Page 26 of Simmer Down
“Rushing to make my flight to London. What does it look like I’m doing?” There’s bite to his low tone.
Rushing. That’s probably why I didn’t see him in the boarding area. I purse my lips, once again cursing the universe for allowing Callum to make this flight by the skin of his teeth.
Gripping both armrests, I prop myself up straighter and pivot my gaze around the cabin. Every other passenger is seated. The only ones moving about are the flight attendants.
I fall back into my seat, my head spinning. When I turn my focus back on Callum, the wrinkle in his brow is even deeper.
He tilts his head to the side. “Do you think I somehow orchestrated this?”
I shrug, flipping through random pages of my book. “Out of all the flights to London today, we managed to be on the same one sitting next to each other. Anything’s possible at this point.”
He scoffs. “If you say so.”
I jerk my head toward him, ignoring the flight attendant standing just a few feet in front of us, pointing out the emergency exits while the voice over the intercom explains the safety procedures.
“Oh, don’t give me that,” I say. “We’re stuck next to each other for the next nine hours.”
“We’ll manage, I’m sure,” he mutters. He doesn’t even turn to me when he speaks, opting instead to keep his gaze pointed at the headrest in front of him.
“Well, I won’t.”
I wave down the flight attendant nearest me. She walks up to our row, polite smile plastered across her face. I try to mirror the same friendly expression, but I’m wound so tight that my smile probably looks more like a wince.
“What can I help you with, miss?” she says cheerily.
“Would I be able to switch to a different seat? Whatever empty one you have? If it’s not too much trouble.”
Relaxing, unwinding, zoning out, all of that will be impossible if I have to share an armrest with the guy who’s been a thorn in my side for the past several weeks.
Callum’s chest heaves up as he takes a slow, deep breath in.
“Oh gosh, I’m not sure if I can do that,” she says brightly. “See, this is a full flight. Unless another passenger is willing to trade seats, I’m afraid that can’t happen. We’re about to take off, but if you want, I can ask around once we’re in the air.”
Deflated, I nod and tell her that would be great. After I thank her, she walks away, leaving Callum and me in our bubble of tension.
He finally twists his head to me. A hint of amusement rests behind his stare. “Is a screaming toddler or an obnoxiously chatty seatmate really preferable to me?” he says.
“Seeing as neither one is threatening to put me out of business like you are, I’d welcome them with open arms.”
I lean my head back and close my eyes, steeling myself for whatever comeback Callum has. But there’s no reply. Only the hum of the engines gearing up as we speed down the runway.
We glide into the air, and I wait. For a snide remark, a scoff, anything to signal Callum’s distaste for me. Still nothing. When I twist my head to look at him, he’s staring at the seat ahead of him again. But his face isn’t hard or smug anymore. Rather, something sorrowful taints his otherwise neutral expression. As we cut through the sky, I wonder what he’s thinking.
A minute later, he turns to me. “Can we try something?”
“What do you mean?”
He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Look, I know... Can we just call a truce for this flight? No talk about work or the festival or anything else that’s transpired between us.”
Red ignites his cheeks when he looks at me. For a moment, I’m puzzled at his sudden blushing, but then the crystal clear image of him on Little Beach in his birthday suit flashes to the front of my mind. Oh right. I’ve seen him naked. Deliciously, deliciously naked. I tuck away the image. He probably doesn’t want to talk about that either.
“Like a time-out?” I ask.
“Yes. Exactly.”
I rub my face as the heat makes its way up my neck, my gaze falling to my lap. “I can agree to that.”
“Shake on it?” He holds his hand out to me. “We’ll be pleasant to each other for the rest of this flight?”
