Love and Neckties - Lacey Black Page 0,14

pulling away from the gate and taxiing toward our runway, and I sit back to enjoy. I love this part of flying, though admittedly, I don’t fly often. In fact, I’ve only flown on two other occasions, but both times, I loved the takeoff. The speed, the incline, the altitude. The fact we’re relying solely on a machine to keep us suspended in the sky, moving us from point A to point B. The thrill of the adventure that awaits.

“Christ,” Samuel mumbles beside me.

While I’m completely relaxed and gazing eagerly out the small window, my neighbor is pale as a ghost and gripping onto the single armrest like it’s the only thing keeping him from certain death. His eyes are pinched shut so tightly it must hurt, and we’ve barely begun the journey. I realize real quick this isn’t just about the whole coconut thing from earlier. Samuel’s afraid of flying.

“Sit back and enjoy your flight,” the flight attendant says over the speaker, as they all make their way to their seats and strap in.

With Samuel on the verge of a panic attack, this flight is going to be the longest of my life. He needs to relax or he’s going to make himself miserable, or worse, divert the plane for an emergency landing.

We slow as the reach the runway. I slip my hand against his, the whites of his knuckles clear as he grips the plastic. I’m fearful he’ll actually shatter the armrest if he doesn’t let up, but fortunately, that doesn’t happen. Instead, he lets go and takes my hand in his. His palm is warm, a little sweaty, and his grip fierce, but he doesn’t strangle my hand with his.

Just as we start to move, his eyes open, a combination of fear and panic laced in those blue-green orbs, so I do the only thing I can think of to redirect his focus. I kiss him.

At first, he stills, completely shocked by the fact we’re lip-locked as we scream down the runway. But then, something else happens. He relaxes. And kisses me back, taking complete control. His lips are urgent, his tongue insistent as it sides against my lips, begging for entrance. A gasp slips from my lips, giving him complete access to my mouth. His tongue dives in, tasting and teasing me in the best way possible. My hand moves to his chest, gripping the smooth, silky tie, as he takes my mouth for the ride of its life.

A throat clears behind Samuel, breaking the fan-tabulous sex-fueled fantasy I find myself starring in. My lip-tango partner rips his lips from my own, his breathing labored as he tries to suck sweet oxygen into his lungs. “What the hell?” he whispers, his eyes glassy and unfocused as he glances around to catch his bearings.

“Damn, Sammy, if I’d have known you kiss like that, I’d have taken you flying way before now,” I gasp, my voice not quite sounding like my own.

He turns and sits like a statue in his seat, his discarded bag and the takeoff all forgotten. Instead, he looks completely shocked, a little beside himself, and definitely a lot kissable, his lips all swollen and wet. Just then, the flight attendants start their drink service, stopping at our row. I watch as we soar above the clouds, mere hours away from landing in Las Vegas. All the while, my mind races with the knowledge I kissed Samuel.

And like it.

A lot.

“Drinks?” the smiling attendant asks.

“Alcohol,” he answers. “Give me all the alcohol.”

***

“You’re here!” my best friend hollers as Samuel and I enter the hotel lobby. Harper is all smiles as she throws her arms around my neck and squeezes me tightly. Latham is behind her, his hand extended toward the man who will become his brother-in-law tomorrow evening.

“We’re here,” I tell her, returning the smile on her face.

“And you survived?” she asks her older brother, giving him a quick hug.

“Barely,” he mumbles, kissing her on the cheek.

“After a bad bout with the squirts and a few mid-flight shots of cheap vodka, we got ol’ Sammy here, safe and sound,” I add, loving how the tips of his ears turn fire engine red and his cheeks pink with mortification.

Harper and Latham seem to both choke. “Did you say…squirts?” she asks, her wide eyes full of humor and so many questions.

“Let’s pretend this entire conversation didn’t happen,” Samuel says, walking toward the desk to check in.

Harper places her arm over my shoulder as she guides me to follow