Page 14 of Kissing for Keeps
“Triple points,” Jack says with an eyebrow wag at me as he gives the lady his loyalty card.
Free of our mountain of luggage, we make our way through the long security line, then to our gate. There’s no opportunity for Jack to schmooze the gate agent for a seat next to me because some other passenger is arguing with her for a solid half-hour. Since he was just doing it to tease me, he doesn’t seem too broken up about it. We’ll be sitting apart, and because this is a direct, red-eye flight, the teasing should be at a minimum.
The agent announcing each group’s boarding time finally calls ours, and we head there together, our carry-ons rumbling with dozens of others down the jetway and onto the plane.
“Looks like you’ll have to bug some other innocent passenger,” I say with feigned disappointment when I reach my row.
“What can I say? Sometimes the luck just doesn’t run my way.” He smiles and looks past me in a way that makes me wary.
I glance at my seatmate. It’s a middle-aged lady with a leopard-print bodysuit and hair so teased it’s invading my seat space. And don’t forget the strappy stilettos she’s already shed. Her toes are enjoying their freedom, wiggling in a way that highlights the pedicure that matches her hot pink lipstick. Her phone starts ringing, full-volume, and the sound of The Pussycat Dolls’Don’t Chafills the airplane.
Heaven help us all.
It takes her a minute to answer because her nails are nearly as long as her fingers. I’m tempted to swipe the screen for her just to make the song stop.
“Bon voyage.” Jack squeezes my elbow and continues to his place, two rows behind, where there’s an open seat between two very ordinary-looking people.
I look at it longingly for a second, then take in a deep breath of cheap hairspray—I’ll take it over foot smell—and sit to listen, along with the rest of the passengers, to Leopard Lady’s conversation about all thejuicy goss, as she puts it, that’s fomented during her absence. At least she won’t be able to do this once we take off.
You know what shewillbe able to do, though? Rest her bare foot on her knee so it might as well be in my face. Serenity now! Why couldn’t Jack be just a bit more charming? Maybe then we’d be sitting together.
We’re just a few minutes from take-off, and I’m pretty involved in Leopard Lady’s story when someone taps my shoulder.
I find Jack standing at my side. Leopard Lady stops mid-sentence, her eyes traveling up Jack, then back down. Do I detect the hint of a blush in his cheeks?
“Hello, there,” Leopard Lady says, putting out the hand that, until moments ago, was massaging her bare foot. “Ididorder a tall glass of water.”
Jack’s eyes widen. He’s a gazelle in the leopard’s kill-zone. It’s tempting to watch this play out, but I also owe him, so I grab both of his hands. “Hey, honey.”
His gaze drops to me, and he blinks. “Hey. Um, I was just gonna tell you that the guy on the aisle seat next to me moved, so there’s an open spot.”
“Oh!” Leopard Lady says, completely abandoning her friend as she drops her phone into her purse. “That’s wonderful news! I definitely prefer an aisle seat.” She gets up, and I’m barely holding it together. Jack Allred, the guy who has a cheeky response to everything, is completely still, utterly silent as the next few hours of his life flash before his eyes. They’re full of shiny toenails and, more than likely, a lipstick stain on his shirt. On the cheek, if Leopard Lady is quick.
It’s a delightful vision. Temptation hath never struck thusly, but I get up reluctantly. “Perfect! You can havethisaisle seat, and I can go sit with my boyfriend.” I scrunch my nose and wrap my arm around Jack’s as I look at the lady. “He’s really needy.”
He covers my hand with his, squeezing it in a way that saysplease don’t leave me. “How could Inotbe with a beautiful woman like this on my arm?”
I try to pull my hand out from under his, but he keeps a tight hold, grinning at the lady likearen’t we just the cutest?
“This way, everyone wins,” I say.
Leopard Lady does not look like she’s won. “You’rewithhim?”
Um, okay. She was just overkill before, but now she’s offensive. Those claws aren’t purely for show, apparently.
“Aren’t I the luckiest?” Jack says. “Safe flight, now.” He guides me toward our seats, still holding my hand. “Honey,is it? I took you for ababegirl.”
“AndItookyoufor a guy who wouldn’t need to be saved from a woman with animal print and acrylic nails.”
“Nah. I just figured if I looked helpless, you’d rescue me.”
I pull my hand away, making sure the lady’s not watching.
“You’ve got soft hands, you know,” Jack says.
“Shut up.” I pull the arm rest between us, and he frowns.
“That’ll make it a lot less comfortable for you to rest your head on my shoulder and catch up on those z’s you missed this morning.” He rubs his shoulder invitingly. To be fair, itdoeslook like a decent spot for a girl’s head to rest.
