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But I’m not going to puke,I tell myself sternly.
The engine roars as it comes to life. The propeller spins. Luke flashes a grin over his shoulder at me, and God, I’d do anything for that grin.
No man should be this beautiful, I think.
Then Luke’s guiding the plane down the runway. Then the friction of the runway fades away, and we’re up in the air.
I squeeze my eyes shut and concentrate on breathing.
I feel the plane vibrate as we climb higher and higher.
“Don’t you love this view?” Luke’s voice comes through the headset.
I open one eye and peek out the window.
The sky looks soblueup here. Blue like the ocean. Blue like Luke’s eyes.
Maybe it isn’t so bad up here, I think.
Then I make the mistake of glancing down.
The ground is so fucking far away. Everything looks tiny and far away, and I feel a rush of dizziness as I think about how far away everything is. I close my eyes again, but it’s too late. The wave of dizziness is followed by an even bigger wave of nausea.
I lunge for the plastic bag in my purse. As Luke does something tilty with the plane, I empty the contents of my stomach into the bag.
It turns out even Luke’s hotness isn’t a match for my fear of flying.
“Hazel? You ok?” he asks.
When I don’t answer, he glances over his shoulder and sees me hunched over my bag.
“Jesus,” he swears.
“Can we go down now?” I ask, feeling like a miserable failure of a fake wife.
I don’t hear Luke’s answer, but soon enough the plane is tilting again, descending, and then the plane’s on the ground, rattling down the runway, until we come to a blissful, perfect stop.
I lean back in the seat and breathe, grateful.
Once Luke’s parked the plane, he half-climbs over his seat to touch my forehead with the back of his hand. “Are you sick? You don’t feel like you’re running a fever.”
“It’s not that,” I mumble.
“Maybe it’s food poisoning? I told you not to eat that gas station donut.”
“The gas station donut was delicious, you’re just a food snob,” I say.
“Then what—”
“I’m terrified of flying,” I blurt.
For a second he just stares at me.
Then he scowls. “Why didn’t youtellme?”
“It’s embarrassing!” I say. “Can we get out of the plane now?”
He grumbles something I don’t hear, and messes around with handles and buttons. Then he’s opening up the door and helping me down to the ground.
