7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Lina
A very, I, and some other flight attendants are having coffee in the airport’s crew lounge. The lounge is nothing fancy, but we come here when we want to get away from the hustle of the coffee shops and restaurants located in the terminal. Here, we don’t have to wait in long lines for our coffee and snacks. There is a massive view of the runway, and it’s nice to see other airline staff.
“You’re coming to my mom’s masquerade ball at the end of the month, right?” I ask Avery as she sits in a leather lounge chair with her legs tucked under her.
She grimaces. “I don’t know, babe.”
I playfully shove her shoulder. “Come on. I need all of you guys there.”
She pulls her lips to the side like she’s trying to let me down delicately. “Piper and Jack are flying in for the weekend, right?”
“Yeah. That’s what she said in our group message.” Then I raise my eyebrows. “B and her fuck buddy are coming too.” Her hand flies up to her mouth, catching the drink before I got sprayed with hot brown liquid. “Thank you for not spewing that on me.”
She bubbles with laughter. “Mason is her boyfriend now—they’re living together.”
“Whatever.” I wave my hand in the air. “He’s still her little fuck toy to me.”
She shakes her head. “Oh, Lina.”
I cock my head to the side, not letting her get out of my question. “You’re coming.”
Avery rolls her eyes. “Yes, I’m playing with you. Of course, I’ll be there for every one of your mom’s showboating events you drag us all to.”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it. I’d lose my mind if I went to everything she tried to force me to attend.”
“I can’t imagine.” Avery picks a small piece of her blueberry muffin and pops it into her mouth. “Every time she’s around, it turns into the Corrine-show.”
“Right?” I run my finger across the smooth lid of my coffee cup. “The charity events are the only Corrine-shows I give in to her for. Never those life-sucking, pretentious happy hours or dinner parties.”
Avery scratches the tip of her nose. “It’s still such a mystery how you came from your two parents.”
“I know. Don’t even get me started.” I flip my hair behind my head, casually glancing around the small crew lounge, when my stomach flips. My eyes fall onto the tall, dark-haired man standing in a group of pilots.
Suspended in mid-thought, I take him all in. Carter’s broad frame is slightly bent, leaning against the extended handle of his black Tumi suitcase. His cap is pinched between his two fingers, and it moves a little when he laughs at something one of the other men says. His deep, tanned skin peeks out from the collar of his uniform, and I imagine gliding my tongue across it. I wonder what he tastes like or how having those thick tattooed arms hidden underneath his shirt would feel around me.
I remember the first day I saw his tattoos. I about tripped in the middle of a hotel lobby. We were away on an overnight, and he was sitting downstairs at the hotel bar with a few of our coworkers—the sleeves on his white -collared shirt were rolled up, exposing the intricate artwork. I stared for as long as appropriate, letting the wetness pool in my panties. I used my vibrator to give me three orgasms that night. I imagined him on top of me, sliding himself in and out, caging me beneath his arms.
I’d give myself to him in a heartbeat.
Finally, my eyes land on his lips. Bringing my fingertips to the bottom of mine, I get lost in the fantasy.
“Lina?” Avery’s distant voice isn’t enough to break me from this trance.
As if my gawking couldn’t be more evident, simultaneously, Avery’s arm waves in front of my face, just as Carter’s large amber eyes capture me.
My lips part, unable to turn away. The corner of his mouth quirks up into a smirk sending a shock zipping down my spine, causing my stomach’s muscles to clench.
“Lina,” Avery’s voice calls to me once again.
I blink a few times, tearing my eyes away from him. “Yeah, sorry.”
She taps my knee. “You alright?”
“Yes,” I reply, swallowing the cotton in my throat.
“What were you looking at?” She twists her body around to stare behind her before turning to face me. “Seriously, the two of you.”
“What?”
Her hand comes to her hip. “You know what.”
“Whatever.” I shake away every inappropriate thought about this man who is much older than I am.
“Speaking of tattoos.” I gesture at the infinity symbol tattoo on her wrist. “When are you going to get that removed?”
Avery clicks her tongue. “We weren’t talking about tattoos.”
Oops. I roll my eyes. “Fine. I was staring at Carter.”
She chuckles briefly, but then quickly looks down with a fallen expression. “I will eventually.”
“You haven’t given up hope, have you?”
She purses her lips together. “It’s not about him.”
I scoot my chair closer to hers. “Are you sure, babe?”
Avery has only shared bits and pieces about her upbringing with us. And we know very little about the meaning of this tattoo, only that he was the love of her life—a man who saved her in every way you can save another person. There’s a lot of hurt and trauma there. But I don’t think she’s ever gotten over him—whoever he was.
“Yeah, I will. In my own time,” she dismisses me.
I rest a hand on her leg. “Or you could never get rid of it. I mean, who says you have to?”
“I’m seeing Dave. I’ve moved on.”
I scrunch my nose. “The dentist?”
“Why do you guys always call him that?” She shoves a loose hair behind her ear.
“He is a dentist. ”
Avery’s expression tenses. “You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
“Not that he’s a dentist. He’s dull, babe, and not for you.” I cross my legs, yanking the hem of my skirt lower. “Why waste your time?”
“I don’t want to talk about this. He’s going to give me a good life. He’ll be loyal, and I know I won’t get hurt,” she argues.
“You won’t get hurt because you don’t love him,” I call her out in the only way I know how—honesty. It is what it is. But Avery is not over her childhood sweetheart, and she hasn’t even begun to unpack that baggage yet.
“Lina,” she says my name like a warning. I guess I should drop it.
“Fine, we don’t have to talk about it. But I love you and I want you to be happy.” I rest against the back of the chair and fold my arms across my chest.
Her eyes lower, and she cocks her head to the side. “What about you, Miss Love Skeptic? Are you happy being perpetually single?”
I’m different from all three of my friends. They have the ability to find love, are kind and open to it, and deserve the world. But I’m more of a realist, and I don’t operate within that perfect little love bubble. It’s more complicated for me. “Okay, all done.”
“That’s what I thought,” she quips with satisfaction.
“Avery, Lina.” A voice so smooth, it pours over me like warm honey.
Avery looks up between our two chairs. “Hey, Carter.”
My throat runs dry—again. I turn around and plaster an exaggerated smile on my flushed face. “Hello, gentlemen,” I greet all three pilots, but my eyes get pulled back to the same pair of intoxicatingly deep ones that had me trapped a second ago.
“Where are you ladies headed?” Carter asks both of us, but his focus is solely on me.
I feel a small bead of sweat drip in between my breasts. Airports are not this hot, and I wore my sweater today, not expecting to run into him or his— heat. “I’m off for a two-day leg in about an hour.”
“Same,” Avery adds. “What about you guys?”
The other two pilots tell us their routes, but I don’t hear any of it. I’m waiting to listen to that smooth voice again.
“I’m only on a one—” Carter pauses, sliding his phone out of his pocket. “Hello,” he answers, putting a finger in the air and stepping away.
Who called him? I know he isn’t married. A girlfriend? Oh god . I’m fantasizing about another woman’s man. Why does my mind automatically assume it’s someone who gets to see him naked?
I rub my temples. “I’m going to use the restroom. Be right back,” I say to Avery, lifting from my seat.
My heels click as I briskly walk down the narrow hallway by the changing room lounges. I’m turning the last corner when I run into a pilot’s uniform and a rock-hard body.
“Oh my god!’ I yelp, my palm meeting my chest.
“Hi,” he greets me calmly as if I didn’t collide directly with him.
“You scared the shit out of me.” My heart pounds behind my ribs, not only from the sudden scare but from our close proximity. I can tell how good he smells. “No one ever comes to the bathrooms on this side. ”
With his hand still on my elbow from his attempt to slow my pace, Carter bites his bottom lip. “Did you come looking for me?”
My short breaths try to keep up with my rapid heartbeat but fail miserably. With what feels like cotton in my mouth. “No.” I swallow a few times. “I came to use the ladies’ room.”
“I don’t believe you,” he taunts, caressing my elbow with his thumb. My skin turns warm and tingly. I thought about lifting my arm so his hand could fall to my waist.
“Why would I come looking for you?” I bat my eyelashes.
“I don’t know. You tell me.” His jaw twitches. “I was over here using the phone.”
“Your girlfriend?” The moment my words hit the air, I immediately regret it. Why would I ask him that? How fucking embarrassing.
A sly smile sweeps across his face. He removes his hand to rub his chin. “I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Oh, well, it’s none of my business anyway.” I try to backpedal. “I guess I assumed because you took off so suddenly.”
Carter takes a small step toward me, closing the gap between us. “It was my grandma’s doctor.”
Fuck. Of course, it was. I’m so immature—and incredibly nosey. He’s probably wondering why the hell I made a comment like that and why it would even be my business.
“Oh. Her doctor?” I sigh, angling my head toward the ground. “Is she okay?” Also, none of my damn business.
Carter dips his head so his eyes meet mine. “She’s in a memory care facility out here. I get weekly calls from her doctor with updates to her medical plan.”
His steady energy feeds into me. Without a thought, I bring my hand to his arm. “Sorry to hear that. I’m sure that’s got to be tough for you.”
His posture falls slightly. Then he wraps his opposite hand around mine as I clutch his forearm. “It is, but she’s in the best place possible.”
I smile at the natural intimacy of this moment. “Do you handle all her care?”
“Yeah. My mom isn’t around to do it, so I do. She’s very special to me.”
I stare up at him through my lashes, feeling the heat and electricity move between us. “Well, she’s lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one, trust me.”A beat passes. We’re standing inches apart in this empty hallway when I remember the charity ball at the end of the month.
“The organization that my mother works for is putting on a masquerade ball benefiting a few memory care facilities—”
Carter grins before softly interjecting. “One of them is hers.”
“So, you’ll be there?” I ask, stifling the butterflies in my stomach.
“I will.”
“Me too,” I reply, letting my hand drop.
He tugs on his tie, loosening it slightly. “I guess we’ll be seeing even more of each other.”
I smile. “I’m looking forward to our run on Tuesday.” Little does he know what a fool I’ll make of myself when we actually start training together. But this year, I’m determined to take it seriously for more reasons than one.
“Yeah. ”
At this point, my bladder is about to burst, and I’m due to get on the plane shortly, so the flirting has to be cut short.
“I guess I’ll see you around then,” I say.
He gives me a quick nod. “See you on Tuesday .”
I palm the door as I hear Carter’s footfalls drift away and further down the hallway. Every time I see him, I wonder when I’ll be able to see him again.
With my back facing out, I glance over my shoulder. “Oh, and—” He stops and turns around with that same perfect smile. “Happy landings, Captain Hernandez.”