For you| Pedro Pascal

20. Flights

"Alright so can we get one with you holding her in an embrace, maybe your hands resting on the lace of the corset. Exactly. You two are stunning. Andy, chin down a little, don't smile but a small curved... that's great." All I wanted was for this to be over, my goodness. I gripped the shirt of my male silhouette. "Alright, one more set with the black dress then I think we are good!" The photographer said. Seven hours in and who would have thought that one more set would be barely good enough. I stepped down from the stool and headed to wardrobe. "Hey wait up! I know how rushed the project got but I wanted to make sure that we met in a decent way at least," the voice from behind said. I spun and gave a short smile. "No worries, I met your dad once. He spoke very highly of you. It's been years though. Love his work," I compliment. He smiles wide and nods. "Yeah, his work tends to overshadow mine. He is fantastic though, what can I say," he chuckles. "I am a huge fan of your work too. I saw you at Cannes a few years back. Almost got my chance to say hello, however there was a lot of crowding. Didn't have my chance." His hand quickly reaching to the back of his neck. "Anyways, maybe we could grab a drink later?" he asks with red cheeks. Mine turn red too as I have to decline. "Actually, I have to catch a flight later on and I'm not really drinking right now. I'm sure when you make the move we will have a chance to familiarize ourselves," I say, turning away about to head over to change. "You're leaving tonight too?" he asks. "Yeah, my manager decided to send me out rather sooner. I just wrapped a movie yesterday and they figured why wait any longer," I explain. He almost responds until my phone begins to ring. "Excuse me, I have to take this," I say. He nods and sticks his hands in his pockets. "No worries, see you in a few," He finishes.

"Hey you! I thought you were in a meeting," I say to Pedro. "Oh nothing much. I just finished the last few of our boxes. I already threw furniture into the storage unit. All you need to do is drop off your keys with your landlord later on. He said to just drop them in the mailbox and you're all set. Cassie booked my flight for next week. Everything good with the shoot?" His voice extra joyful today, excited about the move I would assume. "Oh you know, long. Tiring. Almost done though, just trying to get out of here so I can drop those keys off. My flight leaves at nine, so I thought maybe we could have dinner before?" I say, kind of asking. "Oh how I wish I could but Jeff has some contracts he needs me to sign with some execs at seven. I was trying to be there to go and get you as a surprise but it doesn't like like that's going to happen. I'm sorry Andy," he says apologetically. "No worries, I will just see you next week like we planned. I miss you," I whisper. I rest my head on the wall. "I miss you too. Hey, I have to go, you'll be okay stopping by for the keys? I can always leave here to go with you," I interrupt him. "No, no I can do it. Go take care of what you need. I love you," I say. "I love you too. I'll call you later," he says, hanging up shortly after.

I feel tears puddling in my eyes. Literally, why am I crying now? Andy, billionth time today. "Shit, my makeup," I whisper, padding away the tears with a tissue. I shimmy the dress up, walking out and still holding it so someone can lace it up. I round the corner and bump into him again. "Max! Do you think you could, um, do you know how to lace a corset?" I ask, spinning around to avoid eye contact. "Don't laugh but yes I do," he says, laughing. I blink fast, causing my eyes to revert back to normal. "Hey, everything alright?" He asks, lacing up the back. "Oh yeah, just a little emotional. I'm cool though," I say. He ties the back and pats my my shoulder, making me aware that he was done.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. I was supposed to learn how to do it on my own but I never did. My shoulder would cramp up every time I tried to finish the lace," I say, subtly laughing. "No worries, I learned after doing three period pieces back to back. I was a little disappointed that I had to lace up my own pants for those. Luckily, the zipper was on the side for these," he says. I offer a laugh. "So, I uh, heard you and Pascal were, like a thing?" he says nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah. We are," I admit quickly. We both turn to walk back to the shoot. "That's awesome. I didn't really really know how serious you both were. I mean, I saw some photos but I just didn't know much about you and did some digging. I hope that isn't weird." I shook my head while stepping up onto a stool. He stepped in front of me while the crew started adjusting out positions. "Not weird at all. And yeah, I would say we are pretty serious." He smiles wide and tilts his head a little. "Oh yeah? Like sharing a toothbrush serious?" I adjust my back, dropping my smile and leaning my head against his chest. "Like sharing a baby serious," I say.

The rest of the shoot was quiet. I wasn't sure what he was getting at with all of the questions but I really hadn't been in the mood for any of it. "Alright everyone, Thats it? Good job! See you all in Berlin," a man shouts, everyone else scrambling to tear down the shoot. I walk off of the platforms and rush to my room, almost removing the dress midway to save time.

After throwing on my sweats and shirt, I pulled my shoes on, grabbed my bag, and rushed out the door. I tried calling for a car but no one would answer. "Crap, Uber it is," I whisper to myself. "Hey, before you do that, just come with me. JFK right? You mentioned a flight earlier, I assumed," Max said. Before I respond, a woman calls him. "Mr. Irons, your car is out front," she says, quickly walking back into the building. "I have to stop somewhere first, I'll just request an Uber," I say, relaunching my app again. "That's okay. I have time. Let's go," he says, not even waiting.

I follow, realizing I don't feel like waiting for another car. I lower myself into the car, Max shutting the door behind me. "I just need to drop off a key at my old place. It isn't out of the way," I say. He smiles and nods his head. "No worries. Just give me the address and i will pass it on." I jot it down on a sticky note and hand it to him

***
"Woah. So you have anger issues I take it?" Max says, referring to the shattered window. I offer a small laugh, knowing it isn't anything to laugh over. "Something like that, I'll just be a few seconds." I jog up the walking path and pull the mail box open. I drop the keys in and double check the mail box to make sure it shuts correctly. Moments later, I am back into the car. "I won't be expecting my deposit back," I say, him laughing in response.

"Thank you before stopping before we head out. It was stressing me out returning the keys so last minute. This was all a little last minute actually. It's a little overwhelming," I say, looking down at my hands, they gripped the fabric to my clothes tightly. "You alright?" He asks. I nod and shake off the anxiety. "I'm good. Just, moving, life changes, the usual." He unscrews the cap to a small bottle he pulled from the doors compartment. He holds it out to me. "Shh. I won't tell if you don't," Max asks. I shake my head. "Thanks for offering though."

"No liquid laughs before the flight? It's the end of the week, come on now. Oh shit, wait. You mentioned earlier you weren't drinking. I'm sorry Andy," he says. "That's alright, you go ahead though. I'm sure you can enjoy for the both of us. God knows it makes the airport more tolerable." I say. He takes a big swig from the bottle, making a light face at the burn. "I never understood why alcohol has to taste like...well, alcohol," Max said. I chuckled.

My phone started ringing. "Hey you," Pedro says. "Hey, are you done with all of that stuff Jeff had you doing?" I ask. He laughs. "Yeah no. I just wanted to check in on you before your flight. I told them I needed a break. Did you drop the keys off already?" He asks. "Yes actually, i just dropped them in the mailbox. I'm headed to the airport now. I promise to text you when I leave," I tell him. He sighs. "You might as well text me that I will officially be sleeping alone for the next week," he says, overly dramatic. "I love you," I say. "I love you too," he says, before hanging up the phone.

***

"Now boarding all military service members, then following first class," the woman says. I stand up and walk over to the small line, scanning my boarding pass once it's my turn. I plop myself down into my chair, pulling my phone out and typing out a text. On the plane. I'll call you when I land. I love you.

"Hey stranger, funny seeing you here," Max says, sitting in the chair next to me. "I thought you were sitting closer to the front," I ask him. "I was bumped by the seventeen year old influencer, but hey, I think this is better. I won't be alone. Unless you like being alone," he asks. "Oh no, this is fine. I actually hate flying so maybe you can distract me," I tell him.

The attendant went around and offered, Max accepting shooters while water for myself. A few moments later, the safety demo was on while the plane began to back out of the hanger. I felt sick, simply because I'm always sick these days. The ride on the tarmac felt like an eternity, my hands sweaty and my cheeks flushed. "You alright?" Max asked. "I have a tiny fear of flying. No biggie though," I say, gripping to my chair. He grabs my hand unexpectedly. "I've got you. You're good," he says. I pull my hand away. "Yeah I am," I say. He looks away and raises another shooter to his lips. This is going to be a long flight.