Page 1 of Just Like You
Chapter One
Julian
“Spit is not lube,” Sonny hissed, walking next to me through the terminal. Sonny was another in-charge cabin crewmember, like me, and also my absolute bestie. My confidante and constant sounding board, and this was how we normally talked because Sonny rarely held back when it came to juicy gossip, and I had been known to be just as bad. If you served me up a couple of glasses of rosé? I would be oversharing as many inappropriate details as Sonny was not so discreetly spittingout into my ear.
I would have loved a nice glass of exactly that right now, but instead I was on my way to the metal tube that would serve as my office today and, as such, would hurl me across the Atlantic to my destination. Usually, I was on time and more organised, and would have picked up a coffee on my way to the gate, but with the queues at staff security having been vile, I probably wouldn’t even have time for a sip of water before boarding. Instead I had to make do with Sonny here making me smile with an animated and mostly inappropriate retelling of his day so far.
“He just tried to shove it in, Jules. Right there in the stall, and I’ve just had my uniform dry-cleaned. Now I have to go to Frankfurt with the remains of his excitement down my back. Not happy.”
Sonny!I rolled my eyes and tried to gesture with my head. There were quite a lot of people around us, other crew, but mostly passengers. Potentially ours, and I really didn’t want to look unprofessional. I had customer service ratings to consider. Complaints from pearl-clutching passengers with issues were always awkward, and despite the uneasy smile plastered on my face as I took the corner with ease, my rolling luggage following smoothly behind me. I had manners, but I was also rather fond of Sonny’s gossip.
“And where exactly did this very disappointing encounter take place?”
I wasn’t quite following his incoherent ramblings, having run into Sonny at the crew report centre, trying to exchange both pleasantries and overshare within the first couple of seconds. Completely normal when it came to the two of us, because we’d known each other for years. Shared accommodation in our initial training and been promoted at the same time. We worked, laughed andsupported each other through thick and thin. Also? On occasion during particularly dry spells? We’d engaged in mediocre drunken sex, which was sometimes more of a hassle than it was worth. Sonny, the ultimate bottom. Me? I had to smile. I never topped either. Not even with the guy next to me who let his arm hook with mine. Smiling.
“Toilets by gate one. Always quiet, and that stall at the back has ample space, both for luggage and to get a good angle against the wall.”
“Sonny.” I snorted. “You absolute terror.”
“Nothing you haven’t done yourself, Julian. And he was asking for it, sitting there in seat 1D all the way up from Budapest, smelling of cheap aftershave and trauma, giving me bedroom eyes and licking his lips. I always look after my customers.” He pursed his lips as I just grinned.
“Sonny, you’re better than this.”
“Says the man who fucks everything that moves.”
“I don’t.” Honestly. I didn’t. Well. If an opportunity presented itself, I rarely said no. I enjoyed sex. Liked hooking up, but that didn’t quite make me into the person Sonny was painting here. At least my hook-ups were always straightforward. Quick encounters with no strings attached. I didn't do relationships, or repeat encounters. Ever. I'd made enough mistakes in my youth, thinking I had met the love of my life and would get married… well things never turned out that way. I'd learned that the hard way. These days I stuck to one night stands. Period.
“Liar liar pants on fire, young man.”
“Sonny,” I said again. I tended to do that a lot, try to warn him off from riling me up. Well, who was I kidding? I loved that we had this easy relationship where we seemed to compete in all the gay Olympic categories, Sonny usually taking all the medals in the hooking-up-department. But there were also frequent awards for those disastrous one-night stands. Engaging in sexual acts at work. Suffering through morning after regrets. Completely failing in the decent-men department. No prizes for either of us there.
“New York? Seeing that Grindr hunk?”
“No.” I ground my teeth. “That’snot happening again.”
“So…”
“Sleep, Sonny. I haven’t slept for a week. Life’s pretty full on.”
That was my excuse, when the truth was that…I’d worked, and this was day four of a five-day block and to be honest I had no idea if I was coming or going and still had to plaster a smile on my face.
“My arse hasn’t slept for a week. You’re being overdramatic.”
That was Sonny in a nutshell. And anyway, we were both single and taking full advantage of life.
Which included me making a silent vow to actually sleep on this layover and not get roped into drinks with my crew. One of many things that could easily derail a man like me.
I laughed to myself, giving Sonny a hug as he kissed my cheek.
“Bye, babes. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
“That list is tiny, Jules. Be good, yeah?”
“You know me. Can’t make any promises.”
I rolled my eyes and upped my stride. Gate thirty-four, and I had exactly twelve minutes until boarding. Preps to deal with, crew to manage and forty-five glasses of champagne to be poured before our guests would join us.
“I’m Amy, and I’ll be your dispatch today." The lady meeting me at the aircraft door boomed, impatiently shoving a bundle of documents into my hand. "Here’s your paperwork; closing is at eight/seventy/eighteen and one hundred and forty-four. Three infants, two wheelchairs and one inadmissible with three escorts. Also you’re late, which I’ll note my end. You ready for this?” Our obviously stressed dispatch spluttered out, following me onboard, still nattering out details I was trying to take in. Also…
