Page 4

Jackson

The second I stepped out of Aiden’s stupidly expensive car, I coughed. “Wow,”

I muttered, only realizing now how crisp and clean the airport air was. “I don’t know what air freshener you used in that thing, but I’m pretty sure I lost a year off my life inhaling it.”

I rolled my shoulders as I looked around the stretch of open concrete leading up to his jet.

Thea glanced at me as she adjusted the strap of her bag. “What are you talking about?”

I gestured toward the sleek black machine of wealth and excess. “It smells weird in there.”

Alyssa let out a laugh as she slammed the front door shut. “It’s Aiden’s fancy French cologne.”

“That was cologne?”

I coughed dramatically. “I thought maybe he’d skinned a luxury leather couch and set it on fire in there.”

Aiden, of course, was completely unbothered as he slammed the car door shut, locking it with a sharp click. “You’re just mad you can’t afford to smell like money, James.”

I shot him a look. “If money smells like that, I’d rather smell broke.”

He ignored me, already heading toward his private jet like he was royalty, and we were just background noise in the cinematic masterpiece of his life.

The whole setup was ridiculous and felt like a scene out of a billionaire fever dream. The ramp to the plane had a red carpet, and the staff were lined up, greeting Aiden with false smiles. Understandable. The guy was insufferable to live with. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to work for him.

“Are we sure he’s not actual royalty?”

I whispered as I leaned in closer to Thea. “His eyes are a little close together. Could be a sign of inbreeding.”

She elbowed me, letting Lyss walk ahead of us. “Shh, he might hear you, and he might kick us off his jet mid-flight.”

I sighed and followed her up the jet’s stairs, bracing for whatever ridiculous luxury awaited inside.

I was not disappointed.

Plush leather seats. Soft lighting. A literal bar. It smelled like expensive wood polish and someone’s idea of heaven. Honestly, I could probably live in here and have a better quality of life than I had in 90% of my past apartments. But then all those memories from college came flooding back.

The pranks. The hot tub. The parties. The incessant banging. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Aiden was constantly having sex, and my flesh crawled at the mere thought over what kind of activity usually goes down on this jet.

My eyes went to every corner of the cabin. The seats. The table. The literal bedroom in the back and I winced. “I don’t want to know how many times you’ve banged in this thing.”

Aiden smirked as he brushed a hand over the large beige seats and sat in the one at the end. It was the perfect spot for a megalomaniac like him. The bedroom was behind him, so he had full view of all the other passengers on the plane. i.e. Me, Thea and Alyssa.

“You definitely don’t want to sit in that chair then.”

He raised a brow, his gaze looking at my hand pointedly.

I yanked it away so fast, my shoulder nearly dislocated. “What the fuck, Matthews? Don’t you have staff on this plane? What about the pilot? He could walk in any minute.”

He shrugged. “The pilot is busy flying the plane. The staff have a room in the front. They’ll come if I need them. It’s not a big deal when it’s your own plane. Besides, you literally fucked your best friend’s sister while he was walking into the apartment heartbroken from his tutor girl break up.”

Well, shit. I didn’t realize he knew about that. Admittedly, it wasn’t my finest hour, but Tanner wasn’t really heartbroken. It was just a misunderstanding. We were all good now. Had been for the last five years. Sometimes, with the amount I saw Aster and Tanner, it felt like we’d never left college.

“He’s joking,”

Alyssa said, scooting around me to sit in the seat next to him. She was holding a blanket, which seemed odd, until I thought about how cold it can get with the air conditioning. “We haven’t had sex on those chairs.”

She pointed to the ones across and opposite them.

Was that supposed to make me feel less icked out? Was that her way of saying that was the only place they hadn’t fucked?

“I think you’re just going to have to deal with it Baseball Cap,”

Thea said softly as she dropped into the seats Alyssa said were ‘clean’.

I joined her and grumbled when I noticed Aiden had snuck his hand under the blanket Lyss had put on. His eyes connected with mine, and I knew it was his way of taunting me.

As we settled in, the low hum of the engines filled the background, and I did my best to ignore the queasy feeling in my stomach. I’d flown in smaller planes before, thanks to all the traveling we did with the Covey Wildcats, but this was the first time I was flying on a plane quite so small, and without any medication to relax me.

Should I have been weighed before I got on? I was a big guy. What if my weight could pull the plane down.

Thea took my hand and curled in beside me. With her legs tucked under her, she read her document as though she couldn’t feel every bump and move of the flight.

“How long have we got?”

I asked, gripping the arm rest tight.

“In the flight?”

Alyssa asked. “We haven’t taken off yet?”

“We haven’t?”

Okay, now I was making it obvious. Usually, the drugs calm me and my thoughts down. Why, oh, why hadn’t I taken them today?

“No. it’ll be around four and half hours once we’re up.”

I nodded. Four and a half hours in this tiny sardine can. I can do it... I hope.

When the air hostess came around with champagne, I took two and downed them immediately. Don’t the effects of alcohol increase on a flight? Yeah, this will work.

“Are you scared of flying?”

Thea asked, her brows crossed. I’d flown with her plenty of times, but it was always commercial. Those flights were easier to handle.

I shook my head way too fast. “I’m good. I’ve just never liked rollercoasters much, and this plane, well, it reminds me a lot of that ride at Evermore Studios you forced me to go on that one time.”

“You mean the one you cried like a baby on?”

“Wow, Pyro. We going straight back to insults?”

“I’m sorry.”

She squeezed my hand. “We’ll be okay. I promise.”

She gave me a quick peck on the lips, but it didn’t do much to ease the tension still coiled in my chest.

“Coming from the girl who accidentally set her dorm on fire?”

I said, raising a brow. “Not exactly the comforting vote of confidence you think it is.”

She slapped me on the thigh. “You’ll be fine, and I guess if we go down, we go down together.”

Her eyebrows wiggled, only serving to make my stomach churn more.

“Not a funny joke, Pyro.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you.”

Thea turned to Alyssa, balancing her still full glass of champagne in her hand as the plane started to take off.

I closed my eyes, pretending I was in a better place. I was in my bedroom, siting in my Gamer’s seat. Thea was there. Sitting on top of me as she made the seat vibrate while she played Ride or Die.

“So fucking hot,”

I muttered under my breath.

“Did you say something, Baseball Cap?”

Thea asked.

I kept my eyes closed, mentally roaming her body as she withered on top of me in just her underwear. “No. No. I’m all good now.”

I felt Thea rustle beside me as she brought her attention back to Alyssa.

“Tanner bought the adjacent box to Devin’s,”

Thea said.

“Really?”

Alyssa asked, surprised.

“Yeah, he really wanted the entire family there and he was worried we’d take up too much space since we weren’t sure if Adam was bringing Autumn along. With Devin’s brood, he thought it was best to splurge a little.”

“Boxed seat with Thea’s family. Sounds official, James,”

Aiden said lazily. “You proposing or something?”

As usual, Aiden had the ability to ruin a good thing. Here I was, trying to mind my own business and think about my girlfriend riding me to oblivion, and my ex-roommate was doing everything possible to stop that.

When I opened my eyes, Aiden was stretched out in his chair, his hand still under Lyss’s blanket, as he looked at me with utter nonchalance.

“No,”

I drawled, but glanced at Thea, who met my look with a small smile. The same one that always managed to level me. We both knew what might happen tonight, but we weren’t about to tell anyone, especially Aiden, because we didn’t want the surprise spoiled.

Aiden leaned in close to Alyssa's ear, whispering something that made her eyes widen before she laughed, pushing at his chest half-heartedly. Whatever he said must have been convincing, because a moment later they both stood up.

“We're going to freshen up,”

Alyssa announced, not meeting anyone's eyes directly. “We had lunch with Aiden’s dad before we picked you up, and I need to put on something a little more appropriate for the football game.”

I took in her wrinkled dress, and the goofy look in Aiden’s eyes. They weren’t fooling anyone. “Freshening up.”

I rolled my eyes, making air quotes. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

Aiden just smirked, his hand already resting possessively on the small of Alyssa's back. “I'd invite you to join us, but...”

He let his gaze drift to Thea beside me. “I don't think your fantasies ever included us.”

“Gross, Matthews,”

Thea muttered, flipping through her notes with renewed focus.

He was right. I’d only ever fantasized about Thea… and Matty and Britt that one time Britt put a spell on me.

They disappeared down the narrow hallway toward the back of the jet, and a moment later, I heard the unmistakable sound of a door locking.

“Seriously?”

I groaned, leaning my head back against the seat. “We're trapped in a metal tube thousands of feet in the air, and they couldn't wait four hours?”

Thea shrugged, unconcerned. “Would you be able to?”

She had a point. I'd never admit it out loud, but if I had a private jet, I'd probably christen every inch too. Not that we hadn't done similar in less luxurious places, like that time behind the equipment shed at Covey U when we were supposed to be interviewing the baseball coach.

My wandering thoughts were interrupted as the plane suddenly dropped. My stomach lurched into my throat, and my fingers dug into the armrests so hard I thought I might tear through the leather.

“Holy shit,”

I gasped, my eyes wide as the plane shuddered again. “Are we going down? Is this it? This is how I die? On Aiden Matthews' sex plane? Dammit. I had so much more to do in life.”

Then I turned to Thea. “Are we sure we don’t want to get involved in whatever’s going on in there?” I gestured to the bedroom door just as the plane dropped again.

I winced. I growled. No amount of sex scenes playing in my head was stopping my stomach from churning.

“Jackson.”

Thea’s voice was soothing, but it wasn’t enough to calm my erratic heartbeat.

“No. Seriously. A threesome always sounded fun. A foursome? Now that we’re plummeting to our death, my only thought is, why the hell not? Aiden’s an asshole, but they always sound like they’re having a good time.”

Thea's hand found mine and she squeezed it tight, trying to get me to focus on her. “It's just turbulence, Jackson. Completely normal. No need to consider sex with your annoying ex-roommate.”

The plane dipped again, and I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly bone dry. The champagne I'd downed earlier sloshed uncomfortably in my gut.

“I think I'm gonna be sick,”

I muttered, pressing a hand to my mouth. “Shit, I'm actually going to barf.”

Thea was on her feet instantly, pulling me up with surprising strength for someone half my size. “Come on, bathroom. Now.”

She dragged me to the door next to the bedroom and pushed it open. I stumbled in, surprised to see it was a bathroom, but made my way to the closet toilet lit and sat. Then I hung my head between my knees.

“Aren’t we supposed to be in our seats when there’s a lot of turbulence?”

I asked through ragged breaths.

“There isn’t that much,”

she said. Her voice was light, but I still felt like I was being mocked a little bit. “Deep breaths,”

Thea instructed, closing the door behind us and kneeling in front of me. “In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

I tried to follow her instructions, but my stomach rolled again as the plane hit another patch of rough air. “I think I need to be facing the other way,”

I groaned, gesturing weakly at the toilet. “So I can, you know...”

“No.”

Thea's voice was firm as she placed her hands on my knees, steadying me. “I've got a better way to calm you down.”

I blinked at her, momentarily distracted from my nausea. “What are you talking about?”

A slow smile spread across her face as she reached for my belt. “Trust me, Baseball Cap. I know exactly what you need right now.”

My brain short-circuited the second her fingers slipped under my belt, popping it open with a speed that made my cock jerk in anticipation. “Thea, what are you doing,”

I choked out, my voice already raw.

“Shh.”

She pressed a finger to my lips, her touch firm enough to silence me. “Be a good boy and stay quiet. Will you let me take care of you?”

A ragged sound clawed its way from my throat, my chest tight with anticipation. I nodded once. Twice. I was barely able to keep eye contact with my stomach lurching, but I couldn’t look away from her and what she was about to do.

“Good boy,” she said.

God, that nickname. Those two little words shattered me every time, stripping me bare in ways I couldn’t describe. She knew it, too. How it made my pulse stutter, and made me hers in an instant.

“Y-Yeah,”

I rasped, gripping the cold toilet lid beneath me like it was the only thing anchoring me to the moment. My jeans and boxers were shoved down with impatient efficiency, and my cock sprang free, already aching. “But what about—”

“Don’t worry about them,”

she murmured, her breath hot and wicked against my skin as her hand wrapped around me, fingers curling possessively. “Focus on me. Only me.”

Then her mouth was on me—hot, wet, and devastatingly slow—pulling me in with one slick, hungry slide of her lips. My head thunked back against the mirror behind me, a dull echo that didn’t register past the way her tongue curled around the underside of my cock like she was savoring every inch.

I bit down on my knuckle, stifling the guttural groan that surged up my throat. The moan still escaped in fragments, raw and desperate.

Fuck. Fuck.

My hands flew to her hair, tangling in those dark strands, not to guide her but to hold on for dear life. I had no control here—she owned me in every way that counted.

“Thea,”

I choked out, hips jerking despite myself. Her mouth welcomed the thrust greedily, her throat relaxing like she’d done this a hundred times just for me. “You’re fucking—God—you’re incredible.”

She pulled back just enough for the cool air to hit my spit-slick head, her tongue flicking teasingly over the tip in lazy, torturous circles. Her eyes stayed locked on mine—dark, gleaming, amused by how undone I was.

“You’re doing so well,”

she purred, her voice husky and low, the vibration of it thrumming through my cock like a live wire. “Such a good boy. So needy. So desperate to come for me.”

My breath hitched. The burn in my stomach coiled tighter, hotter. I was close—too close.

“Thea,”

I gasped, the words coming out a trembling, broken mess. “I’m gonna—fuck—I’m so close.”

“Don’t you dare hold back. I want to feel it. All of it.”

she growled against me, her pace quickening as she pulled me in deeper.

That was all it took. Her perfect lips taking me in. My hips bucked and my mouth opened in a soundless cry as I shattered. Pleasure pulsed through me in thick, hot pulses, and even when I started to come down Thea didn’t stop. She moaned softly as she swallowed, letting me ride out every last spasm while her fingers dug into my thighs, grounding me in the filth and intimacy of it.

By the time she pulled away, her lips glistened, and her satisfied smirk made it impossible to breathe.

When I finally came back to myself, I was panting, half-zipped, slumped against the bathroom wall like she had pulled the life out of me. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes gleaming with satisfaction, and smoothed her hair back into place like she had not just shattered me midair through turbulence

“Better?”

she asked, her voice teasing, almost innocent, even though her mouth was still swollen from what she had just done.

I could barely nod, my chest was still heaving, my heart pounding so hard it shook my whole body.

I laughed softly, finally managing to get my jeans fastened. That wasn’t even close to how I was feeling. She’d fucking ruined me. “Much better. Though I might develop a Pavlovian response to turbulence now.”

She grinned, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my lips. “Mission accomplished then.”

I caught her face between my hands before she could pull away, holding her gaze. The playfulness in her eyes softened as she registered my sudden seriousness.

“What is it?”

she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“I just...”

I shook my head, searching for the right words. “I'm so fucking proud of you, Thea. The woman you've become, what you've built. I can't wait to be by your side to see what you do next.”

Her eyes widened slightly, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. It wasn't often I caught Thea Joyce off guard, but when I did, it was always worth it.

“Jackson...”

she began, but I silenced her with another kiss.

“I mean it,”

I said when we parted. “From that girl who accidentally set her dorm on fire to landing interviews with Bailey Hill at the Super Bowl? You're incredible, and I'm just lucky I get to come along for the ride.”

She smiled, soft and genuine, leaning her forehead against mine. “You know it's not just luck, right? You're the reason any of this happened in the first place. You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.”

“We believe in each other,”

I corrected. “That's our superpower.”

She laughed, the sound warm and intimate in the small confines of the bathroom. “That, and your apparently iron stomach now. Turbulence who?”

I groaned, reluctantly letting her go. “Don't jinx it. We still have three hours to go.”

“Come on,”

she said, reaching for the door handle. “If we stay in here any longer, Aiden is going to make even more inappropriate comments.”

I caught her hand before she could open the door, pulling her back for one last kiss. “Let him. I couldn't care less what anyone thinks right now.”

She smiled against my lips. “Me neither.”

As we made our way back to the seats, I noted the bedroom door was still shut and looked at my girlfriend with a raised brow. “What do you say? Join them for round two?”

Thea rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “No, thanks.”

She took my hand and led me back to our seats. The plane still shuddered occasionally with turbulence, but now, with Thea's hand in mine and the memory of that incredible blow job, I barely noticed. Instead, I picked up my champagne glass, now refilled by the flight attendant who was diplomatically pretending she hadn't noticed two couples disappearing to different parts of the plane.

“To the Super Bowl,”

I said, clinking my glass against Thea's.

She smiled, that special smile that was just for me. “Nah. To us.”

“To us,”

I echoed, knowing that no matter what happened with the Chally deal or anything else, as long as I had her by my side, nothing else mattered.