In Flight (Up in the Air #1)(15)

“Good. Let’s go tell Stephan.”

Stephan wouldn’t even look at me as we approached.

“Bianca is calling it a night,” James told Stephan. “I’ll see her to her room. What time should I set her alarm for?” I rolled my eyes. There he went, talking about me in front of me again.

“Five,” Stephan and I answered at the same time. The men nodded at each other cordially, Stephan never looking at me.

I knew it would bother him all night if I didn’t tell him he was forgiven. I stepped forward, kissing him softly on the forehead.

“I’m not mad at you,” I told him, and was surprised that it was true. He’d had no right to do it, but I knew he was only trying to protect me. It had been his job for years now, and it was a job he took very seriously.

He sniffed a little, and I was shocked when I saw one tear slip down his cheek as he looked at his lap.

“Thank you,” he said, and I heard the relief in his voice. He was so relieved that he was crying, when he never cried. That was how strongly my anger affected him.

“Please don’t,” I told him. It broke my heart to see him like that.

He lifted his head, and he looked better. “I’m good. Really. Go get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” He smiled and waved me off. I smiled back, and we left.

James held my arm on our short walk back to the hotel. He had a firm grip on the back of my arm, just above my elbow. He seemed to like that spot. “Stephan and I spoke at length. He knows I would never take advantage of you when you’re impaired.” James seemed to feel the need to explain this to me. “If I didn’t know otherwise, I would think he was your older brother,” he continued. “How long have you two been close?” he asked.

I sent him a sideways glance. He was fishing for information about me, I could tell. I didn’t play that game. Especially when I knew next to nothing about him.

“A long time,” I answered vaguely. That’s the best he would get. I had already sobered up considerably, so he’d missed the boat on any carelessly thrown information. Especially since I was planning to never drink again. I was already mortified by some of my antics that night, and I wasn’t even completely sober yet.

“You need to get on the pill.” He abruptly changed the subject, his voice authoritative.

I sent him another sideways glance. This glance was on it’s way to a glare. “My body, my business,” I told him stiffly.

“When we’re having sex, it will be my business as well. And you need to get started. It can take weeks to months before it becomes effective.”

My glance became a glare. “For your information, I’m already on the pill. I have bad periods, and it helps make them milder. I’ve actually been on them since I was a teenager… for personal reasons.” Reasons I would never tell him. Like the fact that Stephan and I had lived in an abandoned building with a bunch of other homeless people and I’d been terrified of being raped and getting pregnant. I hadn’t been able to sleep for the fear. A trip to the free clinic had given me a great deal of peace of mind. About the pregnancy aspect, at least. “But you are outrageous, you know that? I’ve never agreed to have sex with you.”

“What personal reasons?” he asked. Of course he would zero in on the thing I was the least willing to talk about.

“I prefer to keep those reasons personal.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

His hand squeezed my arm in a warning. “You are exasperating.”

“Let me bombard you with a bunch of personal questions and see how you like it,” I shot back.

“Give it a try. I think the tradeoff might just be worthwhile for me.”

I fell silent at that.

We made our way into the hotel without a word. I nodded at the girl working the front desk as we walked by. Her name was Sarah, and she knew Stephan and I. We’d even gone out with her a few times. She gave me wide eyes. She probably thought Stephan and I were a couple, as so many people did.

“Hey, Sarah,” I called out, without stopping.

“Hey, Bianca,” she called back.

“The security here is deplorable,” James said as the elevator doors closed on us. He was shaking his head in dismay.

I giggled. “What did you expect? It’s a crew hotel in downtown manhattan. The security isn’t deplorable. It’s non-existant.” I giggled harder. Rich people could be funny.

He gave me a disgruntled look. “It’s terrifying. Anyone could come in here.”

I just kept giggling. “That’s what locks and police are for. If you think this is bad, you should see some of the places Stephan and I have stayed.” Oh shit. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

His intent eyes searched my face. “Where? What do you mean? Do you still stay in those places?”

I shrugged, trying to blow past the whole thing. “Um, not really. I guess this is our least secure crew hotel at the moment.” The thought made me start giggling again.

He held a hand out for my key card, and I gave it to him without a word.

“I would prefer if you stay at a more secure place when you visit the city. I’ll arrange it,” he said, shocking me.

I shook my head. “No. No. No,” I told him clearly. “I don’t know what you think is going on here, but you are not going to take control of my life. You can just rule out that scenario right now.”