Rare Blend (Red Mountain #1)

38. Marisa

CHAPTER 38

Marisa

BUCKET OF COLD WATER

I think I’m going to puke. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous. Which is ridiculous, because it’s Ethan.

The mascara wand shakes in my hand as I try to do a final coat. It’s been three days since I agreed to go on a date with Ethan, and if I’m being honest, he’s consumed ninety-nine percent of my thoughts. I remember being at Thanksgiving and meeting Jenn’s family, but it feels like I wasn’t really there. I was going through the motions. I’ve found myself drifting off into a dreamlike state, my thoughts wandering back to the wine cellar, kissing him, doing a lot more than kissing him. We went from zero to a hundred very quickly, but it also didn’t feel fast because we’ve actually gotten to know each other.

A knock at the front door sounds and, by the grace of the universe, I don’t stab myself in the eye.

“Coming!” I shout, my voice already vibrating with the anticipation of seeing him.

I open the door, and he walks in casually, like he’s done countless times before. However, this time he is wearing the cheesiest smile, and I find myself mirroring it. I’ve never felt so giddy.

For a beat, we’re standing, smiling at each other, the excitement unmistakable. Would it be silly to kiss him before the date even begins? Because I’m struggling to keep my thoughts on anything else.

Ethan laughs to himself, shaking his head. And then when our eyes meet, butterflies erupt in my stomach.

“Fuck it,” Ethan says, backing me up against the wall. He wastes zero time, lifting me off the ground and capturing my mouth with his. I melt into him as his tongue works over mine. It’s a dance of stroking and sucking and pulling and it feels practiced even though we’ve just begun. It’s like we’ve been kissing each other for ages with the way he knows just how to curl his tongue to mine. My eyes are closed, but they still roll back in my head. He breaks the kiss and slides me down his body, back to solid ground.

Panting, he says, “I have no idea what happened. I got one look at you and had to kiss you.”

Well, if I wasn’t already dissolving into a puddle, I am now. My stomach flips and dips, and I feel like I’m going to soar out of my body. How am I going to survive dinner? We’re a minute into this date, and I’m ready to rip off this dress and get naked with him. My hormones could use a bucket of cold water right about now.

“So, where are we going?” I try to change the subject, piercing through the fog of lust drifting around us.

“It’s a surprise.” He smiles boyishly, looking almost shy.

I’m not sure why I assumed we were going to dinner. Maybe because dinner is the standard first date, at least the standard first date I’m used to. His only instructions to me earlier today when I tried to pry information out of him about where we were going were to dress like we’re going to a cocktail party and to pack an overnight bag. He made sure to clarify several times there wasn’t going to be any pressure tonight, but that we would be leaving town.

“Calm down,” he says, picking up on my panic. “You’ll like it. Trust me.”

I’m halfway shocked Ethan didn’t blindfold me the moment we got inside his truck. He’s being that secretive. As someone who equally hates and loves surprises, this is excruciating. I will commit sacrilegious acts to scratch the itch of instant gratification, such as reading the last page in a romance novel, even though I know the couple will end up together in the end. I have to spoil it for myself. Once, when we were in college, Hillary threw me a surprise party for my twenty-first birthday. I loved it, but I was also irritated I wasn’t part of the planning process. Basically, there is no pleasing me, so whatever Ethan has up his sleeve has me both intrigued and frustrated.

“You’re losing it, aren’t you?” His lips twitch, the corners curling upward, betraying his attempt to suppress a smirk. He’s clearly enjoying this a bit too much. I’ve already made up my mind to plan our next date.

Red Mountain disappears behind us as Ethan gets on the highway toward Badger Canyon.

“We’re going to Badger Canyon?”

He nods. “It’s our first stop.”

First stop? How many stops are we doing?

The drive is silent, with the radio playing low in the background. My mind races, overthinking, worried that maybe agreeing to this date was a bad idea. My plans haven’t changed; come January, I’ll still be leaving. It’s going to be so much harder with this added complication.

Rather than drive through town, Ethan turns on a random road I don’t recognize, and I couldn’t be more confused. I assumed we were going to Badger Canyon because of their nicer restaurants, but we’re nowhere near a restaurant—or town, for that matter.

When he turns again, my stomach drops as I read the Badger Canyon Airport sign.

My head whips to him. “Please tell me we’re not jumping out of a plane.”

He laughs, parking and turning off the truck. “Why would I tell you to wear a dress and then make you jump out of a plane?”

Opening the door for me, he grabs my hand to help me down.

“If this is our first stop? How many places are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He snakes his arm around my lower back. The heat of his large palm settling on my hip sends a thrill up my spine.

Obviously, we’re doing something with planes, why else would we be here? I’m still convinced I’m going to be forced into jumping out of a plane.

I let him take the lead, and he guides us toward an open field, which I realize is more of a rustic landing strip.

“So, we’re not jumping out of a plane and there isn’t a plane nearby? I have to tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused on a date than I am right now.”

He laughs, pulling me closer to him, and places a light kiss on my forehead. The gesture makes me feel all warm and gooey inside.

A low whirr sounds in the distance, and it keeps getting closer and closer. Meanwhile, Ethan has his focus aimed at the sky, like he’s looking for something.

After a while, the source of the whirring appears in the form of a helicopter.

What. The. Hell.

My head snaps to look at Ethan, where I find him holding back a smile.

“A helicopter!” I yell. “Are you kidding me?”

Now he’s smiling so widely, it’s nearly splitting his face.

Oh, he’s good. I don’t stand a chance at fighting this. Not that I ever intended to, but this is straight out of a reality dating show. This isn’t real life. Everyday people don’t fly in helicopters for a first date.

“You’re kidding,” I repeat. I keep waiting for the punchline to hit.

He shoves his hands in his pockets and shrugs like it’s nothing. “I’m quite serious.”

“How much did this cost?”

“Nothing.”

“So, you just happen to have access to a helicopter?”

“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to…” he says mischievously.

I give him a pointed stare. I’m not letting this go.

“Fine,” he says, giving up. “I may have given one of our bigger clients, who’s also a friend, a few pallets of wine in exchange for his helicopter.”

A laugh bursts out of me. This is so ridiculous; it can’t be real. There’s no way.

I’m truly shocked. Not in my wildest dreams was I imagining something this extravagant.

“You mean to tell me you’ve had access to a helicopter this whole time and I’m just now finding out about it?”

“I almost asked for it when you needed to get to Seattle, but decided I’d rather be trapped in a car with you for hours instead.”

“We were barely starting to get along. Even though things changed when we got home.”

A knowing look passes between us, both of us recalling our life-altering kiss.

“Marisa. I liked you. Why else would I have agreed to drive you? Why do you think I was always acting like a crazy person around you? I had all these feelings for you, and I had no idea how to handle it.” He says it like it was painfully obvious. Maybe it was to everyone else, but certainly not to me.

“You liked me even before then?”

“I’ve liked you since the beginning. I didn’t want to admit it to myself yet, but I definitely did.”

“And now?” My gaze turns downward; I’m suddenly feeling shy.

He lifts my chin, forcing our eyes to lock. “And now, I really fucking like you.”

The giddiness rising in my chest is effervescent. This must be what floating feels like.

“I think I liked you then too,” I admit, biting back my smile.

The helicopter lands in the center of the field, and Ethan holds me close to protect me from the air whipping around us from the propellers. Thank goodness I thought to throw on my peacoat before we left, or I’d be flashing the pilot. It takes a few minutes, but the helicopter powers off and the propellers come to a stop.

“Come on.” Ethan grabs my hand. “We have somewhere to be.”