Nova Scotia

Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

        The first thing I noticed when I finally found my seat was that it was occupied by someone else.

     There was a boy sitting in my seat, which was a window seat. His dark hair fell onto his forehead, and his eyes were cast downward. He had headphones in his ears, and was tapping his foot against the floor of the plane in time to his music, I assumed. From what I could see of him, since he wasn’t really facing me, I decided this boy was extremely cute.

        Cute or not, however, I wasn’t about to let him get away with stealing my seat.

        “Excuse me,” I said loudly, leaning forward to poke his shoulder. “That’s my seat,” I informed him when he took one of his headphones out.

        His eyebrows rose. “Is it really? I didn’t think anyone would be sitting here. Sorry, I’ll just move over, yeah?”

        “Yes, please.” I watched as he picked up the backpack at his feet and stood up, moving out of my way so I could sit down. I'd only just sat down, though, when I realized I hadn’t put my carry-on in the compartment above yet. Fuck. I stood up to put my bags away, but stopped in my tracks when I saw him already doing it.

        He swung my duffel bag up into the carry-on compartment swiftly, if not easily. When he did, the muscles in his arms tensed and his shirt rode up, exposing his abs. And, honestly, I couldn't help but stare. I looked away quickly when he straightened his shirt out and closed the compartment. He sat down beside me and set his backpack in the few inches of space between us.

        "There," he said, smiling at me. "You all set? We'll be taking off any minute now. I hope you're not scared of planes."

        "No," I said. "I'm not. Scared of planes, I mean. I kind of like them, to be honest."

        He nodded sagely, as though he knew exactly what I was talking about. "I get what you mean. Lots of time to think and stuff, am I right?"

        "Yeah," I said. "Sorry, but what's your name?"

        "Dallas," he said, grinning at me. "Dallas White. Sorry, I usually don't start conversations up with random strangers like this. But since we're going to be stuck beside each other for a while, I figured it'd be better to be your friend than just an awkward fellow passenger."

        "I'm Candice," I said, even though he didn't ask for my name. "Candice Li."

        "Do you fly alone often, Candice Li?"

        "No. This is my first time," I admitted.

        Again, he nodded sagely, as if he could read my mind. "Ah. Frequent flyer, first time solo. You nervous?"

        "Not really," I told him. "I've sat on my own before, and it didn't feel any different than this. Other than the fact that I have someone to talk to now instead of just watching 21 Jump Street over and over again."

        Dallas' grin grew even wider. "That movie's hilarious! I'd watch it for the rest of my life if I could, to be honest."

        "That movie was disturbing," I said, shaking my head. "Not to mention inaccurate. I'm ninety percent sure you can't just shoot someone's dick off. Plus, that guy's dick was smaller than the California roll I had for lunch today."

        Dallas laughed loudly; the old couple across from us shot him a dirty look. "I like you, Candice Li," he informed me. "You're funny. And your analogies are to die for. But," he added, "if your aim is good, which it was in the movie, shooting a dick in the very center of its base could cut it clean off. Depending on the thickness."