Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 132962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
That got his heart thumping. He was excited and nervous about seeing Mitch again.
“He’s handsome,” the older woman sitting beside him said. He looked up at her, grinning.
“Thank you.” He looked at the picture again, and his stomach did a flip-flop at the thought of kissing those smiling lips in a few hours. “Yeah, he is, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is.” The woman took off her sweater and placed it across her lap.
“This is my first time in first class,” he admitted.
“Oh, it’s such a better experience. You’ll never want to fly any other way,” she said, patting his leg as the flight attendant’s voice came through the speaker. He turned off his phone, put his seatbelt on, and actually did have the best flight of his life.
~~~
Mitch stood in baggage claim, his hands tucked into his jeans pocket, his knee bouncing erratically, and his eyes glued to the doors waiting for Cody to walk through. The update he’d been waiting for had just come over the paging system. The plane had landed. It shouldn’t be long now.
Shit, if he wasn’t a bundle of nerves. He checked his breath—it was fine, but he decided to pop a piece of cinnamon gum in his mouth just in case.
He’d bought himself a dress shirt, the one he had on now, a long sleeve button-down that he’d left untucked. He didn’t want to look like he was trying too hard, but he still wanted to impress Cody.
The first few passengers came through the door. Mitch lifted on his tiptoes trying to see if Cody had been in the first group to enter before the door shut again. The next few came through, and he stood on his toes again, this time seeing a blond head towering over the rest of the passengers making their way into the area. His heart picked up a beat, his stomach did cartwheels. Cody was really here.
He watched as Cody held the door open for several women and then some men. He never grew impatient, just nodded his head until someone relieved him of door duty. He was such a Southern gentleman. Damn that made Mitch want him even more than he already did. Mitch watched from the corner of the room as Cody looked around until their eyes connected and his heart stopped. He actually felt it stop and pause before starting the thumping shit again. He could feel his smile growing bigger. Cody stared at him from across the room with a huge smile lighting his face as well.
Cody was bigger than he remembered, more handsome too. They wound their way through the crowd, Mitch’s eyes never leaving his, until they came to a stop in the middle of the room, facing each other, the baggage carousel close by.
The machine started, and Cody was bumped a little from the back as other passengers grabbed their bags, forcing him to take a step closer to Mitch. They were a little awkward at first. Mitch wasn’t necessarily sure what to do, so after just a second’s pause, he reached in, gently placing his hands on Cody’s muscular forearms and placed a simple kiss on his cheek.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Mitch held Cody’s eyes with his, meaning every word he said. He was so thankful Cody hadn’t changed his mind. Mitch didn’t miss the instant flush of color creeping over Cody’s face or how his smile seemed to brighten. “Did you bring any other luggage?”
“No, just the carry-on.” Cody looked down at the duffel slung over his arm as he answered. Mitch loved they were about the same height and build. All he could do was just stare. Cody smelled incredible and looked so damn good in those tight jeans, cowboy boots, and a button-down gray and black striped shirt under a black leather jacket.
Mitch couldn’t wait to peel him out of those tight Wranglers. He finally managed to get his carnal thoughts under control and extended a hand toward the door, ushering the cowboy out of the baggage claim area. He let Cody go in front of him toward an exit door. When Cody headed for the wrong door, Mitch used that as an excuse to touch him and reached out for Cody’s arm, stopping him from going farther. Damn, he liked the feel of Cody’s muscles flexing beneath his hand.
“No, I parked this way,” Mitch said and slid his hand down to link his fingers with Cody’s. Cody was a little more hesitant to wrap his fingers back around Mitch’s. He wasn’t certain what that meant, but after a minute, Cody complied. Mitch walked a step or two in front of him, guiding him out the door as he held it open. The move was awkward and Mitch was forced to let go of his hand.
“I parked on the first level, in the garage.” Mitch pointed in the general direction as he came up behind Cody. Mitch took the duffel bag strap off Cody’s arm and dropped it on his own shoulder, then entwined their fingers again.
The evening air was brisk and cool against his skin, and he loved the warmth and feel of Cody’s hand in his. In this moment, everything was fucking perfect. “Come on.”
He pulled Cody out on the crosswalk and made them jog the last couple of steps as he dug the keys out of his pocket. Since all white SUVs looked about the same to him, he hit the lock button on the key fob and made the vehicle honk to pinpoint his rental.
He also hit the trunk button and raised the rear door, dropping Cody’s bag inside. Damn, he’d really wanted to hold the passenger door for Cody, but unfortunately, they had too tight a fit to allow that. He remembered watching Colt jump ahead to get Jace’s door more times than he could count. You could see how Jace loved that move by the expression on his face. He wanted that moment for himself and Cody and looked again to see how to navigate the move a little easier. The moment of indecision had Cody taking matters into his own hands. He released the hold Mitch had on his hand and went for the passenger door.