Samantha
SAMANTHA
P acking is a nightmare. I’ve always dreaded having to pack when I take a trip. Not that I travel often. Or ever. But I’ve never traveled for work before, and I want to make sure I’m going to be taken seriously., especially after being humiliated by Chandler in our meeting. I'm just glad I got a little revenge when we went to lunch the other day. I was tempted to have the photo blown up and hung in the lobby for everyone to see.
My suitcase is filled to the brim. I made sure to pack my best work suits, dresses, T-shirts, shorts, tennis shoes, heels, and sandals. Only so much can fit inside a suitcase, and I’m surprised at how much stuff I actually own when I was folding up shirts and dresses. I know I should try to lighten the load, but we’re going to be gone until Sunday, and there will be a lot of downtime during the evening, which I plan to use to my advantage. I’m really looking at this business trip as more of a work vacation than anything. Sure, we will have a few meetings, but other than that, we can do what we want with our time. I shove the last of my favorite black heels into the bag and close it. Luckily, Ken let Chandler and me leave work early today since our flight leaves at 5 AM tomorrow. When I try to zip it up, it won’t budge. Damnit. I jump up and plop down on the top of the suitcase and try moving the zipper again, but it stays put. My phone rings, and I answer it without checking who’s calling and press it to my ear with my shoulder so I can keep fighting with the suitcase.
“Hello?”
“Hey, girl! How’s the packing going?” Penny's cheeriness blares through the phone.
“Work in progress," I grunt out. Now I'm putting all of my weight on top of the suitcase, and it still won't freaking close!
“Did you overpack again?”
“Maybe a little," I grunt again and push down harder. It gives way, allowing me to move the zipper along the track. I let out a relieved sigh. “Finally.”
“Did you pack that cute blue dress I suggested?”
“Yes, Penny," I say. She was adamant that I try to have a one-night stand while on this trip. Considering I will probably never go to North Carolina again. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least try.
“Good, no man will be able to resist you.”
“Careful, I am traveling with a man, you know.”
“Maybe he’ll be your one-night stand.”
I decide to ignore her comment.
“I’m sorry I’m missing your showing this weekend.”
“Don’t be. I’ll let you know how it goes! You just focus on getting that ten grand and getting some dick.”
“Some dick?”
“Yep! Sex makes you live longer. It’s scientifically proven.”
“I’m sure," I say, skeptical.
“It does! Look it up!”
I laugh. “Why do you know all of this?”
“I am not giving out my secrets, honey," she says. “You get some rest, and call me when you land. ”
When we hang up, I set my suitcase by the front door and flop into bed. If I’m lucky, I’ll get about four hours of sleep before I have to leave for the airport. I just hope that Chandler doesn’t make the plane ride completely miserable.
I lug my over-packed suitcase from the taxi, roll it behind me to the terminal, and check in. It was still dark out when I woke up. There is no way I’d be awake this early if I wasn’t about to make ten thousand dollars.
I spot Chandler sitting in a chair, headphones in his ear, eyes on his phone, looking like it’s just a normal day and not 4 in the morning. He looks up at me when I stand in front of him and removes an earbud from his ear.
“You look like shit.”
God, he’s already talking. Normally, I’d say something back, but I am way too tired to argue. I plop down in the seat next to him and close my eyes. My head hurts from what I'm sure is a lack of sleep. I’m surprised I was able to walk out to the taxi without falling flat on my face. I feel a tap on my shoulder and take a breath before opening my eyes to see Chandler holding out a cup from Starbucks to me.
“I got you this," he says quickly.
I look from him to the cup and back to him again. What’s the likelihood that he’s poisoned it? Or worse. What if it’s black coffee? He seems like the type of guy who would drink his coffee black. It’d be bitter, like his soul.
“Um, why?”
“You’re seriously going to deny coffee? It’s free coffee! You love this stuff!”
“And? No offense, Chandler, but you and I don’t exactly have the type of relationship that includes coffee breaks and friendly chatter. ”
“Well, no shit, Sam. That’s the point.” He looks at me pointedly. The lack of sleep must be messing with me because I think he looks particularly hot this morning. My stomach flutters. Maybe I’m losing my mind. It’s the sleep deprivation that’s causing me to think he’s hot. “I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s just us on this trip together, and we need to make sure this goes well. I say we call a truce until we get back to the office. Think of it as a peace offering.”
“A peace offering?”
“Yep. We need to act like we can actually get along while we’re in North Carolina. At least in front of our clients. It’ll make us look better, and I’ve worked with you when you haven’t had caffeine, and I don’t think either of us wants to be at each other’s throats all morning.”
“So," I say slowly. “You got me coffee because I annoy you when I’m tired?”
He shrugs. “More or less.”
“Hmm.” I think about it for a minute. He’s not wrong; this trip does need to go well, and I’m sure we’ll be able to tolerate each other. We’ve already managed to survive this long working in an office together by some miracle. I’m sure we can make this work.
“I’ll take it," I say and sip the coffee. It’s a vanilla latte, not my first choice, but it should do the job. When it’s finally time to board, I make sure to get in front of Chandler so I can have the window seat. Chandler puts his bag in the overhead compartment and sits next to me. “You still look half dead," he comments.
I groan, the coffee hasn't taken its full effect yet. “Normal people don’t get up this early.” I let out a yawn, my eyes tearing up. I turn my head away from him to look out of the window.
“You know, psychology says that people who wake up early are happier. ”
He gives me a shrug when I glare at him. “You should try it.”
“I’m good.”
“Cheer up buttercup. This trip is about to give us a huge bonus.”
Buttercup? Really? If I weren’t still tired, I might actually find his teasing pet name kind of cute. I’m not sure where he’s getting the idea that we’re buddies now, but I'll play along so long as everything goes well on this trip.
The flight attendant walks along the aisle to tell us all to fasten our seat belts, and when the plane finally takes off, I’m reminded that I haven’t been on a plane since right after college when I went to visit my Mother in Mexico. I forgot how sick I get on airplanes. The plane jolts as it rises, and I feel the nausea instantly in my stomach. I close my eyes, taking a few deep breaths so I don’t vomit all over Chandler’s lap. Although, it would be kind of funny to see his reaction.
“You okay?” I hear Chandler ask, and I nod my head.
“You ever been on an airplane before?” I take another deep breath of air. And keep my eyes closed while I respond. “It’s been a long time. I just need a minute.”
“Okay then.”
Closing my eyes does nothing to help with the nausea. I’m dizzy when the plane jolts again. I lean forward, resting my head between my knees. When I do, I feel a hand lay on my back, large and warm, running up and down gently.
“Sam?” Chandler whispers softly in my ear. His warm breath tickles my ear, and a shiver runs down my spine. Not helping. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I keep my head between my knees and give him a thumbs-up while I focus on my breathing. As the plane levels out, I sit back up slowly, and when I glance at Chandler, he’s already looking at me. “Sorry," I say. “I forgot how sick I can feel on airplanes. ”
To my surprise, he says nothing. When we’re able to take off our seatbelts and the flight attendant comes by, Chandler asks for a bottle of water. Is that all he drinks? When the flight attendant returns with his water bottle, he opens it and turns to me, holding the water bottle out to me.
“Drink this. It might help.” He’s looking at me now with an expression I don’t think I’ve ever seen on his face. He’s concerned about me. "Thanks," I say quietly. I take the water from him and take a small sip. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad after all.