20 Hours - Jack Gilinsky

hour 7; names and the stupid stewardess

"Austin." Jack says, not like a question or like he has something to say, but like he's just saying it to say it.

"Jack." I say back in the same tone.

"I've been meaning to ask you about your name. Do you know why you're named Austin?" His fingers nonchalantly play with mine while he keeps his gaze steady on our fingers.

"Actually yeah I do. Trust me, I've asked my parents more than enough times why I have a boys name." I laugh and he joins in, his eyes creasing to the point where I can't see them, and my eyes try their best to take in how wonderfully beautiful he is through my laugh.

"So tell me." He said after a while. I had completely forgotten what we were talking about. It took me a minute to remember we are actually talking about me and my name.

"Okay so when my mom found out she was pregnant for the third time she was ecstatic. She had always wanted three boys, that was her dream since she was a kid. She had their names all picked out and gladly my dad didn't mind what their names were as long as they wanted to be football players.

"When my mom was 5 months pregnant with me she found out the gender, which was coincidentally not a boy. My mom was literally heart broken. My dad told me he had never seen her more upset about something before- I know, big confidence builder. But he said that when he found out he was really happy. He wanted to be able to protect me and love me and coddle me like he hadn't been able to do with Chase and Kyle. My mom's biggest 'thing' was that she wouldn't be able to name me Austin. She hated every other name my dad tried, so my dad suggested keeping it as Austin.

"After a while my mom warmed up to the idea, my dad even tried to suggest spelling it with a y instead of an i so it would be more feminine, but my mom was relentlessly stuck on the name Austin with an i. So, my dad gave in and let her have her way. Then sometime after asking my dad why I had a boys name, I asked my mom why she liked the name Austin so much.

"She grew up in Omaha, she loved small city but what she had really wanted was to become a beauty pageant star. Don't ask me why, because if you ever saw my mom she is so not that type. But she said that her mom used to tell her these stories about Austin, Texas. She used to tell her that there were huge beauty pageants, where girls of all ages dressed like princesses and all of that nonsense. My mom said her mind used to race with the thought of how beautiful Austin would be in real life, that she used to have dreams of a gorgeous city and a hall made of crystal that the pageants were held in. So basically, my grandma tricked my mom into thinking there was some big fairy tale for pageant queens in Austin, Texas, which in turn made my mom love the city. As it turns out, Austin didn't have a pageant, my mom was furious with my grandma, but she still felt some sort of connection with the name. Austin was the first place she ever dreamed herself traveling to, but it turned out to be a disappointment. When I asked my mom about why she still loved the name after all of that, she accidentally let it slip that she really liked it as a boys name, but I was a disappointment because I'm a girl just like the city was a disappointment so she liked it for me too." I finally finished my story and Jack looked completely enthralled in what I was saying.

I have honestly never seen a person looked so damn interested in what someone else was saying before and it kind of creeped me out.

"What about you." Jack asked me, in a semi-hushed voice, "have you thought about what you want to name your kids?"

I took his question into consideration. Sure I had thought about it, I even had a few ideas in my head. But there were no names that I'm completely sure that I wanted my kid to be named. I mulled on the thought for a minute, names rushing around in my head, I finally decided on a few that wouldn't be horrible telling him, "for a girl, I don't know the first name, but I want her middle name to be Indigo. Don't ask me why but I think that sounds pretty with any first name and if I had to suffer with my great grandmas middle name than she can suffer with hers too." Jack laughs his intoxicating laugh and I join with a slight giggle. "And for a guy I really love the name Hudson." He nods, in either agreement or understanding I can't exactly tell.

"I've always loved the name Skylar for a girl. I think it's so beautiful I really just love it. And for a guy I don't really have anything in mind, I might want to do the whole Jack Finnegan Jr. but I've always heard being a jr. sucks ass." He pouts a little which makes me laugh. I love how much he expresses with his face and not just his words.

God, I hate that I'm so observant.

"So, oh-so-innocent Austin, have you ever gotten drunk before?" Jack asks, his eyes expression playful and suggestive.

"Yeah, a few times with Kyle in freshman year." I get nervous just thinking about those times.

"Well don't look so nauseous already, darling, because we are about to drink." He whispers and I get the urge to laugh at him.

"Well, unless you've somehow aged 3 years, I don't think you'll be able to get us alcohol, Jack." I say and tap on his brain, trying to remind him that he has one in his head.

"Well, legal drinking age in Australia is 18. So technically I could trick a stewardess into thinking we are on an Australian flight." He wiggles his eyebrows up and down.

"That is not going to work." I say and he shakes his head.

"You doubt me too much, Ausi" he teases and I stick my middle finger up at him.

He presses the stewardess button and proceeds to tell me to pretend to me asleep. I lean against the window and shut my eyes, trying to look as convincing as possible.

"Do you need something, sir?" The stewardess asks in an Australian accent.

I could practically hear the smirk in Jack's voice as he spoke back to her, "my girlfriend and I would like two drinks, coke and vodka with ice please."

Girlfriend. Girlfriend. My heart was about to pump out of my chest when the words trickled through my ear.

Jack mother fucking Gilinsky just called me his girlfriend and I'm sitting two inches away from him. Most girls would probably kill to be in my position and it's because they're his fans.

I guess that's one thing I like about our relationship. I'm different to him. I'm not some fan that's spent hours stalking him and already knows all about his life. He gets to tell me everything first hand and there is no shade or second opinion to tell my otherwise. I'm like his own personal vent box that he can talk to and I have no preempt thoughts as to who he is or if he's done anything wrong.

"Ah yes me and my girlfriend are both 18 so we can legally drink on this Australian flight." He said (and I'm sure he winked at her by the was she giggles).

Soon enough I hear footsteps loudly trotting away to get us our illegally served adult beverages.

"Did that actually work?" I open my eyes and Jack is laughing hysterically while nodding.

I chuckle in response and soon enough we hear loud harsh foot steps walking up to us. I don't bother shutting my eyes as a large man walks up to us in a suit.

"Hello sir, madam, I'm hoping that you're enjoying the flight, I heard that one of our flight attendants promised you some adult beverages, but since we are on a flight to America right now we can not serve you any alcohol. But, our stupid stewardess told me to bring you these." He handed us two juice boxes with the bendy straws sticking out of them.

He smiled sarcastically and walked away.

"Did he just call one of his employees a 'stupid stewardess'?" Jack asks and we both look at each other before bursting into laughter filled balls.