Page 6 of Fear of Flying

The bees and the butterflies were at war inside his body, and he couldn’t tell which way was up. Up. Well, probably the direction the plane was headed. Up—way, way too far in the air for how heavy it was. Any moment now, they were going to drop out of the sky, right?

No. No, it was fine. They were fine. The plane was doing what it was supposed to and—god, did the engines just shut off? Yup. Yup, they were all going to die.

“You’re—you’re really, really tense and—um, I mean, is there anything I can do?”

Zach managed to let out a huff of air, dragging his attention away from their imminent deaths just enough that he became much more aware of Drew’s hand still on top of his. God, why did that feel so good? He shook himself. “Um, keep talking?” Zach turned his head slightly and attempted a half-smile.

“I...” Drew looked a little caught off guard, as though that was the last thing he’d expected Zach to request, but then he smiled softly and nodded, making Zach momentarily forget how to breathe.

Zach managed to inhale shakily, though he didn’t feel like he’d gotten even half a lungful.

Drew gave his hand a light squeeze, and the warmth and tingling from that contact seemed to seep into Zach, letting just a bit of that tension dissipate. “So, um, I guess I could... talk your ear off about Superman?”

Zach was trying to focus on the question, but he was busy wondering if Drew realized his hand was still on Zach’s. God, why was it so... He was just... It was just Drew’s hand touching his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. It wasn’t all that reassuring, but oh, it was so wonderfully distracting. And so was the strong, soothing sound of Drew’s voice.

Zach thought he might just survive this flight after all.

Chapter Three

Drew

Drew pulled his hand back slowly, hoping it wouldn’t seem too obvious that he’d forgotten he was still touching Zach, practically holding his hand. A literal stranger whom he’d just met not fifteen minutes ago. A stranger whom he’d glanced at for half a second before he’d been jostled from behind by an overeager passenger trying to find their seat. A stranger whom he’d immediately clocked as “one of those” types of gay men, and he wasn’t even quite sure what that meant other than the fact that guys who looked like Zach and had a similar vibe always seemed to be hitting on him.

And that normally made Drew really uncomfortable because, inevitably, it ended with them asking him out. Turning them down was always so awkward and never failed to make him feel guilty, like he was some first-class jerk, especially when he got a hefty dose of attitude in return—a scoff and side-eye that screamed “Sure, you’re not gay, honey.” Sitting next to a guy like that on a long flight was normally just shy of a nightmare, and it was even less appealing when Drew did, indeed, find the guy attractive.

But then . . .

When Drew had taken his seat, Zach had seemed so... anxious—for reasons Drew hadn’t yet known—and it had tugged at his heart in a way he was wholly unfamiliar with. Then Drew had found himself making small talk, like it was his new mission in life to try and make the guy more at ease. He hated small talk. He hated chatty seatmates on airplanes. And now he was the chatty seatmate making small talk.

Drew hadn’t been able to stop the inane words from tumbling out, and somehow, while it really should have felt awkward and embarrassing, it kinda... hadn’t—that was, until he’d seen Zach turn pale and stiffen in his seat when the plane had started making its ascent. Drew had been horrified, thinking maybe he’d done something wrong, but then he’d realized the plane was gaining altitude and Zach’s anxiety seemed to be rising right along with it.

Thankfully, Zach had started calming down when Drew had distracted him with conversation, and once they’d reached cruising altitude, Zach seemed in far better spirits, though he did still look uncomfortable—tense and maybe still a little pale.

“Uh... thanks for...” Zach started, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. “It’s... kind of embarrassing to be a grown man so terrified of flying.” He ducked his head and his cheeks reddened as his arm came back down again, his hand resting in his lap.

“It’s... Don't worry about it,” Drew said, feeling a flush of heat in his body and wondering if it was normal to find Zach’s embarrassment attractive. Wasn’t it more normal to be attracted to big, muscular guys at the gym or to leading Hollywood actors who wore tight-fitting clothing and were really nice to look at? Maybe. But even if they were nice to look at, Drew knew he’d rather die than think about being in any type of relationship with those sorts of guys.

Zach, on the other hand... Zach was just some ordinary guy. An ordinary guy whom Drew happened to be incredibly attracted to. And that was new to him.

“So, um... what do you do, Drew?” Zach asked tentatively, and it almost seemed as if he was trying to restore some sense of grown-up-ed-ness to their conversation.

“I, uh...” Drew bit back a sigh at the question. It was one of his least favorite questions to answer, and after this weekend and this morning’s meeting, he was even more reluctant to respond. But it was a simple question, and even if he preferred their banter—or Zach letting him ramble on about Superman—it would be awkward for him to avoid it. “I’m, uh, an attorney.”

Drew could see the hint of distaste in Zach’s eyes as he nodded slowly—clearly a strike against him. Not that... not that it mattered. Drew shouldn’t care whether or not Zach liked him. He probably should have just lied; it wasn’t like he was going to see Zach again after this flight. Still, the look on Zach’s face made him sad for reasons he couldn’t quite explain.

“Ah... I’m...” Zach hesitated slightly and let out a small huff of laughter. “You know, to be totally honest, I’m torn between making a lawyer joke here and asking something less juvenile, like what kind of law you practice... God, but instead, I’ve gone for the third option of just embarrassing myself more by rambling like a fool. Too bad we’re stuck in a giant aluminum tube, miles up in the air, and I can’t just excuse myself and go hide.”

Drew could feel a lightness in his heart, and he had to bite his lower lip in an effort to stop the laughter threatening to erupt. That had been the most adorable and hilarious response he’d ever gotten, and it almost made him forget about the look of distaste that had danced across Zach’s expression for just a second after Drew had answered. He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face, and then his lips were twitching with the urge to laugh again. “There’s... the bathroom. The bathroom is available. Join the Mile Hide Club?”

Zach froze for just an instant before he burst into laughter, and something flip-flopped in Drew’s stomach. A warm flush spread throughout his body when Zach recovered from his laughter and looked straight at Drew for a long second. Then Zach’s gaze darted away again to examine the seat back in front of him.

“I’ll, uh...” Zach started but trailed off. Either something had distracted him or he hadn’t been sure of what he’d wanted to say.

“Can I choose?” Drew said, maybe a bit too eagerly.

“Huh?” Zach tilted his head slightly.

“Choose between your joke and your question. Because I choose the joke. Let’s hear it,” Drew said, hoping to amuse Zach but also avoid the cringe factor of admitting out loud that his day job consisted primarily of helping stupidly wealthy people get divorced.

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