Page 197 of Nobody's Girl

How will she feel when she can fly on her own?

Her hand holds mine in a death grip. I watch her closely as she breathes in deep breaths. We level off and her eyes open. “That wasn’t so bad,” she says. Lightening her grip on me, she smiles embarrassedly. “Oh, sorry! I just about squeezed your hand off, huh?”

Touching her bare shoulder with the tip of my finger, I trail it down her arm. “That’s what it’s there for, precious. Yours to use as you need to.”

The cherry red of her lips is proving quite impossible to resist. When I draw my eyes up, away from them, I spot her eyeing mine. Her tongue darts out to lick hers. Perhaps she wants to taste mine as well.

Please let her change her mind about the no kissing rule.

Lana pops out of the cockpit. “I’ll bring you two something to drink. Eden likes this little alcohol-free cocktail I make,” she says, then pops into the small galley door.

Alyssa giggles, and I almost grab her and kiss her, it stirs me so. “She’s adorable, Eden,” she says.

“She’s the sweetest. Jeffery and Lana also belong to the organization our parents do. I have to confess something to you.”

The tension in her body is obvious. “No! Please, no confessions.”

I laugh. “It’s nothing bad, princess. It’s just I can’t take my eyes off you. You’re gorgeous. I’ll be the envy of every man this evening.”

The fluttering of her eyelashes beats her blushing cheeks as she swats playfully at my arm. “Eden! You big flatterer. Look at your own reflection, Mr. Fashion Model. The women will all swoon as you pass their tables, silverware will drop from feminine hands, and conversations will be halted.”

She finds me as enticing as I do her. This is working. Soon she’ll choose me on her own, without being made to marry me. She’ll want to.

Please, let her want to marry me.

“You seem deep in thought, Eden. Let’s not read too much into this. Our outer appearances may be looking fine this evening, but it’s what’s on the inside which counts. Don’t you agree?”

“I agree with you, wholeheartedly, princess. I find you beautiful inside and out. Your good nature and kind spirit are as beautiful as your plump red lips and sapphire eyes. I could go on and on about all which is appealing about you.” She’s told me she thinks what we feel is lust, so it’s imperative I show her I love her thoroughly, not just physically.

“I must confess you have a few beautiful characteristics as well. Your hatred for Kyle is about all I can find wrong with you,” she says, and it makes me feel terrible that she thinks I hate anyone.

Pulling both her hands to my chest, I lean forward. “Alyssa, please know I have no hate for him. The feelings I have for him are from insecurity in myself. I have to admit to you that it is jealousy which I feel. The moment I laid my eyes on you, I felt something stir in me.”

A smirk forms on her precious lips. “Yeah, that was probably just your male hormones, Eden. I was lying on the ground, probably a pool of blood forming around my head, and you felt something for the poor girl laid out on the pavement. Most guys would.”

She isn’t taking me seriously. Remembering something from the hospital, I trail my fingers lightly over her collar bone. “I doubt my hormones and your accident are all to blame for my reaction to you. If I recall, you reacted to my touch much in the same way.”

Lana pops back out of the galley with our drinks in her hands. “Oops! Hope I didn’t interrupt you two lovebirds.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes. “It’s not a date, Lana. Sorry for the confusion. I happen to have a boyfriend. Eden is just being kind enough to show me how great a fancy jet ride and a meal at a five-star restaurant can be, since he’s filthy rich. I made him take me to a café this afternoon and he wants to show me how much of a dive it is since I keep singing its praises. That’s all. Don’t read anything more than that into it. We’re friends, that’s all.”

Lana hands my mate her glass of dark red liquid with a knowing smile on her face. She’s not the best poker player I’m going to guess, as she looks as if she’s about to blurt out what and who Alyssa really is.

“I see. My mistake,” Lana says to Alyssa. “It’s just that the two of you have a glow about you I’ve seen few couples have. Finding someone who can make your inner self spark so much that the outer self glows with the intensity is rare. One with such a gift would seldom think of a relationship with another, I would think. So do tell about this boyfriend, then, because he must be something extremely special if he outshines what you and Eden have going on.”

Though Alyssa has held Lana’s gaze as she spoke, she drops her head, perhaps in embarrassment. She says, “So you mean to tell me it’s obvious? I can’t hide it?”

Lana hands me my drink and lifts Alyssa’s face up by her chin, making her look at her. “Nor can he, child. I’m sure this high school boyfriend is fantastic, but the man who sits next to you brings something out in you, and you in him. I should say, if it was me, I’d give this thing you two have a better chance. It’s rare and shouldn’t be taken for granted.” Lana takes her hand away and stands up, retreating back to the galley, pausing long enough to look back over her shoulder. “But that’s just me, sweetheart. You have to do as your heart tells you to.”

We sit in silence for a minute or two as Alyssa stares out the window into the dark night. I pray what Lana has said is not making the wheels in her head spin out of control. I guess I should’ve stopped Lana from speaking her mind, but it needed to be said, I think.

I sip my drink, then place my hand on her shoulder. “I’d love to be able to hear your thoughts. Would you like to share them with me?” I ask.

“It’s going to kill him, Eden.” Her voice quivers and my heart breaks for her.

This is all my fault.

I toss the rest of the small drink down my throat, then rise and leave it, as well as hers, on the small table by the galley. Her eyes have not moved from the window. Tiny tears wait to fall. I drop to my knees in front of her and take her hands in mine, laying them on her lap. “Please look at me, princess.”