I've Changed

46. mile high club

"Hurry up," I say as I walk through the silent halls of the sports department, my gaze wandering to the empty rooms, as it is 4 a.m. before our flight to Vancouver.

Cassidy says behind me, making me turn on my heel, "You don't have to be so rude all the time." I look at her blankly as she straightens her back to match my height, despite the fact that she is an inch shorter. Her eyes bore into mine, and she rolled her eyes to the side, as though she was trying to conceal her apprehension.

"I'm being professional," I say as I adjust my shoulder bag, which is stuffed with my notebooks and laptop. "I'm just being civil with you because I have a job to do. So, instead of behaving like my friend, I recommend that you do your job for a change "I turn around and throw the doors open to the back parking lot, where we will be picked up by a bus and taken to the airport. As Cassidy and I get closer to the team entering the bus with a grumpy Coach Hale howling in their ears to hurry up, the piercing wind blasts by my face.

"There you girls are," Coach half-smiles as we approach him, his dark under eyes revealing his exhaustion. Before ushering us inside, where the bus driver welcomes us, I hand him the emergency bag he asked Cassidy and me to retrieve. I offer a friendly nod to the driver before my gaze is drawn to the team snoozing against the seats. My brows furrow as my gaze is drawn to the center of the bus, where Jae extends a hand with a tired grin. As I approach him, I smile and shake my head, slipping my hand into his and allowing him to kiss it and pull me to the seat next to him.

"Good morning, beautiful," Jae murmurs as he kisses my temple and clasps our hands together. When my head falls on his shoulder, he kisses my pulse and notices Cassidy taking the seat in front of me where Aaron is sitting. "Are you all right?"

"Define "okay," I scoff, glancing at Cassidy's back seat, irritated that I'm feeling so frustrated so early in the morning. I hear Jae's low chuckle from beside me, and my eyes follow him out the window, watching as we drive off into the dark blue sky.

"Did she annoy you?" he asks cautiously, and I laugh as his arm pulls me closer to his side, allowing me to feel the warmth radiating from his body. When I sense relief rising off of my shoulders from his touch, he massages the stress out of them.

"When does she not?" I say as Cassidy peers out from behind her seat and glares at me, and I roll my eyes. Aaron holds her down as she mumbles incoherent comments that I know are aimed at me when I lift my brow.

"I'm sorry," he says softly in my ear, and I turn to face him, finding a frown on his face as he looks guiltily into my eyes. "She should be upset with me, not with you. I'll fix it with coach because I promised not to bring her near you, but she's like-" By putting a delicate kiss on his mouth, I interrupt him from thinking about his thoughts.As his hand crawls up to my cheek, he smiles, deepening the kiss and wanting to get closer to me.

"Eeyore," Theo says softly, and I pull away from our kiss. As Jae groans at Theo's voice calling for me, I quietly chuckle, conscious of the few team members sleeping. I crane my neck up to the bus's roof, Theo's head staring down at me with a grin that's a little too big for this morning. "Did you bring your scones?"

"Of course, Theo," I say as I reach into my bag and pull out the fresh scones I made for him first thing in the morning and prepare extras for the team, knowing they'll devour them up in no time.

"Thank you, Eeyore," he says as he quickly grabs the container and reclines in his chair, the smell of my baking fills the air and making all the guys look at Theo as if he were their prey. Theo clutches the scones to his chest, pouting and sticking out his tongue at any of his teammates who come near.

"Ellie..." they all say, and I stare at their hungry eyes before tossing my bag containing all of my baked treats for them into the centre. As I watch a swarm of the team assault one another for them, they sprint to the lunch bag that's holding the goodies warm.