her hand on my arm, squeezing gently. “I won’t say anything. I’m not an arsehole.”
“Excellent. Well, to not being an arsehole then.” I grin and nod, holding up my bottle, offering her an air cheers.
By the time we finish our second drinks, they’re boarding our flight. The closer we walk towards our gate, the paler Lucie becomes. Her breathing is shallow, and her eyes are darting over every surface as we step onto the plane. The stewardess shoots Lucie a worried look and then glances at me questioningly as we step over the threshold. Smiling reassuringly, I reach down to grip Lucie’s hand. It’s warm and clammy, and she clings to me so hard that my fingers creak and mash together painfully. I should worry about it really; my fingers are my livelihood, so I have to look after them, but instead, I quite like that she’s using me to anchor herself. I’m so messed up.
Lucie allows me to dumbly lead her down the aisle.
When we get to our seats, I motion to them and take her bags from her hands. “You want aisle or window? I’m easy.”
She gulps and shrugs. “Okay if I have the window?”
I nod and move aside, so she can slide in. Then, I stow her handbag and our carry-ons up in the overhead compartment.
As I slide into the seat beside her, I glance over to see her fumbling with her seat belt with shaky hands. “Here, let me.”
I reach over and gently push her hands out of the way, fastening the belt for her, tightening it to fit. I don’t miss the fact that the back of my fingers accidentally brush across the exposed skin of her belly. I also don’t miss the fact that her breath catches the same as mine does. My mind wanders to inappropriate places, but I force it to stop. This is simply a friendly weekend; that’s what I promised her. I just need to try and keep my mind out of the gutter and off her arse and amazing rack. Then, maybe we can just have a good time together and enjoy a free holiday. Every male part of me is finding that hard though—likely because every female part of her draws my attention.
“Looks like it’s my turn to distract you from a panic attack,” I joke, winking at her. “Come on, it’s only an hour and fifteen minutes of your life. It’ll soon be over.”
I place my hand over hers and give it a little squeeze, trying to get her fingers to relax from the white-knuckle grip they have on the armrest. She smiles at me weakly, and I motion with my head to the back of the plane, grinning mischievously.
“Fancy joining the Mile-High Club? That’ll keep your mind off it.”
Still pale, she playfully raises one eyebrow. “But what will I do for the other hour and twelve minutes?”
I can’t contain the laughter that rips from my throat.
seven
Lucie
Of course, we don’t join the Mile-High Club. And we don’t crash and burn in a fiery wreck either. In fact, the whole flight is actually kind of nice—well, after the initial take-off anyway. Theo is hilarious in a weird but cute way. He’s not like Lucas at all; in fact, he’s pretty much the opposite of my quiet, well-to-do ex-fiancé who is always about image and status. Theo is incredibly chatty and friendly and just all-round sweet. The way he looks after me throughout the flight makes my stomach flutter.
He holds my hand the whole of take-off, not even complaining about me probably breaking his fingers. And then we joke around and talk about random nothingness for a while, sipping on coffee and eating plane-bought sweets. And when it becomes time to descend, he silently holds his hand out in offering, and I don’t hesitate to take it.
It’s so unlike the times when I flew with Lucas and he would just tell me to calm down and stop being foolish. Lucas isn’t exactly the most patient or empathetic person on the planet. In fact, he’s the one who started me on the pre-flight Benadryl train. He’d heard from friends that it made you drowsy and suggested I give it a try. So, they became a regular thing when we travelled together. I don’t like taking them; they make me feel all muffled and groggy for hours after. That’s the real reason I didn’t take one for the flight today. Not because it’s a short flight, like I told Theo, but