Page 16 of The Flight Risk

“C’mon, c’mon, please stop beeping!” I say in desperation to the smoke alarm, even though I know it won’t respond to me. I wave vigorously, not making any headway in clearing the smoke. Plus it smells like burnt pizza. “Fuck.”

That’s the exact moment I hear the door slam.

“Tess? What happened?”

Crap. “Oh you know, trying to be domestic. I knew it would backfire.”

His eyes zero in on the completely charred remains of the pizza I ripped from the oven mere minutes ago. RIP to the delicious Trader Joe’s margherita pizza. He says nothing and continues to walk toward the crime scene. Suddenly, I feel warm, rough hands grab my waist and hold tightly. My stomach flips. “What are you doing?” I ask in a shaky voice. This is the first time he’s ever touched me, and based on how my stomach is doing backflips, I definitely do not hate it. His warm fingers feel so nice against my bare skin.

“Helping you off the counter. I don’t want you to fall, Tess.” He lifts me with such ease that I’m convinced he is superhuman. Granted, he’s a whole foot taller than me and is ridiculously jacked. He slowly lowers me to the floor and my hands rest on his broad shoulders. I have not felt this much spark with a guy ever. And his hands are literally just on my waist. I can’t imagine how I would feel if his hands were anywhere else on my body.

It’s silly how weak my knees are. We lock eyes for a split second and the green eyes staring back at me are almost twinkling through the haze around us. The beeping creeps through our bubble and Oakley breaks eye contact, looking up at the smoke detector. He clears his throat. “Um, let me just…” He grabs the towel and waves it a few more times. The beeping finally ceases and I can finally think straight. Well, almost. It’s kind of hard to think straight when the hottest guy I’ve ever known is standing a foot away from me.

“There, all fixed.” He tosses the kitchen towel on the counter and runs his hand through his perfectly wavy hair. I have the urge to do the very same thing.

I resist.

I press my palm to my forehead. “I am so sorry, Oakley. I lost track of time in the shower and I honestly thought I set a timer and the next thing I know, the detector is beeping and I’m running down here like a mad woman trying to stop it.” I cross my arms and my cheeks flush because I am very aware that I’m not wearing anything under this oversized sweatshirt. “I bet you are glad I came to live with you now, right?” I nervously laugh, awaiting him to say that he regrets his decision.

“I am glad, actually.”

I press my tongue against the side of my cheek and nod nonchalantly, trying to ignore the chills running along every inch of my body. I tuck my unruly dark curls behind my ears and move past him to the pizza carcass. “I promise once it cools, I’ll toss it in the trash and then take out the trash for you. Is your oven okay?”

Oakley chuckles, “I’m pretty sure my oven has gone through worse things than a bout of burnt pizza. You will not be taking out the trash. I’ll take it out later.”

He pulls out his phone from his pocket and starts typing. Half-joking, I ask, “Are you texting the team’s group chat and telling them I almost burned your house down?”

He smirks and shakes his head. “I wouldn’t do that. And you were far from almost burning my house down. No, I’m Door Dashing some pizza if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure. How much do I owe you? I can send you some money.”

“Tess.” He glances at me mid-type.

“Oakley.” I reach over the counter, again exposing my midriff. The cool counter is in direct contrast to Oakley’s hot skin. I unlock my phone and click the payment app. “What’s your username?”

“You don’t need to send me money.”

“I really do. You are letting me and Lottie stay here for free until they figure out the flooding issue.” I approach him with my own phone in hand. I tap it lightly against his chest. “I’m buying the pizza.”

He exhales sharply. “Fine. It’s @oaktree01.”

I raise my eyebrows and stop myself from laughing out loud. “Leaning into that nickname, huh?” I hit send.

“Ordered. Sometimes you have to lean in.” He throws the pizza in the trash and lifts the bag out from the trash bin. “Food should be here in half an hour or so. Once I eat, I’ll get out of your hair. Maybe I’ll text Jageilski and see what he’s up to tonight.”

“No!” I say a little too quickly. Oakley stops in his tracks and looks surprised. Way to play it cool, Tess. “I mean… I’m going to throw on one of my favorite rom-coms and pour a glass of wine.” Or two based on how this night is going right about now. “Lottie is at a study session with her friend, Sophie, so I can’t torture her with sappy love stories at the moment.” I shrug. “You may not be into rom-coms. Never mind. You would rather hang out with your guy friends. I get it.”

“I’ll stay,” he says quickly.

“Cool.”

“Cool,” he repeats. “I might change into some sweats, too.” He scans my body. “Looks like you’re already in your comfies.”

I prop my right foot on my left ankle. I have never felt so sure, yet so exposed at the same time. I’m safe in this brand-new territory and apparently my body doesn’t know how to react to it. Pippa is jumping wildly, further compromising my balance. I fear this is now going to be my permanent state around Oakley.

Completely off-balance.

I put on 13 Going on 30, my favorite; a close second is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Oakley and I have scarfed down two slices of the most delicious pizza I’ve ever had. It kicks my cute little Trader Joe’s pizza’s ass. Since the movie started, I keep glancing over at Oakley to see if he is showing any signs of boredom. I’m awaiting an eye roll or snort to any cheesy part of the movie. And so far, nothing. He has actually genuinely laughed a handful of times.