Page 55 of Away With You
My people.
“Now, we need to prepare Katie as best we can,” Rosie continues as we’re whisked through all the official channels. No waiting in line at this airport, either.
“What?” I ask, staring longingly at the duty-free shop we’re racing through. Don’t these two siblings know that the best part of international travel is the giant Toblerone you buy at the airport for three pounds?
Nathan stops. “Hang on.”
We watch as he jogs back and picks up three Toblerone bars, paying for them before jogging back and handing them over.
“How did you know?” I ask, clutching my chocolate treat to my chest.
He grins down at me. “You were giving them love-heart eyes as you walked by. Made me kinda jealous, to be honest.”
I hide my face behind the mini-mountains of my metre-long bar. “Thank you.”
He shrugs like it was nothing. “Got to keep my girl happy.”
There he goes again, turning me into a puddle of goo.
I get to work opening my treat, offering a smiling Rosie a piece before devouring one of my own. “Your brother is very perceptive.”
She hums around her mouthful of milk chocolate, honey and nougat. “He’s not generally. I think he’s paying very close attention to you.”
I swallow hard as my heart dances in my chest. “Rosie, you’re aware that this is all pretend, yeah?” I whisper, looking around to make sure no one can hear. Nathan is off organising everything to get us out of here, and I take this chance to get his sister on the same page as us. From what I’ve learnt from Nathan, this fake dating thing was her idea, so Rosie needs to remember that. For all our sakes. Especially my heart.
“Whatever you say, Katie,” she replies, not reassuring me at all.
“Are you two ready?” Nathan asks, his long legs bringing him back to us. “The helicopter is waiting for us.”
Rosie skips away, and I trail behind.Helicopter?
“Did you say helicopter?” I tug on Nathan’s hand to get his attention.
He smiles at me, his baby blues hidden behind his sunglasses. “Yes, a helicopter. It’s a two-hour torturous drive to the resort, or a fifteen-minute flight.” He tilts towards where the helicopter is idling on the tarmac next to us, the propellers creating a windstorm around us. “We’ve opted to get there sooner.”
Makes sense, but still.How much opulence can one person endure in a day?
“Just follow me and keep your head down.”
I do as he says, plastering my front to his back as we duck down and into the back of the helicopter. Rosie is already settled into her seat and is scrolling on her phone; just another day in paradise for her.
“Put these on.” Nathan hands over headphones and winks at me. I melt into my seat and buckle myself in nice and tight. A giant plane with many wings and propellers seems a lot safer than this small thing.
“Did you know the design of the propellers of a helicopter was based on a boomerang?” I say into the little microphone attached to the headset. It’s probably not meant to be used for pointing out random facts, but I need to do it to distract myself from my impending death.
Nathan flashes a bright smile at me, his eyebrows raised. “I did not know this. Tell me.”
I try to gauge his sincerity and then give up. If he’s indulging me, then bad luck. I live for random stuff like this.
“Yes, see how the blades go round like this?” I move my arms around in circles. “It’s based on the way boomerangs fly through the air.”
He inches closer to me, so close that the warmth of his body seeps into mine. “Fascinating. Tell me more.”
So, I do. And it keeps me occupied for the entire journey. A journey that’s so short, we’ve basically gone up and back down again.
“Wow, that was quick,” I say as we land and everything goes quiet. With the engine off, the only sounds I can hear are my own laboured (read: anxious) breaths and the faraway lapping of the ocean against the shore.
“That was the point,” he says.
