Turbulence - (18+)

12.

GATE B9 SHAY

In flight-> London (HTW)

"Mimosa on the rocks for 3B, mineral water for 4B, and an orange juice for 4A..." I muttered under my breath as I opened an ice drawer.

I was standing in the galley closest to the cockpit, mixing pre-take-off drinks for the first class passengers. I was trying to pretend that Justin was not the pilot on this flight, that he hadn't purposely brushed his hand against my waist when we boarded and winked at me, setting my nerves on fire all over again.

This is not happening. This is not happening...

To make matters even worse, when I ventured into the cockpit to ask him and the first officer what they wanted for lunch, I was pretty sure he said, "Is your pussy on the menu?" before coughing and asking for steak and a Coke.

"Miss Taylor?" The sound of The Hawk's voice made me drop a stack of napkins. I turned around to face her and she frowned, motioning for me to fix my hair.

"Yes, Miss Connors?" I asked.

"Would you like to explain why the passenger in 12C has a glass of Sprite in his hand before takeoff?"

She says this like I have a choice...

"Feel free to answer me any time between now and right now, Miss Taylor."

"He told me he was having stomach pains after eating something spicy," I said. "I was simply going above and beyond and handling things The Elite Way."

"No, you were not." She glanced down the aisle and then narrowed her eyes at me. "Because in The Elite Way, there's no way in hell that someone in economy has a glass before takeoff."

I gave her a blank stare.

"Glasses are for first class and they're not given until we're in the air. Always. Passengers in economy get a bottled mini water, a smile, and a vomit bag if they're having 'stomach problems' before takeoff. During flights, when we do offer them beverages, they receive plastic cups. Surely you learned this in flight attendant training and you've shockingly never made this mistake before, so do I really need to go into the numerous safety reasons behind glass and plastic cups during pre-take-off?"

"No, Miss Connors."

"Good." She snapped her fingers and pointed down the aisle. "Go get my first-class glass back. Now."

I rolled my eyes and headed down the aisle. With her on this flight, maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't have too much time to think about Justin at all. I kindly asked for the glass of Sprite from 12C, replaced it with a plastic cup and finished serving the remaining drinks for first class.

I double checked the manifest for the passengers' dinner requests, made sure the overhead bins were locked shut, and watched the other two flight attendants take their time doing their jobs.

They were supposed to be assisting the last boarding passengers in business and economy, but they kept finding random reasons to come to the front of the plane to step into the cockpit. To ask Justin meaningless questions or "make sure" it was a Coke he wanted to have for a lunch beverage.

"You've flown with him before?" The blonde, a woman who'd introduced herself to me as Elizabeth, whispered.

"I wish." The redhead, Janet, stared straight ahead. "I would definitely remember him. Trust me."

"Is he wearing a wedding ring?"

"No. First thing I noticed."

"No tan line where one should be either, just in case?"