I was nervous about the flight since this was only my second time flying, and I still hadn’t decided whether I liked it or not. Loren had to hold my hand the entire four-hour flight from Toronto, so I was determined to get through this one on my own. In another month, we’d be making our way to Europe, and I couldn’t expect him to coddle me the whole way there, now could I?
As if he’d heard my thoughts and wanted to prove me wrong, Loren grabbed my hand the moment we boarded the small, private plane.
As I looked around the cabin with its plush leather recliners and wood-grain interior, I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed. I suddenly wished Griffin and Maeko were along for the ride since they were the ones who’d known I’d be here. I’d been too afraid to chase my dreams, so my dreams found me instead. There was only a one-in-a-million chance of that happening, really dumb-blind luck, and it only made me regret not finding the courage sooner.
But I hadn’t been afraid that I’d fail.
The problem had always been that I’d succeed.
Even my baby sister had known, and she’d called me out on it.
My eyes squeezed tightly together as I unwillingly recalled the moment I decided to give into Oni and sealed my fate with Bound.
Rosalie’s face had been coated in tears, her sobs cutting me deep as her fragile body shook with rage and frustration from being tugged in two directions as she glared at me. “Why should I listen to you, Braxton? I looked up to you! I thought you were strong, but you’re not!” No longer yelling, she whispered, “You’re still afraid of them too.”
“Hey, you all right?”
Hearing Loren’s voice, I hadn’t realized he’d been watching me as he stood in front of me now with his hands on my hips. I didn’t want to explain, so I offered him a smile that he saw right through. After taking a seat in the recliner across from Rich, Loren immediately pulled me into his lap. Xavier and Danielle were sitting together on the bench a few feet behind us as they discussed the arrangement for tonight’s show.
“You know I can’t stay in your lap, Loren. You might as well let me go.”
Burying his face in my neck, he growled, “Not yet.”
I stayed put until it was time for takeoff, and he reluctantly let me go so I could take my seat next to him, which also faced Houston. Jericho was seated diagonally from me, and my gaze couldn’t help but linger as he stared out the window and brooded.
It’s been seventeen days.
Two weeks and three days of climbing the mountain he’d put between us. And every day, it became more apparent that Rich had grown bored with me.
I’d expected that possibility from Houston, maybe even Loren, but not Jericho. I couldn’t ignore that he only seemed interested in me whenever I practically threw myself at him. I was beginning to wonder if he only gave me even that small mercy out of pity. He’d been enthusiastic each time, if not a little troubled, but he was a guy, so that didn’t mean shit.
The reason nagged at me because his interest hadn’t slowly waned.
It’d been abrupt.
The morning after our show in Connecticut, he’d been distant, and the only logical explanation was that he’d considered my terms and decided I wasn’t enough. I knew I’d been unfair, so I didn’t want to blame him, and yet…I absolutely did. Houston, Loren, and Jericho had all driven me to the edge, but it was his hand that shoved me over.
I almost felt like I didn’t deserve Oni’s praise, not that I ever wanted it. “Not quite the apple on your head, but effective nonetheless.” Before returning to Los Angeles, it had been all she’d said about the task she’d given me when she chose me to replace Calvin. Knowing this, I wasn’t as convinced as the guys that Carl had been the one to send her in the first place.
The short flight to Vancouver was over quickly.
The moment we were shown to our suite at one of the waterfront hotels, Loren proposed we hit the jet skis. Two hours later, after sending Dani out to get a bathing suit for me, three swim trunks, and four wetsuits since germophobic Loren was too prissy to use a loaner, we were back in the disguises we’d used in New York and standing on a dock in Granville Island.
After checking the straps on my lifejacket for the third time, I regarded the guys who were already mounted on the jet skis while I still stood on the dock. “So which of my doting boyfriends am I doubling up with?”
No way in hell was I riding one of those things alone. I barely trusted myself not to drown in the shallow end of a pool even though I knew how to swim.