There was no first class upgrade on the way home. They hadn't expected it really, since Gabe was married now, and on his honeymoon and had better things to do with his time and his money now. This time though, they didn't really mind it, as she leaned her thigh casually against his, no longer aching from the effort of holding her body rigid in her seat. She watched in awe as the land slipped further and further away from them, the Florida coastline blurring as they ascended.
Sighing happily, she leaned back in her seat, feeling his hand find her knee as he leaned in close, watching their ascent with interest over her shoulder.
"Mr and Mrs Romero!" A shrill voice trilled at them from the aisle and they turned their heads to see their flight attendant from the journey there beaming at them.
"Hi there, Natalie." Alex said, warmly and Norma was immediately glad he was there, because there was no way she would have remembered the girl's name without him.
"I hope you had a good honeymoon?" She said, half as a question.
"It was lovely, thank you." Norma said, genuinely, sharing a small smile with Alex before grinning up at the girl. She winked back at her, knowingly, before glancing around the cabin conspicuously. "No upgrade today I'm afraid." She started, in a stage whisper.
"Well, that's ok." Norma said sweetly, noticing that the girl seemed to have taken a real liking to them.
"So, no champagne today." She started, with a mock-pout. "But..." She pulled her hand out of her pocket, pulling out two miniature tequila bottles, and two miniature bourbon bottles with a discreet little flourish. "Ta-da! These are on the house!"
"Oh Natalie. That's so sweet. Thank you." Norma said gratefully, as she deposited the bottles on Alex's tiny tray table, before slinking away like she'd pulled off the heist of the century. Alex and Norma shared a little grin at the girl's gesture, genuinely touched, if not slightly amused.
"What? She couldn't have snuck us salt and lime aswell?" Alex griped mildly, holding up the tiny tequila bottle with interest.
She struck him on the shoulder.
"Hush. She's sweet." She chastised him quietly, before opening the bourbon bottle, taking a small sip without so much as a wince, earning Alex's silent respect.
She had sipped from the tiny whiskey bottle for a few minutes, staring out of the window intensely as she listened to him take his own drink.
"So..." She started, seriously, turning in her seat to face him.
"So?" He parroted back, mimicking her sincerity, earning him an eye roll.
She took a deep breath, before turning back to the window, watching the clouds wisp by as they moved above them, deciding it would be easier to say this without looking at him.
"Will you break it off with the redhead?" She blurted out, and she deliberately kept her tone neutral, leaving the question ambiguous. Was she simply asking if he intended to break it off, or was she asking him to do so?
She heard him hiss a breath in next to her and there was a pause that seemed to stretch on forever. She finished her drink.
"What do you mean?" He said eventually, and she was disappointed he had taken that route.
She wasn't going to humour him, or skirt around this anymore.
"I saw you. With her. I went to the winter carnival. I wanted to surprise you, but I saw you with her." The words tumbled out too fast.
His breath hitched in his throat and she dared not look at him, her fingers gripping hard on her arm rest as she remembered the way it had felt to watch him with that other girl.
"I... " He started, nervously, puffing air out awkwardly. "What exactly did you see?"
She pressed her lips together for a moment, before shaking her head slightly, managing to keep her tone neutral as she recounted what she had seen.
"I saw you with her. You pulled her away from the festival. You... pushed her against a wall." She gulped, trying to keep the jealousy out of her voice. "I'd seen enough at that point."
He laughed, a short breathless sound that almost had her turning to look at him over her shoulder.
"I was threatening her." He said simply.
"Ok." Norma shot back, like she didn't believe him.
"No. Really. I was threatening her. Me and Rebecca - We used to... date." She bristled at the implication of his words and at her foe finally having a name. "When I married you, she... became a nuisance." There was a long pause like he thought that might be enough of the story. When she remained stoicly silent, he pressed on. "She's crazy. Always has been, but... she started threatening you, starting threatening our marriage, and I lost it. I... " He paused, his tone darkening.
"I threatened to kill her if she hurt you." He finished quietly, clearly ashamed of himself. Norma stared out of the window, her vision now fixed on nothing. As a woman who had been threatened and intimidated by men her whole life, she wanted to hate the idea of this woman being scared by the man she loved. But try as she might, she couldn't help but feel safe at the notion that this man was ready to shun women from his past to protect her. She turned in her seat, still feeling conflicted, catching his tortured look.
"I would never have hurt her." He clarified, clearly not forgetting the intimidation she had suffered at the hands of men. "Not really. I just wanted to scare her. I just wanted to protect you." He said in a small voice, his eyes never leaving her uncertain face.
She leaned forward to press her forehead against his, forgiving him and thanking him without the need for words, before pulling back suddenly, remembering something.
"The lipstick on your uniform? The perfume?" She added, suspiciously. "It wasn't hers?"
He laughed, biting his lip like he was in on some big secret.
"Some girl lost her dog." He said, not answering her question at all, while a smile tugged at his lips. "Someone brought it into the station and we reunited them. She was... appreciative."
"How appreciative?" She said, narrowing her eyes jealously.
He quirked his lips at her, massively enjoying her jealousy for a moment, before clarifying.
"She grabbed the dog and then grabbed me and cried against us both for twenty minutes. It was... stressful." He finished, and she smiled at the thought of Alex helplessly patting some young crying woman and her little dog.
Her smile faded as she remembered their resulting conversation.
"Why did you let me think...?" She trailed off, letting the question sit between them.
"I don't know." He said, lying. She knew he was lying and turned to stare out of the window haughtily.
"I was hurt." He said suddenly, with a burst of honesty. "And I was mad. And I liked seeing you jealous." Something in his tone changed as he spoke, and his hand found her knee again, sliding just an inch higher than last time.
He leaned in, his face suddenly much closer when he spoke again.
"Maybe I just liked watching you squirm." He said, as his hand suddenly skimmed several inches up her skirt, watching as she literally squirmed under his touch. She readjusted the navy fabric, spreading it back out over his hand, but not discouraging him as his fingers slid higher, skimming the fabric of her panties. He had never been with a woman who wore quite as many full, knee-length skirts as Norma Bates, but he was really seeing the appeal as the fabric covered his hand completely as her thighs unconsciously shifted open to him. Her eyes fluttered shut as his fingers slipped inside her underwear, his fingers skimming against her core, finding her already wet and she didn't need to open her eyes to know he was smirking at her proudly.
"I don't feel well." She announced suddenly, her volume making him jump. His hand withdrew automatically and he stared at her as she abruptly turned her head to look at him. Her expression was unreadable to him as she smoothed her skirt down, standing to half-rise in her seat. She stepped across him, as if she was going to slip out into the aisle, her expression still incredibly neutral as she spread her skirt across his lap as she passed him. Her fingers slid under the fabric, trailing across him through his jeans, and his head dropped back as she lingered for a few moments more than was necessary. Her weight settled across his knees and she grasped him teasingly, still covered by the navy fabric and he was once again thankful for his wife's love of full skirts.
"Ah.. Norma?" He choked out, looking around guiltily at the other passengers, most of whom were nodding off, or engrossed in the in-flight movie. Those who glanced over saw nothing other than a woman stepping across a man to get to the bathroom.
Norma heaved suddenly, giving a dramatic little retch that finally drew the gaze of a few of their fellow passengers.
She half smiled at him as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I don't feel well." She announced, much louder than necessary, before sliding off his lap and almost sprinting to the bathroom.
Alex stared off after her for an embarrassingly long time. Was she really ill or were his fantasies all coming true? He barely hoped that it could be the latter, and the longer he thought about it, about how fragile Norma was, about how nervous she was about flying, the more he decided it was the former and began to feel a little guilty about enjoying her touch so much. Maybe she really was sick, the heat and the stress finally getting to her and he was just ignoring her? A tiny voice in his mind tried to convince him otherwise, and, propelled by both directions his thoughts were taking, he found himself rising from his seat, crossing his hands in front of himself to disguise his raging semi from any curious passengers.
He knocked lightly on the door, listening for any sounds of distress from inside.
"You ok?" He said his voice seeming overly loud in the relative quiet of the plane. Hardly anyone looked up at him, most engrossed in reading or watching the movie, but a couple of people looked up, regarding him curiously, before the door opened and he was being pulled in before he could protest.
"Oh my god! I thought you weren't coming!" She whispered, before pulling him in for a passionate kiss, her tongue pressing against his insistently. He hesitated for approximately an eighth of a second, before kissing her back, sliding the door shut behind him, winding his arms around her. He tasted like whiskey but the taste no longer incited the fear that it once did.
He pulled back for a moment, and she could tell from the look on his face that he was about to protest, perhaps try and tell her that this was madness, that they were going to get caught, or that they should slow down.
"I thought I was going to have to start without you." She whispered seductively, and smirked as her words had the intended effect. Suppressing a groan at her words, he kissed her ferociously, pressing her back against the counter, letting her nip at her lip as they fought for control.
There was hardly any room but they didn't care, pressing their bodies against each other, almost occupying the same space as his hands tangled in her hair, her hands reaching to pull at his belt buckle. He didn't stop her this time, too carried away with their spontaneity, and he let her unzip him, allowing her hands free him from his jeans, just as he pulled at her skirt, sliding his hands under the fabric. Her underwear was somehow shimmied off in the small space and before he could really stop to think, his hands had slid under her thighs, perching her on the small sink and bunching her skirt up around her waist.
They were too old for this, too sensible. At least that was what he tried to tell himself, but as she clutched desperately at his shirt, mewling as he dug his fingers into her thighs, he lost all ability to form reasonable thoughts. They weren't teenagers anymore, but he couldn't get enough of her. She was addictive, and she seemed to feel the same way, letting out exquisite little moans in his ear as she rubbed herself against him, urging him on.
Without any further preamble, he slammed into her, her head hitting the mirror behind her, his face pressing against her shoulder. She let out a shrill, surprised squeak and for a second, a flicker of guilt ran through him. In all the excitement, he had forgotten how fragile she was, how delicate he had promised to be with her after learning of her past, but as he went to pull back, her hands clutched at his shirt, her legs splaying out against the tiny bathroom walls.
He pushed into her, more gently now, and she moaned again, this time almost sounding annoyed.
"I'm not made of glass." She murmured against his ear, as she pressed her feet more firmly against each wall of the tiny room, using the leverage to push herself against him. He obliged her unspoken request and grasped at her butt, thrusting himself into her more forcefully this time. She gasped, a soft, deeply sensual sound and he continued, setting up a frenzied pace, slamming himself into her harder than he would have dared.
When she had revealed her past, he had still loved her, still wanted her, but he had resigned himself to a life of gentle, delicate lovemaking. He was ok with that - Ok with a life of tenderly worshipping this broken, infinitely shatterable woman for the rest of his life, but, as he pounded into her, his mouth swallowing her ecstatic cries, he realised she was much more than he thought she was. Her fingers dug into the back of his neck as she clung frantically to him, her orgasm building fast under the intensity of the situation.
An unconsciously loud strangled moan escaped her, and his hand came up to clamp across her mouth for a moment, before he remembered that she wouldn't like that, instead pressing his hand to the back of her neck. He pushed her face hard against his shoulder, trying to muffle her involuntary cries. Her thighs shuddered under his fingers and he flinched as she bit hard on his shoulder, screaming against his shirt as she came. The feeling of her tightening around him, coupled with her terrible attempts to cover her own orgasm had him following her moments later, thrusting her erratically against the mirror a few times. He groaned, smiling when she mimicked his earlier actions, pressing her hand across his mouth. Something about the desperate way she was trying to shush him made him realise she had no idea how loud she'd been and he grinned, relishing the feel of her bitemark under the shoulder of his shirt. She was precious.
They gazed at each other for a moment, her foot sliding lazily off the wall to press gently against his back when a sudden knock on the door made them both jump. They shared a mortified glance before he pulled away harshly, making her wince as she smoothed her skirt down, pulling her shirt back into place as he zipped up his jeans, both making themselves as presentable as they could.
He pulled her off the sink roughly and was bending her over before she could figure out what he was doing. She flicked her head over her shoulder incredulously, noting where his hand was pressing her down, her face mere inches away from the aluminium rim of the toilet. He positioned himself behind her and for a second, she wondered how this could possibly be better, before the flicked the lock switch to off and whispered "Follow my lead" to her before she could protest.
The door flew open and Norma's eyes flew shut, not wanting to register how the situation looked to an outsider. She felt his hands smooth her hair back from her face, gently grabbing a handful of it and she kept her eyes shut, half just wishing the plane would crash.
"Is there a problem?" Alex said coolly.
There was a pause, and, over the hum of the aircraft, Norma heard the flight attendant make a soft, confused noise.
"My wife gets travel sick." He offered, his tone a little softer. Norma glanced to the side at the air hostess, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand in what she hoped was a convincing manner. Natalie was hovering apologetically over the shoulder of the other woman, who was staring at them severely. It was clear that neither of them believed them, but they'd put on a convincing enough show and both of them stalked off, Natalie shooting Norma a little wink before they walked up the aisles without another word.
They both breathed sigh of relief as she straightened up, her legs still shaking under her.
"Feel better, honey?" He said loudly, earning himself a jab in the ribs.
Norma flicked her hair haughtily and stalked back to her seat without another word, keeping her eyes studiously focused on the ground the whole way. He gave her a moment, readjusting himself before striding out into the aisle. Several male passengers sent him silent nods of approval, or sly little smirks, and Alex had to fight not to react to them, knowing Norma would hate it if she knew people knew.
When he got back to their seat, Norma was slunk down in her seat, her hand across her eyes.
He just stared at her, a wicked smile playing on his lips, as she kept her hand pressed to her face, covering her eyes.
"Stop it." She hissed at him. There was a pause, where he shrugged helplessly. "I can hear you smirking at me."
"I'm not doing anything!" He protested, not able to keep the smile off his face when she finally dropped her hand, glaring at him.
She tutted, huffing out an exasperated sigh that made him want to laugh even more.
"Hey, it was your idea..." He ventured.
"You started it!" She snapped back, and he couldn't help but laugh at how easily she had risen to the bait.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
She opened her mouth to speak before looking past him, noticing Natalie coming towards them. She rearranged her scowl into a warm smile, as Natalie paused next to them, looking around her shiftily, before shooting them a loaded glance.
Before either of them could ask what she was doing, she subtly slid something into Alex's hand. Dumbfounded, they both stared at the little scrap of white lace in his hand for a split second before she realised she was looking at her underwear that Natalie must have found on the bathroom floor. Norma died of embarrassment for a moment, before she snatched them out of his hand, folding her arms and sinking down low into her seat, feeling her cheeks redden.
"Thanks." She heard Alex murmur next to her, his voice thick with laughter. Natalie's heels clicked away without another word and Norma wasn't sure if she hated or loved the girl in that moment.
She wanted to die. She wanted the plane to crash. She wanted Alex to stop shaking with silent laughter in the seat next to her.
"Stop!" She whined, which made him laugh even more. "Alex, I'm serious!"
She glanced at him to find him hunched over in his seat, his shoulders shaking, his hands covering his face.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry." He breathed out, between helpless giggles that she'd never seen before.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the last little bottle of tequila, holding it out uncertainly like a peace offering. She snatched it out of his hand, sighing when he started to giggle again, irritated when she felt herself starting to smile aswell. It was infectious.
His laughter eventually died down, and he was silent for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak again.
"You know," he started seriously, in a tone that made her think he was changing the subject. "Now I know you're an exhibitionist, I've always wanted to do it in the squad car..." He finished, tapping his chin thoughtfully, flinching as she playfully smacked his arm.
"Yeah. There's literally no chance." She confirmed haughtily, as he pouted at her.
She rolled her eyes, pretending to still be annoyed, before downing the contents of the bottle in one horrible swig.
She loved this man. This ridiculous, confusing man who made her act like a teenager. He wiped his eyes, his laughter subsiding, and they shared a long glance before she leaned her head against his chest, sighing happily when he pressed a kiss against her forehead. As they headed back to normality, she wondered if things would be the same once they were back home. She couldn't think of a reason why not.
Yeah, not a single reason. Not one single thing that might impact their happiness when they get home... *smirks evilly*
Thanks for your reviews guys! Hope y'all liked the mile high club and Norma FINALLY finding out that Alex didn't cheat on her. I know alot of you were concerned she was never going to find out, but I would never do that to you guys! Love ya all! xxx
