Page 7 of Finding You

His momma. Jesus. Kylen’s stomach squirmed in ways he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. There was likely no chance in hell this guy was queer, but that wouldn’t stop him from looking. And maybe flirting as far as he could get away with.

Kylen felt the familiar sensations of the plane doors closing, and it felt odd to be in the seat instead of in the cockpit. If he’d been flying today, in this moment, he’d be sipping his pre-flight ginger ale and telling his co-pilot his latest dad joke from the daily email he got.

“Hey, Dallas?”

His seat buddy looked up, cheeks pink from nerves. “Yeah?”

“What did the ocean say to the shore?”

Dallas frowned at him. “Uh…what?”

“What did the ocean say to the shore,” he repeated patiently.

Dallas licked his lips. “I don’t…know?”

“Nothing. It just waves.”

Dallas blinked, then his lips twitched, and then he coughed. “Was that…”

“My daily dad joke. Normally, I tell them to my coworker, but I got called home early.” Kylen shifted a little in his seat, wishing he could put it back. He peered out the window, then looked over at Dallas. “Hey, did you want to swap?”

Dallas looked panicked. “Oh. God, no. No, I…thank you, but I’m fine.”

“Some nervous flyers find it easier if they can see what’s out there,” Kylen pressed.

Dallas pursed his lips and shook his head, then took a breath. “I want to be the last person to know if the wing is on fire.”

Kylen couldn’t help his laughter. “Oh, honey. The wing is not going to catch fire, okay? And if it did, you wouldn’t be the first person to notice. We’re well in front of it.”

Dallas tried for a smile, but it was obvious he was too deep in his anxiety to manage it. “Right. Yeah. No, that’s…” There was a loud whoosh, and the lights flickered. He jumped and gripped the arm of the chair.

“Just the ventilation system switching over from outside air to inside air,” Kylen said softly. He never had to do this, and he might have been annoyed if his seat companion was less adorable. “Do you want to talk and keep distracted, or do you want me to tell you what all the sounds are for.”

Dallas swallowed heavily, then cleared his throat. “Um. How do you know what’s going on with the plane?”

“Because I’ve flown this plane,” Kylen said, and when Dallas lifted a brow at him, he laughed again. “I’m being serious. I work for this airline. I was meant to be flying today, but it got cancelled.”

“Wh-why? Why cancelled? What happened?”

Kylen bowed his head and took a breath. “My gran fell. She broke her hip and got a concussion. She’s old, so she’s…it’s…not great for her. She’s going into surgery, and I’m trying to get back there in case anything happens.”

Dallas immediately looked horrified. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. Here I am dumping all this shit on you when?—”

“No,” Kylen interrupted. He reached over and squeezed Dallas’s shoulder briefly. Instead of tensing, Dallas relaxed and leaned into him a bit, so Kylen didn’t pull back. “I don’t want you to be nervous, but it is taking my mind off things. I’m happy to help.”

Letting out a shaking breath, Dallas nodded. “I don’t want to talk about plane stuff, but will you promise to tell me if something actually is wrong? I—” There was a loud thump, and Dallas looked like he wanted to cry. “I want to be prepared if something’s actually wrong.”

“I promise, but this plane is in excellent shape, okay?” Kylen abandoned all pretense and took his hand. Dallas squeezed his fingers—again, far too gently for a man his size. “Squeeze harder. I’m not going to break.”

Dallas looked down, then flushed. “It’s a habit. Uh…I teach little kids, and I have a newborn at home, so I’m trying to, you know, be careful all the time.”

Kylen’s heart sunk even as he glanced at the man’s hand for a sign of a wedding ring. It almost looked like he had an indent, but he might have imagined it. Either way…yeah. There was no road to a quick fuck with this man.

“I get it,” Kylen said after a beat. “How old is your baby?”

Dallas reached into his pocket with his free hand and turned on his screen. There was a photo of a very small, wrinkly-faced baby. “This was taken months ago. She’s actually not a newborn anymore. She’s going to be a year soon.”

Kylen’s heart melted at the look on Dallas’s face. He remembered it well. “I miss that age.”

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