Her Perfect Game
Page 11
Felicity walked back to her seat and wrestled her textbook from her bag. Working out equations would soothe her and ease the gnawing stress. She was scribbling furiously through an equation when she felt another tap on her shoulder. She glanced up and saw the guy staring at her again.
“They’re boarding. You were pretty engrossed in what you were doing.”
She blinked rapidly to clear the numbers from her mind. He turned and walked away. She slammed her book closed, and in looking at her watch, realized that she had been working for more than twenty minutes. She watched the guy step into the boarding line. He probably thought she was crazy, or maybe stupid. She shoved her book back into her bag and got in line.
As if sensing her presence, the guy—what the hell was his name?—turned again and looked down at her. “Business or pleasure?”
Now that she really paid attention to him without irritation poking her, she realized he was cute. His dark hair was a little messy, but his blue-gray eyes somehow managed to be both inviting and piercing. “Huh?”
“Are you going to Texas for business or pleasure?” He’d slowed his rate of speech like he was speaking to someone without command of the English language.
“Pleasure. Spring break with a friend.”
His gaze wandered down her body and back up to her face. “What school do you go to?”
“Harvard.”
His mouth opened, he paused, and then did it a couple of more times. Now who looked like he didn’t know English?
“South Padre Island?” he finally asked.
She nodded. The line shifted forward.
“You’ll love it. It’s a lot of fun.”
The flight attendant at the gate asked for his boarding pass and welcomed him aboard. Felicity handed over hers as well, grateful to finally be getting on the plane. Not that she should be in a hurry now since Layla wouldn’t be arriving for at least a few days. A sharp spear of panic hit her. What was she supposed to do alone for days?
Once on the plane, Felicity hooked left, suddenly aware that she was following the tall guy. She paused to make sure she was, in fact, in first class. The flight attendant looked at her pass and pointed toward her seat to confirm she was going the right way. As she walked down the aisle to her seat, Felicity saw the same darn guy in her spot. She absolutely couldn’t catch a break today.
“Excuse me, you’re in my seat.”
He stood, checked his pass, and looked at the window seat beside him. He smiled at her again, this time flashing teeth and a dimple in his right cheek. Damn, he was cute. “Is there any way you would consider switching with me? Even in first class, my legs are cramped. Being in the aisle allows me a little more space.”
The smile dazzled her enough that it took a minute to process what he was saying. She didn’t want to give up her aisle seat. Taking the window seat effectively trapped her.
A little voice in her head said that there were worse things to be trapped by than a hot dude with a killer smile.
“Fine. Whatever.” She stepped aside so he could move and she slid into place by the window.
“Would you like me to put your bag up for you?”
“No. I’ll keep it here.” She smashed it under the seat as best she could. She would definitely need to be able to work some equations to get through this flight sitting next to him.
He took his seat. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name earlier.”
She leveled a look at him. “I didn’t give it.”
His mouth slid into a half smile, enough to let the dimple peek. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I’m Lucas. May I ask your name?”
“Felicity.”
“Nice to meet you, Felicity.”
She buckled her seat belt and willed the pilot to get moving.
“So, Harvard, huh? Where are you originally from?”
“Chicago.”
“I’m from Chicago too. Small world. What’s your major?”
“Chemistry.” Even as she answered him, she knew he was trying to carry on a conversation and she should do more, but she wasn’t good at it.
The flight attendant did her usual safety speech, and the pilot announced they were ready for takeoff. Lucas buckled himself in and suddenly got quiet. The plane began to move, and Felicity felt the waves of tension coming from her seatmate. She looked at him from the corner of her eye. He had a death grip on the armrest, his knuckles white.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded.
She turned back to look out the window.
“Actually, no, I’m not. I don’t like to fly.”
“It’s no big deal. The flight will only be a few hours.”
“The takeoff and landing are what get to me. My kids have a habit of rattling off statistics, and one of them told me that almost thirty percent of crashes occur during that time.”
“Kids?”
“I’m a teacher.”
She studied him. She’d never had a teacher who looked like him. “Gym?”
“Special ed.”
That surprised her. She couldn’t imagine him in a room full of rowdy, out-of-control kids or kids who had a hard time learning. Gym teacher, she could picture. He looked like the athletic type.
“I’m also the baseball coach. Which is why I didn’t want to come on this trip. I had to leave my assistant coach in charge of practice while I’m gone.”
She couldn’t believe he was nervous. He continued to carry the conversation effortlessly. “Whose wedding?”
“My brother’s. He met his fiancée in South Padre and they decided to have a destination wedding. And of course, it had to be over spring break.”
“I guess you didn’t have a choice to skip it since it’s your brother.”
He laughed. The warm, rich sound tickled through her and she couldn’t help but smile back.
A small ping let them know they could release their seat belts, so Felicity did. “Takeoff is done,” she whispered.
Photo: Nicole Morisco
About the Author
Shannyn Schroeder is a former high school and middle school English teacher. She holds a BA in English and MAs in Special Education and Gifted Education. After having her third child, she decided to stay at home. She’s since worked as an editor for a couple of e-publishers and currently works as an editor for an education company that publishes online current events assignments. She juggles writing around the kids’ schedules.
In her spare time, Shannyn loves to bake and watches far too much TV, especially cop shows. She started her first book on a dare from her husband and has never looked back. She came to reading romance later than many, but lives for the happy ending, and writes contemporary romance because she enjoys the adventure of new love.
Readers can visit Shannyn online at www.shannynschroeder.com and follow her on Twitter @SSchroeder_.
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Copyright © 2014 by Shannyn Schroeder
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First Electronic Edition: October 2014
ISBN: 978-1-6018-3334-1