Short Gay Stories~

Flight Pt.1

Part 1 out of 2--- (It would be too long otherwise) 

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Passing through metal detectors airports is always something nerve-wrecking, even though you know perfectly well that you're not carrying anything that could get you arrested. Your nerves start to spike as you remove your shoes and step towards the scanner, and you can physically feel the eyes of the officers looking at you. And if the scanner lights up red, your heart drops to the pit of your stomach, only to realize you forgot to remove your earrings or watch or something. Then, once you make it out to the end of the luggage belt, you have to hustle to put your shoes back on, re-loop your belt, and gather your bags before you become an obstacle to the other travellers. Once you finally make it out of there, you can relax knowing that you definitely aren't carrying anything illegal on you.

As nervous as metal scanners made him, travelling was something Caleb always looked forward to. Work trips were just as good as vacation trips. Because he was a photographer he always got to see interesting and beautiful things regardless of the occasion. This time was no different, an eight hour flight from New York's Kennedy airport to Lisbon Airport in Lisbon, Portugal for a three hour layover before finally reaching his destination in a little under an hour in Rabat, Morocco. Caleb was looking to photograph the animals in Temara Zoo. There they had descendants of Barbary lions, which no longer exist outside of captivity.

Caleb was more of a freelance photographer who got himself hired in various companies for individual jobs, which meant he didn't have to stick to one subject for his photography. Over his five years in the industry he'd photographed animals, landscapes (both environmental and city landscapes), models, buildings, plants, and such. He'd gained quite a bit of popularity and because of this, he was able to put certain conditions on his contracts, such as two free days at the destination, and expenses from all hotels would be covered by his employers.

Hurrying to Terminal 4, Caleb checked his watch. It's small face showed that it was 2pm, which meant he still had two hours until his plane took off. Slowing down to a relaxed pace, he readjusted his backpack on one of his shoulders. Scanning his surroundings, he spotted a McDonalds, a Starbucks, and various souvenir stores with cheap, overpriced trinkets. Staring at the snacks in a small store, he began considering whether or not to buy some, simply because the quality food on the planes were much too expensive. Still staring, he failed to notice someone equally distracted walking in his direction. A couple of moments later, the inevitable happened and both Caleb and the stranger smacked into eachother.

"Oh, sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention." Caleb had stumbled back a bit, but the run-in wasn't strong enough to knock him over. The friendly sounding stranger, however, didn't even flinch. Looking up, his eyes met warm hazel ones.

Smiling, he waved his hand dismissively, "No worries, I wasn't looking either."

Caleb started walking away, only to notice a couple of papers on the floor behind the strangers feet. Realizing that it was a boarding pass and plane ticket, he quickly picked them up and spun around in order to call out to the man. Looking around, he realized that the man had moved quite a bit away from him. Probably due to his longer stride.

"Excuse me!" Caleb rushed to the man, who seemed to have heard him. Reaching him, he extended his hand to him, "I think you dropped these.."

The man's eyes widened as he took the papers. He looked over them while one of his hands searched his pockets. Back jean pockets-no, jacket-no, front jean pockets-no (as if it's possible to fit something in there though)

He looked over Caleb, "Thank you, you're a lifesaver, I didn't even realize."

Caleb, once again, smiled, "No problem. If you don't mind me asking, where are you headed?"