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I hadn’t worked with her in months. Flight attendant life was that way sometimes. You could work with someone once and then never see them again while you crossed paths with others more regularly if you were lucky.
“How long has it been?” Her New York accent hit my ears, and I smiled in response to hearing it.
She had given me all kinds of tips and tricks when I was brand-new on the job. Like how to deal with drunk passengers without pissing them off and creating a scene (flirt) and how to avoid dating the pilots (don’t flirt).
“Three months at least. Where have you been?” I asked because I’d flown this route a few times lately and she’d never been on it.
“Oh, everywhere, honestly. I’m a last-minute replacement. Someone called in sick, and I happened to end my route here. I’m hoping we actually take off. It’s getting pretty bad out there.” She glanced at River before extending her hand. “I’m sorry, have we met?”
“Stop it,” he answered, his tone oozing with charm and sincerity. It sounded nothing like the way he talked to me. “Come here, you gorgeous thing, you.”
He pulled her in for a hug, and I swore I heard her sigh out loud, her face instantly flushing against his jacket. This guy seemed to have that effect on everyone. Except me. River might be gorgeous, but he knew it. And guys like that were a danger to your heart.
“Do you just get handsomer with age?” Carmella asked River, her jet-black hair swaying as she turned to look at me. “He does, doesn’t he?”
I rolled my eyes and grunted, “I wouldn’t know.”
Even though Carmella had told me point-blank that dating a pilot would only end in heartbreak, she always seemed to have a soft spot for River. Or at least the way he looked.
Carmella laughed. “Oh, honey, we all know. Everyone with eyes knows.”
“Well, my eyes don’t like looking at him.”
Liar.
“River”—she tsked as she turned back to face him—“you didn’t,” she said without finishing.
We all knew what she was hinting at. That River and I had hooked up.
“Ew. No,” I protested a little too emphatically at the same time River did.
“Not a chance,” he said for additional emphasis, and I hated how ugly it made me feel.
It was one thing when I was the one dissing him, but every time he did it back to me in response, I hated him for it.
I know; I know. I’m a hypocrite. Still don’t care.
“Mmhmm.” She looked between us, her eyes narrowing as she reached for my arm and pulled me aside. “Sky, what did I tell you about the pilots?”
I threw my hands in the air. “We haven’t. I didn’t. I swear.”
“But you want to.” She tilted her head and studied me as I frowned.
“I most certainly do not.”
I’d never do that to Stacy. She’d never forgive me. Typical nine-to-five workplace romances were tricky enough, but romances in the air were another beast altogether. Not to mention the fact that all the warnings I’d received about the men who flew our planes had been pretty spot on. I’d done my best to avoid hooking up with any of them so far, not that it had been that difficult, honestly. Whenever a particularly handsy pilot was going to head out with the crew on a layover, I opted to stay in my hotel room instead. That had earned me the title slam-clicker. I didn’t care about the name.
The last thing I wanted was to be a notch on a bedpost, or a number in a city, or embarrassed whenever we had to work together. And I definitely wouldn’t want anyone to find out about it. That was the biggest issue—people in this industry always found out everything. There were no secrets. I knew more about my coworkers’ sex life than I’d ever wanted to.
And don’t get me started on the awkwardness. One time, a pilot had had his wife and his mistress on the same plane. His mistress had to serve drinks and food to the wife the entire time. To say it was one of the most uncomfortable situations for the rest of us would be an understatement. I remembered waiting for the shit to hit the fan the entire flight, bracing myself for a fight that, thankfully, never came. My stomach had been in knots until we landed and the flight attendant ran into the restroom in the back of the aircraft and threw up until all the passengers deplaned.
I watched as Carmella glanced back in River’s direction before focusing on me again. “God knows I love that boy, but he’s a heartbreaker.”
“I know. I’ve heard all about it.”
A loudspeaker in the gate crackled to life before announcing that we would begin boarding soon, and the waiting passengers all seemed to exhale in unison. I realized that they had all expected a cancellation announcement at any moment and were relieved that we’d be taking off. Glancing out the large windows, I saw the snow falling heavily. The sooner we took off, the sooner we’d be back on solid ground again.
“Ladies”—River appeared at our sides—“that’s our cue.”
