Page 4 of I Wanna Be Your Lager

She pinches her lips shut. “Well then, I guess I don’t need to say anything more. We’ll let you enjoy your whiskey. Trey.” She spins to face him, resting her palms on his chest. She whispers, and unfortunately not quietly enough, “Let’s finish our drinks, go back to our room, and you can sour cream my burrito.”

I gag, the whiskey burning my nostrils. “Something tells me you’re not talking about an actual burrito.”

Trey shakes his head, a giant smirk taking over his face. “Nope.”

“Yep. That’s what I thought.” I frown and point at my mouth. “I just threw up a little.”

“The night’s still young.” He waves his hand over the crowd. “You can find someone’s burrito to sour cream.”

“I’m never eating a burrito again.”

“Suit yourself.” Trey raises his glass, swallowing the last gulp of his whiskey. I wave them both off as they stroll across the dance floor and toward the courtyard of their hotel block. Twisting on my stool, I face the bar. Sitting here isn’t going to make the night better. I throw back the rest of my drink. I might as well do the same, minus the burrito. And sour cream.

FOUR

OH. SHIT.

Lach

The whiskey didn’t do its job last night. Instead of passing out, I spent the night tossing and turning while visions of Kat invaded my dreams. Her soft hands brushing over my cheek. Her warm body pressed against mine. Her soft whimpers as she rode my hand. All of it played on repeat throughout the night. I’ve never been this affected by a girl, especially one who got hers and disappeared. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I want more. Maybe it’s because I can’t have more. Either way, I’m ready to get out of Florida and back to Harbor Highlands. More importantly, I’m ready to forget about Kat.

I shuffle down the cramped airplane aisle, careful not to bump into any passengers, but it’s kind of hard when they make these aisles so damn small. Even an inch or two would be fine, but no. They cram us in here like the floor at a rock concert. I glance down, checking my seat number on my phone—18 A. When I’m a few rows away from my seat, a familiar face with blonde hair cascading down her shoulders catches my attention. A hot pink travel pillow encircles her neck, and her eyes are glued to the paperback in her hands.

“Kat?” She doesn’t move. So I call her name again. This time, she glances up. Her bright hazel eyes grow wide as all the color drains from her cheeks. Apparently, she’s just as surprised to see me. “Fancy seeing you here. What happened to you last night?” I tilt my head and flash her a smirk. My gaze drops to the man seated in the aisle seat, then back to Kat. Without a second thought, I tap the guy on the shoulder. “Excuse me, sir. It seems my girlfriend and I got separated from each other. Would you mind switching seats with me? I’m only a few rows back. It’s a window seat.”

Before he can respond, Kat rests her hand on his arm to get his attention. His gaze flits from me to her. “Ex-boyfriend. Right now, he’s being a little stalkerish.” She peers up at me, flashing me the same smirk I gave her.

“Hey man,” a guy says behind me, “let’s keep the line moving. You can chitchat later.”

“Don’t keep the line waiting, Patrick.” She smiles before lifting the book entirely too close to her face to read.

I huff out a laugh and make my way to my seat a few rows behind Kat before plopping down. Never in a million years did I expect to see her again, let alone on my flight. I was content not knowing why she left, but now that she’s here, I want answers.

After all the passengers are seated, the ground crew pushes us back from the gate to taxi to the runway. The entire time, I can’t tear my gaze away from Kat. Twice, she turns around to sneak a glance my way, and I catch her both times. Perhaps she’s having the same thoughts as me, but instead of ditching me, she’s daydreaming of what the night could have been. Fuck. Now that’s what I’m thinking about.

Once we reach cruising altitude, the captain turns off the Fasten Seatbelt sign. I contemplate if I should get out of my seat and demand she explain why she up and left or if I should let it go. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me, but I’ve also never hadsomeone ghost me like she did. Not going to lie. It bruised my ego—not that I’d tell anyone else that. She missed out. The first orgasm I gave her would have been a minor tremor compared to what I had in store for her next. She’d still be walking on wobbly legs. The head of the guy next to her falls forward. If he’s going to sleep like that, he’s going to wake up with a sore neck. I roll my head back and forth, imagining his looming stiff neck. My gaze drifts back to Kat when suddenly his body convulses. “Oh, shit,” I mutter. Kat twists her head to the left. She jumps from her seat, her head inches from smacking against the overhead bin. Her eyes widen as she plasters herself against the window. All the color drains from her face as panic spreads over her features.

“Help! Help! Someone help!” Her gaze flits from the back of the plane to the front, desperate for help. I’m seconds away from hurdling the person seated next to me, even though I don’t have the slightest idea what to do. A mixture of murmurs and gasps floats through the cabin. A flight attendant from the rear galley rushes past me and down the aisle to Kat.

A woman two rows in front of her jumps up from her seat. “I’m a nurse.” Passengers move out of the way to give the nurse and flight attendant as much room as possible. Another flight attendant from the front galley of the plane races down the aisle. Time slows to a halt as they assist the passenger with the medical emergency.

My attention drifts to Kat. Her hands cover her mouth; the whites of her eyes are the only thing visible as she stares at the guy who’s now lying in the aisle. I want to wrap her in my arms and shield her from what’s happening next to her. The fear, terror, and concern on her face are unbearable to witness.

“Attention, passengers,” the captain’s voice sounds over the intercom. “We’ll be making an emergency landing in Huntsville, Alabama. Please take your seats. We’ll be on the ground in about thirty minutes. Flight crew, prepare for landing.”

Kat disappears as she lowers herself to her seat. I grip the armrest and rise in my seat, wanting to go to Kat, wrap my arms around her, and tell her everything will be okay.

“Please take your seat and fasten your seatbelt,” the flight attendant says as she walks by. Without taking my eyes off Kat, I lower myself to the seat. Even after the wheels touch down, I never tear my gaze away from her.

FIVE

MORE WORSE. THE WORSTEST.

Eve

Worst flying experience ever. I’ll take all the crying babies. All the toddlers kicking my seat. The person in front of me who insists on reclining their seat all the way back. I’ll even take the person who forgot to apply deodorant and sprinted across the airport as my neighbor over having to witness someone almost dying in the seat next to me. It was like a bad car accident. I knew I shouldn’t have stared, but then again, it happened two feet away from me. As soon as we touched down, the paramedics rushed on board and carted my neighbor away. There was a slight twitch to his fingers, so I take that as a sign of life, and I’ll pretend he makes it to the hospital alive and will continue living a full and happy life because I don’t want to think about the other option. I thought I was having a bad day, but he’s the winner. But is that really winning? Maybe the winner of the shittiest day. But that doesn’t sound like anything worth winning.

The captain comes over the intercom to announce the cancelation of our Chicago flight and it’s rescheduled for tomorrow morning. We need to see the ticketing agent toarrange hotel accommodations. My night just went from worse to worser. More worse. The worstest. Either way, zero stars. Do not recommend.

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