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

is fierce and I freakin’ love it. My entire body floods with the warm gushy feeling that makes my toes curl and my belly flip.

As a child, no one ever cared what I did. Never cared where I went, who I was with. I never had a curfew, never had the sex talk, the don’t-do-drugs talk. I was treated like an adult on my own ever since I could remember.

“Baby, you still there?”

“Yeah, Jonah, I’m here.” The low hum in my voice reminds me of Dog’s purr.

“Damn.” His rough and sexy tone vibrates the phone at my ear. “I’ve been thinking about last night all day. Now I get you on the phone and you say my name like that. I have a mind to drag you to my house and hold you hostage. You and Eve will have to reschedule.”

“Jonah.” My voice is thick with arousal.

He groans then clears his throat. “Get dolled up, go out with your girl, and have a good time. Call me when you’re done and I’ll pick you girls up, drop Eve off at her house, and you come home with me. You’re in my bed tonight. Deal?”

Um, gee, let me think.

“Deal.”

“Oh, and there’s something you should know. Your name came up during interviews today.”

My body shoots ramrod straight, and I grasp my towel at my chest. Now my belly flips in an altogether different way. “What! Why?”

“Big fight, lots of publicity. People talk, you know how it is. It’ll die down after the fight, but don’t be surprised if you get approached by paparazzi. Just ignore them, don’t answer any questions, and if you’re alone or scared, you call me.”

Well, crud. This night just went from bad to worse.

***

We pull up to the front of Club Six and climb out of our taxi. The front walk is lined with people awaiting entrance. Pounding music charges the air as we step up to the VIP line.

Waiting our turn, I fidget with nervous energy and catch my reflection in the window. My strapless, black mini dress hugs every contour of my body. The strappy heels cage my feet up past my ankle, making my legs look impossibly longer. I can’t see my face, but it’s framed by long silken strands of dark hair, flat ironed to perfection. Eve did my make-up heavier that I usually wear, the smoky dark shadow bringing out the strange color of my eyes.

I’m Ravenstein, put together and brought to life for a night of shenanigans.

“Stop freaking out. You look gorgeous,” Eve says close to my ear.

“Ladies. You on the list?” says a large man with a clipboard.

Eve exchanges words and a handshake with the purpose of palming him a fifty dollar bill. The man smiles and looks us both up and down before stepping aside. We’re in.

The strobe lights and black lights make it hard to see, and the booming bass makes it impossible to talk. Guiding me through the crowd, Eve leads me to an outside patio bar. The music is muted out here so we don’t have to yell. We belly-up and order two Cosmopolitans.

“So, how are you and Jonah?” Eve wags her eyebrows.

“Better now.” I can’t control the heat that rises to my cheeks.

Eve narrows her eyes and swivels toward me on her barstool. “Oh my gosh. You did it.” A slow smile creeps to her face, and she starts clapping and bouncing on her seat. “You fucking did it . . . like literally!”

I cover my face with my hands and nod my head. This information will surely find Dominick’s ears in the next day. So much for your plan to make money off my virginity, eh?

“Eeeeee!” Eve jumps from her stool and wraps her arms around my neck. “My girl lost her virginity, everyone!”

Mortification overtakes me as my eyes dart around the bar. Other than a few smiles, almost everyone ignores us.

“Eve, please! Be quiet!” I hiss.

She sits back in her seat and takes a huge swig of her drink. I follow suit.

“Rave, you gotta give me details, girl. Did it hurt? Was he good? Is he . . . big?” With eyes as wide as gas caps, she waits for my answer.

“He’s amazing in every possible way.”

She stomps her foot and slaps her knee. “I knew it! I knew he was big.”

I roll my eyes and suck down the rest of my drink. Apparently embarrassment makes me thirsty. I order another.

Details of my night with Jonah begin to flow out at the same pace the liquor flows in. I imagine steam shooting from Dominick’s nose like an angry bull when Vince relays the information. Satisfied with what I’ve given, I decide it’s time to broach the subject.

“What about Vince? What does he do?”

“He’s a consultant. I don’t know what he consults on. Like I said, he’s a private guy.”

More like private eye, I joke to myself and fight the urge to laugh.

“Does that bother you? That he’s a private eye . . . um, guy?”

Whoops, almost turned my private joke public. My tongue feels bigger in my mouth as my words start to slur. I wave my hand to the bartender and motion for another round.

“Yes. It does.” Her face falls and she dabs the corner of her eye with her cocktail napkin. Here we go again. Apparently, I’m not the only one feeling the effects of our drinks.

I spin my barstool so I’m facing her. “Eve, aren’t you sick of crying over this guy? The only time you don’t cry about him is when he’s got his tongue in your ear.”

Perfect transition into bad news. I mentally pat myself on the back.

Her arms fly out to her sides. “Ugh! It’s just I feel so close to him, you know?”

Okay, this is good. Let her vent and then I’ll go in for the kill. I nod while gulping the last of my drink.

“I get the feeling that I’m more into him than he is to me. He never talks about himself. I know nothing