Arrival in L.A. came sooner than she expected. She'd slept most of the flight, and thankfully the plane had been quiet. It'd been annoyingly difficult to fall asleep the night before, and she attributed it to nerves. Although she'd certainly flown alone before, this was her first time traveling overseas alone. She knew it would be healthy for her – a way to stretch and challenge herself – and she hoped to return from the trip refreshed and alive.
She sleepily pulled her carry-on bag behind her through the busy concourse after landing, praying that her luggage wouldn't get lost on its way to her connecting flight to Sydney. Although she was excited to be on vacation, she dreaded the impending hours on another plane. Another 15-hour flight didn't appeal to her, but if that's what it took to get her as far away from Miami as possible, so be it.
The concourse was absolutely jammed with people hurrying to catch their flights, and Lisa worked carefully not to run into anyone or roll her bag over anyone's feet. She watched the gates slowly pass as she walked and realized the gate for her next plane was still quite a ways away. Sighing, she looked down at her boarding pass and remembered she had a two-hour layover anyway. The smells of the various airport eateries wafted through the hall, and she realized how hungry she'd become.
"Perfect," she muttered, her eyes catching the sight of a coffee shop off in the distance.
A few minutes later she sat down with a latte and cinnamon scone. After flipping through her Cosmopolitan magazine and learning about the best swimsuit for her body type, Lisa grew bored and began to scan the crowds. People-watching would be a good way to help pass the time.
A small family rushed by, the young mother holding a screaming infant against her while the frazzled-looking father pulled them through the mass of people. They both looked disheveled and a bit disoriented. Lisa felt a tinge of pity and made another mental note to wait as long as possible to have children. The last thing she needed in her life right now was someone else to take care of.
An elderly couple holding hands…a few giggling teenaged girls wearing way too much make up...some flight attendants heading to their next assignment…
After several minutes Lisa checked the time on her phone and realized she should probably head over to her gate. Smoothing her soft white skirt she rose to throw away her trash, taking one last glance out into the masses.
She did a double take as her eyes instantly settled on a dark male form walking alone through the crowd. Something about him made him stand out from everyone else. Although his stature wasn't imposing, his body language attracted her eye first. His walk was casual, though he carried his well-built form confidently. His pale blue, lightly patterned button-up shirt was open at the neck, and the sleeves were rolled up a few inches above his wrists. His dark jeans were slightly faded, ending in a pair of black leather shoes. He looked casual, but expensive. Well put-together.
Finally her eyes settled on the brown locks tucked carefully behind his ears, the masculine cut of his jaw, and a set of full lips. His expression was relaxed, and perhaps a bit cocky. He was exquisitely handsome, and Lisa bit her lip and felt a rare tingling in the pit of her stomach. She blinked when she realized she was gawking. She stole her eyes away but quickly flitted them back in his direction, catching the back of him as he headed down the hall. The back was almost as good as the front…
After he was finally out of sight Lisa finally released the breath she realized she'd been holding. Her heart had actually been racing. What the hell was wrong with her? She shook her head at herself and walked over to shove her cup into the trashcan. Taking a hold of her carryon bag, she glanced at her boarding pass one more time before heading toward her gate.
Lisa searched for a comfortable position in her seat on the plane, thankful that she was placed next to a window. She looked across the wide cabin and watched as the other passengers shoved their bags into the overhead bins and found their seats. She quickly tried to remember what had possessed her to settle for a seat in coach.
Oh yeah. The thousands of dollar price difference.
She sat back and closed her eyes again. Fifteen hours. Fifteen hours on this plane and then I'll be there…
The seat beside her remained empty as the other passengers continued to board. She was hoping for a quiet seatmate, but the prospect of not having one at all was almost too good to be true.
After most everyone had settled into their seats Lisa realized the seat beside her and the seat across the aisle from her appeared to be the only ones still empty. She continued to scan the aisle ways, waiting for someone to emerge. Finally, a frazzled looking woman came rushing down the aisle, her humungous purse smacking into the other passengers as she came. Her mascara had blotched and sunken into the tiny wrinkles around her eyes, and her silver-streaked brunette locks were pulled up into a lazy ponytail. Lisa stiffened and silently prayed that the woman was headed for the seat across the aisle. To her chagrin, the woman plopped down right beside her.
She attempted a smile but the woman was too shaken up from barely catching the flight that she didn't notice. The older woman stuffed her large purse beneath the seat in front of her and quickly fastened her safety belt. After she had situated herself Lisa paused and decided to be friendly. After all, they were going to spend the next several hours together.
"Hi…" Lisa offered. The woman turned her head quickly in Lisa's direction, appearing as if she hadn't even noticed that there was someone beside her.
"Oh…hello," the woman stuttered, still visibly shaken.
"Rough day?" Lisa asked sympathetically. The woman laughed nervously.
"You could say that," she answered, fidgeting. "I'm not used to big airports. Can you believe they had our gate at the absolute end of the concourse? I swear it took an hour just to get to the gate…"
But Lisa barely heard her. Coming down the aisle, in her direction, was the man from outside the coffee shop. She felt herself hold a breath again as she watched him come closer, unable to believe he would actually be the person assigned to the seat across the aisle. How was that possible? To her disbelief, he stopped in front of that exact seat and reached up to put his bag in the overhead bin. She swallowed hard as she ran her eyes down the back of him…
"…know what I mean?" the woman continued, looking a little puzzled at Lisa's change of expression.
Lisa averted her attention back to her seatmate and tried to get her bearings, unsure why exactly she was so mesmerized. It was ridiculous that she was feeling this way. He was just some random guy.
Was her face getting hot?
"Yes," Lisa persisted, determined to get her heartbeat back to normal pace. "Big airports can be a pain."
The woman carried on nervous conversation, introducing herself as Rhonda, a real estate agent from L.A. She was on her second honeymoon with her husband, whose seat was near the back of the plane. She was upset they couldn't sit together.
Lisa worked to carry on the conversation, but her eyes kept flitting across the aisle. The handsome stranger hadn't glanced in her direction since he'd sat down, and it annoyed her that she cared. She silently begged him to look over at her while she simultaneously scolded herself for wanting him to. She absent-mindedly smoothed her hair and situating herself as if eye contact was imminent. But alas, he continued to stare forward, clearly oblivious that his nonchalance was bugging the crap out of a woman across the aisle. Lisa wondered why he was headed to Australia. Vacation? Work? Family? He was clearly traveling alone. Probably to meet a woman.
Again, she scolded herself for even caring and ordered herself to pay attention to Rhonda. Finally the plane rumbled to life, causing the woman to pause her extensive description of her two teenaged children. "Oh god…" the woman muttered, suddenly gripping her armrests and sitting upright in her seat.
"Are you okay?" Lisa asked, her brow quickly creased with concern.
"Yes," Rhonda answered quickly, her eyes squeezed shut. "I'm just…I have a slight fear of flying." Lisa nodded, understanding.
"I've dealt with that before too," she said as the plane began to back away from the gate. "Is this your first time flying?" The woman's features went pale as the plane continued to move.
"Yes…err…no," she answered quickly, spitting the words out separately with her eyes tightly shut. "We tried to fly to Dallas once, but we ended up getting off the plane before we took off."
Lisa made a mental note of where the vomit bags were located, just in case. "So…you've never actually flown before."
Rhonda shook her head back and forth very quickly, and Lisa could see tears were starting to form outside the squeezed eyelids. She felt panicked, wanting to comfort the woman somehow.
"Where is your husband?"
The woman began to breathe heavily as she tightened her seatbelt.
"I think he's in the back." she breathed, her voice breaking slightly. Lisa looked around quickly for a flight attendant and saw that a few other passengers had noticed the commotion and were watching them. She saw out of the corner of her eye that the handsome stranger was now paying attention as well, but there was no time for that now.
"I thought I could do this…I thought I was ready…I thought I could do this…" Rhonda mumbled, full tears streaming down her cheeks. "I need to get off this plane…"
"It's okay, Rhonda…just relax," Lisa whispered, patting her on the arm as she continued to search for a flight attendant. She could tell the woman was shaking. There was no flight attendant in sight, as they were probably all secured for takeoff. In her desperation for help, Lisa began to scan the other passengers. Without realizing where her search was taking her, her eyes suddenly met with the most piercing blue eyes she'd ever seen in her life. The handsome stranger looked calmly back at her, and Lisa thought her heart would stop at the unexpected connection. He regarded her for a moment, then looked down at the trembling Rhonda. Without warning he quickly unfastened his seatbelt and headed for the front of the plane. Lisa watched him go as she kept an arm around the terrified woman, and realized he was going for help.
In less than thirty seconds he returned with a flight attendant in tow, then wordlessly took his seat. Rhonda begged the attendant to let her move back to sit with her husband, and after a several seconds of pleading, she was following the attendant to the back of the plane without a word of thanks for Lisa or the man across the aisle.
Lisa assumed the flight staff would ask someone to switch seats, and that person would take the empty seat next to her. But after several minutes as the plane began to take off she realized no one was coming from the back to claim the seat. Slight relief flowed through her, but a new dilemma had arisen: now there was no one sitting between her and the handsome stranger. Lisa carefully glanced over at him, hoping to catch another glimpse of those blue eyes or at least be able to thank him for his help. Much to her disappointment he was facing forward again, a relaxed and emotionless look on his striking face. He appeared to have already forgotten she existed.
She was self-conscious without a barrier between them and felt herself fidget a little. She smoothed her skirt again and ran a hand through her hair for the billionth time. They were going to be on this flight for the next fifteen hours. Surely there would be an opportunity to talk to him. It'd be rude not to, right? But wait – what was it she'd said to her mom? That she wasn't on this trip to meet a man? Well, she wasn't. That didn't mean she couldn't make a new friend on the plane ride over there, right?
Dammit, this wasn't like her…to feel so vulnerable in the presence of a stranger. To ache with the need to interact with him. Usually an attractive man had to do much more to get her attention than simply exist.
After a few more minutes she dared another careful glance in his direction and realized he still looked as calm and indifferent as ever. Her heart sank a little, when suddenly she saw him take the slightest peak in her direction out of the corner of his eye. Her stomach leapt and she quickly turned her attention back to the front, feeling her face heating a little from embarrassment. Here she was, twenty-eight years old and swooning like a teenager over a cute boy in school. She was an adult, dammit. Why was she acting like this?
Embarrassed that he had noticed her ogling him, Lisa ordered herself to relax and reached again for her novel. Getting lost in its pages would help distract her. If she wasn't careful she'd only succeed in creeping him out.
Still, she spent the next several minutes trying to decide if she'd only imagined that slight smirk on his lips when he'd glanced.