RIVER
Sky exited the elevator shortly after I did, hair brushed to fucking perfection. It looked as soft as silk, and I knew that what I’d said bothered her. Good. I liked knowing I got a rise out of her. It seemed only fair when all she seemed to do was ruffle my feathers whenever we crossed paths.
“Sky.” Chad waved an arm in the air, gaining her attention.
When she neared, he stood up and pulled out a barstool for her.
Her eyes met mine, the fire still brewing behind them. “A gentleman? How rare,” she said, looking right at me as she spoke the words.
Gentleman, my ass.
Chad just wanted to fuck her so he could say he did. Especially now that he knew I hadn’t. I should have lied and told him we’d hooked up before. Maybe then he wouldn’t be so hell-bent on having her.
“Okay, the bartender’s name is Raul. He’s a sweetheart. Has no plans on closing anytime soon and said the kitchen’s still open,” Carmella said as she handed both me and Sky a menu.
“Making friends already, Carm?” I opened mine and started perusing the main courses.
She shrugged. “I like meeting new people. Especially when I’m not serving them.”
“Amen to that,” Sky added with an enthusiastic nod, her eyes glued to the menu.
The two of them had to deal with the passenger’s way more than I ever did. The most interaction I had was greeting them and making an announcement or two. I wasn’t the one they treated like a glorified hostess in the sky, like my sole purpose was to serve. Flight attendants were on board for safety purposes, not drink-serving ones.
“I wouldn’t trade places with you girls for anything,” I said right as Raul appeared, looking a little tired, but still smiling through it.
“Evening. Can I get you all something to drink?” His eyes roved around the four of us as he waited for our response.
I actually wasn’t a big drinker. A beer or two was one thing, but getting full-on hammered usually left me feeling pretty shitty. And no matter how hard I hit the gym after to rid myself of the toxins, it never quite worked. I still felt like ass for a whole day while my body tried to recover. It wasn’t worth it.
“I’ll take a local beer,” I said, and Raul nodded before I added, “Not an IPA.”
“Gotcha,” he said with a grin and an approving nod.
I listened as Chad ordered a double vodka with a splash of soda and a lime, and Carmella and Sky each ordered a glass of red wine. It looked like Chad would be the only one drunk tonight if he kept that drink order up. Better him than me. Raul disappeared before showing back up crazy fast, balancing our four drinks on a tray as he handed them out.
“Would you like to order food? I’m not sure how long the kitchen will stay open, so I’d get an order in sooner rather than later.”
We all ordered meals like we weren’t sure when we’d get the chance to eat again, and it made me laugh, just listening to the amount of food. Sky ordered a whole pizza for herself, and I shot her a look.
“What? I can bring the leftovers back to my room and eat them for breakfast,” she explained.
“Cold or reheated?” I asked because there was only one correct answer.
“Cold. Reheated is nasty,” she said, making a face, and I gave her a thumbs-up.
“No,” Chad interjected. “Cold pizza is disgusting.”
“Agree to disagree.” She gave him a sweet smile, her eyes lingering on his face for far too long for my liking.
I felt the usually tight reins of my control starting to unravel.
“He’s right.” Carmella inserted her opinion on the matter, and, well, she was wrong too. “Cold pizza is unacceptable.”
Sky shook her head. “You will never convince me that there’s anything better than cold pizza straight out of the fridge in the morning.”
“Sky’s right,” I said, ending the debate. “Cold. Right out of the fridge. Nothing better. End of.”
“No. You’re both wrong. Sorry, but you’re wrong. Maybe it’s ’cause I’m from New York, but I just can’t agree with this blasphemy.” Chad took a healthy swig of his drink without wincing.
I was never the kind of person who could drink straight vodka. It tasted like rubbing alcohol to me. Now, tequila, on the other hand … that had always been my drink of choice, and I could drink it straight with the best of them. But that seemed like a lifetime ago.
“You’re from New York?” Carmella’s face lit up like she was about to ask Chad if she could adopt him for Christmas.
“Yeah.” Chad gave a shrug.
“What part? I’m from the Bronx,” Carmella said, her accent thick and proud. “Go Yankees,” she added, and we all laughed because it was so random. Not that she would like the Yankees, but that she’d bring up baseball.
Chad failed to respond, and Carmella waved her hand at him, trying to get him to spit it out.
I had no idea why he was so hesitant until he finally answered, “The Hamptons.”
I threw my head back and whistled. “I didn’t know anyone was actually from there. I thought it was just a place where rich people vacationed in the summer.”
“I did too,” Sky added with a wince. “Is that offensive to say?”
Chad laughed. “Not at all. I know that most people don’t know much about it, except for what they read and hear on TV. But it’s a real place, where you can live full-time and grow up and go to high school.”
“It sounds fancy,” Sky said, her eyes wide, and Carmella nodded.
“It is,” Carmella said before Chad could disagree.
He downed the rest of his drink before signaling to Raul that he’d like another. The rest of us had barely even touched ours.
“Where are you two from?” Chad asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his fancy Hamptons upbringing.
“Florida,” Sky and I both said at the same time, our voices echoing loudly in the bar area.
My eyes widened as I shook my head at her. “You’re from Florida? What part?”
How hadn’t I known that?
“You first,” she said, her expression untrusting, like I might be lying about where I was from.
“Miami,” I said, my Cuban accent coming out the same way that Carmella’s seemed to when she talked about her home.
“It all makes so much sense now,” Sky said, and I felt myself growing defensive.
I loved my hometown and wouldn’t tolerate anything bad being said about it. Especially not from her.
“What does that mean?” I asked, my tone dead serious.
“You look like you belong in Miami. It suits you.”
“How so?” I pushed, wanting to hear how she saw me. I didn’t care that anyone else was around, listening to her judgment about me.
Sky laughed. “The player lifestyle. Beautiful women at your fingertips. The clubs and beaches as your playground and you’re the king of it all.”
I mean, she wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I didn’t feel like admitting that to her anytime soon.
“What part are you from?”
“Sarasota,” she said, and now, it was my turn to judge.
“And it suddenly makes so much sense,” I said, mocking her.
“Really?” she said sarcastically, but I was dead serious.
“Yeah. You’re stuck-up and a brat. I bet you have a yacht,” I said, and Chad laughed while Carmella sucked in a breath so quickly that it made a squeaking sound.
“Do you have a yacht?” Carmella asked, her voice filled with surprise.
“I do not have a yacht,” Sky yelled as she narrowed her eyes at me. “And I’m not stuck-up. I just don’t like you.”
“Oh, sorry.” I lifted one hand in the air. “I meant, your daddy has a yacht.”
I was being an asshole, but it seemed fair. She had made so many judgments about me based on where I’d come from, so I wanted to do the same. Plus, it wasn’t my fault that I was right.
“My dad’s dead,” Sky said.
Carmella inhaled another breath that squeaked before mumbling some words that sounded like a quick prayer and apology on my behalf.
“Nice job,” Chad whispered as he leaned toward me.
My heart sank. “Hey, I’m sorry, Sky. I didn’t know.”
She waved me off. “It’s fine. But my family doesn’t have a yacht.”
“Mine does.” Chad shrugged as Raul deposited another drink in front of him, and we all laughed.
Of course this guy had a freaking yacht. I should have put it together that his arrogant, entitled ass was loaded, but I hadn’t.
I glanced across the table at Sky and realized that she was watching Chad, curiosity in her eyes. Maybe she liked her guys rich … and short. Chad was both of those things. I was neither of them.
“I was going to see if the trains were running.” Chad motioned toward Carmella, and she reached for her phone and started typing frantically.
“That would be ideal. I didn’t even think about that,” she breathed out as she continued tapping.
“What are you guys talking about?” Sky asked, thankful to be immersed in a new topic. “Amtrak?”
“If the trains are running, we could get home. Or at least pretty damn close to it,” Chad said.
“But the airport’s closed for at least two days.” Sky was clearly confused, and I understood why. Logically, it made sense that if a runway couldn’t open for planes, then train tracks should be closed as well. “That’s what you said, right, River?”
“Trains are different. Crews can plow the snow from the tracks if it’s too high, and then they attach a plow to the front of the engine for light clearing. If they can get the snow off the tracks safely, the train can still run. It just sometimes goes a lot slower than normal, but it still goes,” I explained to her, and her mouth formed an O.
I waited for her to call me out, question all the things I had just told her, like she usually did, but she didn’t. She just sat there, staring at Chad like he was the most fascinating thing in the hotel bar, and I had no idea why. He didn’t seem like her type.
I didn’t like what I was witnessing one bit, and I was about to fucking lose it.