Seventeen
The next two days flew by and before I knew it, my alarm was going off at four a.m. In just a few hours, I’d be on a plane on my way to Japan. My parents had practically freaked out when I told them I was going, but I assured them I’d be fine and would bring them back something nice. That didn’t do anything to quell their worry, but I reminded them I was an adult and that I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
I got up and showered and changed into a pair of black yoga pants and an Iowa State hoodie for the fifteen hour flight. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, put some makeup on and then went to the kitchen to grab some toast. My stomach was in knots from nerves. I wasn’t hungry, but I knew I needed to eat something. I hated flying and the thought of being trapped in a plane for over half a day was not setting well with me.
Just as the toast popped up, the bedroom door opened and a sleepy looking Ethan came stumbling out. He was rubbing his eyes and his hair was sticking up.
“What are you doing up?” I asked.
“I need to get in the shower.”
“It’s 4:30 in the morning.”
“Yeah, but I’ve gotta get you to the airport,” he said in his raspy, morning voice.
“I told you last night you don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. I won’t see you for almost a week. I’m going to spend every possible moment with you,” he said, walking over and wrapping his arms around me and kissing me sweetly. “Let me take you.”
He held me tightly and I nestled into his chest. A week seemed like so long, especially with everything going on with our relationship at the moment. It was fragile and I didn’t want anything else to happen to cause us anymore stress. Perhaps a week apart would actually do us some good.
“I’m gonna miss you,” I whispered.
“I’m gonna miss you too,” he replied, kissing the top of my head. “It’ll go by fast and we’ll Skype. You’re taking your laptop, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but it’s going to be hard with the time difference.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he assured me. “Now, I’m gonna go take a quick shower. We’ll take off as soon as I’m done.”
“Okay,” I said, releasing him. He smiled and I watched as he walked into the bathroom. I ate my toast and then finished packing my carry-on bag, loading it up with enough stuff to hopefully keep me occupied for nearly fifteen hours. Once I’d double-checked I had everything, I set my luggage by the door and waited.
~~~
JFK was bustling with activity and it was only six a.m. I walked with Ethan into the American Airlines terminal and looked around. Drew had told us to meet in the check-in area by 6:15. I looked around for any sign of him or my co-workers, but didn’t see them.
“Do you have your ticket?” Ethan asked.
“No. Drew’s got them, so I guess we just have to wait till he gets here.”
We didn’t have to wait long because a few minutes later I saw him, along with Anna Beth and Court, walking towards us. Anna Beth looked comfortable in a pair of jeans and a purple sweater. Her hair was pulled into a bun and she was carrying a back pack and a big duffel bag. Court looked stylish as usual. I wouldn’t expect anything less than perfection from him, even so early in the morning. He was wearing dark jeans and a cream sweater with a brown scarf. There was a fedora on his head and he was carrying a leather satchel over his shoulder, while dragging a large suitcase behind him. Then my eyes found Drew and I tried to ignore the pounding in my chest. He looked ever the GQ model in faded jeans, black t-shirt and black leather jacket, his hair gelled in an orderly mess with a few strands falling onto his forehead. He brushed it back with his free hand while the other pulled a black suitcase that I was sure cost a small fortune. I looked down at my own outfit and suddenly felt extremely underdressed.
Court waved enthusiastically when he saw me. Drew looked up and our eyes met. He smiled momentarily and I swear I felt my cheeks blush. I quickly turned and took Ethan’s hand.
“Hey!” Court sang.
“Good morning,” I replied, doing my best not to look at Drew.
“Have you been waiting long?” Drew asked, forcing me to turn to him.
“No, not long,” I said shortly.
“I told you, I could’ve sent a car to pick you up,” Drew said and I shook my head.
“I know. That wasn’t necessary. Thanks though,” I said and then I noticed Drew looking at Ethan. I turned to Ethan and saw he was eyeing Drew as well.
“It’s good to see you again, Ethan,” Drew said, extending a hand.
Ethan took Drew’s hand and shook it and I couldn’t help but notice how firmly Ethan seemed to grip it.
“Likewise.”
“Well,” Drew said. “We should probably check in.”
“Let’s get this party started!” Court said excitedly and Anna Beth rolled her eyes.
“You are entirely too enthusiastic for this early in the morning,” she groaned, but he just smiled at her and turned towards the check-in lines. Anna Beth adjusted her duffle bag and followed him.
“You ready, Natalie?” Drew asked.
“Let me just say goodbye to Ethan,” I said and Drew nodded, then turned and left us alone.
I faced a somber looking Ethan and my nerves started to kick in.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, cupping my face with his hands. “You look like you’re about to cry.”
“I’m just scared.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of,” he said, hugging me in the tender way he did when I was upset. “You’ll be fine. Flying is way safer than driving.” I didn’t say anything as he held me. I couldn’t tell him that only about one percent of my fear was from the flight. The rest was from the guilt I felt. I held him tightly for another moment and then pulled back. Ethan gazed down at me and I reached up and kissed him, slowly at first and then deeper. I wanted a kiss that would last the entire trip.
“C’mon, Natalie!” Court shouted from the line. “Either get a room or get over here!”
My face flushed and Ethan was laughing. I looked over to Court who was smirking at me and then I saw Drew, eyeing me discreetly, but his expression revealed nothing.
“You’d better get going,” Ethan said, kissing me gently one last time.
“I love you, Ethan.”
“I love you too. Call me when you can and be safe.”
“I will,” I said, hugging him once more before grabbing my suitcase.
“Have fun,” he encouraged and I smiled and began walking towards the line, glancing back to Ethan who waited with a smile on his face. I tried searing his image into my mind, hoping it would last the week I was gone.
~~~
“Good morning ladies and gentleman. Welcome to American Airlines flight 2357, non-stop service to Tokyo.” The loud voice over the intercom had jostled us all. We’d made it through security and spent our time at the crowded gate waiting. “In just a few minutes we will begin boarding. At this time we will begin with first class and our elite members, followed by our general boarding.”
“That’s us,” Drew said, standing up, throwing his bag over his shoulder.
“They haven’t called general boarding yet,” Court said.
“We’re not general boarding. We’re first class,” he said and I couldn’t believe it. I figured he may be flying first class, but I was certain we’d be stuck in coach.
“First class?” I asked.
“You don’t think I’m going to sit for fifteen hours in coach.”
“I didn’t think
you
would, but I thought we would.”
“Do you really think I’m that much of a jerk? That I’d be up in first class while you guys were miserable in the back?”
“Well…no…I just,” I stuttered, but then stopped under his gaze. “Thanks,” I said quietly, smiling up at him.
“Don’t mention it,” he said, turning to get in line.
I stood up and flung my bag over my shoulder and looked over to my co-workers who seemed as stunned as I did.
“First class!” Court mouthed without words, but the excitement was spread all over his face. Even stoic Anna Beth had a twinkle in her eye and we all followed Drew to the boarding line.
I hadn’t flown much in my life and it’d definitely never been in first class, therefore I had no idea what to expect. I was the last of our party to enter the cabin and I instantly felt like a fish out of water, like an imposter who didn’t belong, just like I had when we first moved to New York.
“These are our seats,” Drew said, pointing to two seats by the window and two seats across the aisle.
“I hate the window. Mind if I sit here?” Anna Beth asked, gesturing to the seat nearest the middle of the cabin. We all shook our heads and she slid into the seat, Court following a second later, leaving me with no choice but to sit with Drew.
“Window or aisle?” he asked.
“Window,” I said, sliding in and pushing my bag under the seat. Drew placed his bag in the overhead bin and then sat down next to me. He didn’t say anything, but I couldn’t help but notice how good he smelled.
“Can I get you something to drink?” a flight attendant asked. She was tall and blonde and gorgeous. A stereotypical ideal of what one would expect a stewardess to look like and it was obvious by the way she ignored me that she was only focusing on Drew. I didn’t fault her though. It was impossible not to notice him.
“Not at the moment. What about you, Natalie? Anything to drink?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you,” I said and then looked up and met the steel blue eyes of the flight attendant who seemed to be judging me, curious as to why someone like Drew was sitting with someone as ordinary as me.
“Let me know if I can get you anything,” she said, smiling at Drew and then walked away.
Drew took off his jacket, standing up and placing it in the overhead bin and then sat back down.
“Do you ever get tired of it?” I asked a moment later once he’d made himself comfortable.
“Tired of what?” he asked, his head resting against the seat as he turned to look at me.
“Women fawning over you.”
“No. Never. Why would I? Endless possibilities, casual sex whenever I want. Who wouldn’t want that?” he smirked.
“Your smugness is appalling,” I said, rolling my eyes as he laughed and I pulled out the Sky Mall magazine from the seat pocket in front of me and began thumbing through it.
“At least you’re talking to me again,” he said and I looked up from the magazine.
“I never stopped talking to you. You stopped talking to me.”
“Only because you’ve pretty much been giving me the cold shoulder, so it’s nice to hear your voice in something other than a response to a question I’ve asked you.” I didn’t know what to say, so I just continued to stare into his eyes. “Anyway, I assume you’ll go back to ignoring me, so before you do that, let me just say enjoy the flight.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPod, putting in his earbuds and then rested his head against the back of the seat as he closed his eyes.
~~~
The plane was boarded and the flight attendants had taken their seats as well. I stared out the window as the jet taxied down the runway, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was actually on my way to Japan. I’d never imagined anything like this, but here I was, sitting in first class next to my obnoxiously hot boss about to take off. I assumed Drew was still asleep listening to his iPod. I wasn’t sure though because I’d yet to look over to him again. I kept my eyes on the airport that was passing us in the distance. The plane made a sharp right turn, the engines roaring as the jet began to pick up speed and was soon bulleting down the runway. My heart started to pound and I began praying, something I always did during takeoff. I hated flying and I especially hated takeoff. I found myself with a white knuckle grip on the armrest as the plane lifted off the ground and began climbing through the air. I stared out the window as New York City grew smaller and smaller. Soon, my heart began to steady and my grip on the armrests lessened. I was beginning to relax, until we suddenly hit a pocket of air and the plane dipped, causing me to involuntarily gasp. I was certain we were going to die and without realizing what I was doing, I grabbed onto Drew’s arm.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, leaning in closer to me and lacing his fingers with mine. “Calm down.” His voice was soft as he gently stroked the back of my hand with his thumb.
“I
hate
flying,” I whispered.
“It’ll be fine. We just hit a little turbulence, but it’s steady now, see?” he said in a low, kind voice and I began looking around the cabin. No one else seemed alarmed. They were all talking or sleeping. Even the flight attendants seemed unfazed by the bump we’d hit. “I take it you haven’t flown much.”
“No, I haven’t and I’ve never been very good at it.”
“There’s nothing to worry about, I assure you of that. I was actually in a plane that was struck by lightning once.”
“Seriously?” I asked and he nodded.