Page 24 of Beauty Beneath the Sorrow
“See you in the skies,” I yell before slamming the car door.
I barely get to the freeway when I get another text from Lina.
Lina: I have to cancel. Sorry! My little sister needs help with a project from school, and I told her she wasn’t allowed to pay anyone to do them for her anymore.
All the air leaves my body as I exhale in disappointment. I guess seeing her will have to wait.
I text her back as soon as I pull into the garage at my condo building.
Me: You don’t have to make up an excuse. I understand if you have cold feet.
Lina: I don’t have cold feet!
Me: Okay, then this is being rescheduled, not canceled.
Lina: I have a two-day trip coming up, and then I will fly out to Denver the day after I get back.
She’s trying to get out of it. But then it dawns on me that my flight out of Denver might be on Tuesday as well. I pull up the flight schedule on my phone. That is my flight. Although it’s a quick turnaround for me as I’m back in Phoenix by Friday evening, we’ll both be in Denver on the same night.
Me: Lucky for us, that’s my Denver flight. We can try again then.
One of my favorite things about traveling is going on jogging trips in different cities. I’ve been doing it since I joined the Navy. I am combining my three favorite things—flying, traveling, and running. I’m familiar with the airport area and the hotel the airline usually books for us. It’s a decent area and will be perfect for us to start.
Lina doesn’t respond.I wonder if she’s going to bail again?
While taking the elevator up to my floor, I watch as my message saysread,but there are no three little dots from her yet. I anxiously wait, then hear Abby’s voice behind me.
“Hey, Carter! Early morning at the airport?” She has Snickers on a leash at her feet. He’s whipping his short tail back and forth, probably as anxious as I am, but for a different reason.
“Yeah, I was giving a coworker’s nephew flight lessons,” I say, gripping my phone, hoping I feel it vibrate with a response from Lina. What is wrong with me? I’ve turned into some high school kid desperate for a girl’s attention. Loosening my fingers, I slip my phone back into my pocket. “Headed out for a walk?”
“We are.” She smiles at the dog, who notices and raises his hind legs. “How was the lesson? He’s young, right?”
I lean against the door panel with my arms folded across my chest. “He is, but he’s doing very well—a natural and catches on quickly.”
“That’s so great to hear!” She smiles.
Buzz. Buzz.
My posture stiffens. “Okay, well, tell Ashley I said hello. See you soon!” I say over my shoulder as I walk through the door.
“See ya!”
I throw my backpack onto the sofa and pull my phone out.
Lina: I guess I’ll be seeing you in Denver, partner.
Me: See you then.
I smile to myself and inadvertently lick my bottom lip.Oh,Lina. Maybe Christian is right. There is too much sexual tension between her and me for us to be planning to spend so much time together. Like throwing gasoline on an already raging fire—her perky tits bouncing up and down while she runs, the droplets of sweat dripping off her chest.Fuck.
I’m going to need to rub this out. Better yet, I will have to completely empty myself before seeing her again, or I won’t be able to think straight. It’s been hard enough to pass over the last year.
Chapter Seven
Lina
Avery, I, and some other flight attendants are having coffee in the airport’s crew lounge. The lounge is nothing fancy, but we come here when we want to get away from the hustle of the coffee shops and restaurants located in the terminal. Here, we don’t have to wait in long lines for our coffee and snacks. There is a massive view of the runway, and it’s nice to see other airline staff.
