Page 20 of Mistaken Identity
I felt lower than a roach as we took off and then I started food service.
My fellow flight attendants offered to help, but like always, I refused.
I liked them all right, but it didn’t matter if they were just trying to be nice, my brain wasn’t wired to accept help when it got them close to me.
I started with Audric first so I could get him out of the way.
Surprising me, he ordered water and whatever was left over for the meal service.
His friend Cakes, however, ordered whatever meal was best, and a beer.
Almost all of the bikers in first class did.
It was weird.
Well, except the men who were married asked that their meals be taken back to their wives. They even gave us seat numbers that were directly behind first class.
After all meals were delivered—and the women had to be broken up because they were having so much fun together drinking and carrying on—I started trash pickup for the front again.
Audric had his tray ready for me, and he waited until I was leaning over Cakes to say, “It was good, Creole.”
I nodded.
It wasn’t like I made the meals.
The facility I worked for had a thousand chefs who prepared these meals on a daily basis.
I got whatever was left—if there was anything left—and usually it was okay.
Some days those meals were the only things I survived on.
I was a mess.
Probably always would be after the life I’d lived.
Even worse, I was a shit friend because I wanted nothing to do with my best friend’s child, and that was unforgivable.
But I just couldn’t.
I couldn’t do it.
That…
“You should thank Blue Airlines for that,” I murmured as I pulled away, suddenly remembering I was all but hanging over Cakes to get to Audric’s plate.
And that surprised the hell out of me, because generally that wasn’t something I would forget.
I was very much aware of where my body was at all times.
I made damn sure that I was never close to a man that I didn’t know.
Stomach now in knots due to the closeness I’d inadvertently put myself in, I pulled away quickly, dropping the fork from Audric’s tray into Cakes’ lap.
“Sorry,” I said, not going to reach for it.
Cakes picked it up and handed it to me. “Glad he at least licked it clean.”
Yeah…
