Page 67 of Come Fly with Me

Finally, I head back to the hotel to crash but, as I walk through the front doors, my path to the elevators takes me past the bar and I hear someone call out, “Hunter!”

Turning toward the bar area, I see a couple of members of the crew smiling and waving at me. I lift a hand in a casual wave before pointing toward the elevator and miming that I need to get some sleep.

But my response is ignored and instead, one of the young flight attendants hops off her stool and runs over, grabbing me by the arm and practically dragging me into the bar area.

“Come on, come and have a drink with us,” she says, clearly having already had several herself.

I shove a hand through my hair, glancing at my phone as I see it’s still relatively early, so I decide to go for one drink, knowing I have all of tomorrow to relax.

“One drink,” I say, pulling my arm from her grip.

She claps her hands together as though this is the greatest thing she’s heard all night and we both walk over to the small group from our flight. I recognize most of them, although without their name tags, I’m not sure of the names. It probably doesn’t matter by this stage, I’m sure I’ll pick them up. At least that fuckhead Theo isn’t here.

After I order a beer, I take a seat at the table, pulling my phone out and making sure it’s not on silent in case Taylor calls me.

“It’s Jake isn’t it?” the flight attendant who brought me over says.

I nod. “Yeah.”

She smiles at me, leaning closer. “I’m Michelle.”

She holds out her hand, and I glance at it before giving it a quick shake. “Nice to meet you.”

She giggles, and it’s slightly nauseating. “So, you’re Australian, right?” she asks, still leaning close. Her tits are practically resting on the table, her top low cut enough that she’s flashing me more than an eyeful. She doesn’t seem to care either.

“I am,” I reply, taking a sip of beer.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to go there,” she says, her eyes lighting up as her smile widens. “I’ve heard so many good things about your country,” she adds. “And the men, whoa,” she says, fanning herself as she gives me a not-so-subtle once-over. “I haven’t had an Australian guy yet,” she adds, clearly drunk at this point and with zero filter on what comes out of her mouth.

I can’t stop the eye roll as I pick up my beer, unsure exactly how I’m supposed to respond to that comment. Michelle doesn’t seem to notice, though, as she continues on.

“I mean, obviously,” she says, grabbing my arm now. “Look at you,” she adds. “You’re hot, and I’m sure you’d be…” she trails off as though it’s blatantly obvious what she’s getting at.

I turn to her, carefully removing her fingers from my arm. “Obviously,” I respond sarcastically.

“So,” she continues, seemingly oblivious to my complete lack of interest in her as she inches closer, her tits now resting against my arm. “You wanna change that for me?” she whispers, licking her lips as she stares up at me. “Wanna come upstairs?” She’s trying to be coy, batting her eyelashes at me as she trails her nails up and down my arm.

I pull away from her, the whole thing making me feel gross and worse still, like I’m betraying Taylor. I finish my beer as I move to stand. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Michelle pouts, pushing her chest out as she reaches for my hand again, pulling herself up and pressing her body against mine. “Come on, Hunter,” she murmurs, her breath sweet with whatever alcohol she’s been drinking. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

I shake my head, stepping backward and disentangling myself from her grip. “Not interested, but more to the point, not actually single, Michelle,” I reply, my hands up as if to ward her off.

“Come on,” she says, intoxicated enough to think she can somehow convince me. “What happens on the road, stays on the road,” she adds. “I promise not to tell.”

“No,” I say, the word firm. “I’m not that kind of guy and like I said, not interested either.” I finish off my beer, leaving the empty glass on the table as I move away from her, ignoring whatever it is that Michelle yells out in response.

At the neighboring table though, I notice Theo, sitting with some other flight crew, his eyes fixed on me and a look on his face that suggests he’s watched this whole thing play out and he’s wondering what he can do with what he’s seen.

“What?” I snap at him.

He smirks. “Don’t tell me you’re seriously turning down that piece of ass?”

I roll my eyes. “You’re a dickhead, you know that?”

Theo laughs, but it’s humorless. “Please, as if she isn’t hooking up with someone wherever she is,” he says, not needing to spell out who he’s referring to. “You may as well stick your dick in it. Fuck knows she’ll be letting some guy do it to her.”

I feel my blood start to boil, my hands clenching into fists at my side as I imagine punching this fucker right in the face. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” I bite out, my gaze locked onto his. “I mean, she turned you down, didn’t she?”

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