Keira sent a quick text to her sister to let her know she wouldn’t have to worry about what to do this summer after all. To think, less than 48 hours ago, she thought she’d be on couch duty at her sister’s place for the summer. The broad smile across his face when Eric walked out of the exec’s office had her letting out a huge breath, she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. That had to mean good news. She stood, portfolio in her hand and a smile on her face.

“Good news?” she said, cautiously.

“Great, news. You did it,” he said, picking her up and whirling her around. She dropped her portfolio and threw her head back, laughing. He stopped spinning her and she put her arms around his neck as he lowered her back to the ground. Staring into his eyes, the spark he always started with her ignited something more. Their lips were inches apart, when the exec flung his door open, they both turned to look at him and Keira dropped her arms from around Eric’s neck.

The exec smiled and gave her one of her photos that had fallen out of the portfolio.

“Welcome to the tour Ms. Weston. I know you’ll do a wonderful job in helping fans truly connect with Eric.”

“Thank you so much for the opportunity. I promise I won’t let you down,” she gushed. This was really happening.

“I’m sure you won’t. Remember what I said Eric. A wonderful opportunity for everyone,” he said, tilting his head and striding back into his office.

“What was that about?” She turned to Eric who had a weird look on his face. Slapping a smile back on he turned to her.

“Nothing, let’s get your stuff and get to the plane.”

“What time does it leave?”

“I think when we get there,” he said with a puzzled look on his face. Now it was her turn to be confused.

“What do you mean?”

She got that answer when they showed up at the private airfield to the private jet they’d be taking to Vancouver. Holy crap! Climbing the steps to the type of plane she never imagined seeing in person, let alone flying on, she ran her hands along the metal railing up the narrow steps. The minute she was inside, a flight attendant took the bag from her and offered her a cool towel.

The plush cream interior had a low leather couch that ran the length of one side of the plane. Cream seatbelts with gold buckles all crisscrossed neatly on the seats. Then there were four pairs of cream seats along the other side. The first two sets were facing one another and had a small table between them. Toward the back, a small hallway with two doors.

Eric came up behind her with his eyes bugged out as big as hers. At least, she didn’t have to worry about acting like an idiot on the plane, because it looked like all this was just as new to him as it was to her. The flight attendant grabbed his duffle bag and guitar and tried to stow them. Eric pulled back the guitar.

“I’ll keep this with me.”

“No problem, sir,” the flight attendant said, before ushering them both to the plush leather seats. Eric took a seat across from Keira and strapped his guitar safely in the seatbelt. She chuckled at the care he took when it came to his guitar. Attempting to play it cool, she only played with a few of the buttons on the seat.

“Can you believe this?” Eric whispered, leaning across the small shiny wooden table between them.

“No, I’m freaking out. Have you been on one of these before?”

“Once before, but it was filled with industry types, so I didn’t really get to play.”

The flight attendant appeared next to them and they both sat back like they’d been caught being bad.

“We will be taking off shortly, is there anything you’d like to request from the galley?”

“What do you have?” Eric said, shooting Keira a cheeky smile. The flight attendant listed of the voluminous number of options for a flight just under three hours and Eric ordered a few dishes and some snacks. The flight attendant excused herself and pulled the galley curtain shut, they could hear doors being opened, latches being flicked and other sounds filtered back from the galley.

“You ordered a lot!”

“Once we get to the bus, there probably won’t be any food left and there won’t be any place open by the time we land. We can bring some with us to tide us over until morning.”

“Good thinking.”

“You’ll learn about life on tour. Never turn down a clean bathroom, a meal you’re not paying for, or the opportunity to load up on snacks to stash.” The flight attendant came back to let them know to buckle up and get ready for takeoff. She also took their pre- and post-take off drink orders. Promptly, setting a bottle of beer in front of Eric and a vodka cranberry in front of Keira. After making sure they were buckled in, she disappeared back behind the galley curtain and the captain made some standard announcements. Keira’s heart raced as the plane sped down the runway and her stomach dipped as the wheels left the ground. She wasn’t normally a nervous flyer, but she’d never been in a plane this small before. Not until Eric’s look of concern, did she realize she was gripping the arms of the leather chair tightly and leaning her head back against the seat.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just not used to small planes, that’s all. I’m okay,” she said, through gritted teeth.

“Oh yeah, you’re the picture of relaxation,” he said, laughing. She balled up the napkin that had been under her drink and threw it at his head. Perfect shot! It hit him right between the eyes. He grabbed her napkin ball and made one of his own. Attempting to dodge the assault, she moved from side to side, but he still hit her with both. Raising his arms in triumph over his head, pumping them up and down. She laughed as the plane leveled off and they were no longer rocketing toward oblivion. “See, much better now,” he said, his smile even wider.

“Good job with the distraction Mr. Newcastle.” Picking up her drink and draining the last of it, the flight attendant was back with another round. Keira sipped hers. A slight shudder of turbulence hit them and some of her drink sloshed onto her shirt. Looking down, the red patch spread across her white top.

“Damnit,” she said, pulling the now wet and cold shirt away from her skin. The captain let them know they could move around the cabin and Keira unbuckled her seatbelt. “Do you think there’s a bathroom back there?”

“Yeah, probably. Let’s go find out.”

“It’s okay, I can find it on my own.”

“I’m sure you can, but I want to see what else there is on this plane. This is the perfect excuse to snoop.” They both stood and creeped toward the back of the plane, glancing back to see if the flight attendant was back.

“You’d think we were stowaways or something,” she said, suppressing a giggle.

“I mean, we don’t want to look uncool. I’m sure she’s used to flying with pros. Don’t want her to know we’re not used to the high life.”

The first door in the narrow corridor was to a bathroom. The biggest bathroom, she’d ever seen on a plane. Inside was a huge vanity, complete with lights around the edges, a sink, a toilet and real towels. It could easily fit three people, unlike a normal plane bathroom where you could go to the bathroom and wash your hands all at the same time. She grabbed one of the towels, wet it and rubbed it over her shirt, trying to get some of the cranberry juice out before it stained. Using some of the what she imagined was ridiculously expensive soap, she dabbed and rubbed at it, until it was more of a giant wet spot than a giant cranberry spot. Her wet shirt momentarily forgotten, they checked out the other door toward the back of the plane.

A smaller cabin with a comfy looking bed, complete with sky high pillows and a nice fleece draped across the bottom. There were fresh flowers on the bedside table and two pairs of comfy pajamas laid out on the bottom of the bed. So, this was how the other half lives. Eric threw himself onto the bed and started making snow angels on it, knocking everything off onto the floor.

“What are you doing?” she whisper shouted.

“Come on, you know you want to. When is the next time you’re going to be on a private jet? When’s the next time you’ll get to throw yourself onto a bed at twenty-five thousand feet and jump around like an idiot.” He moved over on the bed and patted the space beside him. He did have a point. Checking behind her to make sure the flight attendant wasn’t coming, Keira flopped down onto the bed. She sunk right into the soft and plush comforter and immediately remembered her wet shirt, which now clung to her chest, making her lacy bra clearly visible.

Glancing up, Eric’s gaze locked onto her chest as her breasts rose and fell, the tops of which could be seen at the top of her shirt. He looked up and knew he’d been caught. A sheepish grin across his face, he maintained eye contact. Staring deeply into her eyes, he brought his hand up and twirled one of her curls around his finger. She bit her lip, watching him play with the curl, winding and unwinding it around his finger. Each wrap had her squeezing her thighs together as her breath quickened.

Hesitantly, she brought her hand up to his hair and ran her fingers through his fiery locks, transfixed by his blue eyes. Lost in his gaze, she could’ve stayed there all night, laying beside him in that ridiculously comfortable bed. Dropping the curl, he brought his finger up to the side of her face and ran it down her cheek.

“Keira,” he said, breathing heavily.

“Yes?” she responded, the flutter was back and her breathing picked up. He leaned in closer to her and her core throbbed in anticipation of his lips on hers. And more than just his lips on her. He threaded his hands through her hair and brought her face toward his. Bringing his lips nearly to hers, they were both startled by a knock on the bedroom door.

“I’ve placed your entrees on the table whenever you’re ready.” The flight attendant called from the other side of the door. Kiera’s flush and heavy breathing quickly turned into embarrassment as she sat up in the bed, unable to believe what she’d almost done. This was her big break. This tour could turn into something more for her and if she screwed it up by getting involved with him, it could be the end of things before she’d even gotten a chance to get started. Grabbing the fleece blanket off the floor, she wrapped it around herself to cover her practically see through shirt.

They spent the rest of the flight in their seats, indulging in things like steak and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. This was a life she could get used to, but she reminded herself it was only a glimpse into this world. She started to nod off toward Eric as they were ready to land, her head dipping low onto his shoulder. Jerking back upright, she reclined her seat and closed her eyes. He gently tucked the blanket up around her neck and she couldn’t suppress the small smile on her face as she took a few minutes to let things sink in.