I heard some rustling, felt a presence and a moment later a hand grabbed my hand, which was painfully hard holding on to the armrest without me even having realized.
"You okay?" I heard Carlos' voice next to me, opened my eyes that I must have closed out of habit and saw the man himself look at me, slightly worried. By the looks and feeling of it, we were still climbing up, up and up in the air.
"Shouldn't you be …um…not moving around until the seatbelt signs are off?" I asked, my mind all over the place.
"It's my plane, so I assume it's a pretty safe bet I can get away with a whole lot of things," he explained in a somewhat amused tone.
I just nodded and saw him nod at my hands. One of which currently was nestled between his two very soft and also very warm hands and the other was still clutching the armrest.
"Not a fan of flying?"
"I… It's hard to explain really, since I definitely don't fly a whole lot, but it makes me nervous. I know it's irrational."
"I guess it can be nerve-wrecking for someone who doesn't fly as frequently, especially seeing that you are boxed in this confined space. But flying actually is the safest form of transportation and for planes to take off, they need to get checked extremely often and need to follow safety procedures. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about, since I get the bills," he grinned and took my mind off things momentarily.
"Is it expensive?" I asked and figured it was a somewhat pointless question, but if I was talking, I couldn't think too much.
"I would say that technically they are. But since it is a cooperate jet, in my case, the numbers are not as bad as you'd assume. I can claim a lot of costs back through taxes and balance things out. It is still pricier than booking some commercial flight, but the benefits end up outweighing the price."
"How often are you up in the air, then?"
"Maybe once a month," he replied after a short pause. "I usually let others get the bad guys cross-country and send them."
He laughed at his last statement and it felt a little like a joke I wasn't in on. I also did notice how the flight had managed to become a lot smoother, but he was still holding on to my hand. And I definitely wouldn't point it out to him anytime soon or complain.
The hostess arrived out of nowhere and seemed to be surprised for a moment about the rearranged seating arrangements.
"Anything more to drink before I get started on the food?" she asked, and I wasn't even sure whether any of us had actually mentioned they wanted the food. Hadn't I declined earlier?
Before I could say anything else, I heard my companion reply for the both of us. "A glass of red wine for each of us," he simply asked, and a second later she was gone. "It'll help you to settle down," he explained, and I wasn't entirely sure whether wine was such a great idea. The color certainly wouldn't look too great on the beige suede.
"I don't think I need to get settled, but rather have just solid ground underneath my feet."
"In less than four hours you will, no worries," he replied just before a glass of wine was placed in front of me and a tray with nuts found its way on my table as well.
"How long is the flight?"
"I think the pilot said something around three and a half hours."
I nodded again and took a deep breath. I don't even know why, since the disturbances were no longer an issue. "Thank you again, by the way."
"For what?" he asked and looked curiously at me.
"Well, for everything, really. I mean, if it wasn't for you, I'd be frozen to death, half-starved, and still stuck in the airport by now. I am not even sure how to pay you back for any of it. Though, I guess the room and food is easier than transportation. How… much is one flight on this jet? Roughly?" I asked, almost absent-minded.
"Don't mention it. Any of it. Really, it's okay. I would have gotten that room anyway and in regard to food, it certainly wasn't hundreds of dollars. Your company was more than enough. The jet would have picked me up with or without you around. So… you really do not owe me anything."
"You can't be serious," I more or less laughed, amused at his reasoning. "Yes, you would have gotten the room one way or another, but you wouldn't have had to sleep on the floor or get attacked and more or less molested in your sleep when you do join the comforts of the bed. And I don't think you would have drunk a whole bottle of wine by yourself."
"Trust me, there are worse things in the world than waking up with a gorgeous woman plastered all over you, though I must admit it took a whole lot of restraint to not act on what I'd like to call a natural instinct but would probably get me thrown into jail."
"I... oh," I just replied when realizing what he was hinting at. And here I was, having figured it would be a nuisance. How do you reply to such a comment thrown your way? Obviously, I was flattered, seeing that definitely was a guy any women in their right mind wouldn't turn down, but… word wise I was a bit lost.
"Speaking of wine," he announced before I could find anything to actually reply to his remark, and I just saw the hostess refilling my empty glass of wine.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" I asked, amused, sipping on the wine.
"Not really," he simply laughed. "But I figure it might help a little with the anxiety of flying.
"As long as we'll touch down in about four hours and can put the past few days as well as that damn wedding behind me, I'll be fine. Though, I certainly won't complain if you somehow manage to speed up time."
"I don't think manipulation of time is any of my talents, but I'll see what I can do," he admitted, seeming amused.
"And here I thought you strived on perfection," I replied, mock-shocked, which he took with even more humor.
"Babe, even I have my limits."
"Disappointing," I sighed, shaking my head and hearing him laugh even more.
A minute later, the air hostess appeared and placed a few dishes in front of us, left and came back with even more plates. The procedure repeated itself several times until the entire table was filled with a wide variety of food, displaying all sorts of vegetables, meats, and side dishes. The cabin was filled with amazing scents from the food and seemed to almost rival a top-rated restaurant.
"My limited experience with airline food somehow seems to lack by a whole lot compared to this feast," I mumbled, found a fork and tried the first dish closest to me. The moan which escaped me couldn't have been stopped under any circumstances. The food didn't just smell and look good, but tasted amazing as well. But then again, what had I expected? Carlos Manoso seemed to surround himself with almost always just the best, why should he stop at something that was a mediocre experience for the rest of us and get something bland as lunch on his private jet?
We ate in silence for a few moments, me tasting almost everything which was presented to me and realizing if you asked me about my favorite, I wouldn't be able to name one. All of it was just so good.
"Have you thought about that change of jobs?" he asked after he had finished his current plate. Talking about out of the blue.
"You mean that pretend-job we talked about before I learned you own a security company that, judging by all of this, seems to be doing quite alright?"
"That one," he confirmed.
"This new year is just two days old and yet it seems already too much and filled with hard decisions."
"It shouldn't be hard," he suggested. "If you feel like you could do better and find someone who appreciates what you can do a whole lot more what's there to think about?"
I let out a sigh, putting my fork down for the moment. "It's easy when you have a certain security. When you have bills to pay and financial obligations and depend on a stable income, it becomes a little tricky. I know I can't complain and expect that everything changes magically without me doing a whole lot. But it's a scary thought to risk something and then end up being screwed because I am out of a job and can't pay my bills and rent."
"Let me ask you something," he started, and I turned myself towards him, giving him my entire attention. "Do you think you'll ever be able to find a time when you don't have these obligations hanging over your head? When you could risk it and go for what might make you happier?"
"With my current salary? Doubtful," I replied honestly.
"So, you'd rather want to slave away in a job that seems kind of inflexible and has no idea how to appreciate what you do? And most likely do this until the end of time?"
Put like that, I had to admit he made sense and had a point. Obviously. It wasn't like I ever had doubted it, but…well.
"I would like to think that at one point I'm able to change things and find something that is more rewarding, but not right now. Though, I admit, it would be a pretty nice start in the New Year."
"Ah, that resolution, I remember."
"It wasn't really a resolution, if you think back. And I believe I mentioned that I hate New Year's resolutions, because you can always start making a change and don't need to wait for a new year to start. It isn't like that would give you a magical advantage."
"You actually didn't mention that, but I agree, you don't need a new year to start change. And let's be honest, most of these changes usually last a total of a week and that's that. Better luck next year."
"Exactly, and no one said the only time you can start making a change needs to be on the eve of an old year. If anything, I believe it's a lot more pressure, because everyone is doing it, so you need to be able to keep up and get that change finally done."
"Correct. So, I think give it a few days to think about your options and what you'd like to risk comfortably…"
With that said, we returned to our food, chitchatting about nonsense for most of the flight, until the turbulences started once more, though this time less dramatic and strong as previously.
"It's the Appalachian Mountains. They always tend to get a little bumpy," he offered as an explanation, which didn't do a whole lot for me or my nervousness. When we hit a patch of pretty bad bumps, I was only a second away from panicking and felt his hand grabbing mine a little tighter, easing the panic almost miraculously.
"I swear once I'm back in Trenton and on the ground… I'll never leave again. Not after this trip. Stuck in the middle of nowhere followed by us almost crashing down. Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me to stay the hell where I am."
"Trust me, Babe, we are far, far away from almost crashing. I'll give it another minute and we are smooth sailing again."
And as if almost on cue, the bumps and turbulences stopped, and we flew through the air without another issue for quite some time. Almost the entire flight was smooth and without another issue until it was time to land.
We were descending into Trenton slowly but gradually and so far, I had always only been nervous during turbulences. Start and landing never had been an issue for me, but turned out there was a first time for everything. While the take-off in North Dakota had already sent me into a slight breakdown, the touch down wouldn't be any different.
It started probably a few minutes before we hit the tarmac, but all of a sudden, I felt a nervousness at the pit of my stomach. Some nervous energy that was hard to contain had me fidgeting.
"You alright?" I heard Carlos to my right and wasn't sure how to explain since I myself didn't quite understand what my issue was right now.
"Can we simply agree I'm not made for flying?" I finally asked and saw him smile amused my way and a second later, his hands closed around my right one. He was warm as four hours ago and his skin was as smooth, silky and soft. In a weird way, that alone made me calmer already. Or maybe my mind was just distracted by the feel of his hands around mine.
I felt his thumps press down on my hand, moving in a circular motion a moment later and had to admit that this was really nice. So nice, in fact, that I leaned my head back against the headrest, closed my eyes and enjoyed the pleasant feeling.
"Maybe you just need something to distract your mind," he offered, more or less a whisper against my ear. His closeness and the warm air against my delicate and sensitive skin caused me to shiver for probably all the right reasons.
"I think this might do the trick," I admitted, eyes still closed, but also feeling the return of tension inside my body. Somehow, I had hoped for a longer relief.
"Your posture and the fact that your legs still twitch nervously tell me a different story."
"It was worth a shot," I offered, but heard a somewhat disagreeing sound coming from Carlos.
"I'm not done yet and have a few more tricks up my sleeve," he replied mysteriously and before I could ask about any of his tricks, I sensed a presence and felt a moment later his lips gracing mine. It shocked the hell out of me at first, since I obviously hadn't seen this development coming in any way, but once I got to my senses, I returned the tentative kiss. Not a moment too late, it seemed, since he must have been in the process of pulling back when nothing happened on my end.
What started soft and tentative quickly took on a life of its own, developing in heat, fire and an urgency that had me surprised. His hands quickly let go of mine, traveling up my arms before settling down on my face, holding my head between them, moving me apparently the way he felt appropriate.
I don't know how long we were sitting like this, making out like some teenagers – at least that's how it felt to me – but it turns out I barely noticed the touchdown and we were only interrupted by the clearing of a throat by the flight attendant who reminded me of a school principal one step away from chastening us. Which she didn't do, mainly because I figured that Carlos was her boss in one way or another and therefore could probably do as he pleased. Also, it wasn't as if we were doing anything bad or illegal, or joining the Mile High Club.
I nevertheless must have challenged the color of a tomato when we came up for air, while Carlos next to me just grinned like the cat who ate the canary. Men, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.