Page 5 of At First Flight
She hesitates as her palm slips free and brushes away fake lent from her tulle skirt. “Lila,” she says quietly, eyes cast downward. She quickly brings her gaze back up to meet mine and speaks with more strength. “My name is Lila.”
“Well, Lila, we have a pretty long flight. Care to share why you’re wearing a wedding dress on the way to Scotland?”
Her hand trembles as she reaches toward her hair and tucks a loose strand behind her ear. I wish I’d been the one to push the glossy strand away from her face. I bet it feels like the finest of silk. Something woven straight from the cocoon.
“It’s… complicated.”
With a quick flick of my wrist, my Patek Phillip watch glistens under the airline’s dim overhead lighting. I make an exaggerated motion of looking at the time before I meet her eyes again.
“Well, it seems we have roughly six and a half hours to fill. Unless you want to sit in this confined tube and watch a movie or something.”
“I don’t have earbuds.”
The attendant steps to our row and visibly jolts when she notices I’ve switched seats. Before she can get a word out, I explain that our guest in row 3A was suffering from a panic attack, and I attempted to calm her down. Her eyes immediately dart to Lila’s, who surprisingly nods and assures the attendant everything is okay.
When she’s satisfied, she moves along to the next row.
“Read a book?” I offer, smiling as Lila rolls her eyes and sinks back into her chair. The turmoil she was dealing with earlier, whatever caused her to dash onto the plane wearing a wedding dress, falls away like the bark of a birch tree.
“I haven’t read a book in months.”
“Want me to guess what kind of books you read?” I peg her as the kind to read smutty romances of the monster variety. Maybe paranormal. I know from my friends and their wives the kind of books that are all over social media. The steamy kind. The sex-filled kind. The kind I’d read a few of, to none of my friends’ knowledge, to make sure I knew the level of expectations women held nowadays.
“No.”
“I’m guessing it was a romance with dragons and fae. That sound about right?”
“Wha—how do you… I mean… no, it was a small town.”
“Ah, my favorite.” She probably thinks I’m joking, but the small-town trope has proven to be my favorite. Something about them reminds me of the romances from classic movies.
My ghost girl, the woman who will haunt me for life, guffaws, which only leaves me yearning to hear a full-bellied laugh rise from her chest. I’m enraptured by the woman wearingwhite as her laughter tinkles around the cabin. Men around us take notice as if her chuckle is a calling card for all un-mated males.
“You’re the most ridiculous man I’ve ever met.”
“Well, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Are you normally this strange, or is it just for my benefit?”
“My only goal was to see you smile, ghost girl. Hearing you laugh was like watching the northern lights for the first time. Beautiful and fleeting.”
“I… I have had little to smile about recently, but… it’s been nice to laugh. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And my offer still stands.”
“What offer?” she asks as she turns in her seat to fiddle with the screen attached to the back of the seat in front of her. The window cover at her side has remained closed since takeoff as if something unwelcome could peer in at any moment.
“The one where you marry me.”
Lila’s shoulders jerk subtly as she speaks, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the predicament she’s found herself in.
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, we’ll just have to change that, won’t we?”
Chapter Two – Lila
I don’t fly often, if ever. This is only the second time I’ve stepped foot on a plane. I much prefer driving, even across the country. Not just because I’m scared of heights and known to suffer a panic attack when I feel overwhelmed but also because flying costs money… a lot more than a measly trip in my car.
