Green Lights (ASORM, Book 1)

Chapter 3: CARISSA IS ADORABLE (In Bentley's mind)

The first thing Carissa noticed when she woke up was how muscular Bentley's bicep was. Then she realised she was sleeping on his shoulder. And then she saw the humongous puddle of saliva on his gray heather shirt near where her mouth was.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Bentley greeted her. He was reading a well-worn paperback book.

Carissa sat straight up. "I'm sorry about that...umm..."

Bentley laughed. "It's cool. I'm just sad that this flight is almost over, so it's not like we could have gotten to know each other better."

"Are we almost in Detroit already?" Carissa pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the clock. 2 hours had, in fact, passed since the plane had departed.

"Yup. We just landed."

"Is Detroit your final stop?" Carissa asked, putting her shoes on and tying them.

"Nope, I'm heading to LA on the 8:10. You?"

"Me too!" She almost jumped out of her seat. She knew he probably thought she was the weirdest person in the world by now, but she didn't really mind anymore.

"Really?" He checked his mobile ticket. "I'm in seat 37A, how about you?"

Carissa looked on her phone for her own ticket. "2B."

"Wow, first class?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I guess you could say that." She shrugged.

The plane came to a stop, and passengers started getting up to get their bags. Carissa and Bentley stood up, too, although they couldn't even step into the crowded aisleway. Eventually, they got out, though, and Carissa grabbed her backpack and Bentley's duffle.

Once they were off the plane and on the walkway, Bentley asked, "So, what do you do that allows you to fly first class? Don't tell me you're one of those gold diggers with a billionaire husband who lives in Beverly Hills."

"We have a residency in Beverly Hills, yes," she laughed. "Also one in Squaw Valley, Vermont, Sydney, Brisbane, Paris, and near Tokyo. Oh, and I can't forget Pyongyang."

"Lemme guess, he met you, an unsuspecting college student, during a trip to Australia?"

"How did you guess?"

"Or were you an elite athlete?"

"What if I was both?"

"That wouldn't surprise me," He smiled as they walked into the airport.

"Gate A27," Carissa looked at her phone. "We're at gate A19."

"It's over there," Bentley pointed to their right.

"Oh crap, are they boarding already?" Carissa squinted her eyes at the line of people.

"I think so," he replied, starting to run. She quickly followed.

"Boarding group 3 may now line up," the flight attendant announced.

"I should go," Carissa went towards the entryway.

"Oh, well, I'm in boarding group 5, so I'll see you around?" he smiled as he headed to the end of the line.

Carissa waved, and after the flight attendant checked her in, walked to the plane. But instead of sitting in seat 2B, she walked to row 37 and sat in seat B. It was a smaller plane again, so she was only two rows from the back, and there were only four seats in every row, two on each side of the aisle. A few minutes later, more people came to the economy area, including a tall and larger middle-aged man.