Jake
Eight Months Later
I touch down at JFK with an hour to spare. After going through the usual post-flight checklists, I grab my things, disembarking the plane and heading into the airport with the rest of the crew. After we’ve passed through arrivals though, I hang back, checking the board to see what time the next flight gets in.
“You coming?” one of the flight attendants calls out to me.
I smile, shaking my head as I gesture to the board and say, “Nah, gonna wait for Taylor.”
The girl smiles, nodding her head as she says, “Cool, say hi to her from us.”
I return the smile, waving to the rest of the crew as they head out to catch the bus. Things are so different now after everything Taylor did, everything she achieved. She’s like a rock star at Crescent Airways these days, which in addition to meaning everyone, including her, now gets the pay and conditions they should, also means she’s finally treated with the respect she deserves.
It’s all been a huge achievement and relief and it makes me crazy happy to know she’s done this. That she stood firm on what she believed in and fought to get this for everyone, not just herself.
The added bonus of it all is that everyone knows we’re together too, and I no longer get hit on by flight attendants who think I’m somehow okay with hooking up while Taylor and I are apart.
The board changes to indicate Taylor’s plane has landed, and I smile, reaching into my bag to grab what I prepared before moving to a spot directly in front of the gate so I don’t miss her. I know she isn’t expecting me, and I don’t want to miss her when she finally walks out.
When the doors open and the passengers start to file through, I scan the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of the crew as they make their way through the VIP channel. Eventually, I see the tops of their hats, the small group of people all dressed in Crescent Airways uniforms, laughing and chatting as they make their way to the exit.
I hold up my sign, keeping my eyes on them as I finally spot Taylor. She’s laughing, relaxed and happy as she walks alongside Dean, the two of them having flown this leg of her route together. I watch her the whole time, even as I see other people turn to look at me from the corner of my eye.
Dean sees me before she does though, the smile on his face getting wider as he nudges Taylor and then gestures toward me. I watch as she turns, her eyes finding mine in the crowd, her smile growing even wider when she realizes who she’s looking at.
And then they dip lower, scanning the sign I’m holding up and taking in the words I’ve written before she bursts out laughing, covering her face with her hands as she walks toward me.
“Hey, baby,” I say, pulling her into my arms and kissing her hard.
“Oh my god, , what are you doing here and what is that sign you’re holding?”
I laugh, holding it up again as we both look at the words written in big black letters on the white cardboard.
Taylor Patterson.
Love of my life.
You are the crayons to my coloring book…
The jelly to my donut…
Nobody touches my junk quite like you do
“You like?” I ask, pulling her closer. Behind us, I notice the rest of her crew lingering, smiling as they watch us, as they see what I’ve written.
“You’re an idiot,” she says playfully as she leans in and kisses my neck.
“Yeah,” I say, grinning. “But you love me.”
“I do,” she says, beaming. “But seriously, how are you here?”
My grin widens. “Let’s just say being the toy boy of Crescent Airway’s biggest celebrity has its perks.”
Taylor swats me on the chest, shaking her head even as she keeps smiling. I knew she’d get a kick out of me standing here waiting for her and holding up a ridiculous sign like this.
Back when I’d flown her over Santa Monica Beach and the sign the girls were holding up, I’d watched her face as she’d seen what we’d organized. Watched as the smile that had tugged at her mouth had grown into full-blown laughter and her eyes had shined with happiness.
Seeing her like that, knowing how happy she was, it was a reaction I always wanted to create. Even if most of it had probably come from the addition that cheeky little spitfire, Sofia had tacked on the end.
“You know you’re practically a celebrity in all this too, don’t you?” she says.
I shrug, knowing it’s her that made this happen. “Meh,” I say as we turn and join the rest of her crew and make our way toward the crew bus.
“, nice to see you again,” Dean says, leaning over to shake my hand.
I tuck the board under my arm, returning his handshake. “You too, how’s things?”
“Good, good,” he says, nodding his head. “Kaitlin’s getting ready to pop any second so I’m heading straight down to Florida in the morning.”
“Wow,” I reply, slipping my arm around Taylor’s shoulders. “Nervous?”
Dean laughs, shaking his head as he replies. “Nope, not at all. I can’t wait,” he says, grinning at us. “Maybe you two should try it.”
Taylor and I both laugh, even though it’s not something we’ve really talked about yet. “Settle down,” I tell him. “We only just moved in together.”
Taylor glances up at me. “You’re all moved in?” she asks, a hopeful look on her face.
She’d asked me if moving in with her was something I might want to do just before she’d left for this latest trip. We were spending every night we could together anyway, and we knew in theory it all made sense. But we also both knew what a big step it meant in reality too.
Still, it was something I really wanted, and I knew from the way she had nervously asked me, that it was something she wanted too. So I’d told her yes, knowing that eventually, I wanted so much more with her.
I nod, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips. “All moved in,” I tell her. “Rental’s gone, divorce is long finalized. I’m all yours, baby.”
Taylor smiles, her face filled with happiness as she slips an arm around my waist and squeezes. “And I’m all yours, .”
As we all file onto the crew bus, I’m stunned to see Trent and Theo both sitting up in the back, across the aisle from each other. They don’t notice us, but I watch as their eyes suddenly snap up when they hear Taylor laugh behind me, their faces hard and their eyes narrowed.
Neither Taylor nor I have seen or spoken to or flown with either of them since everything went down with Taylor’s complaint, but it wasn’t hard to work out that they’d somehow have an issue with it all.
Guys like them think of women in only one way and it certainly isn’t as their equal. And I know they both still resented the fact that Taylor had broken things off with them, that neither of them was on her radar at all anymore.
So because they are total pricks, I can’t help the grin, slipping my hand to the small of Taylor’s back as I lean in and whisper, “Just so you know, I’m getting you naked as soon as we get to the hotel.”
She glances back at me, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth and a look on her face that’s sexy as hell. “Oh yeah?” she murmurs, her voice husky and low.
“Yeah,” I reply, and I can’t resist leaning in to kiss her, knowing those two arseholes are watching us.
As we settle into our seats, Taylor asks, “How long are you in New York for?”
I slide my arm across the back of the seat behind her and pull her toward me. “Just tonight,” I reply.
“And where to next?” she asks, and I know she assumes that tonight is all we’ll have together.
I shrug, trying to act as though it’s no big deal as I say, “Down to the Bahamas, then onto Houston before heading back to L.A.”
“What?” she says, shocked as she turns to face me. “The same route as me?”
I nod, grinning.
“But how, I thought you…I mean…”
I can’t stop the laugh as I lean in and press a kiss to her forehead. “I managed to switch things around,” I tell her, knowing that while scheduling tries to get us on the same flights or as close to that as possible, it doesn’t always happen. This time in particular was bad, with both of us being apart and virtually on opposite sides of the country and the world for the better part of the last two weeks.
“You did?” she asks.
“I did,” I reply. “Like I said, being your toy boy comes with a lot of perks.”
Taylor shoots me a sideways glance, her arms crossed over her chest in mock annoyance. “Oh, it does, does it?” she asks.
I burst out laughing, leaning down to kiss her lips. “It does,” I whisper against her mouth. “But the best perk is I get to have you.”
She rolls her eyes now, but it’s playful as she swats at my chest.
“Come on, you know it’s true, baby,” I tease, moving to suck and nibble at her neck, oblivious to the rest of the Crescent Airways staff that are on the bus with us. “But enough about that, tell me what you want me to do to you when I get you naked,” I whisper, my mouth at her ear.
The smile tugs at her lips as she narrows her eyes a little. Uncrossing her arms, she slides a hand onto my thigh, inching it higher until it’s practically cupping my dick like we’re a pair of teenagers at the back of the school bus as she leans in and puts her mouth to my ear and tells me exactly what she has in mind.
“Fuck me,” I breathe out when she finally pulls back.
“You like?” she asks, a huge smile on her face now.
“I love!” I half shout as Taylor laughs. “And actually, that reminds me of the other idea I had for your welcome sign.”
“What?” she asks, confused.
Chuckling, I grab the sign I was holding and flip it over to show her the non-PG version, watching as her eyes scan the words, her smile morphing into full-blown laughter at what I’d written.
“Oh my god,” she says, her head falling onto my shoulder.
“Too much?”
Taylor shakes her head, looking up at me, a huge smile on her face. “No, not too much,” she whispers.
I grin, leaning down to kiss her again. “I love you, Taylor.”
I feel her smile against my mouth. “I love you too, ,” she whispers. “Can you make this damn bus hurry up!”