Resolution: First Kiss Read online

  “So tell me something, Brittany.” I tilted my head to the side.

  “Yeah?” She looked up at me.

  “Are you going to let me kiss you when the clock strikes midnight?” A grin formed on the corner of my lips.

  “I don’t know…” She looked down and blushed. “I just met you…”

  “Yeah, but it’s a tradition.” My grin got a little wider.

  “Maybe…” She lifted her head slowly.

  “Let me grab you another glass of champagne. You’re going to need something to toast with.” I reached out and took Brittany’s empty glass. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay, thank you.” She nodded and turned her attention back towards the view.

  There’s no fucking way I’ll be able to resist those soft, pouty lips.

  “Mr. Remington.” General Briggs, a high ranking official in the Air Force, walked over with his wife on his arm before I could make it to the champagne. “I’d like you to meet my wife, Linda.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I shook her hand. “Glad the two of you could make it.”

  “I’d never miss a Remington party.” General Briggs chuckled. “Especially since it gives me an opportunity to find out how my latest prototype is coming along without making a trip to your office.”

  “You two have fun talking about airplanes. I’m going to get another glass of champagne.” Mrs. Briggs smiled and excused herself.

  “We’re talking about jets—not airplanes.” General Briggs shook his head as she walked away and then turned his attention back to me. “Okay, so when do I get to see it in action?”

  “Soon.” I nodded quickly. “We’ve done a few crewed flights and broke the sound barrier over the Atlantic.”

  “Yeah, but I’ve got plenty of jets that can do that. You said this one could do that over land without blowing out people’s eardrums.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m expecting results and so does the President.”

  “Yes, I’m well aware.” I nodded. “The initial tests are promising, and we’ve made some adjustments. After we do a few more test flights, I’ll be ready to show you what all of Uncle Sam’s money is paying for.”

  “Good.” General Briggs patted me on the shoulder. “I’m glad I didn’t have to make a trip to your office to get that update. If you’ll excuse me, one of your billionaire friends is chatting up my wife.”

  “Better be careful.” I chuckled under my breath. “We’re irresistible when we talk about our money.”

  “I’ll break my foot off in his ass.” General Briggs growled and started walking towards his wife.

  Okay, where did Brittany go? Please tell me she didn’t run off again…

  I quickly grabbed two glasses of champagne and looked at the empty spot where Brittany was standing when I left her. The crowd was starting to gather for a better view, and the ball was dropping. People were already starting to count down the final minute. I still didn’t see Brittany anywhere, and as more people gathered near the edge of the roof, my chance of finding her quickly diminished. Even if I could spot her, getting through the crowd without pushing someone out of the way was going to be impossible.

  Damn it…

  My frustration grew as I realized that I was going to miss my chance to plant a kiss on those gorgeous lips at midnight. All I could do was watch the ball drop while my heart dropped into my stomach in the process. There weren’t many moments in life when it was socially acceptable to kiss someone you just met randomly—and I was about to miss my opportunity to kiss the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.

  Fucking bullshit. Why can’t I have a normal life where things don’t have to be this freaking complicated? Why did I walk away—we should have just toasted with empty glasses.

  I accepted my fate, stared at the ball, and listened to the last ten seconds tick away like explosions in my head. The moment came and went. People cheered. Fireworks went off. 2018 officially came to an end, and 2019 began. I seemed to be the only miserable person in the crowd. The group started to disperse after they had their midnight kiss, watched the initial round of fireworks and finished the drink in their hands. The party would continue well into the morning hours, but I was ready to go home and be done with the entire night.

  I guess I can’t blame her for leaving. I probably came on too strong.

  Wait, there she is!

  “Brittany!” I waved and started pushing my way towards her.

  Fifteen minutes earlier

  I stared at my phone after Bradley went to refill my glass of champagne. I had never met anyone like him. He was so confident—so charismatic—and so incredibly hot. Stacy’s message said we should go for it and a lot of my sorority sisters were replying that they intended to do precisely that in 2019.

  Am I brave enough to do the same thing? Bradley probably has no idea that I’ve never been kissed before…

  I’ve had opportunities before, but none of those moments felt right—not like this.

  I decided that I was going to take my sorority sister’s advice. One kiss wouldn’t hurt anything, even if it were my first. It would be one hell of a way to ring in 2019—that was for sure. I found my lips twisting into a smile as I thought about it. I was nervous, but my resolve was starting to gather. I looked over at the champagne table and saw that Bradley hadn’t even made it there yet—he was talking to another one of his guests.

  Hopefully, he makes it back in time.

  I nervously looked at the clock on my cell phone as the final minute approached, and then the crowd started to gather around me so they would have a good view of the ball dropping in the distance. I lost sight of Bradley and realized that there was no way he was going to make it to me in time once the final seconds arrived.

  Oh well, maybe it’s for the better. I won’t have a chance to regret it if he’s not even here.

  I watched the ball drop, stared at the mesmerizing array of fireworks, and then the crowd started to head back inside. It was time for me to go home. The moment had passed. I pushed my cell phone into my purse and turned around—a second later I saw him wave at me.

  “Brittany!” He started pushing against the flow of people that were going back into the building. “I’m so sorry! I tried to get to you, but…”

  “It’s okay.” I shook my head back and forth. “I got to see the ball drop in person without standing in Times Square. That was fun, but I think it’s time for me to go home now.”

  “Come on, don’t go.” He reached out and took my hand. “I don’t need fireworks to kiss you.”

  “It’s okay, I promise.” I forced a smile. “Thank you for inviting me to your party. It was nice to meet you.”

  “Give me another chance.” He squeezed his hand. “I can still kiss you at midnight.”

  “When? Next year?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “No, come with me.” He started walking, and I didn’t even have a chance to respond before we were back inside the building.

  I was puzzled but intrigued—mainly when he ignored everyone at the party who tried to talk to him and walked straight to the elevator.

  “Where are we going?” I stared at the elevator doors when they opened.

  “Los Angeles.” He nodded. “It might be past midnight here, but not everywhere.”

  “You’re crazy. That’s a six-hour flight—we’ll never make it in time.” I looked at him in confusion as he pulled me into the elevator. “Plus—the airport? It’ll take us two hours to even get through security!”

  “We’re not flying commercial.” He chuckled and hit the button to take us to the bottom floor.

  “There’s still no way, even if you had an airplane parked outside…” My words trailed off as the elevator started to move.

  “Airplanes are boring.” He grabbed my hand again when the doors opened. “Ever ridden in a jet before?”

  “No…” I tilted my head to the side as he started towards the door. “You have a jet?”

  “I have a lot of them.” H
e held the door open as I approached. “But only one that can make it from New York to Los Angeles in two hours.”

  “That’s—that’s impossible.” I shook my head back and forth.

  “Everything is impossible until someone does it.” He led me towards his limousine as it pulled up to the curb. “And the impossible is exactly what the Department of Defense pays me to do."

  The driver stepped out of the limousine and opened the door for me. I hesitated for a second, but then I climbed into the backseat. Bradley was undoubtedly going to a lot of trouble—especially if he had a jet that could get us to Los Angeles before the ball dropped in the west. He slid in beside me and held my hand as the limousine pulled away from the curb.

  “You’re serious about this?” I looked over at him.

  “I am.” He nodded quickly. “I might have missed my chance to kiss you at midnight in New York, but I won’t miss my next opportunity. Trust me.”

  I was intrigued—and I couldn’t hide the grin that was trying to form on the corner of my lips. Stacy’s message played in my head. I did like Bradley—and if he wanted to kiss me bad enough to take me across the United States to make sure it was perfect, then it was hard to resist that kind of invitation. The limousine didn’t head to the airport. It led down a long stretch of highway, and a sign we passed said Remington Airport was ahead.

  “You have your own airport.” I looked over at him in shock.

  “It’s necessary.” He chuckled. “You’ll see why in a couple of minutes.”

  We turned into a small parking lot, and Bradley pulled out his cell phone. A few seconds later, all of the lights came on, and I saw a large hanger ahead of us. Large metal doors opened when we approached, and I could see dozens of jets lined up inside of the building. They looked like the kind of planes that the military would use.

  “I’ve never flown in anything like that before.” I blinked in surprise as the limousine came to a stop.

  “Does flying make you nervous?” Bradley stepped out of the limousine and extended his hand.

  “A little…” I nodded in confirmation. “Especially if it gets bumpy.”

  “There will be one bump.” He chuckled and led me towards the hanger. “But that’ll just be us breaking the sound barrier.”

  “Seriously?” I felt my stomach twisting into a knot. “I don’t know if I should do this…”

  “It’ll be fine. I fly these jets all the time, and I’ve never crashed a single one of them.” He rolled a set of stairs over that lined up with the cockpit. “After you.”

  This seems like a terrible idea—but Stacy did say to go for it. I bet none of the girls in my sorority have ever flown in a jet before…

  My stomach twisted into a bigger knot as I started up the stairs and looked down into the cockpit. It was only big enough for two people, and I would be sitting directly behind Bradley. I wouldn’t even be able to grab his hand if I got nervous. I took a deep breath, tried to let go of my inhibitions, and stepped into the cockpit.

  And I thought getting kissed at midnight was the most nerve-racking thing that could happen to me tonight.

  “Okay, let’s get ready for takeoff.” Bradley climbed into the front of the cockpit and hit a button to make the controls light up. “You should fasten your seatbelt—or in this case, your harness.”

  Bradley turned around to make sure that I was securely fastened into the harness and handed me a helmet that had a mask attached to the front. It was a good thing I didn’t do anything special with my hair. I slid the helmet on, Bradley adjusted my mask, and then he turned back towards the controls. The glass above us started to close, and I felt my stomach trying to do flips.

  “Can you hear me okay?” Bradley’s voice echoed in my ears, and I realized that the helmet had speakers built into it.

  “Yeah, I can.” I nodded.

  “Okay, here we go.” Bradley chuckled, and the jet started to move.

  Ready or not…

  There was a part of me that wanted to beg him to stop, jump out of the cockpit, and run back to the limousine. That option evaporated as the jet picked up speed. It wasn’t like being on an airplane where I got to see a long stretch of runway. The plane accelerated fast, and then I felt it start to lift off the ground. I closed my eyes, tried to control my breathing, and dug my nails into the harness.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll be there before you know it.” Bradley’s voice echoed in my ears again.

  The jet zoomed into the air, and my head started to spin. I slowly cracked an eyelid and watched the city disappear. I had no idea how fast we were going, but it looked like the entire world was zipping by in an instant. The jet still seemed to be picking up speed, and the engine was getting louder, even with the headphones that were built into the helmet canceling most of the noise.

  “You’re going to feel a bump—and hear a noise in a minute, but I need to make a quick call.” Bradley hit a couple of buttons, and I heard ringing.

  “Okay…” I held my breath and swallowed hard.

  “General Briggs?” Bradley exhaled sharply. “You’re going to get reports of a sonic boom somewhere around Grand Rapids. That’s just me—testing our your new jet.”

  “You can’t break the sound barrier over land!” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded very distressed.

  “I thought that’s what you wanted me to do.” Bradley chuckled. “Trust me, it won’t be that bad—and after I make this flight, your new jet will be fully tested.”

  “Fine…” The voice on the other end growled. “Let me call the President.”

  “Too late… Just make sure none of your guys shoot me down.” Bradley hit a button and ended the call—a second later there was a sound that could only be described as an explosion all around us.

  Shoot us down!?

  “Oh god!” I squealed and nearly broke my nails as I dug them deep into the leather on the harness.

  “That’s the worst of it—just a little bump.” Bradley’s voice was reassuring, but it didn’t do much to quell the panic.

  Yeah, this is more like a million little bumps.

  I started to relax a little bit as I got used to the speed of the jet, but the lingering worry didn’t go away. I was zooming across the entire country faster than the speed of sound in a tin box. It might have been fun if I had more time to prepare myself, but everything happened o quickly that I was still trying to make sense of it all in my head.

  Bradley got a call from General Briggs about an hour into our flight, and the President wasn’t happy, but we weren’t going to be shot down—that was a relief. They made arrangements for Bradley to land the jet at an Air Force base in Los Angeles. Once that call was done, Bradley placed a call to his limousine driver and asked him to have a car waiting—one that would take us to a New Year’s Eve party.

  He’s going to do it. He’s going to get me to Los Angeles before the clock strikes midnight.

  So that he can kiss me…

  Holy crap.

  I might not have been in love, but I was indeed impressed. Any guy that would go to that much trouble had more than earned a kiss midnight—but then another worry started to rise inside me.

  What if he wants more than a kiss?

  I don’t know what it was about Brittany that made me act so impulsively, but after I saw how disappointed that she was, I had to do something to try and change it. I wanted to see that beautiful smile on her face one more time—and then I tried to kiss her. I couldn’t travel through time, but I could turn the back a little bit—I just had to get us to Los Angeles before the clock struck midnight on the west coast.

  We’re making good time at least. This jet is going to meet the Air Force general’s expectations and then some.

  General Briggs would forgive my stunt, and I doubted the President was going to complain too much. He had bigger things on his agenda than a sonic boom over Grand Rapids. It was a mild one at best. I wasn’t even sure the people on the ground would be able to hear it, but w
e hadn’t done enough tests to confirm that we could easily break the sound barrier over land without freaking people out.

  At least they were already shooting off fireworks to celebrate the new year. That probably helped.

  “Okay, if you look directly ahead.” I lifted my finger and pointed. “You’ll see the west coast in just a second.”

  “I just see darkness.” I heard Brittany shift in her seat.

  “Almost…” I gave the controls a nudge and tilted the plane. “There we go.”

  “Wow…” She exhaled sharply. “That’s incredible. I can’t believe we made it here so fast!”

  “I bet you’ll never want to fly commercial again.” I chuckled.

  General Briggs made arrangements for me to land at an Air Force base near Los Angeles. Thankfully, he also agreed not to have me immediately arrested. The Air Force was going to get a discount on the entire line of jets once they went into production. I called the tower below us and confirmed that I was cleared to land before I started my descent. The plane had performed better than I expected, but not all of the Air Force pilots would be as good as I was—nor would they be willing to take the kind of risk I made without a million more test flights.

  “Alright, we’ll have a little bump when we touch down.” I slowed down the best that I could before the wheels were deployed.

  “That’s okay—we’re almost on land now.” Brittany sighed. “Land—far away from where we were a couple of hours ago.”

  “Thank you for flying Remington Airlines.” I chuckled as I hit the runway and started coasting to a stop.

  A couple of Air Force guys came over to greet me, and I turned the plane over to them. They could get it into the hanger. We made good time, but we still had to make it to the party before the ball dropped. I wasn’t going to miss my second chance to a plant a kiss on her lips when the clock struck midnight.