Page 19 of To the Moon
"We'll buy new clothes when we get there."
I opened my mouth to argue, but Sebastian silenced me with a slight shake of his head. "Let me do this for you."
I hadn't expected the sincerity in his gaze, nor his kind tone.
He motioned me to a comfy leather reclining seatwith his chin. I'd never even flown first class, but this posh leather seat alone probably cost more than a commercial airliner.
He disappeared into the back of the plane with Amber and Lonnie. A few minutes later, Lonnie returned.
"They're still catching up," he gripped the back of my seat and leaned in. "We all know each other from undergrad. Seb and I were roommates at UC Berkeley, and Amber had the unlucky fortune of being our TA for molecular biology. We almost burned the building down trying to make sodium hydroxide."
"How?" Most people electrified a brine solution.
"We didn't have any salt." Lonnie laughed. "I still don't know what happened, but Amber will never let us live it down."
He patted my shoulder, and I wondered if he treated everyone like they were his new best friend, or if he was being kind as a favor to Sebastian. "Anyway, buckle your seatbelt and try to catch a nap."
He strode to the door we'd entered behind the cockpit and threw me a wave over his shoulder before exiting. A moment later, hydraulic controls hissed as the door raised into position. It snapped shut with enough pressure to plug my ears. It took two swallows to pop them.
The engines purred, and still Sebastian didn't return. I buckled my seatbelt and clung to the armrests of my chair as the plane sped down the runway and then lifted into the air. Even after I'd been to space, I still hated takeoffs.
Once the plane leveled out, the seatbelt signdimmed. While I unbuckled the fancy latch, Amber returned with a large bag in hand and a stethoscope around her neck. She offered me a flute of bubbling clear liquid.
I took the glass from her and swirled it, looking for discoloration or pill particles.
"It's sparkling water," she said. "Sorry if you were expecting a flight attendant. We're a little short-staffed."
She sat in the seat beside me and dropped her bag to the floor before offering her hand. Her brown fingers tipped with sapphire blue nails were warm in mine.
"I'm Dr. Monroe, but you can call me Amber. Sebastian and I have been friends for a long time. It's always good to meet new friends of his."
I shook her hand, but my throat went dry when I tried to think of something to say. Doctors made me nervous, though I'd never had an unpleasant experience. I couldn't even remember a time when I'd been sick. Most doctor's visits had been for routine physicals.
Besides, I'd clenched my jaw shut when she said, "new friends of his," in a tone that implied Sebastian and I were something more. What had he told her about me?
Unfazed, Amber continued, "He asked me to take your vitals. He said you've got the same … condition he does."
I held out my arm for the blood pressure cuff she presented, and then allowed her to examine my ears and throat. The sight of the needle and empty vial sent my pulse skyrocketing.
"I only need one vial of blood, and then Sebastian'sgoing to drop me in LA before you continue to your next destination."
"There are other destinations?" I asked.
She shrugged. "He's keeping it a secret, so it doesn't get back to his dad. It's all too James Bond for me."
She tapped my leg with the empty vial and motioned for me to roll up my sleeve. "I'll run some tests in our mainland lab and send them to Sebastian in a few days."
"Where is he?" I asked.
She tied a rubber tourniquet above my elbow and tapped the vein with her fingers. "Taking a shower."
I scoffed. Of course, the jet had a shower.
"He said to send you back once I'm finished here." She winked. "It's none of my business, but are you a member of the mile high club, Mr. Grayson?"
The question caught me off guard. "No," I sputtered. "Not interested." The thought that Sebastian had suggested it filled me with so much rage, I didn't feel the needle slide into my vein.
"That's it." She grinned like she'd been trying to piss me off, and it worked. "Make a fist for me. Okay, not so tight, or we'll have a mess."
