I jump back when a flight attendant interrupts us, offering champagne. Gaige charms the pants off her, and has her giggling and leaving us the bottle in less than ten seconds. With her phone number beside it.
He pours a glass and hands it to me. "What?" he asks, when he sees my face.
I shake my head. "That's what I'm talking about."
"You're jealous of the flight attendant?"
"No, don't be ridiculous. I mean, okay, you were totally flirting with her and everything. But I know that's just how you are. And she did leave you her number."
"Which I promptly tossed in the trash. Oh, you are jealous," he says, his voice sing-songy. "I love that you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous. I'm saying that people remember you. Even if they don't know who you are, they remember you. I mean, look at you," I say, gesturing down the length of him. I had a point with this. What was my point? Okay, maybe seeing Gaige charm the pants off the flight attendant threw me off a little bit. "You're hot. You're hot…and, basically, you're fucking ripped….and tattooed….and even if you weren't all of that, your eyes, I mean, they're just so…"
"No, no," he says. "Don't stop. Keep going. What else do you love about me?"
"What?" My voice comes out like a squeak. "Who said anything about love?"
Gaige shrugs. "You're the one going on and on about how sexy I am, and how you can't stand that anyone else is even looking at me –"
"That was not the point I was making," I say. "I'm just saying that you're memorable. And people do not need to remember me with you."
Gaige studies me, and the intensity of his gaze makes me blush. Damn it, he's always making me blush. "So you're just looking out for me."
"Exactly!" I say. "I'm looking out for your best interests. It's my new job."
Gaige leans closer to me, reaches over to my seat, and runs his hand up my leg. "I'm glad we're a team."
"Is that some kind of innuendo?"
He makes an exasperated sound. "I'm glad your dad assigned you to me. Not everything that comes out of my mouth is an innuendo, Delaney."
"You were just talking about joining the mile high club and you have your hand on my leg. Plus, pretty much everything you say to me is innuendo."
"That's not true," he says, and his forehead wrinkles. For a second, I think he looks almost…hurt.
"I didn't mean it as an insult," I say, my voice halting.
"Do you think he did it on purpose?" Gaige asks.
"Did what? Who?"
"Do you think your dad knows?"
My heart stops. "No, of course not," I say quickly. "Wait, do you think he knows?"
Gaige shrugs. "I don't know," he says. "I was just wondering if he was…trying to get us together or something."
I almost spit out my champagne. "No," I say. "Definitely not. Are you kidding?"
"Is it so bad?"
"What, you and me?" My voice is too loud, and I drop it to just above a whisper. "Are you asking about if you and I got together?"
"No," Gaige says, and averts his eyes. "Forget I said anything." He lies back in his seat and closes his eyes.
Shit. I feel like someone punched me in the gut. But Gaige asking what my father would think if we got together is insane on so many levels. "I thought you were joking," I say lamely.
Gaige's eyes remain closed. He was joking, wasn't he? I nudge his arm, but he doesn't open his eyes. "Stop ignoring me. Are you screwing around with me? You're asking what my father would think about the two of us? He would absolutely kill you. And me. Maybe me first. He'd definitely fire me. And you. And probably disown me. You're my…" I lower my voice to a whisper. "Brother."
He opens his eyes and looks at me. "Step-brother," he says. "And yeah, whatever, I was totally just kidding. Hooking up is one thing, but what am I going to do, date you?" His voice is nonchalant, but there's an edge to it that wasn't there before.
Crap. Now I really feel like someone punched me in the gut.
Gaige sinks back against his seat and I sit back in mine, the silence between us deafening, acting as if nothing happened.
Except it feels like everything just happened.
Sometimes the most important conversations start like the most innocuous ones in the world, no big deal, and then they just spiral out of control of their own accord. I want to rewind the last twenty minutes and do it all over again. But this time, I'd actually say the right words.
Except I'm not sure what I would say. Was Gaige hinting that he wanted to date me? I don't even know how that would work, even if we weren't step-siblings. I already know Gaige. We have history. Would we sit at dinner and go to movies and pretend to get to know each other?