Page 65 of Pucked Together

Rina scoffs, "Oh my god."

"What?" Keelan says to her. "Not too fond of me calling girls, sweetie. Sweetie?"

Rina makes hurling noises. And seeing them banter like this for the first time has me spinning.

My boss and my brother...have had sex!

I finally fish out the battery pack and toss it into Kee's waiting hands.

"Call Ryker," he says to me before turning around and heading back to his seat.

Rina looks at me, puzzled.

"Yeah, suddenly Kee's on board with us being a thing," I say, shuffling uncomfortably in my seat. "I don't understand men sometimes. I'm off limits to any of his friends until one of them beats up a fellow teammate defending my honor, and now Ryker can do no wrong."

"Men," we both say with twinning eye rolls.

"Anyway, back to your story," I turn it back to her.

But before she can say another word, Keelan drops his bag into the row of seats in front of us.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rina says in disgust.

"Your power bank is dead," he tosses it back to me, and I fumble to catch it.

"And this aisle has a plug, your Royal Highness. So, you know. Hi. I sit here now."

Rina practically burns holes in the back of his head once he turns back to his phone.

"Later," I say to her.

She shakes her head and flips his jacket that he draped across the seat in front of her. It falls to the seat next to him, and he looks at it and puts it back.

"Not a word," she reminds me.

I just chuckle. I can actually see them. The jock and the nerd battling it out on their college grounds. Until one day they just give into their mutual attraction.

The flight attendants ask for our attention as they give the safety brief and all three of us put on headphones.

We've all flown enough in our lives that the droning on of the safety brief is like white noise.

I think about Ryker. Sitting at home. Not on this plane where he should be. He was missing this game and the next seven. For me. I shouldn't be falling for him. I shouldn't be proud of him for what he did. But I'd be lying. Just like Rina is right now. Fighting her attraction to the boy who never grew up.

She glances sidelong periodically from behind him. And I see it written there.

Longing.

Ignoring the instructions to put all electronics in airplane mode. I type out a quick text to Ryker while I still can.

"Ma'am, please put all electronics in airplane mode." The command is directed at me.

"Yes, right. Sorry about that." I switch it while the persistent attendant watches me from the aisle. When she's pleased, she takes her seat at the back of the plane and straps in for takeoff.

I hope Ryker sees my text. I hope he knows I mean what I said.

And with that thought still in my mind, the familiar humming of the plane's engines has me lulled into a deep sleep almost instantly.

I'm jolted awake by the feeling of turbulence.