Page 47 of Terms of the Flight

I kissed her cheek and nodded my head in the direction Kimmy was standing, looking like she was going to pop a blood vessel.

“Alright, big girl, let’s see what you can do.”

She smiled and turned back to face Simone, who was swooning with Jace standing beside her now.

“I’ll get with you later. This man needs a woman’s touch,” Khaleya told her.

I shook my head with a smirk as they made plans to sit together once we were finished. Khaleya then turned to me and held her hand out for me to hold.

Damn, I was getting used to having her hand in mine.

I reached out and took her hand into mine, then brought it up to my lips to kiss her knuckles, before leading her towards Kimmy, who was now bouncing from one leg to the other.

“Uh, do you have to use the bathroom?” Khaleya asked her in a whisper, with a worried expression.

I brought my hand up to cover my smile. This damn woman didn’t have a single filter in place. Kimmy’s eyes widened as she looked around, then back at us. Then she straightened up.

“No, just anxious. Sorry, you must be Khaleya,” she responded.

Khaleya turned to look up at me with a lift of her brow. I shrugged and waved my hand in front of us for Kimmy to lead the way. She turned around, and we followed her through the crowd to the back of the stage.

Jamieson was sitting on a stool, bent over with his head in his hands. One of the staff was standing beside him, rubbing his back, coaching him to continue to breathe. Khaleya released my hand and slowly walked over to him.

“I got it from here, thank you,” she told the staff worker.

The woman nodded and walked back towards the gala. Khaleya lowered herself beside him, careful not to place a hand on him without warning.

“Hey,” she said softly. “Don’t look up at me yet. Just listen to my voice for a minute.”

His breathing had yet to relax as his shoulders rose then lowered quicker than they should.

“You’re safe here,” she continued. “No one is expecting you to be perfect. They’re waiting to hear a story you know allthe answers to, because you’ve already lived it. You’re walking around with the answer key, so it’s no way you can fail.”

Jamieson shook his head. “I can’t go out there.”

“Okay.”

My eyes shot to Khaleya with a lift of my brow. He damn sure had to go out there. But I wasn’t going to interrupt. I had to trust she had a plan, because she was so soft and confident with her response.

“Do you mind if I touch you?” she asked.

He nodded. So she reached out and began rubbing circles against his back. She then led him through some breathing routines, encouraging him not to think about the stage or the moment. By the third breath, his shoulders lowered.

“Okay, you’re good to go,” she whispered. “Alright, now tell me what you see.”

He slowly looked up and glanced around the room.

“The gold in your dress. You look really pretty.”

I cleared my throat, causing Khaleya to chuckle.

“Thank you. What do you hear?”

Without hesitation, he stood up taller, then responded. “Music.”

“Give me one thing you know for sure.”

He paused, then looked up at me and back at his hands.