Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
“Are you trying to run from me, little girl?” I call out to her.
She slants her body away from me and shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I was acting crazy on the plane. I’m not really like that.”
“No need to apologize for what happened on the plane, but you should apologize for leaving me high and dry like that. We’ve been through a lot together. The least that we could do is introduce ourselves.”
“I’m sorry for that, too. I just didn’t know what to say to you.”
“Then don’t say anything now. My driver is outside. Let me take you home.”
“No, thank you. I have a friend picking me up. They drove a long way. I can’t just tell them to go back home.”
“Alright, then how about this? You go get yourself settled and I’ll take you out for dinner after.”
“Okay, I guess we can do that.”
“Perfect. Give me an address so I can pick you up.”
“I’m not from here. I don’t even know my address yet. What if I just meet you somewhere?”
“There’s a place downtown called Karma. Do you know it?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I guess I could find it.”
“Alright. I’ve made a sizable investment in the place so I never need a reservation. Now, there are just two more things to get out of the way before we collect our bags.
“What’s that?”
“What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Oh, it’s Beth.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Beth. I’m Bryan. Another thing. I need your number.”
She holds out her shaky hand. “Let me put it in your phone.”
I give it to her and she types her number. She hands it back to me and says, “That’s my bag. I have to go.”
“How’s seven?” I shout.
“Okay.”
I almost miss my bag as it comes around because I’m too busy thinking about how nice it will be to finish what we started. It’s wild to me but there’s something about this girl. Something that doesn’t just turn me on.
Sure, she’s beautiful and sexy, and my cock is now her slave. But shit, it’s more than that too. I don’t even remember asking for anyone’s number except people I do business with. And dinner? The only people I dine with are my investors and partners.
Beth. Beth. Beth.
This girl’s mine. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.
2
BETH
I’ve managed to make it twenty-two years without setting foot on a plane, but there’s no way I can get across the country in time to start my job without letting my feet leave the ground.
Everybody says I’m only scared because it’s my first time and that once I’ve flown once, it’ll be a breeze…but what if we crash? Then there won’t be any next time to worry about, I guess.
A huge man comes down the aisle, and I take a quick look at him. Oh god. He’s older than me but very well built and handsome, like ruggedly handsome. I can tell by his clothes that he’s someone who has money and I wonder what he’s doing on this low-budget flight in the economy section.
He stops at my row and puts his carry-on in the bin next to mine. He sits down and takes up far more room than his ticket has paid for but I kind of like feeling him rub against me. Like I said, he’s well-built, handsome, and apparently, rich. He smells good too.
For a second, I think maybe this flight will be bearable but then the wheels start turning and so does my stomach. I wonder if it’s too late to change my entire life plan and just stay in my tiny hometown forever. I could marry a mechanic and be a housewife or something. Maybe I could learn to can peaches and gossip with the other ladies after church. On second thought, dying on a plane doesn’t sound all that bad.
We’re not in the air for more than ten minutes when the universe decides to do everything short of aliens and daggers at us. I had no idea that planes made these kinds of noises but to me, it sounds like it’s moaning in pain. I’m scared. I mean really scared like never before in my life, and then the plane starts shaking, rocking, and bouncing like an amusement park ride.
The man keeps trying to talk to me, but I can’t communicate with him. The dread that’s growing inside me is threatening to crawl up my throat and force my lunch back out of my mouth.
I wait for as long as I can, fearful that if I try to walk, I’ll fall on my ass. Now if I don’t get out of this seat soon, the man beside me might be wearing my lunch. I don’t even ask him to move. I can’t. I just climb over him like a feral cat trying to escape from a trap.
It’s like trying to walk through the shake shack at the amusement park but I make it to the restroom. The sounds of the plane are amplified in here and it makes me feel even more shaky. I look in the mirror and have an even more terrifying realization. I think I was rambling when I climbed over that man and I might have said some things that shouldn’t be uttered aloud. No sooner do I question it and the same man opens the restroom door and steps inside beside me. I thought it was small in here before but there’s hardly an inch of space between me and this giant now.