He laughs again. “It’s right up here.”
15
Mile High Club
Noli
Half an hour later, we’ve boarded the plane, stowed our carry-ons in the overhead compartments, and taken our seats. It’s a relatively small plane—rows of three seats on one side of the aisle, two on the other. Collin is to my right, in the window seat. I’m in the middle (because of course) next to a woman whose cousin is across the aisle from her. They’re from Cashmere County, but they’re on their way to visit family in Atlanta, where Collin and I will catch our connecting flight.
The plane is taxiing toward the runway, and I’ve got a one-handed grip on the armrest of my seat and the other on the pamphlet of emergency protocol instructions.
The woman sitting closest to me leans over while the flight attendant is talking through the materials. “So are you two together?”
I barely register what she says. I’m the type of person who wants to pay attention to these instructions. In the event of a water landing, please believe I want to know how to use my seat cushion as a flotation device. All these people who are too cool to listen right now will be darn glad I’m taking one for the team when I keep them all from drowning.
I rip my attention away from the flight attendant and glance at my seatmate. She raises her eyebrows in Collin’s direction. He’s messing around on his phone. I roll my eyes. He clearly hasn’t put it in airplane mode yet. The man’s a cop. Shouldn’t he be following the rules? What if the frequency he’s using messes withthe signals in the cockpit. He could be the cause for our entire plane crash.
“What?” I blink, replaying her question. “Him. Right. Oh, yeah.”
Smooth, Noli. Really selling it.
I force a smile. “He’s my boyfriend.”
I slowly release the death grip I have on the armrest and reach over for Collin’s hand. When my fingers connect with the sleeve of his shirt, he darts a gaze at me. I widen my eyes at him and then smile.
“This woman”—I turn to her—“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Macy. And this is my cousin Ashlyn,” she says. The other woman leans forward and gives a wave.
“Right. Macy was asking if we were together. I’m Noli,” I say. “And this is Collin.”
Collin hits them with his usual charming smile.
I look over at the phone still on in his other hand.
“Babe,” I say, emphasizing the word. His eyes dance. “Shouldn’t you power that down?”
Collin reaches over and squeezes my knee. He leans forward to address Macy and Ashlyn. “She likes me all to herself. I can barely get any work done when we’re together.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes as, next to me, Macy audibly sighs.
“I’ve got to send a quick email, and then I’m all yours for the rest of the flight.” Collin winks at me, giving my knee another playful squeeze before turning his attention back to his phone.
I’m going to kill him—that is, if his use of his personal electronic device doesn’t kill us all first.
“Oh em geeeee,” Macy hisses next to me. She grabs my upper arm. “Are you kidding me with him right now? Where can I get one?” Her cheeks are pink, and she mimes fanning herself. “Are you guys going to try to join the mile high club? I wouldn’t blame you.”
“What?” I squeak. “Oh no. That’s not really my style.”
“If I had a man like that, I would jump him any chance I could get.”
This conversation has gone off the rails. I have no idea how to right the ship.
Why can I only come up with transportation analogies? I say a quick prayer it’s not a bad sign for the air travel to come.
Before I can respond, the plane starts picking up speed, and I’m forced back into my seat. Macy and Ashlyn face forward, and I pinch my eyes closed.
Please don’t crash. Please don’t crash.
