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“How long will it take to get there?” I asked, my curiosity amping up.
“As long as it takes.” He nodded at my glass, still practically full of bubbles. I drank most of it in one swallow and then realized my tolerance for alcohol had probably significantly diminished over the last few months. I rarely drank anything other than water or milk. Anything else was a luxury I simply couldn’t afford. “A frown already? We haven’t even gotten off the ground yet.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. This man was paying attention to my every move. “I’d better lay off. I don’t drink much anymore,” I offered, shaking my near empty glass. He nodded and took it from me, the flight attendant appearing right on cue to remove the stemware from the table.
The plane started to crawl, and I looked out the small window. The car that had ferried us here was long gone. When we reached the runway, the jet paused, taking a deep breath before shooting out of the starting blocks.
“Ready to go?” Daniel asked, and I nodded enthusiastically, beaming at him.
He winked at me, and my heart took off along with the plane as we rocketed down the runway and into the air.
Five hourslater we made our descent, landing somewhere that had mountains and blue ocean, homes and buildings and cars nestled in between.
I started to stand, but Daniel stopped me with his hand. “We’re not there yet.”
“We’ve been gone over five hours. I guess you meant it when you said you wanted to spend the day with me.”
“Is it so bad that you’re counting the minutes?” he asked, totally deflecting what I really wanted to know…where in the world we were going.
“No,” I answered, pursing my lips. The time had flown by. We’d talked and teased each other, even played gin rummy until he got tired of losing.
“Mr. Elliott, we should be back in the air in about half an hour,” a steward informed us.
Someone from ground personnel delivered a bag. I watched the exchange with interest, but the bag was nondescript, so I had no clue what it might hold.
“I have to give you points for creativity.” Daniel’s eyes twinkled at this. “At least in the air there’s a very slim chance I’ll try to ditch you. Although I think we should at least deplane while we’re wherever we are before we head back.”
His smile broadened. “How are you so sure I wasn’t going to ditchyou?” he challenged, and I crossed my arms.
“There’s not a chance in hell of that happening.” I didn’t think either of us really wanted to go anywhere.
The flight attendant approached with a tray, a silver domed plate sitting atop it. He placed it in front of me and lifted the lid. Pancakes, bacon, and a glass bottle of syrup.
I looked at him incredulously, and his cheeks stained pink.
“You mentioned you wanted pancakes the other day.”
I’d said it in passing, but he was listening. My heart did a flip-flop before I dove right in, pouring syrup all over the stack, letting it soak into the pancakes. I looked at him in disbelief, shoving a bite into my mouth. “I take it they’re to your liking?”
I chewed, letting the food melt on my palate before swallowing. “Taste,” I insisted, cutting off a large bite and holding it up to his mouth.
He accepted and nodded his approval. “Excellent.”
“I’ve had pancakes for dinner, but I don’t think I’ve ever had them for lunch,” I mused, tearing off a piece of bacon with my teeth. “Oh my God. That’s the best bacon that’s ever graced my lips.” I held the strip in front of his mouth, and he took a bite.
“Hope it was worth the wait,” he said, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear so it didn’t drag in the syrup.
“Thank you,” I said softly. I meant for everything. This had to be costing a fortune, and even if it was unusual for a first date, I liked it. We were forced to get to know one another better because there was nothing else to do. And the more I got to know this man, the more I liked.
“If I had knownwe were doing this, I’d have brought my pajamas,” I commented once we were back in the air.
“Would you like to change? We still have a bit of a journey ahead of us.”
“That would be nice, but what I’m wearing is all I brought.”
“I asked Muriella to select something for you. I thought she might know better what you would like,” he said almost shyly, and that threw me completely for a loop. Daniel was not shy. Quiet? Yes. Shy? No.
“That could be a frightening proposition,” I commented, widening my eyes as if I was terrified.
