Part V - Turbulent Beginning

Seconds pass before the engines spool up. The breaks are released and we begin moving.

Moments later, a loud and defined roar from the engines vibrates throughout the plane as we race down the tarmac airstrip.

The faster we get, the bumpier the ride becomes and the more forced back into my seat I'm getting...

It felt like minutes before the plane began tilting upward and before I knew it, we became airborne.

My eyes are stuck to the window as I look at all the movements below us. All the cars, buses, trains and other planes become smaller and smaller. The trees all begin to slowly fade and blend into one shade green colour as now the mountains, that were hard to see from the ground, come into view by the very horizon.

I take a deep breath before laying back into my seat.

Just as I was about to fully relax and give myself up to this oddly comfortable seat, the plane suddenly drops before rising up, causing me to grab onto the armrests. Once again, the plane drops before going back up and then we begin to shake ever so slightly.

I note how the roaring of the engines quietens down, but it does not stop the shaking.

I look outside, just to see us about to enter a thick layer of clouds.

Just when I thought that that was all that was going to happen, the plane began to turn.

Even though the aircraft is trying to correct its heading, the turbulence while turning makes me feel like we are going to fall from the sky at any second.

The plane banks back from turn moments later and, in some type of unison, I feel the turbulence die out.

I lay my head back and sigh with relief, still gripping the armrest. I love flying, but I hate when we fly into turbulence.

A chuckle beside me caught my attention. I turn towards James, just to see a smug smile stretched across his lips.

Then I feel something move beneath my hand that is anchored to the armrest. James's hand is trapped beneath mine. I didn't even notice...

"Fuu- sorry..." I blurt out.

But just as I was about to take my hand off of his, the plane once again dips before rising back up and begins shaking once again, causing me to tighten my grip. I look outside, only to see that we have entered the thick clouds.

My eyes are glued to the window as I rest my head back against the headrest of the seat.

Seconds pass before we are out of the clouds and the turbulence stops, and it is also then that produce the biggest ever sigh of relief. I finally allowed myself to relax.

I then remind myself how James's hand is stuck undermine, so I free him.

"Sorry..." I say, it is all I can say. I can feel my heart pounding against my rib cage.

"I see you are enjoying the flight," he teases me. "I thought you said how you are a regular flier, what was this now?" I hear him chuckle once finished talking.

My eyes go from the folded up tray table to him.

"Why does everything to you have to be a fucking joke!?" I suddenly burst out, my eyes still looking at him, straight into his.

Immediately I regret my sudden outburst.

I notice how his face suddenly softens.

I was about to say something when the movement of his hand caught my attention. His hand lands onto mine.

I see him bite his lip. But his eyes are elsewhere, they are not on me.

I try to once again get myself to speak, but then his voice catches me off guard.

"Yeah... sorry, I... I shouldn't have..." he begins, but gives up on his attempt to speak with a sigh. "I fucked up..." I hear him mutter under his breath, before letting out another sigh mixed with a nervous chuckle. His head sinks into his left hand.

"Look... I overreacted... I am sorry." I begin. "Tiredness, I guess?...". I end my sentence with an awkward chuckle as my eyes stare down at my white Converse. But relief spread through my body when I heard him chuckle along with me.

"If anyone should be sorry, that should be me. I shouldn't have said that. If anything, I meant it as a joke..." He says. "... I-I am sorry...".

His words cause me to look up at him, as he looks down at me.

His eyes, his beautiful teal eyes...

I can't be angry at him... it feels wrong...

The smile that evolved on his lips kicked me out of my trance.

Before I could comprehend, the plane began to turn once again, but this time towards my side.

Looking through the window, I could see the ground through a few scattered clouds. The landscape from up here never ceases to amaze me with its pure beauty.

"So beautiful..." I trail my voice under my breath.

The crackling and the shifting of the seat makes me guess that James is coming up beside me. I am proven correct when I felt his big, muscular body ever so slightly pressing against mine.

"Mh-hmm..." He gently hums right by my ear.

I can feel his hand land on mine, but he really caught me off guard when his fingers intertwine with mine. I don't do anything about it, I don't want to do anything about it...

I turned to face him, consequently, just as the plane began to bank back to its original position. I get a glimpse of his face while his eyes are still looking outside the window, but it felt like milliseconds passed before his eyes returned straight onto mine.

I notice a small smirk grow on his luscious lips.

Just then do I realise how close he is to me, we are practically nose to nose. I can smell his breath, a light tint of mint mixed with a hint of alcohol. He's not drunk, is he? He doesn't seem like it.

Then his cologne does its magic from there...

Our staring was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected yawn that came from me.

"Excuse me..." I say before another yawn gets me.

"Here..." he begins. I look at him, just to see him move in the seat. He then taps his shoulder. "Lie here, I see you are tired.".

"Oh, you don't need to, I'll lay by the window.".

"No, I insist. I want this to be like my apology for... what happened earlier...". I see an awkward smile grow on his lips, but it never the less causes me to smile alongside him too.

My eyes naughtily move to his half unzipped jacket. Even though he has a t-shirt on, I can see his well-shaped pecks. I don't allow myself to look down any further.

"Are you sure?" I ask him.

He raises an eyebrow at me.

"I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't," he replies. A pleasant smirk was to develop from his straight face moments later.

"Touché...".

He chuckles at my response before making some space for my head. With him doing so, I feel his hand as loses its grip upon mine.

Lying on his shoulder, it takes me a second to get myself comfortable. I can feel his cologne at first attack my nose before it soothes all of my senses.

I try to go to sleep, but I can't, I find myself looking at his big hand that is beside mine. I want him to hold my hand again, I want to feel his touch. I felt an odd sense of safety when his hand held mine...

I slowly approach my unfeeling limb towards his, widening my fingers ever so slightly, but I don't have to courage nor the strength to wrap my hand back around his. I only end up feeling my fingers against his.

He must have felt my contact when he replies with a caress. It was the fact that he touched me back that caused my heartbeat to strengthen. I could feel my heart, yet again, beating against my ribcage. His touch gave me some sort if a rush.

Before I knew it, his hand was held by mine. I can hear him chuckle at my action.

I feel him caressing his thumb on the back of my hand. It's his gentle caresses that cause my breathing to quiver. I can tell he noticed the effect he has on me by the way he began to snicker.

"Thank you..." I find myself blurting out a couple of seconds later.

"For what?" he asks.

"For letting me lie on you..." I say with a soft voice, gulping at how dumb my words sound.

Both relief and slight confusion stir up in me when I, once more, hear his chuckles.

"You're cute, you know that?" he says. His deep voice mixed with the words he just said causes a wave of excitement to awaken within me. A small smile grows on my lips.

I feel him lean down towards me, causing me to, at first, gaze up at his through my eyebrows before tilting my head up and properly looking at him.

"You know..." he begins. "Words can't even describe the feeling I get when I see you smile.". His words leave an effect on me, as they always do...

"You know, you are going to have to try harder if you expect me to fall for you..." I reply.

"Well, haven't you already fallen for me? You have your head on my shoulder and your hand is around mine. I know I ain't no doctor Cupid, but to me, that signals something.". I giggle at his words.

"Also, who said I was trying to make you fall for me?" he asks, raising his eyebrow.

I sarcastically widen my eyes. "Oh, so you are not trying to make me fall for you?".

"I didn't say that..." he replies.

"Oh, so you are...".

"Just go to sleep..." he says through his smile.

I gladly accept his request and lay back down onto his shoulder.

Seconds pass before I feel something set against my head, its James. I hear him take a deep breath before letting it out.

I look at his man-spread legs, appreciating the man whom I'm lying on. Before I knew it, my eyes closed shut and a small smile grew on my lips. Then, everything around me slowly began to quieten down.

Everything continued to settle down right before I found my peace and fell asleep.