Mile High (Windy City, #1)

by Liz Tomforde

“New plane. New seats... New flight attendants,” I suggestively add.

I go into my Notes app, finding the note titled “DENVER,” trying to remember who these women are.

But almost every time he opens his damn mouth, I end up laughing. He’s pretty fucking funny. I will say that.

“Good for you. And I don’t want your autograph.” Her tone is entirely unimpressed. “What I was going to ask is, are you ready for me to give you your exit row briefing?”

“You’ve never known a flight attendant’s name before.”

Simultaneously, every one of the suited-up hockey players stands from their seats and begins to strip down until the only thing that’s covered is their junk.

“Well, this isn’t your last job, so I want to reiterate some rules.”

“Maybe think about getting a bigger uniform. The one you wore today was awfully tight, and I don’t want the guys on board getting the wrong idea.”

What a bitch omg

“Ryan Shay? Who isn’t a fan of Ryan Shay? Best point guard in the league.”

“Stevie,” Zanders says in his smooth velvety voice. “You following me?”

“Truthfully? I don’t want to be in the same bar as you. You’re kind of a dick.”

“Well, I think you’re kind of a brat, so it is what it is.”

Without thinking, I grab it from the bar and rip it into pieces that would be too small for her to put back together. And I’m not quite sure why I did that other than I like pissing her off.

The bar suddenly seems overcrowded and hot. I’m not claustrophobic, but it currently feels like I might be. I close my empty fist. My palms are clammy as a rush of warm air hits my cheeks, my vision slightly blurring. I attempt to take a breath, but there’s no air in the room. Fuck. I haven’t had one of these in years.

“You don’t have feelings?” Maddison asks, unconvinced. “You cried while watching Coco with Ella. You have fucking feelings, man. You should start letting people know.”

“Don’t use Coco against me! That shit was sad!” I stand from my seat, following him to the locker room to get suited up for our game. “That song at the end? It gets me every time.”

The big-ass bow somewhat tames the crazy hair on her head, but the best part is the jersey she’s wearing. She’s sporting number eleven, with “UNCLE ZEE” stitched right there on the back. Logan: Do not show my husband this. He will kill me for letting her wear this, but I thought you’d get a kick out of seeing your favorite girl wearing your number.

Even his muscles have muscles.

Snapping out of my trance for a moment, I nod my head in silence before taking off towards the galley, needing to hide. “Stevie?” Zanders questions as I hurry down the aisle, but I don’t turn around.

And I was the idiot who took him back. Every. Single. Time. He was my weakness. I loved him, and all I wanted was for him to want me back, but he didn’t. Not really.

Brett’s response? “What about Stevie? She was there because I was bored, but I’m going pro. Do you know the quality of women that are about to throw themselves at me? You think I’m going to stay with Shay’s sister when I have better options?”

She looks entirely out of place, and I kind of fucking love it.

However, tonight, I’m the one who’s lost their charm and can’t speak in proper sentences.

But for some reason, with this flight attendant with an attitude, I don’t think I like that. Clearly, my reputation doesn’t do it for her.

“The other night,” she begins. “What did you mean when you said, when it comes to food, you trust my opinion more than the other girls?”

“And if you really want me to be direct about your body.” I give her a once-over, clearly checking her out. “It’s banging. You should start showing it off. These sweatpants are atrocious, though.”

Granted, she didn’t intend for that to come off sexual, but now all I can think about is working her in a different way and how much fun I’d have throwing around that curvy body.

“Zee, leave her the fuck alone.” Maddison shakes his head. “We land in Nashville in fifteen minutes, and you haven’t stopped pushing that button all flight.”

“I can’t. I promised myself I would make Stevie’s job a living hell this season. I can’t back out on a promise.”

“Since when did you become so dense, dude? You want to sleep with her. It’s fucking obvious.”

When Maddison’s private penthouse elevator got fixed, but I continued to use the public one in hopes that maybe the curly-haired flight attendant would run into me again, that’s when I knew my plan for this season had changed.

It was about getting her to like me and hopefully getting her to want to sleep with me too.

“He wants to sleep with you,”

“Am I going to see you in Nashville?”

I’m currently entirely tongue-tied for the first time in my life,

Which is why I was overdue for an orgasm. I haven’t come all week. I’ve stopped myself anytime his stupid pretty face came into my mind, and I’ve been sexually frustrated since.

I should’ve seen this coming. I should’ve known better. I should’ve listened to my brother’s warning and realized that the only reason Hannah and Jackie were so eager to hang out with me was that I happened to work for professional athletes, and they thought I would be their hookup.

Hazel eyes. Hidden in the back corner of the bar, Zanders pulls his beer to his lips, his eyes shining with amusement and his mouth tugging up in a smile behind the glass bottle as he stares at me. “You following me?”

“Ella said she doesn’t want to do Beauty and the Beast. Apparently, the theme this year is Disney princesses.” I almost choke on my beer, and Maddison’s laugh is deep and full.

“I didn’t tell her shit. This keeps happening. It’s like the universe is begging me to fuck her.”

I kind of like the way that sounds—seeing her after every game.

“Leave her alone,” Maddison quietly scolds. “If she wanted to talk to you, she would’ve come over here.”

Fuck, he’s right. I retake my seat. When did I become such a desperate motherfucker? But also, why doesn’t she want to talk to me? Just being honest here, I’ve never had someone refuse my attention, and now that I know my intentions, I think the chase is making me want to sleep with Stevie even more.

“You mean they probably don’t even realize you work for them. Do they even know your name?”

As I walk by Stevie’s table, I gently run my hand over her shoulders, trailing my touch across the back of her exposed neck. I brush my fingertips against the goosebumps peppering her skin before giving her a light squeeze. Fuck, her skin is soft. “Hey, Stevie girl,” I toss over my shoulder as I walk by, my lips lifting on one side. “Good to see you.” I turn to face her, slowly walking backward to the restroom, my smirk all charm as I keep my focus on her pretty freckled face.

Oh fuck. I’m so fucked. It’s decided. I need to sleep with her before my balls turn the deepest shade of blue.

Looking down at the curly-haired girl next to me, I push her locks away from her face, and without thinking, I lift her chin to look at me. My tatted hand surrounds her cheek as I rub my thumb against the flushed and freckled skin. Stevie’s piercing eyes are blazing into me with confusion as her mouth gapes open. Not that I blame her. I don’t even know what I’m doing. “Ready to go?” I ask, my eyes locked and focused on her blue-green ones.

I’ve never kissed a chick’s head before, and I’m not going to lie, it felt kind of weird.

“Can you not say my name out loud while all your fans are taking pictures? I don’t want to be plastered online next to all your puck bunnies.”

“Oh shit. I’m so screwed. I’m so, so, so screwed. I’m going to get fired.” “What are you talking about?”