Flying High (Davis Brothers Book 2)

by Nicole Douglas

  “I’ll give you a week to figure out how.” I concede, hoping like hell she doesn’t make me regret it.

  And at that I turn and head back inside before someone comes outside to find me and I’m forced to make the awkward introductions sooner rather than later. I wasn’t quite ready for that either since I was still trying to work through what this would mean for their little family. Two of them would suddenly become three.

  “Who was that?” Lacey whispers after I take my seat and thank Chris for filling my bowl with my favorite salad ingredients since I had taken so long to return.

  “No one.” I avert my eyes to hide the lie and shove a fork full of lettuce and grilled chicken into my mouth to prevent further conversation.

  Her gaze lingers longer than usual but she seems to accept that everything is fine. It’s actually not even close to being fine.

  She doesn’t seem to believe me but she doesn’t call me out on my lie. She’s too good a friend for that. Instead she turns to her fiancé and starts talking about their upcoming nuptials to take the focus off me and my odd disappearance.

  I owed her big time.

  ☠　Chapter Twenty-Three ☠

  Chris

  After riding the street bike to work for a week and having to ask Natalie for a ride on the day the rain was pouring down I decided it was possible I hadn’t thought this decision through. The rain was honestly the last straw.

  I loved the bike. Didn’t want to return it. But I needed something a little more practical. Maybe I really wasn’t the same guy I used to be. Practicality never would have occurred to me. I would have just ridden through the rain or not left the house on those days. But back then I had little to no responsibilities.

  That Chris was an entirely different guy.

  Natalie seems surprised when I pull up in front of the coffee shop to pick her up in a brand new truck. It’s the same model we test drove together and although it hadn’t been her favorite of the cars at the lot she liked it a hell of a lot better than the bike.

  “Whose truck is this?” She asks cheerfully, hopping into the passenger seat.

  “Mine.”

  “I love it, Chris!” She exclaimed, rubbing a hand over the leather seats. “What happened to the bike?”

  “I still have it. I want to keep it but I need something better for everyday use.”

  She tries to hide a knowing smirk as if she already knew that would be an issue. Thankfully she spares me the I-told-you-so.

  “Well I love the truck. It’s so roomy. And we won’t have to get rained on in it.”

  “True.” I agree, glad she liked it better than the first time she climbed in it.

  The only real complaint she had the first time was that she was too short to comfortably climb into it. I had a step added to both doors to solve this problem before I even drove it off the lot.

  “And,” I turn to her with a mischievous smile. “In celebration of you being right, and also as an apology, I decided to take you somewhere for the weekend.”

  Her head whips in my direction and she bounces in excitement on the bench seat. “Where?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “Ugh.” She grumbles. “You know how I feel about surprises.”

  “Just trust me.”

  “Does this have anything to do with the Fourth of July?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “Chris.”

  “Don’t worry. This is a good one.”

  She lifts a brow, unconvinced. “Really?”

  “Yes. I’m positive.”

  “Ok.” She nods, giving me a suspicious side eye. “I’m trusting you. You better be right.”

  ☠　☠　☠　☠　☠

  “The airport?” She sounds surprised when we take the last exit and pull into the economy parking garage.

  “Yep.” I smirk at how cute she is when she’s dying to know what’s going on but is too stubborn to outright ask. She was the female version of me.

  When we park and get our ticket printed to leave in the dash of the truck I pull her suitcase that I packed from the back and reach for mine. She discreetly looks around for clues in the cab of the truck before pulling her purse out and grabbing the handle of her suitcase to pull inside. I sling my duffle over my shoulder and lead the way through the automated glass doors.

  “Where are we going?” She asks after she just can’t hold back the question another second.

  I cluck my tongue in playful disappointment. “Nat. I told you it’s a surprise.”

  She huffs out a breath behind me and I chuckle quietly. The line is long but we slowly make our way to the front where we print our tickets and weigh our checked luggage before they print us tags to secure on the handle of each piece of luggage we have.

  She tries to sneak a peak of the tickets as the attendant slides them across the counter to me. I snatch them out of her reach and shove them in my pocket before she can see.

  I know I have to confess the destination soon. Once we get through the first security checkpoint she’s going to need her ticket to board the plane. Enjoying her squirming, I decide to drag out the suspense as long as I can.

  We make our way to the security line and she pulls out her ID, takes off her shoes and places all her belongings in a plastic bin. I do the same and follow behind her in the line.

  “Tell me where we’re going or I swear to god I’ll tell TSA you have a pound of coke shoved up your ass.” She whispers harshly.

  I bark out a laugh and nudge her forward in the line. “Go, you nutcase. You’re next up.”

  “Don’t play with me, Chris.”

  “You better go before we miss our flight.”

  An impatient guy in line behind us sighs in irritation and steps ahead to go through the metal detector.

  She continues to stare at me expectantly until I cave in and give her a clue. It was either that or risk her actually following through on her threat and I wasn’t fully confident that she wouldn’t do it. The thought of being subject to a cavity search changed my plans to draw out the suspense.

  “Alright. You must not want to kayak with Orcas. That’s okay.” I shrug nonchalantly, holding back a triumphant grin as her expression changes.

  “What?” She gasps in excitement.

  Before she can ask any more questions about this trip I nudge her forward through the metal detector. The line behind us is growing irritated at our delays and so are the TSA agents motioning us forward.

  When I get through the metal detector and finish the additional screening I earned for forgetting some change in my pocket and setting off the alarm, Natalie is practically glowing. She bounces on her heels as I get closer.

  “Orcas? We’re going to Washington?”

  “Possibly.” She smacks me in the stomach with the back of her hand. I don’t expect it and it knocks the wind out of me. Coughing and laughter mix together. “Okay, yes!”

  “OHMYGOD.” She squeals, earning us strange looks from TSA as we pull our shoes back on and shove my wallet back in my pocket.

  They were already suspicious of us and although I know we haven’t done a thing wrong my aversion to law enforcement is pretty deeply engrained. I hurry up getting my shoes back on so we can put some distance between us and the federal agents.

  We grab the rest our belongings from the plastic bins, returning them to the stack at the end of the conveyer belt and getting out of the way. She throws her arms around my neck once we’re far enough away from the security area that we aren’t blocking the flow of traffic.

  I’ve never seen her so ecstatic about anything and can’t help but smile in satisfaction that I picked the perfect surprise weekend for her.

  I pull our tickets from my pocket and hand her the one with her name on it. Destination: Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Now that she knew the plan for the extended weekend she happily tugged me toward our gate, practically radiating with animated energy.

  “I can’t believe we’re really going th
ere.” She laces our fingers, a tiny skip to her step.

  She had mentioned to me several times that she always wanted to see orcas in the wild, free of the concrete cages at aquariums. She cried during the Blackfish documentary and had ranted about keeping the animals in captivity, how trapping them in tiny pools where they couldn’t swim the distances they do in the wild was wrong.

  We watched documentary after documentary about whales and her fascination always zeroed in on the orcas. I knew how passionate she was about them and I wanted to be the one to make the dream of seeing them a reality.

  Amused at her enthusiasm, I follow behind her as she leads us to our gate. We find two empty seats side by side across from the window and watch as planes land and take off on the runway.

  My thumb gently caresses hers while we wait for our boarding number to be called.

  ☠　☠　☠　☠　☠

  The flight is five hours and by the time we land, grab our bags, hail a cab and make it to the hotel, we’re beyond exhausted. Natalie learned that she actually afraid of flying and considering our airline didn’t offer movies during the flight it made for a long five hours. The back of my hand had indentions from her nails as she clutched to me during turbulence.

  We both flop down on the thick, stark white bedding at the hotel. It feels like being on a cloud and I enjoy the perfect pillows, not too soft and not too firm.

  I pull my phone out and send my brother a quick text letting him know we landed and made it to our hotel safely. If I didn’t reach out I knew he would end up worry and calling me later while I’m trying to sleep.

  We already ate dinner in the airport at a small fast food chain and I have an early morning of activities planned. With only three days of the trip I had to pack in all our activities. There’s no time for relaxation on this trip after tonight but it would all be worth it.

  So I plan to take advantage of the couple hours of today we have left by doing absolutely nothing. Just being in this bed with Natalie by my side enjoying the sounds of the city several stories below us was everything I wanted. The sun had set but people were still bustling outside, enjoying their Friday night in downtown Seattle.

  Nat snuggles under the crook of my arm and we lay there together appreciating the comfortable silence in our room and faint sounds of the nightlife outside. I pet her hair and play with the thick strands between my fingers. It’s softer since she stopped dying it and I love the light brown tone with natural blond streaks that came from having spent too much time in the sun this summer.

  She was beautiful all on her own, without any of the dyes and makeup she used to rely so heavily on. She never needed those things to be gorgeous. Not in my eyes and I was happy that she was finally comfortable enough in her own skin to see that too.

  A peace wraps around us as we stare out the sheer curtain at the twinkling city lights. We both drift off to sleep wrapped in each other and the fluffy down blanket.

  ☠　Chapter Twenty-Four ☠

  Natalie

  “So what’s the plan today?” I ask as we finish up our breakfast in the hotel dining room.

  “I thought we could go to Pike’s Place Market and look around for a while this morning. I booked us a whale watching tour but it’s not until this afternoon.”

  My belly flutters in excitement. “Sounds perfect. Let’s go!”

  I hop up from the table and anxiously head outside to order an Uber. The market is too far to walk from the hotel. I had researched just about everything I could of Seattle last night after Chris fell asleep, too hyped on excitement to wind down.

  We soak in the sunny day and wait for our ride to get there to bring us to Pike’s Place. I had seen photos of the market but never thought I would be going there to experience it in person.

  At least not this weekend.

  Chris had really surprised me with this trip. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the weekend if I tried and I really didn’t see it coming. When he first mentioned a weekend away I thought we would drive to the lake to camp and watch fireworks.

  If this was how he apologized it meant he had been listening to me drone on and on during our late nights binging on nature documentaries.

  He actually listened.

  That alone was special and new to me as far as relationships went. Shortly after our misunderstanding over the bike and the sales girl we had the much needed talk about where we stood with each other as far as relationships went. He made it crystal clear that I was his girlfriend and he was my boyfriend.

  It seemed so adolescent but I couldn’t deny the thrill it gave me. Neither one of us ever experienced a normal relationship in our pasts. That made this one a first for us both. We got a do-over, a chance at first love and all the sweetness that came along with that.

  Our Uber driver is a quiet college aged kid that needs the extra cash on the weekends to cover his ridiculously pricey tuition. He doesn’t talk much on our way to Pike’s Place but he points out a few landmarks along the way that we might not have noticed otherwise.

  Chris hands him a tip before we get out of the car and take in the busy market entrance in front of us. It’s so much bigger than I expected. We take a selfie in front of the iconic sign before lacing our fingers together and strolling into the busy marketplace, eager to explore.

  We enjoy the street performers as we walk along, listening to guitars being played beautifully. We pass a dancer gaining quite a large crowd circling around her, generously tossing coins in her tip jar.

  The craft market catches my eye and I tug Chris forward, ready to find a souvenir from the trip. Something we can keep in our apartment to remember the weekend by. It already feels like the best weekend of my life and it had hardly begun.

  Naturally I’m drawn to the whale crafts and art booths. The orcas were the most anticipated part of this trip and I couldn’t wait to get my first glimpse of one that wasn’t on a TV screen.

  Wooden carvings of flukes and intricate oil paintings on canvases hanging in the booths caught my eye. I gently run my fingers over a large painting of an orca spy hopping from the water, peeking at the artist and viewers of the painting with a curious eye.

  The painting really seems to capture the nature of the beautiful creatures that I’ve always seen in my beloved documentaries. The realistic colors and lines of the coastal shore in the distance are mesmerizing.

  Chris notices my fascination with this painting and asks the artist how much it is. Without thinking twice at the fee he pulls out his wallet and hands the man some cash.

  “Don’t you want to look around a bit more before we buy something?” I ask half-heartedly.

  “No.” He answers simply. “You like this one. I can tell.”

  “I do.” I agree, smiling at how much he can read me.

  “Then it’s yours.”

  The artist wraps the painting in packing paper and places it snugly in a large plastic shopping back, handing it off to Chris. He drapes his arm over my shoulder and we continue walking through the craft market, looking at the different pieces of art.

  And he was right. I never see anything else I love as much as I love the painting he’s carrying around with us. It’s going to look beautiful hanging behind our couch in the living room, reminding us of this trip and the amazing sights we still have in store for us this weekend.

  We walk around taking our time looking at different booths until we both grow hungry. Lunchtime comes and goes and we haven’t eaten since breakfast. All the walking had burned tons of calories and we find ourselves being drawn to the smell of food just outside the fish market.

  There’s a small food cart our noses lead us to where they’re smoking fresh salmon. My mouth waters and Chris is practically salivating next to me, mirroring my expression.

  We get in the long line and by the time we taste the standard smoked salmon with a side of chips and bottled soda we can understand why so many people had lined up for it. It was absolutely delicious.

  We walk an
d eat, going on and on about how flavorful the fish was. Before we head home at the end of this weekend we have to come back and get more.

  Chris tosses our trash in the first can we pass and checks the time on his phone. “Shit. We better get an Uber to the port. It’s almost time for the whale watching tour.”

  ☠　☠　☠　☠　☠

  We make it just in time to board the boat before they pull up their anchor and make their way out to the bay. Chris and I find two seats together and settle in as we listen to the splashing water against the side of the small boat, engine rumbling as it propels us forward.

  The captain spouts off facts about several species of whales we might encounter during this trip and I listen, eyes scanning over the horizon in the hopes I’ll spot an Orca above anything else.

  We come across a pod of dolphins and the captain slows the boat to enjoy their playful leaps and twists just beneath the surface. They get closer to the edge of the boat than I expect and I squeeze Chris’s fingers tightly in joy as one swims right past us. If I reached out to the water I could have stroked the side of the dolphin but it was strictly prohibited.

  The animals were protected, rightfully so, and no one was allowed to touch one.

  That didn’t stop me from feeling tempted as hell to pet one of them as they stared up at us through the water, trying to get out attention before zipping off and jumping from the surface. Show offs.

  After they grow tired of us they disappear beneath the surface of the water and we continue on our search for other species. Next thing I know the people on the other side of the boat are pointing wildly toward the same spot off in the distance and I squint, trying to find what’s got them so worked up.

  A black fin rises and sinks several yards away. An orca rises and blows a breath, spraying the telltale sign of their presence through the air like a beacon. The captain steers the boat toward the whale and suddenly several more surface for a breath.