Page 81 of Drop Shot
We reach our seats, and I take her carry-on bag and heft it up. Before I put my backpack away, I zip open a compartment and pull out a bag from one of the various shops in the airport. I settle into my seat and Whimsy eyes my paper bag with a questioning look.
“What do you have there?”
I grin. “I’m so glad you asked.” I rifle through the bag and pull out the first item I want to give her.
“Ginger Ale?” she takes it from me.
“You usually always ask for it on flights. Figured I’d beat you to it.”
She stares at the bottle like it’s more than just a soda. “Thank you.” She traces her finger around the label. “That was thoughtful.”
“And I got you this.” I hand her the small pack of anti-nausea medicine.
Her nose scrunches, perplexed. “What’s going on? You’ve never gotten this stuff for me before?”
“Well, you took care of all the bookings and I know that’s not your job anymore so I figured the least I could do was this. One last thing.” I pull out the blue brachiosaurus I spotted in the small kids section of the shop I was in.
A squeal rips out of Whimsy that has my eyes widening in surprise and a few people around us turning to stare questioningly.
“You got me a dino stuffie?” She snatches the animal right from my arms and snuggles it against her chest. “This is the best gift ever.”
“Better than all the designer crap I bought you?”
Her lips turn down as she thinks about. “Yes, because you picked it. It’s thoughtful. I love it.” She leans over and presses a kiss to my cheek. It’s as innocent as innocent can be, but fuck if it doesn’t make me want to grab her by the back of the neck and kiss her for real.
She keeps the stuffed animal carefully balanced on her lap as she buckles in.
When we finally take off, she grips the dinosaur in one hand and my leg in the other.
As the plane levels out, she slowly releases her hold on me. I’m pretty sure I’m never losing the indent of her nails from the side of my leg.
“Sorry.” She gives me a sheepish smile. “I didn’t know I was holding on that hard.”
“It’s okay.” I try to rub some feeling back into my leg.
It’s a short flight, but it’s late, and the next thing I know Whimsy is asleep cuddling her stuffed animal. I smile at the sight.
“Is that your girlfriend?” The older woman to my left asks. She has a slight British accent—like maybe she was born there but then moved all around.
“Yes,” I answer.
“You two are sweet,” she says. “Keep that sweetness. It’s what makes love so worthwhile. Sometimes people forget it’s the little things that matter. You took care of her.” She gestures to the paper bag I wadded up and stuffed into the pocket of the seat in front of me. “You anticipated what she needed and prepared for it. That’s special.”
Her words take me aback and I swallow my emotion. I’ve been selfish in my life. Perusing my sport and being the best at it has been my singular goal for a long time. I’ve never taken care of another person. Glancing at Whimsy, her breaths are steady with sleep. I graze my thumb over her chin. She looks so peaceful.
“It is, isn’t it?” I whisper the question, more for myself than my seat partner.
Fuck. I think I might be so gone for this girl and it terrifies how fast it’s happened. I want to argue with myself—that my brain is just getting confused because we’re faking this whole thing—but my heart knows that what I’m feeling for her isn’t fake at all.
CHAPTER 26
ELIAS
“You’re making breakfast?”
I look up from my task of making scrambled eggs and find a bleary-eyed Whimsy standing in the doorway to the bedroom we chose in the Paris apartment.
“I’m trying to.” I don’t admit that I got nervous when I heard her stirring in the bedroom and burnt the first batch of eggs.
