only for the summer by Sharon O'Connor

Chapter 3 Kennedy

"Sienna and I board the flight slightly tipsy after a quick trip to the airport bar. I refuse to get on the plane sober, and Sienna believes in the buddy system. So, after throwing back a few rum and Cokes (for me) and alcoholic ciders (for her), we grab a handful of overpriced snacks and head to our flight.
      The flight attendant looks at my ticket, smiles, and points me down the aisle to seat 12A. It's eleven a.m. on a Friday, and I'm thankful so far none of those screaming children I saw end up on this flight. I love kids as much as anyone, but I prefer not to hear that for the next six hours. They should invest in making a children-only flight—or like an adult-only one. It's truly an untapped market."

"This is us." Sienna points to an empty row. I place my bag in the overhead, grabbing Sienna's too.
      She takes the window seat, happy to get to look out as we take off. I take the dreaded middle seat, happy to just be sitting. We had gotten to the airport three hours early, and they had switched our terminal twice. Between the walking and the alcohol, there's a good chance I'll be asleep in minutes.
      I watch as Sienna cleans the seat with a wipe from her purse. Running it down the sides of everything we may touch, on purpose or accidentally. She's not a germaphobe or anything, she just has a thing about airplanes being dirty. She says it's because she once had a parent come in for career day and talk about the dirtiest places on an airplane. What that has to do with being a pilot is beyond me."

"Don't make fun of me. I've never gotten sick since I started doing this." She frowns at me. Her thin, dark eyebrows melt into each other.
      "I'm not making fun. I'm just observing." I chuckle to myself.
      She places the used wipe in the back of the seat, then digs around in her purse looking for something. A moment later, she appears with her headphones and iPad. She has told me about all the movies she's downloaded for us to watch. I'm not much of a movie buff, but she enjoys them.
      I scroll on my phone aimlessly as the rest of the flight boards. I text my brother that we're on the plane. Listening to the flight attendants talk about safety, I can't help but close my eyes."
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"I open my eyes what feels like hours later. My head is resting on Sienna's shoulder, listening to a movie. I blink a few times, before remembering where I am.
      "Oh hey, sleepyhead. I'm so glad I got these movies for us." She laughs.
      "You know how I get on airplanes, and cars, really any moving vehicle."
      "Yes, you turn into a baby." She twists one headphone around her finger and presses pause on the movie.
      I grab water from my bag. My mouth is dry as the desert in August. I guzzle the entire bottle down and still feel dissatisfied."

"I got you a second water—thought you might need it," Sienna says, holding the bottle out. Sometimes it's like she can read my mind.
      "Thank you." I smile as I take it. Gulping this one down just as quickly.
      She holds out a headphone, and I slip it in my left ear. She puts one in her right ear and presses play. She leans on my shoulder similar to how I am, and I take a deep breath."

"I can feel her soft, slow breaths as she breathes in and out. Her light-red waves tickle my face as she leans her body closer to mine. I wrap an arm around her, running my hand up her bare arm. She settles into me. Having spent many nights cuddling on one of our couches, we're familiar with this position. But today, it feels different.
      As much as I don't want to admit it, Haley is partially correct. Despite trying to push my feelings back where they came from, I do have the tiniest of crushes on Sienna. It's one of those crushes I can't help despite knowing there's nothing I can do about it."

"She's my best friend, and I won't ruin our friendship for anything. So, despite Haley's worries about my feelings being true, I haven't lied to her. Despite how I feel, I will never be with her, and I will never tell her how I feel.
      I ignore the chatter of the plane, settling deeper into Sienna. The movie plays low in my ear, but I watch her instead. The way she crinkles her nose when she thinks something's funny, her toothy smile, the perfection of freckles that dance across her face, and the bright red waves that make me wild. She's something incredible, something I can never lose.
      It's Sienna's turn to fall asleep now. Her small mouth is slightly agape while she sleeps, letting some drool slip out onto my shirt. I'll have to make fun of her for that later. I chuckle to myself, reaching to turn off the movie and save some of her iPad's battery."