Page 17 of Harboring Shantae

It was as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. She was overthinking. Forgetting all about the comfort that came every time she read his words. She could do this. Be friends. They probably wouldn't even see each other that much. Camron was very open that his job kept him busy. She would make sure to stay equally busy and starting a new life would take up all her time.

"Okay, so just making sure," he started in all seriousness. "You're okay now? No thoughts of jumping out of the plane because I need to warn you, I forgot to pack the parachutes."

"No jumping. You're stuck with me."

She could've sworn she saw his lips turn up just a little. It wasn't much of a smile, but it was a start. Shantae was determined to get a real smile out of him yet. And she had to admit, their exchange made her feel much better.

I got this. Here's to a fresh start.

Chapter 8

SittingacrossfromShantaefor three hours and not being able to find a reason to touch her again was brutal. One small swipe of his finger and he was addicted. The moment his skin came in contact with hers, warmth flooded his body. It was easily something he could become obsessed with if given the chance.

He had to make sure that didn't happen. She wanted marriage and kids. Neither of which he could provide her.

"Fasten your seat belts." Falcon's voice fluttered through the cabin. "We'll be touching down momentarily."

Panther sat back and did as he was told. He took the time to just watch Shantae. She was nervous; it was written in her every expression. She didn't even have to ramble on for him to see it. It was obvious as soon as they arrived at the hangar. He had almost questioned whether she would even leave with them.

"What airport are we landing at?"

"None. My boss has his own small strip and hangar on his land."

The way her mouth dropped open was comical.

"That's right. You mentioned having everything at your fingertips. I guess it would make sense that your boss has his own airport."

"Not an airport," he answered nonchalantly.

At first, it took some getting used to. The private plane, the travel, not having to worry about where his team would stay at any given time. It had been overwhelming to him. He could only imagine what Shantae was thinking.

It would seem she wasn't going to gift him with a response. Instead, she kept her eyes transfixed out the window as they slowly made their descent. Panther didn't need to look outside to know what she was seeing. He had taken the same trip a million times. The cityscape would soon turn to nothing but grass fields the closer they got to Divot.

Growing up in Center City, Panther never thought he would enjoy the peace of a small town. Now he struggled every time he was forced to enter a place like Washington, D.C. Just the sheer amount of people gave him hives. He understood why Shantae was desperate to leave.

The landing was smooth. One quick glance as they taxied toward the hangar had his entire body seizing up. Everyone was waiting outside the hangar for their arrival.

EVERY. ONE.

Even Charlie Team, who had no reason to be welcoming them home, was there.

They were going to overwhelm Shantae and there was nothing he could do about it.

The entire situation reeked of Trista. He would bet his next paycheck that she sent out a group message to the women, which had them hightailing their asses to the barn. None of them could pass up the opportunity to meddle in someone else's business.

"Do you always get this much attention when you return?" Her voice wobbled.

Shit!

"No, never." He tried to keep the anger out of his tone. "This is probably all for you."

She didn't say anything at first. Just continued to look out the window. He wanted to know what was going through her mind, but he didn't know how to ask. Was it better to draw attention to everything going on or distract her from the mess they were about to step out into?

"You're wrong, Camron." Her words weren't much above a whisper. "This is for you. This is your friends showing you how much they care and they want to make sure that you're okay. Every person out there is going to judge me so they know I'm not here to hurt you because that's what true friends do."

He thought about her words. Thought back to what she said about friends when the idea of running away first came up. Shantae didn't believe she had any true friends. There was certainly no one that she cared to let know she was leaving. It had him evaluating his own life. Panther always assumed he was the odd man out. The one who didn't let any of his team members close. Trista had even called him out on it. Yet, everyone still showed up. Maybe there was some truth to what Shantae said. Maybe it wasn't just because they were nosy.

Panther was pulled out of his musings by Trista loudly moving through the cabin. He wasn’t sure why exactly his team leader's wife felt the need to sound like an elephant stomping around.