nods. "Brotherhood. That's...fitting."

I don’t get a chance to ask him what he meant by that because the plane hits a small pocket of turbulence.The shift in tempo sends my ginger ale dangerously close to the rim of the cup. I grip it tighter as I brace for another bump that thankfully doesn't come.

"Sorry about that, folks," the captain's voice comes through a couple of moments later. "Just a little turbulence. We should be through it shortly."

“Thank fuck for that,” I whisper, but clearly it’s not low enough because Blaise chuckles and shakes his head. As I'm about to plan what I should do next to entertain myself, Tyler adjusts his position. His movement forces me closer to Blaise, shrinking the already limited space between us. Great. Now I'm practically wedged between two human bookends with no room to breathe. I take another sip of my ginger ale and try to focus on something, anything, instead of how Blaise's arm is suddenly two inches closer to mine. Blaise doesn’t say a word and neither do I.

The cabin lights dim slightly, and the flight attendants begin collecting trash. I hand over my empty cup and ignore the self-consciousness I feel as a result of having to pass my garbage over Blaise. Once that is out of the way, I finally grab my EarPods again and hope that music will drown out the static in my brain. I scroll through my playlists, unable to decide what would help most. Something loud to block everything out? Something calm to settle my nerves? I can also start brainstorming new article ideas or stream a show if I so dare. My finger hovers indecisively over the screen as I wonder what to choose.

It’s then I notice Tyler’s head bobbing and realize he didn’t try to give any trash to the flight attendants. I glance over to find his eyes closed, mouth slightly open. Great. He's asleep and he's slumped in a way that pushes me further into the middle, which means closer to Blaise.

I shift my body in an effort to reclaim my space without disturbing Tyler. I quickly find out that it’s useless and it’s only a matter of time before he’ll be leaning on my shoulder.

"You can lean this way if you need to," Blaise says and I swear I almost jump out of my skin.

---