Page 37 of Terms of the Flight

I stepped back a bit and placed my hand on the small of her back to lead her to the truck.

“I do. What’s it called?”

She peered over her shoulder as I opened the door.

“First Class. It’s one of the first oils and perfumes I made in my Stamped collection.”

First Class.I liked the sound of that.

I stood still for a moment as she slipped inside, needing a second to recover from the fact that one scent had made me forget the entire speech I’d prepared. I shook it off, then slid in beside her.

“Don’t think because you smell like something I could eat that we’re done talking about your date etiquette, Doll. Next time, leave coming to the door for me.”

“You got it, Big,” she said, then saluted me like I was her superior in the service.

“Doll, put your seatbelt on.”

She lifted her brow and held the seatbelt away from her body. I chuckled, already knowing what she wanted without her saying a word.

“Doll, can you please put on your seatbelt?” I asked.

Her eyes expanded dramatically. “That’s all you had to say, Big. See how sugar brings rewards.”

I shook my head and chuckled.

For the rest of the ride, she sang every damn song that came on the radio. It didn’t matter if it was Beyoncé or damn Miley Cyrus. Her ass was singing every word, well, at least some words. The majority of them she was remixing like they were naturally part of the song.

Her singing didn’t stop until we came up on my parents’ black iron gates. I figured she would. Most people usually did. Their home was imposing and showed just how big they were in the wealthy pond. I think she knew I had money, but looking attheir house, she was realizing just maybe it was more than she’d initially thought.

I didn’t interrupt her thoughts until I saw her adjust her shirt. I wasn’t going for any of that. I needed confident Khaleya to step out of this car. My parents were just people with money, and that didn’t change a damn thing.

I reached out and placed my hand over hers, stopping all further movement. She glanced up at me with worried eyes. I’d never seen her let her guard down. Usually, she was ready with a quick comeback or a smart remark. But right now, she’d run out of strength to hold her shield. But she had nothing to worry about. I’d hold it up until she was ready to take over again.

“None of that. These are regular people with a little money. Trust me, when you meet my mom Meredith, you’ll see. Now my pops, he’s an asshole, but that’s his armor, like how you usually got a smart remark. He asks every question he can think of. It’s his way of thinking he can run shit and honestly protect those around him.”

For the first time before we pulled through those gates, she gave me a small tight-lipped smile and rolled her eyes at me.

“I’m going to let that little remark go, since I needed to be shaken to wake up a bit. But aren’t you pot calling the kettle black—wait, is that how it goes, or is it kettle calling the pot black? I don’t know, but you know what I mean. You think you can run folks, too,” she responded with a giggle after I gave her a look.

I brushed her chin with my two fingers, then leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“That’s much better, Doll. You better act like you know who you are when we go in there. I didn’t pick you for nothing. You’re the breath of fresh air I’ve been needing for a while. Shit, they need it too, even if they don’t know it yet. But they’re about to find out.” I kissed her chin, then pulled back.

I glanced out the window to see my parents standing on the porch. My mom was bouncing from one leg to the other like she had to use the bathroom, while my pops stood stoically, like he didn’t care one way or the other if we were here. I’m sure he didn’t.

Khaleya blew out a breath and then nodded.

“Ready?” I asked.

She nodded, then reached out to grip my wrist, so I turned to face her.

“Keep your lips to yourself, Casanova, I can’t have your mom thinking I’m a hot girl.”

I couldn’t help but crack up. She was slowly coming back.

“Aren’t you? I could have sworn moments earlier you were going hard on that hot girl track by Megan.”

As she was responding, my driver opened the door for us to slide out.