Chapter 2
Two
Serena
There are days I wish I could call in sick. This is one of them. I groan as I roll across my bed and turn off the alarm blaring in the quiet morning. It’s still dark outside and if I didn’t absolutely need my job, I wouldn’t be going in.
This is the first time in a few weeks I’ve been able to sleep in my own bed.
Laying in my own bed with my own pillows is so much better than the crappy hotels with the loud noises of the adjacent rooms. It’s the life I chose when I applied to be a flight attendant at International Airlines, much to my parent’s dismay.
They wanted me to do the normal thing. Go to college.
Find a steady job, then a husband, and start a family.
It’s not that I’m against any of those things, but when you grow up in a small town, the first thing you want to do is leave.
I wanted to spread my wings and explore the world.
Being a flight attendant helps me fulfill that dream.
The exhilaration of not knowing where you’re going until the week before is everything.
Meeting new people, experiencing new things. I’m living my best life. Well, mostly.
I need to stop lying around and get ready.
It’s a good thing I always have my bag packed.
The plane won’t wait for me. I just hope Hazel is working with me on this trip.
She has a way of keeping me distracted when he is the one flying.
Braxton Bankss broke my heart and though he’s with someone else, someone he loves and cares about.
It still stings. Before Hannah, I lasted two months with the pilot.
That’s the longest he had ever been with anyone.
I thought that meant I was special. Turns out, I was just another woman in a long line of women before me.
I can’t think about him right now, even if I will see him in a few short hours.
Well, more like hear him. This is another international flight, and that means he’ll be singing to all the passengers.
Making sure there are headphones in my bag is a must. It’ll give me something to listen to while blocking him out.
It’s not that I’m bitter or anything. I’m happy for him.
He’s found “the one”. But it doesn’t lessen the sting of rejection.
Especially when I thought we were going somewhere.
And…that’s the last bit of attention I’m going to give Double B. For now, anyway.
Rolling out of bed, I groan. “Goodbye, sweet and comfortable bed,” I pat the bed as if it were my pet.
“Until we meet again.” Dramatic? Maybe. Do I care?
Not even a little bit. A person never really appreciates the small things until they’re sleeping on a rock-hard mattress to the tune of banging headboards on the other side of the wall.
Not all places are like that, thank God.
But the ones that are, I never get a good night’s rest.
A quick shower is all I have time for. I hurry to my small bathroom and turn on the water, not even letting it completely warm up before I jump in.
That extra time in bed I spent agonizing over working with Braxton cost me precious minutes.
I don’t have the luxury of letting it get hot before I wash my hair and body.
I’m in and out in less than five minutes.
The steam hasn’t even had the chance to build up in the tiny space.
Next time, I will not drag ass when the alarm goes off.
Still in my robe, I grab my phone off the nightstand and perch on the edge of my bed while I blow-dry my hair.
Normally I’d do this in the bathroom, but I’m not ready to say bye to the bed.
The low hum of the blow dryer is my soundtrack as I check social media and email.
It’s all mostly junk, and I don’t know why I even bother.
A message from Hazel pops up on the screen and I hope that means she’ll be flying with me today.
Hazel: How long until you get to the airport?
Serena: I don’t know. Thirty, maybe forty-five minutes.
Hazel: Why so long? I need someone to bitch to about my long horrendous night.
Serena: I still need to put on my makeup. What happened?
Hazel: Put it on here. And nothing too bad. Just douchy guys at the hotel bar.
Serena: Why didn’t you tell me you were staying here overnight? You could have stayed here.
Hazel: It was late when I got in. And I didn’t want to chance waking you up. I know how much you love to sleep when you’re actually home.
Serena: I’m almost done blow drying my hair. I’ll use the makeup in my suitcase and put it on while you fill me in on the guys.
Hazel: See you in a few. Be careful.
Serena: Always. And I’ll be catching a cab. As long as they get me there in one piece, I’ll be happy.
It’s a relief she’ll be on the same plane as me.
At least, I think she will be. She never said we had the same schedule.
Things between us have been strained for a while.
After I started messing around with Braxton, I almost cost us our friendship.
But we’re working past that. We’ll be back at best friend status before I know it.
Hell, she didn’t even give me a mocking “I told you so” when he broke things off.
I can’t believe I almost let a guy come between us.
Especially one that had zero intentions of making us a permanent thing.
Turning the blow dryer off, I unplug it and toss it on my bed.
I keep an extra, smaller one, in my suitcase so I won’t need it.
I pull a brush through my hair a couple of times, and toss some clothes on.
I should change into my uniform, but there will be time for that at the airport.
Hazel needs to vent. Listening to her is the least I can do after all the crap I caused between us.
I grab the bag that holds my uniforms and my suitcase.
We’ll only be gone for a few days, but something feels different about this trip.
And it has nothing to do with the hot pilot all the women swoon over.
With nothing left to do, I walk out of the apartment and lock up.
I should have called a cab as soon as I told Hazel I’d be there early.
Luckily, I live downtown and there’s sure to be one driving through to the airport.
Hazel is sitting outside the gate when I walk up. She grins as soon as she sees me. “It’s about time you got here.”
“I told you it’d take me a bit.” I set the bag holding my uniforms across a couple seats and wrap my arms around Hazel’s shoulders.
“I forgot to call a cab before I left and had to wait until one passed by.” Letting go of her, I take a step back.
“You’d think I’d be used to sharing a small space with someone I don’t know.
But, no. The person I ended up in the cab with was awful. ”
“More awful than asshole guys at a bar?” She sits down and pats the seat next to her.
“I think so.” The small plastic seat is cold against my thin leggings, and a shiver courses through me.
“He was picking his nose behind his hand and then wiping it on the side of the seat. It was disgusting.” I’ve seen some crazy things while working as a flight attendant, but I don’t think anything beats what I witnessed.
It’s way too early in the morning to deal with that nonsense.
“You might have me beat, girl.” She turns until she’s facing me and slides one leg under her butt.
“What happened last night?”
“Nothing outside of the usual,” Hazel waves me off. “You know how some people get when they find out you’re a flight attendant. The mile-high jokes come out in droves.”
“That sucks.” Groaning, I reach into my suitcase and grab my makeup bag. I don’t wear as much as I do when I go out, like that happens very much, but I need to look presentable. “That, my friend, is why I’ve stopped going to the hotel bars after flights.”
“Whatever,” she laughs. “You don’t go out because you’re worried you're going to run into a certain pilot. You need to get over that. He’s moved on, and so should you.”
She’s right. He’s the reason I don’t go out much anymore. It’s not even that it hurts that much. It’s the awkwardness that I know will permeate the air. How can you casually be around someone you’ve screwed and things not be weird? “I have moved on.”
“Then who are you seeing?”
“You know damn well how hard it is to start and maintain a relationship in our line of work.”
“True story.” She pushes her foot back to the floor and sits up straight. That’s her serious expression. Nothing good is going to come out of that. I keep hoping the low murmur surrounding us will drown out whatever she’s about to say. Not even a baby cries to distract her. “Speaking of work…”
“This better not be some way for you to rub in the fact that we’re flying with Braxton as the pilot today.”
“It’s not. I swear.” Hazel makes an x over her heart and holds out her pinky, waiting for me to take it. She’s resorting to child-like promises and I know she will not tease me.
I hook my finger in hers, “Okay, spill.”
“We’re sort of being put on a new assignment after this flight.”
“What do you mean?”
I watch people get up and stand in line to board their planes. The voice over the speakers calling for passengers to board and head off on their own adventures. Hazel waits for them to quiet down before continuing. “Apparently, our airline is also going to work with basketball teams.”
“Huh.” What does that have to do with us? “Are they sponsoring them or something?”
“Nope,” she pops the p before adding, “we are their transportation. They don’t always travel together from what I hear, but most of the flights we’ll be on will be shorter.
” She pauses, hoping I’ll give her a reaction.
“And they’ll include super-hot athletes.
Ones I’m sure will be just fine with a night or two of fun. ”
“Of course, that would catch your attention,” I roll my eyes. I swear this woman will never settle down. If that’s what she wants, who am I to tell her differently? “Why us?”
“No idea.” She shrugs and people watches.
“But I’m not complaining. It’ll be nice to at least be in the States most of the time.
As much as I love going all over the world, I’m looking forward to some time here.
You’ll also get more time in your own bed.
” Her mouth forms a slight grin. “I assume that’s something you’ll be happy about. ”
Actually, I would be pretty happy about that. I’m in a committed relationship with my mattress. “Why hasn’t anyone in management said anything to me about it?”
“Technically,” her voice is a high-pitched whisper. “I’m not even supposed to know about it. I heard it through a few people. Some other attendants are being reassigned, too. They are supposed to tell us after we get back from this trip, so act surprised.”
I’m not mad about it, just shocked. They normally tell us weeks in advance, so this is surprising.
It’ll also be nice working shorter trips.
The international ones aren’t horrible, but they are so freaking long.
Passengers become restless if there isn’t a layover, and can get grumpy with us.
As if it’s our fault they decided to go to Europe with their children.
That’s another thing I won’t miss, hours of kids asking their parents how much longer the flight will be.
I have nothing against kids, but small ones can make the flight more stressful than it needs to be.
“Um, Serena,” Hazel snaps her fingers in front of me. “Are you okay? You’re not upset about the change, are you?”
“Not even a little bit.” I swipe my lashes with a bit of mascara before throwing it in my makeup bag and putting it in my suitcase. “I have a feeling my bed and I will be able to take our relationship to the next level.”
“You are so weird.”
“I like uninterrupted sleep,” I shrug. “The cots on the plane are just fine, but it’s not exactly comfortable.”
“That’s an excellent point.” Another announcement comes over the speakers and her eyes widen. “Shit. You need to go get dressed. Our plane is almost here and we still have to get it ready before boarding.”
“And this is why I wanted to get ready at home, before I got here. I don’t like being rushed.”
“Well, I needed you.”
“No, you didn’t,” I shake my head, exasperated. “You just didn’t want to sit up here by yourself.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She picks up my garment bag and shoves it in my arms. “Now go get dressed.”
I don’t have time to argue. I rush to the bathroom to put on my uniform. I’m going to make this the best flight I’ve ever had. Starting next week, I’ll be back in the continental states for a while.