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She must have understood me because she suddenly made a sharp left u-turn, up and over the median. Then, we were finally heading the way to the airport. My heart was beating a mile a minute during the drive back.
When she pulled up to the drop off area, I gave her a quick hug. “Muchas gracias!” Immediately realizing that was Spanish, I simply didn’t have enough time to figure out the correct way to thank her. Later, I’d send her a translated thank you note along with some cash to remove the apparent curse on me.
Rushing through the door to the International Airlines ticket counter, I nearly tripped over my own suitcase.
“Has the flight to Dubai left yet?”
The attendant clicked a few buttons. “Actually, that’s been delayed due to technical issues.”
Thank you, Jesus.
“Is there still time to get on that flight?”
She made a phone call before answering, “You’ll have to hurry, but I’ve alerted them to expect you at the gate. Give me your credit card, and we’ll get you set up as fast as possible.”
She printed my boarding pass, and I ran as fast as I could to security. Thankfully, there were no issues getting through, and I was able to make it onto the plane.
He hadn’t asked me to come with him. This was a huge risk.
Despite my growing insecurity, I held onto the memory of the look in his eyes when he turned around to wave to me that last time. His expression had seemed filled with regret and doubt. He’d looked how I had felt.
It would be fourteen hours before I would figure out whether this was a big mistake. The cockpit had already been closed when I made my way to the back of the plane.
Now, I would try to just relax. Well, as best as I could with the knowledge that most, if not all, of the leggy brunettes walking these aisles had likely slept with Carter.
As the plane taxied down the runway, I closed my eyes and let myself feel his presence in every movement of the vessel as it ascended toward the sky. Memories of our tandem gliding ran through my mind. The thought that Carter was the one controlling this aircraft was just as comforting as it was a huge turn on. There was nothing more powerful than holding dozens of lives in your hands. He was a hero, if you asked me.
Once the plane had leveled off, my heart nearly skipped a beat at the sound of his deep, soothing voice over the intercom.
“Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Supreme Commander otherwise known as Captain Clynes. I’d like to take a moment to welcome you this afternoon to my home away from home here on this beautiful Boeing 757. Our flying time from Rio de Janeiro to Dubai is a whopping fourteen hours. We anticipate some pockets of turbulence in the first forty minutes or so, but after that, it should be smooth sailing. Again, welcome aboard International Airlines Flight 237 to the United Arab Emirates.”
Then, without warning, Carter began to sing. While all of the passengers seemed amused, the flight attendants, who were clearly used to his singing, were completely unphased.
The Beatles song he’d chosen this time was Ticket to Ride. Two things weren’t lost on me: the fact that the song was about a careless girl who was going away and the fact that he’d sung it instead of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. He’d replaced his signature song with one that I was pretty sure was about me.
If you wanted me to stay, why didn’t you ask me?
I couldn’t begin to imagine what his reaction was going to be when he saw me in Dubai.
The day had taken its toll on me. I normally couldn’t sleep well on an aircraft, but Carter being at the helm made me feel safe. I ended up nodding off for a couple of hours.
When I woke up, I was greeted by a rude awakening. A few of the flight attendants were gossiping in the galley. My seat in the last row was located right in front of the area where they prepared the food.
I tried to block out the surrounding sounds to focus in on what they were saying.
“Did you and Trip hook up in Rio?”
“No. We’re not seeing each other anymore. And don’t you dare tell me ‘I told you so.’”
“Honestly…you lasted longer with him than anyone else I’ve ever seen him messing around with.”
“Two whole months.” She laughed. I turned around so I could get a look at which one was speaking. It was the one named Jolene. Tall brunette. Shocker.
“Two months is a lifetime in Trip time. I was hoping it would work out for you. But I knew better…because of personal experience, unfortunately.”
“I should’ve listened to you.”
“Sometimes we need to find things out for ourselves.”
