Fighting for Flight by JB Salsbury (easy readers TXT) 📕

laughs and talks with Nikki and Eve. She looks so natural and at ease in her own skin in my backyard, hanging out with my friends, as if she’s been doing it for years.

“Hey, Jonah.” Owen calls my attention away from the girls. “She’s one fine piece of a—”

A growl rumbles deep in my chest.

The guys explode into laughter.

Owen smacks me on the back. “Yep, you’re hooked, brother.”

~*~

Raven

The murmured voices and rhythmic thumping of rap music lull me into semiconsciousness. I close my eyes and relax, soaking up the last warmth from the sun before it drops behind the mountains. Male laughter erupts. I turn and watch Jonah with his friends, his dimples highlighting his bright smile. I slide my sunglasses down my nose for a better look. He’s stopped laughing, but still smiling as he engages Owen.

I track his movements while he walks around the bar to sit on a barstool. His back muscles flex powerfully, as he brings his drink to his mouth. Brightly colored tattoos decorate his arms from his wrists to his shoulders with one flowing over and onto his chest. I want to get a closer look, run my hands along his arms as I study his body art. I wonder if his skin is as soft as it looks. If it tastes like he smells. Citrus and spice.

“This place is sick, Rave.”

I jump at the sound of Eve’s voice. Shoving my sunglasses up my nose, I pat my cheeks to bring down the heat. Eve is on the lounger with me, a gossip magazine resting against her thighs.

“Yeah.” I clear the lusty sound from my throat. “I’m always in the garage. I didn’t know all this was back here.”

I scan my surroundings. The modern outdoor kitchen and bar, flat-screen TV, lagoon-style pool with Jacuzzi, and a fire pit. But the best parts of the backyard are the loungers. They’re made for two, complete with large queen-sized mattresses and outdoor pillows.

“When you guys make it official, you have to have me over . . . like a lot.” Eve looks at me over the tops of her sunglasses with a smile lighting her face.

My eyebrows pull together. “Make it official?”

“Yeah, you know, admit you dig each other.” She shrugs before licking her finger and turning another page.

“Whatever.”

It’s all I can say through the full-on grin I’m sporting. As much as I wish I didn’t, I feel something for him. What girl wouldn’t?

Even the women Blake brought seem to fall into a trance when Jonah’s around—not that I blame them. A swell of nausea threatens at the thought of Jonah with a girl like that. Their huge, clearly medically enhanced, breasts and lips push up and out for anyone’s attention.

“What’s going on over here, baby girl?” Blake plops down at my hip.

There is something about this guy that goes beyond his super-hot, bad-boy, fighter good looks. That alone would make any girl fidgety. His light brown hair is buzzed short, drawing all the attention to his bright green eyes. His looks alone are enough to leave a trail of broken hearts in his wake. But it’s his composure, a slight expression he wears, that makes him dangerous, like his eyes hide a dirty secret he masks with a friendly smile.

“If I flip a coin, what are the chances I’ll get head?”

Eve turns to Blake, her jaw wide open, and closes her magazine with a smack.

“Eww, Blake. That’s gross,” I say through a fit of giggles. “Please tell me that doesn’t actually work on girls.”

“You see how many dates I have at this barbeque. What do you think?” He turns his attention to Eve. “How about you, Barbie? You up for a game of naked leap frog?”

“Ugh! I’m going to get a drink. Rave, you want anything?”

“No thanks.”

Eve gets up, and Blake is not shy about watching her butt until she disappears behind the bar.

“Is it something I said?” His crooked smile tells me he likes making girls uncomfortable.

The fact that he can talk to women like that and still get dates is a testament to how incredibly attractive he is.

I catch Jonah at the bar from the corner of my eye. He’s watching Blake and me, the weight of his stare makes me shift in my seat. I don’t want a repeat of what happened earlier.

“Shouldn’t you be getting back to your dates? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

Blake looks to the girls, but quickly dismisses my concerns with a wave of his hand. “Nah, they’re cool. And if they’re not, fuck ’em.” Blake rubs his hand back and forth a few times on his buzzed head. Turning his head slightly, he fixes his cocky half smile on me. “You into my boy?” he asks cryptically.

I prop myself up on my elbows. “Huh?”

Leaning forward, he looks me in the eyes. “Jonah tried to take my head off back there. You want to know how often I’ve seen him do that when I put the moves on a girl, even a girl he’s going home with?”

“How many?”

He makes a circle with his finger and thumb. “Zilch. Never.”

I stare at Blake, trying to figure out exactly what he’s telling me and hoping like heck I don’t misunderstand.

“We’re just friends.” Thankfully, I’m wearing sunglasses so he can’t see my eyes betraying my words.

“Just friends, huh?” He rubs his chin then shrugs. “Perfect. I’ll see if a couple of my dates want to hang with Jonah tonight after the barbeque.” He braces his hands on his knees to stand.

No. “Wait.” Reflexes have me grabbing his arm. My heartbeat throbs with panic.

He looks at me. “You got something you wanna say, baby girl?”

I like Jonah.

The words are there, but I can’t bring myself to say them. What if he doesn’t feel the same way? I won’t be able to work with him after suffering that kind of embarrassment. Putting myself out there like . . . No, I need to keep my feelings private. His friendship means too much