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“C ’mere,” she heard him order softly, gathering her in his arms as he spread a blanket over her shoulders. “Benefits of First Class – you get a blanket… and I get to hold you.”
She snuggled against him, the temple of her head resting against his shoulder as she sighed, completely exhausted. His arm wrapped around her, and she felt his hand stroke her upper back as he kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose, before whispering to her.
“Rest, sweetheart… I’ve got you.”
* * *
Giselle slepthard against Austin’s shoulder. She opened her eyes blearily, blinking several times – only to feel pressure on her head. A heavy sigh disturbed her hair, and she realized that he’d fallen asleep, resting his head against hers.
Glancing out the side window of the plane, she saw that the sun was starting to come up. There was a pinkish-orange glow behind the clouds and the white peaks looked like whipped egg whites or cotton candy.
This was heaven.
Instead of moving and disturbing Austin, she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into the embrace, holding him as he slept. He was such a sweet man, and everything he did seemed to touch her soul in just the right way.
He was breathing deeply, one arm around her shoulders and the other limply in her lap, where he’d been holding her hand at some point. She loved that he wanted to touch her. He was always reaching for her hand, touching her cheek, or hugging her.
She smiled at the stewardess, who came by to check on them silently, reveling in the knowing look the woman gave her. This was wonderful, wondrous, wow, and welcome in so many ways.
All ‘W’ words,she smiled, staring at the sunrise.
“Good morning passengers, this is your captain speaking from the flight deck. We are currently descending towards our destination and should be arriving in twenty minutes. In the Tyler area, it’s currently fifty-one degrees, which means it’s going to be a balmy day for east Texas for January. The time there is six-twenty-two…”
She listened as he continued to speak, giving instructions to the flight crew and saying that they would need to fill out customs declaration forms for any goods brought into the country. As she sat there, holding Austin, she realized he was touching her hair, stroking his hand down her back.
“You woke up…”
“In the best way possible,” he said gruffly. “Sorry, I’m hoarse. I hope I wasn’t snoring in your ear all night.”
“Never heard a thing.”
“Giselle?” he breathed, kissing the top of her head. “I really like this and adore holding you close. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” she admitted faintly, feeling surprised at how open he was being with her, marveling at his words. “This has been so nice.”
“And we have a week of it,” he reminded her and sat up slightly, stretching like a cat, smiling at her. “I’ll be right back,” he said pertly, leaning forward to kiss her as she was sitting up in her seat.
She watched him go as he shut the door to the restroom – emerging moments later, drying his hands. His hair was disheveled and utterly adorable. It was sticking up in a few places, looking like he’d run his hand back and forth on his head.
He rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up, and smiled at her lazily.
“You look like a big house cat…” she smiled.
“Wanna pet my belly?” he said huskily – and she shoved at his shoulder, making him laugh easily. “When we land, I’m supposed to text Caboose. He’s going to swing by and pick us up on his way to work. We’ll grab something for breakfast at one of the shops, if that’s okay?”
“That’s perfect.”
“Once we get to Flyboys, we can meet everyone and introduce you. I know some, but a few were before my time in Ghazni.”
“This won’t be weird?”
“Theyareweird,” he laughed easily. “Our squadron is a bunch of characters, and we are all very close. They’ve become my family, and it’s like they thrive in being wild or different. Just roll with whatever they say or do – and don’t worry. If they didn’t want us here, they wouldn’t have offered the room.”
“We certainly don’t need much, just two bunks – or a recliner and a couch. Just something remotely comfortable to sleep on for a few days before we get to my parents’ house in Wichita Falls.”
“Exactly,” he smiled. “And your parents are not going to be bothered about their baby girl bringing herboyfriennndhome…?”
She hesitated, feeling almost radiant as he drawled out the word ‘boyfriend’ playfully, smiling at her.
