Page 55 of Perfect Night

Once they’d had their boarding passes checked, they were on the plane within a minute, having bypassed the long queue of people waiting to board. They were greeted like celebrities and shown to their seats. Charlie noticed there were only eight seats in the whole first class section, and they had two in the middle. They got seated, and Charlie’s backpack was whisked away for him and put away, as was his jacket. Within seconds of boarding,he was seated with a bowl of assorted posh nuts and a glass of champagne.

He was too excited about finally being on a plane to be bothered by the overdone servitude. He looked at the window seat longingly and wondered why they’d been seated in the middle.

“You see this?” asked Sebastian, gesturing to the partition between their seats. “It goes all the way down, so when they make the bed up, it can be a double.”

Sebastian was giving him one of his ‘I’m going to fuck you so hard’looks.

“We can’t . . .”

“Relax. I’m just joking. We can still have a cuddle, though. Besides, the mile-high club is really overrated.”

“What?” said Charlie, a surge of jealousy going through him.

“Still joking,” Sebastian laughed. “Although, good to know I’m not the only one who gets jealous.”

“Why would you get jealous?”

“Because half a dozen guys checked you out when we were walking through the airport.”

“Have you seen yourself? You make straight men question their identity.”

Sebastian laughed before leaning over and giving Charlie a kiss.

“Why don’t you sit by the window for take-off?”

“I can’t. It’s someone else’s seat.”

“It’s not. I checked. We’re the only ones in the cabin for this flight, so you can sit where you want.”

“Please tell me you didn’t book out the whole cabin.”

“No, it was just good luck. Even I’m not that ostentatious.”

Charlie hummed. He wasn’t a hundred per cent convinced, but really wanted to see the take-off, so he moved seats. The flight attendant smiled at him and asked if he wanted anotherdrink. He asked for a soft drink, as he just wanted to enjoy the moment of being on a plane for the first time and not pass out from being wasted on champagne.

Three hours into the flight, they were suitably fed and watered. Sebastian had suggested Charlie try the steak, which had been cooked fresh and was perfect. How did they cook it on a plane? The hot chocolate pudding had been so amazing he didn’t protest when Sebastian asked them to make another one.

Charlie had come back from the toilet and the double bed was made up, with his drink at the window seat alongside his tablet. It was tempting to lie down and sleep for a bit, but he wasn’t sure he’d sleep from the excitement. He hadn’t watched a film as he was obsessed with the map screen, which showed where the plane was on its journey. They were over the Atlantic Ocean, so if they crashed, there would be no chance of survival. Okay, where did that come from?

Sebastian emerged, wearing the pyjamas they got in their amenity kit. Charlie wanted to save his for special occasions, and wasn’t risking spilling something on them. Sebastian was towel-drying his hair.

“Why is your hair wet?”

“I had a shower.”

“On a plane?”

Sebastian chuckled and passed his wet towel to the stewardess, who’d appeared out of thin air. It was like they knew the exact moment you would need something. Charlie’s drink had been replenished twice before he even took his last sip. He’d wanted to change it to something else, as too many fizzy drinks made him burp a lot, but he didn’t want to appear rude.

“Why don’t you have a shower and get changed? We can cuddle up and watch a film. We’re not going to disturb anyone.”

That sounded amazing, but he hesitated, which Sebastian picked up on immediately. He came round the aisle, pulling Charlie into a hug.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m being silly.”

“Just tell me.”

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