"Jesus, Jack. Is that book actually about cocktails? It sounds like a self-improvement book."
He gave me a smug look. "Eh, it just had the highest rating online. It's actually not from an infomercial. I expect it to help me get drunk, not get me a promotion."
I giggled some more and tossed it back down on the counter. "Whatever you say, Jack." I couldn't believe how quickly I had gone from turbulence in my life to this beautiful—every glance out the window could have been a separate, unique painting—serene spot in the sky.
"So are you going to place an order or what? I've got other customers to take care of." Jack impatiently tapped his finger on the counter, his eyes glancing at angry invisible customers.
"What, like the pilot? You don't let him drink, do you?" I pretended to be in line with the other non-existent folks.
Jack didn't say anything else and just shrugged. I guess he wasn't going to budge until I gave him my order.
"Okay, okay," I said. "Just give me a gin and tonic. Do you need me to find it in the book?"
He laughed. "Go sit down, Effie." He pointed at the soft microfiber couch as if I hadn't noticed it.
Not seeing the man for a short while made me appreciate his beauty even more. I was immediately feeling that white heat in my core, that lull that made me weak in the knees. God, he did have such a spell over me—he could make me submit to him by doing literally nothing.
I drifted over and sat down, turning my head so that I could see out the window. The skies went on endlessly, the clouds in perfect, puffy formations that resembled anything your mind could imagine. Nothing intimidating or scary about the view. I took a minute to appreciate my situation, to appreciate the world that I had stepped right back into as if I'd never left it at all.
"All right, two gin and tonics, ma'am." Jack handed one my way and I greedily snatched it from him.
"Sir, I only ordered one." I gave him an incredulous look.
"Oh, yeah. This one's for me." He took a quick sip and then put it in the cup holder in the arm of the couch. "I didn't want to open any other bottles, so I copied your idea. I just restocked everything."
Jack sat down close to me, our sides and legs touching. I sipped my own drink and then put it into my matching drink holder. The fact that the couch was symmetrical in that regard pleased me. Although the ride had been smooth thus far, I didn't want to be forced to hold my drink through sudden turbulence.
"So is this private back here?" I asked, hoping to sound innocent. Even though I caught a glimpse of my own ulterior motive, I wasn't entirely sure what it was.
"For the most part. If the pilot ever had to leave the front, he'd buzz me through the intercom. He's not supposed to, though."
"So you've probably had some wild times up here, huh?" I started imagining the no limits possibilities that a rich rock star and his friends could have in a private jet.
"Yeah, but that's never something to be proud of. Or at least I was never proud of it. It was fun, but moving on was even more fun." He gave me a discomfited smile.
Curiosity got the best of me. Obviously, I didn't know anything about this sort of thing, but I had seen those shows about rock 'n' roll overindulgence on TV growing up. "What's the craziest thing you ever did up here?" He didn't respond immediately and I felt bad for asking. "I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away. I don't even know if you did crazy stuff up here."
That same weak smile returned, but this time, it bordered on something happier. "Well, I've only had this plane for a couple of years. But I was in a foursome once. We were all drunk as hell and barely remembered it. We were probably doing more than just alcohol, actually."
My jaw dropped. "Foursome? Was that like you and three girls or what?" I was actually amazed with myself for trying to dig out graphic details like these. Although I was sexual, it wasn't the norm for me to talk candidly about sex.
"Two guys, two girls. We traded girls." He talked as if he was recalling an immature high school senior prank or something. It was surprisingly matter-of-fact as well.