Vacation (4 page)

"Which seat do you have?" Casey
leaned around me as we walked onto the plane. "I'm in 3B."

"I have 5A. It's a window, which is
perfect. Nap time here I come." I moved down the plane and stopped at 3B.
"Here you go. I'll see you when we get there."

"Alright." Casey gave me a look
as I glanced over my shoulder. The old man who was sitting in 3A was already
snoring and the flight hadn't even taken off yet.

I chuckled as I approached my seat, but my
smile slid from my face as I realized who my seatmate was – the sexy guy from
security.

"You have to be kidding me," I
mumbled as I stopped at the seat and smiled down at him. "I'm in there by
the window."

He laughed, the sound of it wrapping
around me and infusing warmth deep inside of me. "Wow. It looks like it
must be my lucky day."

"You could say that," I said and
slid into the seat, trying hard not to notice just how incredible his cologne
smelled.

Good thing it was his luck we were resting
on.

Mine was a joke, obviously.

Chapter
4

Easton

I stood and moved into the aisle, honestly
not sure what to think about the pretty redhead that had not only run me over
at security, but now seemed to be rather put off by having to sit beside me for
the flight to Miami.

She smelled like vanilla and flowers, and
I couldn't help but breathe in softly as she moved past me and dropped down in
the chair closest to the window. Her jeans were tight, her sweater pretty, and
fitted as well. She could easily be on the cover of any glamour magazine in the
grocery stores, but something told me that she wasn't at all aware of her
looks.

She let out a heavy sigh and glanced over
at me as I buckled my seatbelt. "I'm sorry again. I swear I should just be
locked up. I haven't done anything right lately."

I gave her a smile and shrugged.
"It's not every day a beautiful woman plows into me, Vivian. I'm not sorry
at all. Now this... did you plan this?"

I chuckled at the look on her face. Her
pretty, blue eyes went wide and her alabaster cheeks colored pink as if she was
two steps beyond embarrassed.

"What? No, never. I'm as shocked as
you are about ending up here together. What are the odds that you would be
going to Miami too? You are going to Miami, right?" She crossed her
shapely legs, and I had to try hard to keep my attention on her beautiful face.

"I'm teasing you, and yes, I'm going
to Miami." I leaned back in my chair and forced the smile off my face. It
felt silly and childish there. "Are you going for vacation?"

I shouldn't have kept the conversation
alive, but I couldn't help but want to know a little more about this strange
woman who had shown up twice in my life in a matter of minutes.

"Yeah. I wish I weren't, but my friend–”

I cut in. "Casey?"

"Yes, she's my best friend. Has been
all my life." She picked at her sweater as her voice softened.

"This a special occasion for
her?" I let my eyes move across the soft curve of her cheek to her button
nose, realizing quickly that she was exquisite. I wanted to tell her, but it
seemed trite and rather creepy. She had a femininity to her that called to me.

I pulled back a little and wrapped my arms
around myself, not at all understanding the need to dig into her slight frown.
I wanted to know what put it there and why she was on a vacation that she
wanted nothing to do with.

Was she in college or had she graduated?
Was she adventurous or safe? Demanding or giving?

She glanced at me, and I couldn't help but
smile again.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't look like the type of guy
who would want to have a conversation on a plane with some unknown woman."
Her expression softened as she scooted back in her seat.

"I don't? What kind of guy do I look
like?" I lifted an eyebrow at her.

"The kind that has a dog. A puppy
maybe? Travels a lot and hasn't found the right woman just yet, but whose
mother is adamant about you continuing to try?"

Her words left me speechless for a minute.
"How did you know all that? Now you're creeping me out."

She laughed and reached toward me, pulling
a piece of dog hair from the jacket laid across my lap. "I love dogs, and
it was a stretch on the puppy, but your jacket is covered in hair."

I glanced down and started to brush it
away. "Oh, man. I must have left it out on the couch this morning. Eli's
just figured out how to get up on the furniture."

"What kind of dog do you have?"
She cupped her hands in her lap and watched me in a way that left my heart
picking up speed.

I'd not wanted to ask a woman out for a while,
but she was already pushing me toward wanting to spend at least an hour or so
getting to know her better. Too bad I didn't have time, nor would it be
appropriate.

"He's a Maltese. My mother breeds
them, so I took the
runt
of the litter. He's a great
pup." I picked up my phone to see text message after text message from my
mother. "Let's see...no ring means I'm not married, or so you assumed,
right?"

"Correct, and your mom's texted ten
times." She nodded toward the phone smiling. "My mom's been far too
busy lately to call like she used to. She's in a bit of a funk." She
shrugged in a noncommittal way.

Funny how people often opened a subject
that they really have no desire to dig into in the company of a stranger.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I could have
my mom berate you. I'm the oldest, and my two younger brothers are completely
shielded by me." I stopped myself from reaching out to touch her hand. She
was perceptive and beautiful.

Score
a few more points for her.

"It's alright. The air will clear soon,
I guess." She turned to look out the window as the plane pulled back. The
flight attendants were already seated, but the cute blonde with Vivian poked
her head up above the seats and called out, catching my attention.

"Viv, you need gum. Catch." She
threw it just before glancing over at me. "No freaking way."

I reached up and caught it as Viv moved to
do the same. My elbow smacked into her shoulder and she let out a yelp.

"Oh, shit. I'm so sorry." I
turned and pressed my hand to her shoulder, rubbing softly as concern filled
me. "You okay? I just didn't want the gum to hit you, and damn if I didn't
do it instead."

"It's okay." She carefully moved
my hand off of her and rubbed it as she nodded to the gum. "Unwrap it for
me?"

"Of course. I'm so sorry." I worked
on the gum as she barked at Casey to sit down before they got thrown off the
plane. A smile tugged at my lips as I pulled out a stick of gum and handed it
to her. "Your ears pop too?"

"Like crazy." She rubbed her
shoulder once more before taking the gum and giving me a weak smile. "Feel
free to have a piece if you want."

"Thanks." I took a piece and
shifted a little, wanting to study her. "Alright, so you got a few things
about me from just looking at me. It's my turn now."

She chuckled. "Why did I just fill
with dread?"

"No clue, but there is no reason for
it." I pressed my fingers to my lips and watched her watch me. There was
something almost too comfortable sitting between us as we sat in silence
together. The plane lifted and she flinched and gripped her armrest, her little
knuckles turning white.

"Don't say I'm scared of planes and
my ears pop, either." She gave me a look, and I laughed abruptly, loving
her sharp sense of humor.

"You're an art major. In your junior
year of college, and you model on the side for money. You're the oldest of two
or three kids and your favorite thing to do is sky dive. A total risk
taker." I lifted my shoulders, half expecting her to laugh at me. Instead,
tears brimmed her beautiful blue eyes. "Oh shit. What did I say?"

She lifted her sweater and pressed it to
her eyes, sniffling a little.

I didn't know her well enough to reach out
and touch her, pull her into a hug, or really offer any type of consolation, so
I just sat in an awkward position waiting for her to tell me what I'd done
wrong.

"Nothing," she whispered and
pulled her sweater back down. She had to have been the cutest woman I'd ever
seen in my life when she cried. Her thick bottom lip poked out as another
stream of tears rolled down her flawless skin.

I reached out and brushed away the tears
on her cheek closest to me, using the back of my fingers. "I'm sorry I
upset you. We can just read magazines and ignore each other if you want."

She laughed through her tears. "It
was really sweet."

"Oh." I relaxed and let out a
tight breath. "I thought I'd hurt your feelings or offended you. You women
are difficult, to say the least."

She laughed again. "Yeah, and I'm one
of the worst, I'm sure. I was just thinking earlier that I wished I were a risk
taker. I want to live again, to find myself again...to be beautiful."

Her rawness in front of me was a little
overwhelming, and left not only my heart swelling, but also my body hardening
rapidly. She was beautiful, and the fact that she wanted to be the woman I'd
described was a little exhilarating.

"You are beautiful. Breathtaking
actually." I smiled as she glanced at me under a shy expression. She
didn't believe my compliments at all.

"Right. Anyway..." She brushed
away the rest of her tears. "Forgive me for the tears. Life's been a
little shitty lately."

"I understand completely." I
cleared my throat. "Now, tell me if I got anything right about you, and if
not, correct me."

The flight attendant stopped by our aisle
and offered us a drink before Vivian could respond. I turned my attention to
the beautiful redhead, feigning interest in her drink. The opportunity to study
her for a minute more was one I wasn't passing up. The need to know where she
was staying in Miami bubbled up inside of me, but I pushed it back down. The
girl didn't need to feel like she was sitting next to a creeper, and in all
actuality, she was far too much woman for me. If she was anywhere as needy and
demanding as she was beautiful, the world was in trouble. I didn't need it in
my life, no matter how entertaining and appetizing she was.

"Jack and Coke?" She asked, her
pretty blue eyes moving from the attendant to me.

"Same," I mumbled, not looking
away from her. "Alright. Spill."

"I have two brothers, both younger
than me, so you win there." She smiled.

"Yes, I pegged you as the bossy older
sister."

She swatted at me playfully, causing me to
laugh. "Hey! Watch it. I'm a business major, and am a senior. I graduate
from NYU in May this year. I honestly can't wait. College has officially worn
out
it's
welcome."

"I understand that completely.
Marketing or general business?"

"Hotel restaurant management. I want
to be a food critic when I grow up. I've taken several courses at the culinary
institute as well. More than the ability just to know when something tastes
great, I want to know why and what comprises the various flavors. I need to be
able to express it."

I sat in shocked silence. My degree was in
hotel restaurant management.

She continued. "I've never been a
model, but it's flattering that you think I could be. Unless it's a hand model.
Is that what you meant?"

Her smile had me melting on the inside. I
figured her for an underwear model, but there was no way I was divulging that
information. "No, silly woman."

"I'm not a risk taker, but I want to
be." She let out a long sigh and turned to look down at her hands.

I glanced up as the flight attendant
handed me my drink and offered her hers. "Then start taking a few risks.
What's one thing you could do in Miami to live on the edge? To breathe danger
into a normal everyday spring break trip?"

"I guess I could get drunk and walk
down a dark alley?" She glanced up with a serious look on her face, but
only held it for a minute before she smirked. "That what you mean?"

The need to protect her from herself rose
up inside of me. "No, and don't do that. Miami is dangerous as hell. Make
sure you and Casey stay together and don't be walking in any dark alleys."

She took a sip of her drink and watched
me. "I'm not looking for that type of thrill."

It was the first glimpse I'd gotten of the
sarcastic, sensitive beauty that said there was more to her than a silly
college girl with a chip on her shoulder. I witnessed a woman with the need for
an emotional risk, the desire to spill herself out on a bed and cry out in
pleasure. A chill ran down my spine. I wanted to offer all of it to her.

I downed my drink as my mind fragmented,
turning our average, calm conversation into something edgy within seconds. She
aged herself by a few years with the way she watched me and nursed her drink.

"Then what are you looking for,
Vivian?" I turned to face her and lifted my cup back to my lips, taking in
a piece of ice and rolling it around my mouth as I turned my full attention on
her.

"Call me Viv." She rested her
glass on her knee and inhaled deeply as she glanced out the window. "A
thrill to remind me that life's going to go on. A high that leaves me
breathless. An affair that pulls me in deeper than I've ever been."

I swallowed hard and was rather grateful
that she was looking out the window and not at me. I crossed my legs and
shifted away from her, not wanting her to notice just how much our conversation
had turned me on. If we were in a bar and she was alone, she would be mine for
a night, at least. That she was hurting put her off limits. I wasn't anyone's
savior, but something about the beauty next to me wanted me to change that. I
wanted to take a risk just to feel the things she explained so perfectly.

"So make sure you go dancing, eat at
the best restaurants Miami has to offer, and get in a day of parasailing or hang-gliding.
That should cover everything on your list, except the sex."