Page 20 of Sparks
“Thanks,” I grumbled. But when he shot me a glance, I smiled and took a huge bite for him.
We were just finishing our meals when a cacophony of voices came from down the long hallway. My nerves ratcheted up as our captain placed his napkin on his plate and said, “I do believe those are the Marines on our flight. Silas.” He looked at his co-pilot, who nodded and stood. It was time for them to do the pre-flight checks, and for Marcelle and me to get the beverages in order.
I’m not going to lie. As we crossed the hall to the doors, my shoulders were back, and my hips sashayed like the four of us were walking in slow-mo for a movie. We looked straight ahead, giving off an air of importance, and I never glanced toward the soldiers. That was…until they all hooted at top volume and yelled, “Hey Harlow!” “Wassup Miss Robinson!”
Oh, my freaking gosh. I flushed from toes to scalp, and the whole crew looked over at the smiling soldiers, then at me. The captain’s eyebrow went up and I felt very judged. Marcelle laughed and shook her head at the captain as if it were no biggie. Then she winked at me and I gave her a grateful look.
Before we passed through the gate, I glanced back at the soldiers in their tan camo and black boots. Sure enough, Captain Shawn Fowler was front and center, big grin and blue eyes aimed right at me. I sent a shy smile and dorky wave before I slipped through the doors, feeling suddenly nervous about the flight. So much for playing it cool.
The ramp was freezing. We rushed down and onto the plane. I kept my jacket on through all of the preflight checks until it was time for passengers to begin boarding.
“Hey, Marcelle,” I said. “Do you mind if I do the announcements and you can do the presentation?”
She eyed me hard. As the senior flight attendant, she was supposed to have the cool job while I showed everyone how to buckle a seatbelt and put on the life vest and blow into the tube. I never minded because literally nobody watched, but I had a feeling I’d be getting plenty of attention today.
Marcelle shook her head with a teasing smile. “You’ve got this.”
“Pretty please?” I begged.
“Nope. Your fans want to see you.”
I groaned. “You’re so mean!” But it only made her laugh. She was still laughing as she took her place at the door to greet passengers. And I was still frowning as I scooped ice into the top container on the cart and filled the coffee carafe. It smelled heavenly, which slightly helped my nerves.
For the first time ever, I worried about how I looked as I did all of my duties. Was I slouching when I refilled the napkins? How big did my ass look when I bent down to get two trash bags out? Was my resting bitch face in full effect with a double-chin bonus? I plastered a smile on my face, feeling like a stiff, scary clown.
“Ay!” I stood too quickly, making the room spin when I heard Jerome’s voice. I raised my chin and smiled for real as he passed with his camo duffle bag.
I stood at Marcelle’s shoulder and greeted the soldiers as they boarded, but it was time for me to move to the back and make sure everyone was making smart use of overhead bin space. Some things seemed like they’d be common sense but trust me. They weren’t.
I slid into a space between two soldiers and made my way through, stopping to help an older man lift his roller bag and adjust it in the bin, then letting a woman know that she could not, in fact, hold her roller bag on the floor between her knees. I ignored the stink-eye she gave me and kept my fake smile plastered on.
“It has to go up, ma’am. Nothing can obstruct the walkways.”
“Walkways? What walkways?” she all but screeched. “There’s barely room for my own legs here!”
“Exactly, ma’am.” I tried to sound sympathetic. I knew how awful and tight these rows were.
Someone sidled up close. “Let me help you with that.”
My insides jumped at the sound of Shawn’s voice. He beamed at the old woman, and her scowl disappeared. Shawn lifted her bag and pushed it into the overhead bin while she gazed up at him like her own personal hero.
“Aren’t you just the sweetest?” She held out her hand and he took it, patting the top and never ceasing the genuine smile.
“Thanks,” I said, allowing him to pass. He tipped an invisible hat at me and my stomach felt like I was on a trampoline. I let out a quiet breath as I walked behind him, looking up at his super short hair that begged to be rubbed lightly with my fingers, his neck and collar—that amazing place where his shoulders began and went outward in a bulge of lean muscle.
Uuuung, nope.
I cleared my throat and concentrated on each row as I passed, requesting in my most polite tone for people to raise their seats until after takeoff, and to keep their tray tables up. People wanted to sprawl out the second they got on the plane with no worries about the people around them or general safety. And this was a small, regional flight, which meant no first-class section. You can always tell the people on small flights who were not used to being in coach seating. Thankfully these flights were short.
Shawn took his seat. The marines chatted, but they composed themselves today with more professional attitudes. It was quieter. How many of them were a little hungover, I wondered? When it came time for the doors to close and the safety demonstration, I felt stupid nervous. I’d done this a thousand times, but ugh.
I took my place three rows in, and sure enough every set of Marine eyes were on me like they expected some sort of entertainment. Their chins were lifted with goofy smiles on their faces and some of them leaned into the aisle. I tried not to smile but I was a nervous giggler. Finally, Marcelle got started and I went through the motions. But to my immense humor, they not only watched, the participated in an overly-obedient fashion. When I clicked the seatbelt, I heard many clicks throughout the cabin and then “oohs” and “aahs,” and one guy said, “So, that’s how it works!”
I pressed my lips together realizing they were trying to make me laugh.
Damn it.
When I held up the safety information card, they all waved theirs in the air and pretended to study them carefully. When they were told to obey the overhead lighting and look for the nearest exit, being aware that it could be behind them, they all stretched their necks and pointed, saying, “Found it!” and those in the middle argued about which was really closest.
