I get my boarding pass checked and within the space of three minutes, I’m clicking my seatbelt into place and tightening it as much as I possibly can. Though if this plane was to go crashing down and burn, I’m not sure how much this little seatbelt would actually help.
Shit, Bry. Don’t go there.
An older lady takes the seat beside me and takes one look at the horror on my face before giving me an encouraging smile. “Oh, sweet girl,” she coos, placing her hand over mine on the armrest. “It’s going to be just fine. Are you traveling for business or pleasure?”
“Pleasure,” I tell her, unable to string much of a sentence together, though somehow feeling somewhat at ease with her touch.
“Oh,” she smiles bashfully. “Are you going home to see a special man?”
My head instantly takes me to Tyson and I shake the thought out quicker than it came. “No, a special man isn’t even on the radar right now,” I say with a slight hesitation, unsure of what actually is on my radar. “I’m going home for my aunt’s wedding. She’s finally marrying the man of her dreams and asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.”
“That’s wonderful. There’s nothing quite like a wedding. They always bring people together.”
The plane starts taxiing toward the runway and all conversation ceases as my heart threatens to beat right out of my chest. Please don’t crash. Please don’t crash.
A warm hand slips into mine and the lady beside me gives me a warm slide. “Don’t fret, my dear. We’ll be up in the air before you know it.” I give her a smile, not wanting to be rude and her eyes light up, thinking that’s she’s cured me in some kind of way. “I’m Carol, by the way.”
“Brylee.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Brylee,” she says, giving my hand a squeeze and offering me an encouraging smile. “Now, tell me about this man who isn’t on your radar.”
Two hours later, the plane touches down and I realize that I’ve been non-stop talking to Carol about Tyson the whole way here. Though despite me telling her all the reasons why I can’t be with him in very clear detail, she still thinks I was stupid for turning him down. We’ll have to agree to disagree on that, because when it comes down to it, Tyson is not a commitment kind of guy, despite how much he thinks he is. He’s a lady’s man through and through, and while it’s incredibly sexy, it’s not something I’m looking for in the man of my dreams.
Carol stays with me as we get off the plane and doesn’t leave my side until I have my bag and am getting inside my Uber, even then, she stands by the side of the road at the entrance of the airport and waits until the car is going over the hill.
I smile to myself. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone quite so selfless. No one else would have stayed with me like that, making sure that I was alright. She has three girls similar to my age and I swear, they’re the luckiest girls to have such an incredible mom. Don’t get me wrong, my mom would have done the same thing, but when it comes to strangers looking out for one another, it’s extremely rare.
The uber drops me home after getting stuck in nearly an hour’s worth of traffic and when I finally push through the door of my parents’ house and wrap my arms around my mother, my heart settles.
I’ve missed this so much. I never realized how much I took home for granted until the day I moved into my dorm. It was fun for about two days until I realized that I had to do my washing in a shared laundry room and found some random guy going through my underwear.
I tell mom all about the last few months of Yale and how I met Carol on the flight and she beams with pride. Though I don’t know if it’s because her little girl is growing up or just because she’s happy to have me home. Maybe both.
I get my things into my room and am running back down the stairs in a matter of seconds. “Are you hungry, sweetie?” mom asks as I race around, trying to figure out where I just put my phone.
I find it on the kitchen counter and instantly begin searching out mom’s car keys. “Nope,” I tell her. “Can I borrow your car?”
Mom rolls her eyes, knowing exactly where I’m headed as she grabs her handbag and pulls out her keys. She gingerly hands them over. “Drive safe,” she says, giving me a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek and then sending me on my way.
Chapter 3
Brylee
My fist pounds against the heavy wooden door until someone finally opens it. Only the someone who opens it really isn’t the someone I was hoping for. “Ugh,” Matty says, scrunching his face up in disgust. “It’s you.”
“Hey, dweeb,” I laugh, barging past Courtney’s little brother and making my way into their home uninvited, just as I’ve always done. “Is she here?”
“Uh-huh,” he grumbles in a strange tone, chasing after me, though there’s amusement in his little smirk, which instantly puts me on edge.
I race through the house, quickly waving to her mom who stands at her kitchen counter, going over some papers. After the years of being friends with Courtney, her home is practically my own and the same goes for her parents. Her mom doesn’t even bat an eyelash at me running through her house, just gives me a welcoming smile and gets back to her work.
I take the stairs two at a time and laugh to myself as Matty has a hard time keeping up, but whatever it is he has planned for me will be even better when he misses it.
I come to Courtney’s door and grin back at Matty as he’s only just clearing the top step. I shake my head at him, feigning disappointment. “Aren’t you kids supposed to be really fast? Have you not been keeping up with your fitness?” I call.
He gives me an award-winning scowl and I give myself a mental pat on the back for a job well done, but enough of this. I came here to surprise my best friend and that’s exactly what I intend to do.
I grab her door handle and throw it wide. “SURPRISE!” I scream into the room as I race in.
Courtney’s high-pitched screech comes tearing from inside her room as Puck stills with his perfectly delectable ass staring back up at me. I mean, those ridges of strong muscle have me drooling like never before.
Courtney’s eyes bug out of her head as embarrassment floods her. Though it shouldn’t, I’ve seen her strutting around in the nude more times than I care to remember, but it’s not like I’ve exactly seen her like this before…
Puck drops down on top of her to help cover her up but as she grins across at me and Puck laughs, I can’t help but see the humor in it. “Brylee,” she greets excitedly, curling her arms up around Puck and holding him there in case he felt the need to move. “You’re here.”
“Nope, sorry,” I laugh, making my way back to her door. “I can’t talk to you while you have your boyfriend’s dick still inside of you.”
“Good call,” Puck grunts.
Matty’s evil chuckle comes from down the hall and I hear Courtney’s horrified gasp and I start to run. I throw myself back through the door, slamming it just moments before Matty can get an eyeful of what Puck and Courtney are up to…better yet, what Puck is getting up.
“You forgot to mention that Puck was here,” I accuse, crossing my arms over my chest and raising a brow as he looks up at me.