Hope series box set, p.68
Hope Series Box Set,
p.68
He chuckled and it vibrated off my chest and into my heart. I grinned back and spent the rest of the flight staring out the window.
It was a clear night and the lights of New York City appeared over the horizon. I knew it was silly, but after spending three years in Asia, I felt like an immigrant returning to America. I might actually kiss the ground and vow never to leave it again.
Jaken leaned over and looked out the window over my shoulder. His breath hit the back of my neck and I shivered.
“So, Emma, you ready to start your new life.” I looked back at him and smiled. When I returned to the view, I prayed my imagination would stop inserting Jaken Tanner into my new life.
It’s just a plane ride, for fuck’s sake.
The plane landed and Jaken helped get my stuff down. He stood in the aisle and motioned for me to go ahead of him. When I reached for my rolling bag, he took the handle and said, “I got it.”
His chivalry was sweet, but unexpected. In China, I did everything for myself.
We walked off the plane and into the airport. I spotted my mom right away. Her short, curly, silver hair stood out in the crowd. Tears sprung to my eyes when her incredible laugh filled the airport terminal. We saw each other last year when my mom visited me, but it felt like a million years ago. I forgot about Jaken and weaved my way through the crowd to her waiting arms.
“My baby girl,” Mom said.
“Hi, Mama.” I hugged her and she squeezed me so tight, I thought she would break a rib.
“Oh, I missed you.”
“Me, too.” I let go a little, but she didn’t. She squeezed tighter. She flew in last night and stayed at a hotel near the airport. She insisted on waiting for me before going into the city.
Mother and I had a strange relationship. We weren’t close. My brother was her precious little boy. If she took time out of her schedule to meet me here in New York, then it had something to do with him, but it was good to see family. “Mama, you’re going to hurt me.”
“I’m sorry. Hey, don’t look now, but Jaken Tanner is staring at you.”
I held her at arm’s length and laughed.
“We were on the same flight.” I waved for Jaken to approach.
“That was some reunion. Hi, Mrs. Dennis.” He reached down and hugged my mom, and for some strange reason, my jaw ached. I reminded myself to relax. I imagined hugging Jaken so many times—fantasized about doing other things with him. Here I was watching my mom getting what I wanted.
I shook the thought out of my head and focused on keeping my face neutral.
“Well, Jaken. Don’t you look good.”
Jaken blushed, and it was the most adorable thing I ever saw.
“Mrs. Dennis, you’re too sweet,” he said and winked at me as he hugged my mom again. I bit my lip in frustration.
“Jaken is staying at the W, too.”
“Oh, really. Well, it’s fate that you two ran into each other.”
“I should have a car; you ladies need a ride?”
“That would be lovely. I can’t stand taxis,” Mom said, and she and Jaken took off toward baggage claim. I trailed behind, feeling a bit like the little fat girl in middle school all over again. Chasing after the football star and watching him flirt … with my mother.
Yuck.
We entered the baggage claim area and a short old man in a suit held up a sign with the name Jason Bourne. I knew it was for Jaken. The Bourne Identity was his favorite movie, and hip-hop was his favorite type of music. He loved the color green but was partial to Cowboy blue since they had drafted him in the first round seven years ago. I also knew Italian was his favorite food, but he loved to barbecue. I knew all this from his website because Jaken Tanner was famous. Like the kind of famous who had limos booked under an anonymous name.
“Hey,” he said to the driver.
“Mr. Tanner. Pleasure.” He looked around Jaken at my mom and me and smiled. “I was told it was just you.”
“Yeah, I picked these ladies up on the airplane,” Jaken said and the driver laughed.
“We know each other from Dallas,” I said and wasn’t sure why I was explaining anything to this guy.
He shrugged his shoulders while he grabbed my carry-on bag and Jaken’s wardrobe bag.
“We have checked bags, too,” I said.
“How many?”
“Three suitcases,” I said and bit my lip. The guys and Mom all turned to look at me. “What? I accumulated a lot of stuff in three years.”
“One suitcase a year. That’s not bad,” Jaken said and headed toward the conveyor belt.
I decided to keep quiet about the four boxes I had shipped.
When the driver organized all my bags in the trunk, we were off to New York. My mom ended up sitting in the front seat with the driver while Jaken and I sat in the back. It was five thirty in the morning, and the sun was beginning to creep up into the sky as we headed into the city. I leaned my head back on the seat and found Jaken looking at me. I smiled and he dropped his eyes and I followed his line of sight to his open hand. I placed my hand in his. I closed my eyes but didn’t fall asleep.
I concentrated on the point where his hand touched mine. The way his fingers slid between mine when the car jolted, and the rough feel of the callus that formed at the top of his palm. It was his right hand—the hand he used to throw a football. The hand he earned millions of dollars with. His million-dollar hand in mine made me feel kind of special.
We rode the rest of the way to the hotel like that, and thankfully, my hand didn’t sweat. I couldn’t say the same thing for the rest of my body.
As we arrived at the hotel, I let go of his hand and started to exit the car. Jaken grabbed my arm and I turned back toward him.
“Check your email before you crash tonight.”
“You sent me an email.”
“Yeah, you fell asleep on me on the plane.”
“You told me to.”
“Now, I’m telling you to read your email.” He winked and my insides grew nauseous but in a good way.
A few minutes later, safe in my hotel room with my mom changing for a morning workout, I fished my computer out of my bag and turned it on. Nothing. No power.
Shit.
Waiting in my inbox could be the most romantic email of my short romantic life and I had no way to access it.
I looked over at my mom’s phone plugged into the nightstand outlet. For a sixty-year-old mother, she was a modern woman, but she hated technology. Her flip phone wouldn’t help. I collapsed on the bed and squeezed my eyes shut. I wished I could sleep, but it was five o’clock in the afternoon in China. I would rather dream about Jaken in my sleep instead of obsessing over him while I was wide-awake.
In my fantasies, Jaken and I were the perfect couple. In reality, my mind created thousands of reasons why Jaken and Emma didn’t make sense.
If you want to read more about Jaken & Emma,
A New Season is available on Amazon.
About
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle is a Contemporary Romance writer, a voracious reader and movie fanatic who hails from Texas.
After surviving 5 1/2 years living in China, she had the courage to finally pursue her passion and become a writer.
Sydney has been blogging at sydneyaaliyah.com for three years, where she interviews people about their tattoos, discusses her favorite movie quotes, and journals about her writing and editing process.
Sydney’s novels tackle that dramatic world that is college and professional football and she writes heroins that love their men and the sport that they play.
She identifies the sci-fi action flick “The Matrix” as the best representation of her life in the past. She is now blessed to be awake and doing what she loves.
She can recite the entire script from the 80’s teen comedy/drama “The Breakfast Club” and loves any and everything associated with the Avengers Movie, especially Tony Stark.
When it come to books, Sydney reads different genres, but some of her favorite writers are Stephen King, Alex J. Cavanaugh, J.A Huss, M. Never & Emily Bronte. Under the Dome, The Great Gatsby & Wuthering Heights are her favorite books.
Connect with Sydney Online:
Email: sydliyah@hotmail.com
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Sydney Aaliyah Michelle, Hope Series Box Set
