4. Taylor

"Butterflies are real; the sensation is caused by adrenaline." ~ Tim Rhodes

Every cellin my body was singing with awareness as I walked on weakened knees down the narrow aisle to the back of the shuttle and lowered myself onto a seat closest to the window. As I took a calm, cleansing breath, I placed my hand over my stomach, sure I'd be able to feel the butterflies that were throwing a rave in there.

He touched me. Again. Twice. Both lasted for only a split second. The first time was when we were navigating through the crowds in the airport, and he'd rested his hand on my lower back. The heat from his palm and fingers permeated the thin cotton of my shirt, and I felt his touch everywhere. The real mind-fuck was when he lowered his arm. I was disappointed.

The second time was when I climbed on the shuttle, and he offered me his hand. I placed my fingers on his palm, and it was Katy Perry's "Firework"-level sparks. Speaking of Katy Perry, she might have kissed a girl and liked it, but I touched a boy and loved it.

I watched as Kyle stowed his bag and my suitcase beneath the bench and lowered down beside me. I couldn't help but notice the tattoos peeking out from his long-sleeved thermal. I'd always been a sucker for tattoos. This man was ticking all my boxes, and I didn't even know his name.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did."

I could see in his eyes that he actually did. It was the same look I'd seen when Ruth tried to insist that he didn't need to walk her out to meet her granddaughter. I definitely heard a hint of a southern accent and wondered if being a gentleman was just how he was raised. Not to perpetuate the stereotype that men from the south were all gentlemen; I knew that wasn't the case.

But in my experience, it rang true. Kane was from a small town in Texas, and he was the epitome of a Southern gentleman. Actually, Kyle reminded me a little bit of my baby daddy. They had the same alpha energy, minus any toxic masculinity. It was rare to find.

Maybe that's why I was so comfortable around him. He made me feel as comfortable as Kane did, but I was also extremely attracted to him.

The shuttle jerked as it pulled away from the sidewalk, and the motion caused Kyle's leg to brush up against mine. Instead of adjusting our positions, we both stayed where we were, which meant our legs were touching.

Personal space was something I not only valued deeply, I insisted upon it. But with this man, I found that all those boundaries did not apply.

My phone vibrated in my purse, and I jumped.

Kyle placed his hand on my knee. "You okay?"

The heat from his palm seeped through me, and a tingling sensation swirled in my lower belly.

"Mm, hmm. Yep. Fine."

He grinned before removing his hand. Once again, I immediately felt the absence of his touch and missed it.

I pulled my phone out and saw it was another message from my cousin. She'd messaged me while we were in line for the shuttle for an update about my flight, and I'd told her it was canceled and I was heading to a hotel.

Kenna: Just a heads-up. You might want to take advantage of your last night of freedom before everything in your life is under a microscope.

Me: Got it.

Before I put my phone away, I saw that there were little bubbles, indicating she was writing her response. I waited for it to appear.

Kenna: I'm serious. You are stranded in an airport hotel. Find a hottie bo bottie, put on some '90s RB, and get freaky. Have a one-night stand so I can live vicariously through you.

She followed that request with about twelve prayer hand emojis. I didn't need to find a hottie bo bottie; there was one sitting beside me.

The only one-night stand I'd had was with Kane. And I wasn't even sure if that counted since we'd been friends for so long. We both immediately knew we'd made a mistake. I wasn't sure of his reasoning, but I knew that our friendship was too important to me, and I didn't want to spoil it by trying to be together. Not to mention that, as attractive as Kane is, when I looked at him, I had no desire to rip his clothes off.

I didn't feel the same way about the man who was seated next to me. I had all sorts of desires when it came to him and most of them required him to be clothes-free.

"Everything okay?" Kyle asked.

The deep timber in his voice sent a thrill racing down my spine.

"Yeah, it's just my cousin. I think she's been watching too much porn." I said as I put my phone back in my purse.

His brows lifted slightly. "Why do you think that?"

"She heard stranded at the airport hotel for the night and immediately thought one-night stand."

I wasn't sure why I was admitting this to him. No, that wasn't true. I knew exactly why I was admitting this to him. It was basically to float the idea past him, or at least see what his reaction was to the prospect.

"I've never had a one-night stand," he stated matter-of-factly.

Okay, that was not what I'd expected him to say.

"Really?" A man who looked like him would have plenty of opportunities. "Is it a religion thing?"

"No." He shook his head and then sighed. "I've never even really dated, not casually, anyway. Not since high school. As an adult, all my girlfriends have been long-term, and there haven't been any significant breaks between them. I've always been in a relationship."

"Until now," I reminded him. I didn't mean it to be cruel, but as soon as I said it, I realized that's how he could take it. I cut my stare toward him to gauge his response.

"Until now," he repeated, his voice low and gravelly, as his eyes darkened with intensity.

Ding. Ding. Ding. That was the reaction I'd been hoping for.

The air around us felt dense, and I found it difficult to breathe. Intellectually, I knew that someone could not take another person's breath away just from being near them. But it seemed my body was not respecting the laws of physics. It was taking its cues from some otherworldly force that being near Kyle tapped me into.

My body jerked forward as the shuttle came to a stop.

Kyle quickly gathered our luggage, and we made our way off the shuttle as other passengers dealt with strollers, babies, and children. When we got in line, there were only four people in front of us.

"I'm so tired," a kid behind us complained loudly.

I turned and saw a man and woman who were both rocking dark circles beneath their eyes—a baby in a stroller, twin toddler girls, and a seven- or eight-year-old boy. Traveling with one child was hard enough; I couldn't imagine traveling with four.

"You can go ahead of me." Kyle moved to the side and held out his hand to the family of six.

"Are you sure?" the dad asked.

"Absolutely."

I also stepped to the side to let them pass.

"You didn't have to do that." Kyle leaned down and whispered next to my ear. "I wasn't speaking for both of us."

"Yes." I smiled up at him. "You were."

When I said that, another phenomenon occurred that could not be explained by conventional science. It was a bond. A connection. A synergy that emerged between two people. I wasn't sure how I would ever put what we shared into words; other than whatever the night held, we were a team now. We were in it together.

Kyle's generosity did not end with the party of six. His charitable ways continued as more people lined up behind us. Within the span of five minutes or so, he'd let a mother and daughter who mentioned that they'd been up for over twenty-four hours, an elderly couple, a pair of newlyweds, and a solo mom with two kids pass in front of us.

Finally, after the entire shuttle was offered a cut in line, we settled in our place at the back.

I looked up at him and grinned. "You're like the anti-Gandalf."

His eyes flickered down at me, and he didn't say anything for a beat before his head fell back as he chuckled.

When I heard his laugh, my ovaries exploded as Salt-N-Pepa's '90s classic "Whatta Man" played in my head. Specifically, the line where Salt declares her desire to have the man's baby.

It was then and there that I knew I was in serious trouble. He looked like Kyle Chandler, whom I'd had a crush on since I was six. He had tattoos. He spoke highly of his ex immediately after finding out she was pregnant with another man's baby. He was the rare combination of a total alpha and a total gentleman. When he touched me, I not only enjoyed it, but I never wanted him to stop. And, the cherry on top of the I'm-in-serious-trouble sundae, he got my thou-shall-not-pass Lord of the Rings joke without me having to explain the reference.

I spent the next ten minutes in line silently freaking out about my situation and wishing my cousin was here so she could tell me what to do. Not that I didn't already know what she would say. Her text message was very clear about her opinion on how I should spend my final night of freedom.

Once the solo mom and her two little ones were given their keys, I stepped up to the counter and slid my voucher to the clerk, whose name badge read Arlene.

Arlene pointed her long acrylic French manicure finger and waved it in Kyle"s and my direction. "Are you two together?"

I wish.

"No," we both chorused at the same time Kyle's phone rang.

He pulled it out, and when he looked down at it, he stepped away from the counter. I could hear him talking from the other side of the lobby, but I couldn't make out anything he was saying as Arlene's nails clicked on the computer as she checked me in.

"Okay, you're all set, lucky lady. Here you go." She smiled as she slid the room key card, which was in an envelope, across the counter to me.

"Lucky lady?" I questioned, as I heard Kyle finish his call.

She nodded and pointed to the envelope. "That was our last room."

"Your last room?" I repeated, as Kyle rejoined us.

She nodded and looked up at Kyle. "I can call around and see if there are any vacancies for you, but with the storm, everyone is pretty full."

"No worries." He shook his head.

"You're more than welcome to hang out in the lobby." She waved her hand like Vanna White, toward three very uncomfortable-looking lounge chairs.

"Thanks," he replied.

The front desk phone rang, and Arlene walked to the end of the desk to answer it.

I turned and reached for the handle of my suitcase. "You can stay with me."

The words I spoke seemed to surprise Kyle as much as they did me. I hadn't planned on offering my room to a stranger, but Kyle did not feel like a stranger. His eyes met mine, and my heart was pounding so hard that I was sure it was going to explode in my chest.

"No, you don't have to…I'll be fine?—"

"It's just a room. We're adults."

"No, I can't impose on you. You don't even know me."

"I know that you just found out your fiancée has been cheating on you and is pregnant with another man's baby, and you haven't said a single negative word about her. I know that the only reason you don't have a room is because you let so many other people go in front of you. I know that you would not have let Ruth walk through a crowded airport to meet her granddaughter because she wasn't steady on her feet. I know that if the roles were reversed and I was the one who didn't have a room, you'd insist on me taking it, even if that meant you slept out in the rain."

He took a deep breath and exhaled. I could see that he was still uncertain if this was the right thing to do.

"I hate staying in hotel rooms alone." That wasn't a lie. It was a confession that, as a grown adult woman, I'd never made to anyone. "I'd feel a lot safer if you were there than I would if I were by myself." I held the key card envelope out to him. "Please."

He stared at it for a second before taking it and then grabbing the handle of my suitcase.

I wasn't sure what series of events I'd just put into motion, but I was very excited to find out.