And then I was too nervous to drink soda, because then I'd have to piss, and I'd walk by her, and she'd see that I was sweating.
I was losing my cool.
And my entire career was based on the very principle that I could be cool in any situation.
Except this one.
The one that got away was officially sitting next to me on a five hour flight — and was immune to me. Like a damn antibiotic. Shit. I was a disease.
I groaned and put my head in my hands, leaning on the small tray.
My second hour in hell ended with the little girl in front of us turning around again and asking if I had gas. And that when she has gas, she moans too.
Side note: I was never reproducing.
Chapter Seven
"I'm not saying I didn't get a little help." Grandma shrugged. "What woman doesn't want to look twenty years younger? These old things still have some perk left." She pointed to herself and winked.
"I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with our national security?" The FBI agent took off his glasses and groaned.
"Oh, it doesn't. I was just bored with all the silly questions about kidnapping and death. So depressing! You wouldn't happen to have any wine, now would you?"
Beth
I'd read the same stupid article at least fifteen times before I finally realized I wasn't going to absorb any information at all. The only helpful piece of information I'd pulled from the two sentences I'd managed to repeat over and over again was that there had been another plane crash in Europe. Thanks, US Weekly. I really appreciate the terror you've just invoked into my life. Not only was I sitting next to Jace, but the plane could go down at any minute. Because, let's be honest, I wasn't the luckiest girl around.
After all.
I'd just admitted to Jace he was my first.
I was also thirty years old. Though he didn't know that, not exactly. It wasn't as if I was wearing a sign across my chest that said Thirty year old virgin.
If they made a movie about my life, it would consist of a pantry, full of cookies, chips, and soda, followed by a Netflix addiction and a poster of Vampire Diaries in my living room.
There would be no leading man. The secondary characters would consist of cats and an aloe vera plant named Waldo.
I closed my eyes and willed my mind to stop thinking and just… relax. But his kiss had again reminded me of what I'd been missing. Of what I'd clearly missed the night before when I'd been eating cookies and throwing myself at him. It was terrifying to think that I'd never been intimate with someone, and that the one time I had, I couldn't remember it. At least I wasn't boring anymore! I already knew people accused me of being boring on account of what I did. It didn't help that it had been my nickname while growing up.
Boring Beth. I hated that humiliating nickname. Brett had called me Boring Beth when I refused to give him a thank-you kiss after prom. When he tried again, I'd threatened to poison him. Scowling, I put the magazine in the back-seat pocket and tried to close my eyes.
"So… your first?" Jace whispered.
I opened my eyes. Yes, I was officially that girl. The girl that opened her eyes when she should have kept them nailed shut, the girl that said yes rather than no, and the girl that, given the chance to kiss the same sexy man all over again, would do it without hesitation.
He really did look like Thor.
He had to know that.
I was almost tempted to tell him that, but I doubted that he needed to be reminded of his own good looks. He'd grown into them too well. In high school he'd been smaller. Cuter. Now he was beautiful. Muscle and sharp planes formed his body into perfection.
Licking my lips, I stole a peek at him out of the corner of my eye. He was leaning against the window, his hand placed on his chin like he was in deep thought. Full sensual lips pressed in a firm line as he continued to stare at the seat in front of him.
I quickly looked away, and that's when the full force of my choices smacked me in the head. I was on a plane for Hawaii, with an almost-stranger, and I had no idea what the heck I was going to do.
"What are we doing?" I asked.
Jace tilted his head toward me. "Pardon?"
"Why are we going to Hawaii? This is insane, you know that, right?"
"It's not." He grimaced. "It looks like we're taking a trip with family. It gives my publicist time to smooth things over, and well, by the looks of it, Grandma isn't going to go down without a fight. Things are better when she's not faking strokes and tricking the clergy into fraud."
"Sound logic." I nodded. "But what are we going to do once we get there? I only had a week of vacation when Grandma called me to come to the wedding." Okay, so I was lying. I'd taken two weeks off, but he didn't know that.
"So, your first?" he asked again.
Is that what he'd been in such deep thought about? I instantly felt my face heat crimson.
"It's not up for discussion," I snapped.
"Fine." Jace turned in his seat, his eyes appearing strained as he silently seemed to work through the situation. "Call your boss when we land, explain the situation, but don't tell the whole truth. Say you had a family emergency. Your name wasn't leaked to the media, and I doubt anyone will be able to tell who you are by the fuzzy pictures they were tossing everywhere on TV."
"Okay, so that solves one problem, but what about Grandma?"
"You called?"
A disembodied voice sounded from behind me. I hoped I was imagining things, but by Jace's irritated expression, I knew that prayer wasn't getting answered. With a slow turn, I faced Grandma. She had wine in her hand and looked cheerful as all get out.