smile.
“Hi.” I tried to smile, but my energy was waning since the adrenaline was gone from my mad dash to the plane.
The man adjusted his suit as he got comfortable, and I turned to look out the window. It was only moments later the flight attendants walked down the aisle making sure all the overhead bins were closed while another gave the standard seatbelt demonstration as the plane started moving toward the runway.
“I thought I was going to miss the flight,” the man said, bringing my attention back to him.
“I did, too. I only sat down a few minutes before you.”.
“So, where are you headed to?” the man asked, completely ignoring the flight attendant giving her speech.
“San Diego. Aren’t you?” I lifted an eyebrow. It’d be just my luck to get the one person who somehow ended up getting on the wrong plane. My day was going that well.
“Yes. I didn’t know if you were catching a connecting flight. What draws you to the coast?”
“Work.” I hated small talk. I’d rather look out the window until I could pop open my laptop and get some work done, but I wasn’t rude enough to ignore him.
“I’m Ben, by the way.” He held out a large hand for me to shake.
Slipping my hand into his, I nodded. “Summer.”
After a warm squeeze, he dropped my hand. We were about to take off and, thankfully, he fell into silence. I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes as the plane picked up speed and lifted off the ground. The worst part of flying — taking off. No matter how many flights I took, I couldn’t get over that initial feeling of weightlessness or the dropping of my stomach.
As the plane leveled off, I felt a pat on my hand. Opening my eyes, I found it was Ben.
“We made it,” he assured me with a wink.
With a sheepish smile, I corrected him. “It’s not that I’m afraid the plane won’t make it. Not really. It’s that bottomed out feeling. Like the rug was just yanked from under your feet. I hate that feeling.”
“I understand that. Every time I fly and that feeling hits, I’m reminded of when I found my wife screwing my business partner. It’s fantastic.” He shook his head as a dry, sarcastic laugh slipped from his lips. Looking away from me, he gave a deep, painful sigh.
I rubbed my hand up my arm while mumbling an awkward, “Sorry.” I’d never been in a relationship serious enough to be cheated on so I couldn’t relate, and I certainly didn’t expect a stranger to be sharing something so personal.
“No. No, I’m sorry. It’s just been one of those days,” he said, turning back to look at me. “Over-booked with back-to-back meetings, running across country for meetings, not enough sleep, not enough down time.” Ben ran a hand over his hair as he blew out a breath. “I’ll leave you alone. I can tell you are probably just as busy as I am.”
“Trust me, it’s okay. I can completely relate. How about some office free, work free conversation? It’d do me some good to get a breather in anyway.” While I hadn’t been thinking about it initially when he mentioned how hectic his life was, I realized I hadn’t had time away from work related people and conversations either.
“Sure. What do you have in mind?” Ben asked as his fingers skimmed over the sides of his lips. Shifting in his seat, he turned toward me so our knees bumped in the small space. He unbuttoned his jacket and shrugged it off, revealing a crisp white dress shirt and multi-hued tie before draping it over his lap.
“How about…what do you do when you aren’t at work? For fun, that is.” I moved so I was turned toward him as I asked the first question I could think of.
His lips pressed together, making it appear he was fighting to hide a smile. “I like to tie up and spank young women.”
If I hadn’t seen the sparkle in his eye, I would’ve thought he was completely serious from his tone of voice. Not to mention, the smile he was fighting to hide.
“Well, sir,
“Hi.” I tried to smile, but my energy was waning since the adrenaline was gone from my mad dash to the plane.
The man adjusted his suit as he got comfortable, and I turned to look out the window. It was only moments later the flight attendants walked down the aisle making sure all the overhead bins were closed while another gave the standard seatbelt demonstration as the plane started moving toward the runway.
“I thought I was going to miss the flight,” the man said, bringing my attention back to him.
“I did, too. I only sat down a few minutes before you.”.
“So, where are you headed to?” the man asked, completely ignoring the flight attendant giving her speech.
“San Diego. Aren’t you?” I lifted an eyebrow. It’d be just my luck to get the one person who somehow ended up getting on the wrong plane. My day was going that well.
“Yes. I didn’t know if you were catching a connecting flight. What draws you to the coast?”
“Work.” I hated small talk. I’d rather look out the window until I could pop open my laptop and get some work done, but I wasn’t rude enough to ignore him.
“I’m Ben, by the way.” He held out a large hand for me to shake.
Slipping my hand into his, I nodded. “Summer.”
After a warm squeeze, he dropped my hand. We were about to take off and, thankfully, he fell into silence. I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes as the plane picked up speed and lifted off the ground. The worst part of flying — taking off. No matter how many flights I took, I couldn’t get over that initial feeling of weightlessness or the dropping of my stomach.
As the plane leveled off, I felt a pat on my hand. Opening my eyes, I found it was Ben.
“We made it,” he assured me with a wink.
With a sheepish smile, I corrected him. “It’s not that I’m afraid the plane won’t make it. Not really. It’s that bottomed out feeling. Like the rug was just yanked from under your feet. I hate that feeling.”
“I understand that. Every time I fly and that feeling hits, I’m reminded of when I found my wife screwing my business partner. It’s fantastic.” He shook his head as a dry, sarcastic laugh slipped from his lips. Looking away from me, he gave a deep, painful sigh.
I rubbed my hand up my arm while mumbling an awkward, “Sorry.” I’d never been in a relationship serious enough to be cheated on so I couldn’t relate, and I certainly didn’t expect a stranger to be sharing something so personal.
“No. No, I’m sorry. It’s just been one of those days,” he said, turning back to look at me. “Over-booked with back-to-back meetings, running across country for meetings, not enough sleep, not enough down time.” Ben ran a hand over his hair as he blew out a breath. “I’ll leave you alone. I can tell you are probably just as busy as I am.”
“Trust me, it’s okay. I can completely relate. How about some office free, work free conversation? It’d do me some good to get a breather in anyway.” While I hadn’t been thinking about it initially when he mentioned how hectic his life was, I realized I hadn’t had time away from work related people and conversations either.
“Sure. What do you have in mind?” Ben asked as his fingers skimmed over the sides of his lips. Shifting in his seat, he turned toward me so our knees bumped in the small space. He unbuttoned his jacket and shrugged it off, revealing a crisp white dress shirt and multi-hued tie before draping it over his lap.
“How about…what do you do when you aren’t at work? For fun, that is.” I moved so I was turned toward him as I asked the first question I could think of.
His lips pressed together, making it appear he was fighting to hide a smile. “I like to tie up and spank young women.”
If I hadn’t seen the sparkle in his eye, I would’ve thought he was completely serious from his tone of voice. Not to mention, the smile he was fighting to hide.
“Well, sir,
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