War
"Are you the- oh..." the woman whispered as she stared up in the shocked face of the man before her. He wasn't overly tall, but had a good few inches on her in heels, was a couple of years older than her, with pale almost glowing skin and captains epaulets on his broad shoulders. He was down staring at her with the same mix of confusion and shock.
"Urm-oh-yes. Come in..." he stammered holding the door open. She ducked under his arm, subconsciously breathing in his scent as she passed in close proximity to his body. He smelt like a woody aftershave and apples. Arthur remained outside, turning his back and returning to the passengers with a small triumphant smile on his face.
"You must be-"Martin began, faltering as the woman span in the small space, finding her body pressed exceedingly close to his. She flushed clearing her own throat, as they both looked away awkwardly, trying to find room to manoeuvre themselves away from the other in anyway possible.
"Ye- yes ... I'm, I'm"- words were failing her as she stared up into the handsome face of the young pilot.
"Belle... My mother was French." She managed to stammer out. Martin smiled and gazed deeply into the woman's enchanting hazel eyes.
"Your parent's had the right idea my dear. Belle... mean's beauty does it not?" Douglas quipped from the corner. Both jumped as they were jolted out of their daze. She blinked, smiling the man.
"Yes.. yes it does mean beauty. La Belle et la Bete and all that... My parents had a funny sense of humour, I was an extremely ugly baby, more of a beast than a beauty." She smirked, thinking of her loving but mental late parents.
"Well, the jokes certainly on them now-" Martin whispered without really thinking about what he was saying. Belle's eyes met his and a soft smile appeared on her lips. Douglas looked at the two shocked. Was Martin successfully flirting? And with a woman like that?
"Thank you- Martin" he interjected, holding out his hand. However Belle reached upwards lightly kissing him on the cheek, Martin stumped managing to right himself and do the traditional air kiss with the European ( he now reminded himself) woman. He didn't even manage a smirk as Douglas only got a single kiss on one cheek.
Settling herself on the seat that was usually occupied by Carolyn, Belle smoothed her tight skirt over her legs, blissfully unaware of both the men's eyes on her as she looked around the cabin. Martin span, clicking the plane onto auto-pilot as both men looked at the woman who had appeared in their cabin.
Long glossy hair in a deep brown colour almost verging on black, with a beautifully feminine face with practically no sharp edges. Her skin was a gently tanned colour, all natural genetics as she had mentioned her European roots. And as she turned, the same wide smile on her lips, they were both transfixed by her beautiful green eyes and their dancing golden flecks.
"I've never been inside a cockpit before" she said, looking around the room once more. Martin chuckled lightly, turning around in his chair to face the woman fully.
"Well it loses its appeal after a few goes, especially in a plane-" he faltered in his words as she arched an eyebrow at him. Douglas glared from beside him.
"I get what you mean" she smiled. "My boss isn't exactly known for his generosity when he sends his employees out of the country, no offence or anything but this flight must have been cheap or he wouldn't have sent me on it." Martin sighed in relief.
"So you're going out of the country for business?" he asked, immediately regretting his question as the eyebrow was arched at him again. She looked down at her clothes, tugging slightly at her skirt to cover her legs.
"Well, I don't dress like this normally if that's what you mean- but to answer your question yes, but I chose to go out here on this day. I meeting some people in Italy tomorrow" she said, pausing for a thought. Martin's smile faltered for a moment.
"Boyfriend?" he asked. She peered up at him, her eyes wide for a moment. She then burst into peals of laughter.
"Boyfriend? That's a joke- like I have a boyfriend... where would I meet one? Work? One of the perverts who stare at my legs in the office?" she giggled, her laughter tinkling around the small room.
"No- no- not a boyfriend. It's my cousins wedding in Rome, tomorrow, on Valentine's Day- romantic huh?" she said sarcastically. Martin raised his eyebrows, doing a little jig inside his mind over the fact that she was single.
"To be truthful, I sometimes wish I was dating one of the office perverts anything to get my aunty off my back" she said, her face falling drastically.
"I'm sure she's probably got about 10 different men lined up- all of them about 10-20 years older than me and totally inappropriate" she muttered, into her lap. She turned back to Martin as if she only just realized that he was there. Douglas had spun in his chair, pretending to sort something out on the dashboard, but was secretly watching the pair from the corner of his eye. For once the bet was forgotten, if for the sake of their team if nothing else, he didn't think that Martin would appreciate him chatting the girl up when he clearly liked her.
"What about you... Martin wasn't it- any plans with your wife, girlfriend, or will you be working?" she asked. Martin shook his head.
"Nope- no plans because I am indeed working, we'll be in Rome all day- all weekend in fact" he said simply. Belle's face fell slightly; she let out a slight "oh" of breath. She got to her feet sharply, face flushing furiously and flustered.
"Well... in that case I better be going- we'll be arriving in Rome soon and you can't have passengers in the cock pit- but of course you know that because your pilots. So I better- um... go. Bye- bye lovely to meet you Douglas-" she paused for a moment, looking back at a confused Martin who was still sitting shell shocked at her sudden outburst.
"You too Martin" she whispered, that rabbit caught in the headlights look upon her face for another single moment before she ran from the tiny room. Martin stared at the slowly closing door for a moment.
"You complete idiot- " Douglas whispered. Martin span in his chair and faced the older man.
"What? What did I- oh..." he said as the penny dropped.
"She thinks I have a- "Yes Martin- she does." Douglas nodded, his eyes closed and running a hand over his eyes.
"All because I didn't correct her?" he said, his voice rising in his panic. Douglas sighed and clicked the plane back into their control
"You really don't understand women do you?" Douglas murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. Martin didn't reply, he was pondering whether it would be deemed unprofessional for a pilot to chase a passenger through his own plane whilst it was flying.