Too Close

Chapter Forty Two

"Something is telling me that this is not a coincidence," Gianna said as she went to the upgraded seat that a flight attendant gave her. Miles smiled seeing her, figuring it was about time she made her way up there.

"I was presented with an opportunity I couldn't pass up." Their knees briefly touched as she scooted to her assigned seat which was between Miles and Chase. She tapped Chase's shoulder since he wouldn't be able to hear her hello over the music playing from his headphones.

Like his father, his face lit up seeing her and reached to give her a little side hug.

"Are you gonna show me around Atlanta?" Miles asked as she settled into her seat, pulling her iPad out of her tote.

"You've never been?" She furrowed her eyebrows, finding that hard to believe.

"I've been, but I'm asking you. I have to do some press for the movie tomorrow but after that, I want to be all yours."

She irresistibly smiled as she spoke, "I've only lived there for a year and some change but I'll try to think of some places."

Looking at the time, she saw that it was a little bit past three am, and knew by the time they'd make it to Atlanta it would be around five in the morning. She laid her head on his shoulder as she scrolled through an ebook, a draft of one of her works in progress.

"What is that?" Miles asked, nosily watching her highlight phrases and make notes to herself. She told him it was one of her drafts, prompting him to ask, "What is it about?"

"Basically, the main character he's-"

"A male main character?" He asked, surprised by her choice.

"I know, right? It's foreign to me, trying to write from the male gaze, but Kenai is different." She switched apps to go to her outline and explain it more thoroughly. "He's seventeen and a hood pharmacist , if you know what I mean." Gianna alluded, making him chuckle. "It's what he's being forced to do. He was the payment that his mom, an addict, used for her debts."

"So he's got a pimp?"

Gianna laughed, "No crazy. He's like Cinderella for this character who has no name yet, but instead of cleaning, he's like a live-in D-boy." She continued to scroll down her precisely organized document to hit all plot points. "Kenai's dad and sister also died from gun violence not too far apart, and that's what sent his mom in a spiral and left him alone and surrounded by shitty people who he hates and who don't care about him."

"How'd you come up with this?" Miles asked, tilting his head as he observed her facial features.

"I kind of had the same train of thought with this as I had with Abioye. Why? You don't think it's good?" Her eyes fell a bit with disappointment.

"Nah, of course not. I didn't mean it like that at all. I think it's amazing that you're showing how much of a versatile writer you can be, and it's different in terms of media, a guy being so vulnerable. It just made me worry what was going through your head for a minute."

"Aww, no, I'm good. Just trying to expand my creative horizons like this guy taught me." She briefly looked up at him before focusing back on her screen so he wouldn't see her smiling. "It doesn't stray far from my brand because Kenai still texts his sister's number as a way to vent, but then, the number is given to the new girl in town."

"Ah, I see what you did there." Miles nodded with a smirk, understanding her plot fully, and she definitely had something tucked away in her brain. "The genius strikes again."

Gianna's cheeks dented in, feeling them burn as he flattered her. "Thank you! But I don't think I'll do anything with it. Just keep it for myself to read like I'm doing right now."