Love In The Air | ✓

Love In The Air (2)

"Gate Girl?"

"Seat Boy?" We say at the same time.

"'Gate Girl'? I like it, has a nice ring to it." He smiles, revealing dimples and crinkling the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah, definitely better than 'Seat Boy'" I smack his arm playfully.

"Hey! It's the first thing that came to mind." I say in mock offence. He rubs the spot I hit him, pretending it hurt.

"I'm Cameron Gledhill, by the way."

"Mae Cadwell." He smiles again, and I forget all about the fact I'm about to be hurtling through the air in a tin can. But then the cabin crew begins the safety demonstrations and I'm back to panicking again.

The roar of the engine slowly follows and I lose all control over my breathing. My heart is going crazy and I have trouble catching my breath. I feel a hand on my arm and someone saying my name, asking if I'm ok. It sounds like I'm underwater and their voice is far away. I feel hands gently hold my face, one on each cheek. They move my face to the side, forcing me to look the person in the eyes. I see Cameron looking at me, the worry plain on his face.

"Mae, I need you to listen to me, ok? You're safe. I'm here. I won't let anything happen, you're safe."

I repeat his words in my head like a chant, he's here, I'm safe, I'm safe, I'm safe. Slowly, my breathing begins to return to normal. Cameron hands are still on my face and I cover them with mine. I'm shaking slightly but I'm definitely feeling better. Cameron lets out a sigh of relief and removes his hands from my face before enclosing both of my hands in both of his. He reaches into his bag, pulling out a bottle of water.

"Here, have some of this." I take it from him and sip it slowly. When I'm done I hand it back. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I think." He laughs quietly and smiles softly.

"Good." The plane begins to move and I jump, a small squeak escaping my mouth before I clamp my hand over it. As it speeds town the runway, I feel myself start to panic and grab onto the armrest. Instead my hand lands on Cameron's arm, but I'm too scared to even care. My grip tightens as the wheels lift off the ground and I feel a hand cover mine on Cameron's arm. I squeeze my eyes shut and grit my teeth. A tear slips down my cheek while I try and focus on my breathing.

I'm safe, I'm safe, I'm safe.

The plane levels out and my grip loosens on Cameron's arm, I look over at him to find he was already looking at me. Neither of us says anything for a while as we both wait for my breathing to become steady and even. I wipe the tears from my cheeks and look down at my lap. "I can't believe I just did that. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, no, look at me." I lift my head to look at him face, but I can't bring myself to meet his eyes. He shakes his head. "Don't apologise for that. Don't ever apologise for something like that." I nod and meet his eyes.

"Thank you."

"No problem." We sit back in our chairs, facing forwards in silence.

"Whose wedding is it?" I say, turning to face him, he smiles.

"My cousin. It's going to be huge because she basically knows everyone." He smiles and I can tell how much he cares about his family, just from the look on his face.

"How come it's in Texas?"

"I was born in Texas. My whole family is from there - aunties, uncles, grandads, grandmas, the lot - but my parents moved to England a bit after I was born."

"So you're an American?"

"Yep, says it on my passport and everything." He gets his passport out of his bag and shows me, covering the photo with his thumb.

"No! I want to see the photo." I pry the passport from his grasp, much to his dismay, and look at the tiny picture. "How old were you on this?"

"Um, 16? 17 maybe?" He looks a lot younger without his glasses but his hair is in the same swept-over style. I look over to find him blushing. "I hate that picture."

"What? Why? You look cute." I clamp my hand over my mouth when I realise what I said and see a small smile form on Cameron's face.

"Cute, huh? Am I still cute now?"

I punch him in the arm and mumble a quick, "Shut up," as he laughs.