fling the previous month, stood in the front galley of the Airbus A220.
I lingered in the entryway with my wheeled luggage lagging behind. “Am I on the right flight?”
Unlike myself, Lara didn’t appear surprised to see me. “Boomerang to Philadelphia and then to Boston, right?”
I nodded.
“Then you’re on the right plane,” she smiled mildly.
I shook my head, still unclear what she was doing on my plane. “But this isn’t your line,” I observed.
On Fridays that month I’d been working with two other flight attendants, a middle-aged woman named Cheri, and Derek, one of the only straight men I knew at the airline. I didn’t want to be rude, but I wasn’t supposed to see her that month. It was the whole reason we’d ended whatever it was we’d started.
“I swapped with Cheri,” she explained. Her smile flattened. “Don’t worry though; it’s just for today.” She began to stab at a container of ice cubes that had fused themselves together. “Then you won’t have to see me again.”
“No, no. That’s not it,” I insisted in a rush. “I was only surprised to see you, that’s all.”
Lara didn’t verbally acknowledge my words; instead, she continued to aggressively stab at the stubborn block of ice. Derek wasn’t on board yet, and Lara continued to ignore me, so after storing my carry-on luggage in the rear of the plane, I started my portion of the pre-flight routine.
I observed Lara out of the corner of my eye while I made sure the evacuation slide was properly pressurized. She had abandoned the ice cubes in the front galley and had taken an aisle seat in First Class. Her three-inch high heels occupied the empty seat beside her. I never went over a two-inch heel myself, preferring function over fashion, while Lara tended to push the boundaries of our uniform regulations. She could also wear the hell out of a pencil skirt. I tended to feel like a shapeless potato in my skirt and button-up uniform shirt, but Lara’s small waist, long legs, and shapely backside seemed especially built for the outfit.
Watching her work the pads of her thumbs into her nyloned arches reminded me of our brief time together. She’d complained about her feet hurting often enough that I’d finally worked up the courage and had offered to rub them for her. I didn’t have a foot fetish, but I’d definitely had a crush. Rubbing her feet between flights had eventually matured to something much more intimate. I wondered what she would have said now if I’d made the same offer.
“Sorry I’m late!”
My eyes snapped away from Lara and her stocking feet to see the third member of our flight crew—Derek—stumble onto the plane.
Derek looked ready to launch into a myriad of excuses for why he’d been delayed that morning, but he too noticed the substitution to our typical flight crew.
“Where’s Cheri?” he vocalized.
I answered before Lara could get more annoyed. “This is Lara. Cheri swapped lines with her. It’s just for today.”
The curveball had no reason to trip up Derek as it had me. He flashed Lara a megawatt smile. “Glad to meet you, Lara.”
The flight to Philadelphia was as routine as they came, which gave my brain plenty of opportunities to wander. Derek and I worked the Economy section together. He was a nice guy with a quick laugh and good sense of humor, but he had no chance of holding my interest. I found myself getting distracted, with my attention drifting too often to the front of the plane where Lara was working.
Cheri was typically the purser on our Friday flights. I would have taken over the position in her absence since Derek was pretty new to the airline, but Lara had seniority over me. I hadn’t even considered asking her to switch assignments so I could complete another seat-specific task in First Class. Lara had never approved of the bingo game, and I would only end up owing her. It might have been kind of thrilling to be in her debt, but we were over—not that we’d even really started.
Working separate sections of the plane should have eased the tension between us since we weren’t trying to maneuver around each other in a cramped space. There were no opportunities to innocently brush against the other person. No chance for witty banter or flirtations. And yet, I couldn’t deny the almost electric charge I experienced the few times I caught Lara looking in my direction. I tried to ignore my own lusty and