It clicked. “Is the crowd bothering you?” I asked gently.
He shook his head, then caught my eyes and slowly nodded. “A little.”
I took his hand, stroking my thumb into his palm and pressed lightly.
“Mmmmm.” He closed his eyes, and I began to massage the muscles. I kept it up until it was time to slip off our shoes and walk through the scanner. Josh rolled his eyes but sat through the advanced screening for his air cast, mumbling something about what he did for a living. Then we took up residence in an empty gate across from ours, which was packed, and waited it out.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his hard frame. “Thank you,” he whispered against my forehead and then placed a tender kiss there that melted my heart into a puddle of warm goo.
“There’s nothing to thank me for,” I responded truthfully.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with…all of this.”
I snuggled in further and turned to kiss his jaw. “All of this is all of you, and it’s nothing. You don’t like crowds right now? We’ll avoid them. You want to drive fast? I’ll find you a racetrack like one of those NASCAR things. We got this.”
“NASCAR, huh?”
“How did I know that’s what you’d pick up on out of all that?” I laughed. “Besides, maybe they’ll teach you how to use a brake.”
“Oh, you’ve got jokes?” He tickled me, and I lost it, flailing my arms.
“Ahh! Stop!” As soon as I asked him to, he did, but not before I sent my bag sprawling at our feet, dumping my Kindle, wallet, and papers from the biggest pocket to the floor.
“Here, babe,” he said, scooping up most of it. His hands paused on the paperwork, but he put it back into the manila envelope. “Is this…”
My cheeks heated, like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t have. Like I’d been sneaking it. “Dig paperwork,” I answered.
“Oh,” he answered, his voice fading as he slid the envelope into the bag.
“I basically just need to look at it so I know where to send the papers to cancel,” I said in a rush. “I’m not going.”
His gaze swung to meet mine. “You’re what?”
“Not…going?” Why are you asking him? Isn’t that your choice?
“Yes, you are.”
They called our flight to board. “Looks like that’s us,” I said.
“You’re going. You’re not turning down this dig because I got hurt.” His lips flattened into that determined I’m-not-giving-up line, and I sighed.
“It’s not just you getting hurt. I’m not leaving you for a week, let alone two months. Not when I almost lost you.” My voice dropped to a whisper.
He cupped my face in his hands as they called our flight again. “You are going.”
“It’s too soon.”
“For who? I’m the one who crashed, and yet you’re the one afraid to spread your wings. December, I’ve been responsible for a lot lately, but I’m not going to stand by while you give up this dig, and your entrance into the doctorate program, because you’re scared to leave me. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“They’re calling our flight.”
“We’ll sit here until you agree to go.”
“You’d hold your mother hostage against my dig?” I arched an eyebrow.
“Fuck. You had to bring my mother into this?” His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath. “My one weak spot.”
I shrugged, unapologetic. “She hasn’t seen you in months, and she’s been so worried…”
His mouth dropped. “Cruel.”
“Effective.”
He stood, pulling me with him, and swung my bag over his shoulder. “This conversation is continuing on that plane.”
“I brought noise-canceling headphones.”
“The sass-mouth on you, I swear. No more talking to Sam on Skype. You’re cut off.”
I laughed as the attendant scanned our tickets, and we walked the Jetway. The line shuffled forward until we stood at the threshold of the plane.
Josh paused just behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to where he held up the rest of the line. “Babe?”
He swallowed, and it was as if he’d pulled the color out of his face in the same motion. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
What was going on? He’d never freaked out when we traveled before. I was usually the one who had to have my hand held while we were…oh, shit…flying.
“Babe, we don’t have to go. Or we can drive,” I said with a smile, ready to walk off that plane at his signal.
He shook his head and stepped forward. “Nope, I’m good. Let’s just get to our seats.”
We found our seats, and I took the window while Josh took the aisle. He put my bag under the seat ahead of me, knowing I tended to freak if I couldn’t reach my laptop, but pulled the folder out before sliding it home.
“I told you we weren’t done.” He waved the papers.
Shit. “Okay, give me one good reason I should go, and then I’ll tell you why I’m not. We’ll see who’s left standing at the end.” I arched an eyebrow. “Because I’m not going, and you can’t make me.”
His eyes skimmed my face, a slow, easy smile tilting his lips. Then he leaned forward and kissed me. Uncaring that we were on a plane in full view of anyone who wanted to see, Josh launched an assault on my senses. He tugged on my lower lip with his teeth, and I acquiesced, opening to him. He quickly pounced, devouring my mouth in a way that was highly inappropriate and sexy as hell.