Page 20 of Embrace

I shook my head. “One day.”

“We’ll be taking off within the next ten minutes. The signs will let you know when to buckle up and when you are free to move around.” Kelly popped her head out of the private room with the pilot. She explained the flight route and things to do in case of an emergency. Then, she returned to the room.

My heart pounded against my chest as I immediately buckled my seat belt. I shook with fear. My palms sweat and my breathing increased.

“You’re gripping the fuck out of my arm, Su.” Blaze’s voice brought me out of the internal fear I’d unexpectedly entered.

“S-sorry,” I stuttered.

Blaze’s gaze met mine and his features softened. “This is your first flight, huh? I got something to calm your nerves.”

He reached into the backpack and pulled out a golden container with marijuana leaves coating the top. He pulled out a perfectly rolled RAW cone.

“Blaze? What the hell are we going to do with this?”

He knitted his brows together. “Huh? What do you mean? We’re going to smoke it…”

“We can’t smoke on the plane!”

“Yeah we can,” he clarified. I watched with apprehension as he lit the joint and took a long pull. He inhaled and held the smoke until he couldn’t. He exhaled the smoke, and it tickled my nose. Without a word, he held it out for me to take. I shook my head.

“I’m not about to catch a charge for smoking on a plane.”

Blaze chuckled. “Baby girl, I did my research. The pilot said it was cool if we smoked. I also did an internet search on Belize’s laws. They decriminalized marijuana in 2017. They won’t say shit as long as we have less than ten grams. I got six grams to get us through the flight there and back. I won’t even pull it out my bag for them to have any suspicions.”

I listened to his words and nodded. “Fine.”

I took the joint and inhaled a long pull of the exotic strand stuffed in the cone. I leaned back in the comfortable chair and let out a deep breath. My eyes met Blaze’s. He had an annoying smirk on his face.

“You feel better now?” he asked.

“A little bit. I’m probably not going to look out any of the windows.”

“I would have been shocked if you did.”

Blaze knew I’d had a fear of heights since I was in fifth grade elementary school. I’d gotten my fear of heights when we’d gone to the state fair of Texas. I had gotten on one of the rides that turned me every way but loose, and I ended up fainting.

“Remember the first time we smoked together?” Blaze quizzed.

The laugh came before I could hold it in. “Yes. I remember when you coerced me into having an out of body experience.”

“That’s not what happened,” Blaze replied.

My mind drifted back to the night I’d smoked my first blunt.

It was the day after I’d graduated high school. I was on a natural high after our families had thrown a huge party to celebrate my accomplishment. I’d been dating an older guy from Blaze’s graduating class. They’d gone to the same college and often played ball together. He shot his shot at me, and I thought I was the shit dating a college guy. However, once he’d seen I planned to do my own thing after graduation he broke up with me.

Blaze came flying in like my knight in shining armor.

“Come on. Let’s go on a ride to clear your head. The traffic is good, and you can use some fresh air.”

My face revealed all of my sadness. My eyes were red and puffy from the tears. My nose was runny with a hint of redness on the tip. My body language conveyed the discouraged and emotional state I was in. Regardless, I followed Blaze out of the house to his car. At the time, he had a silver Lexus. It was the first big boy car he’d saved enough money from working and going to school to get his business degree.

We pulled out into the busy traffic and got onto the highway. When we got into a nice cruise, he reached into the middle console and pulled out a pearled blunt.

“You want to numb the pain that lame ass nigga caused?”

“What if I start tweaking? I know a lot of people who smoke for the first time have bad experiences. I don’t want to be traumatized.”

---