Love is Blindness

Chapter 4; A Plane Ride to Colorado

I sat with Sam and Juliana on the bus ride to the airport. Somehow Juliana was able to pry herself away from Val.

We talked about our rivalry with the Avs and wondered what we would do to really provoke the fans and players. Before we knew it we were at the airport.

The three of us walked off the bus and retrieved our bags from the side compartment of the bus where the boys' equipment and other stuff was. We continued talking until we reached the plane. I had just given a flight attendant my suitcase when I felt a hand rest on my arm. I looked up into his soft, blue eyes, instantly frozen again.

"Hey I thought we would sit together on the ride to Colorado," Chris said to me softly. I tried to find words but when nothing would come out, I just nodded my head and followed him to his seat on the plane. As I walked by Juliana and Sam, Sam giggled and winked at me and Juliana had a surprised look on her face, but she looked happy for me. We walked past Aaron too, who smacked Chris in the butt. Chris hit Aaron in the back of the head, smiled at me, then kept walking.

We took a seat near the back, I figured so we could be alone. Somewhat. The girls kept looking back at us, winking, giggling, and giving me a thumbs up. Aaron on the other hand was making kissing faces at us both, but we tried to ignore him.

"So how did you sleep last night?" he asked.

"Took me some time, but I eventually did. Probably overtired. What about you?"

"It took me some time too. You know, was anticipatin' the game today... and... I was thinking about you..." My heart skipped a beat or two at the thought of him thinking about me.

"You were thinking about me? That's sweet. I was too..."

I looked out the window as we were beginning to pick up speed on the runway. I took a deep breath as we got faster and faster. Chris noticed that I was getting a little nervous. He placed his hand on mine just moments before the plane was in the air. When we were high enough in the air for me to see St. Louis and the cities around it, I returned my eyes to his. He looked curious and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

"I um... get a little nervous right before a plane takes off. I usually calm down once we're high enough in the air like now..."

"Why do you get like this, Hannah?" he asked with curiosity.

"After 9/11 my views of air travel changed drastically. The first time I had to get on a plane after the attack, I was literally breaking down. I did NOT want to get on the plane. But since my dad's job involved air travel, I had to learn to overcome this fear. I got rid of the worst part but I still get a little bit anxious before taking off..."

"Yeah the first time I had to travel after 9/11 was not a very fun experience. I was very cautious about every little thing that happened on the plane. So I know what you mean." he reassured me. I looked into his eyes intently and soon found myself in a daze.

We still had a few hours ahead of us so I decided to take a nap since I had gotten up early again. I leaned my head against the seat, still looking into Chris's eyes, as I began to fade. Just before my eyes closed, Chris smiled, sending butterflies all through my stomach and giving me good dreams. His hand was still upon mine.