Cordelia Halstead, a 27-year-old flight attendant, is unexpectedly hired by a private jet company for the rich and famous. Professional and passionate about flying, she keeps her personal life under wraps. Everything changes when she meets Lando...
The days since Lando and I agreed to just be friends had been unsettling. I thought that putting a label on it, setting those boundaries, would help me regain control of my feelings. But if anything, the opposite was happening. The more I tried to compartmentalize, to shove the emotions into some neat little box, the more I felt them slipping out, seeping into the cracks of my resolve.
Every time my phone buzzed, my heart would leap. Would it be Lando? A simple "Hey, how's your day going?" could make me smile like an idiot, and I hated how much control he seemed to have over my mood. Friends. That was what we were supposed to be. But I couldn't shake the way my pulse quickened when I thought of him, the way my body reacted when I remembered the way his lips felt against mine. It wasn't just physical; there was something deeper, a pull that went beyond attraction. And that terrified me.
Tonight, after exchanging a few casual texts about his training and my latest work shifts, Lando suggested we switch to a video call. My heart thudded as I propped my phone up, adjusting the camera angle to make sure I looked halfway decent. Why was I putting in this much effort for a "friend"? I pulled my hair into a quick ponytail and exhaled deeply as his face appeared on the screen.
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"Hey," he greeted me with his usual easy smile, but there was something different about him tonight. He looked... tired. The brightness in his eyes was muted, and his posture was less confident than usual.
"Hey," I responded, trying to keep my tone casual. "You look like you've had a long day."
"Yeah, you could say that," Lando sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's been a hell of a week."
I frowned, instantly concerned. "What happened?"
He leaned back, the lines of exhaustion visible on his face. "Just... everything. Training's been intense, and the media stuff's ramping up for the season. You know, endless interviews, photoshoots. It feels like I'm constantly 'on,' and sometimes, it's just too much."
Hearing him like this, so open and raw, tugged at something deep inside me. Lando was always the charismatic one, the guy who had it all together. He never let on that the pressure weighed him down like this.
"Lando, I'm sorry," I said softly. "I know it must be exhausting, always having to put on a show for everyone."
"Yeah," he said, his voice softer now. "I'm not complaining, you know? I love what I do, and I'm lucky, but... sometimes it feels like no one really sees me. Like, who's here for the real me, you know?"
I sat up straighter, his vulnerability catching me off guard. This wasn't the Lando I'd been trying to push away. This wasn't the guy I could keep in the "friend zone" so easily.
"I see you, Lando," I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them. "I mean, I don't know everything, but... I see more than what the world sees."
He looked at me through the screen, his eyes softening. "Cordy..." he started, and the sound of that nickname, one I had almost gotten used to, made my heart stutter.
