PART 1
Flight SK1530 to Arlanda, Sweden, took off from Heathrow, UK, with a reduced cabin crew of just one stewardess, Lena, and a single passenger, Johan. In order to keep their slots at major international airports, airlines sometimes fly to schedule, even if the plane is empty.
Johan worked for a company based in Uppsala, Sweden, with customers all over the world. Now he had visited some of them in the UK. It had been an intense week of presentations, discussions and tricky negotiations. He was tired and longed to get back to his flat in Uppsala. And as the plane took off, he fell asleep.
As the plane approached the North Sea, he was awakened by a pleasant voice:
"Hello. Here is your dinner. What would you like to drink?"
Johan woke up and stuttered, "Oh, thank you. Mineral water, please."
Lena came back with a bottle of mineral water. Johan looked up at her.
"It's so lonely sitting here with my dinner in the long, empty cabin. How about sitting with me and talking a bit while I'm eating?"
The stewardess looked a bit surprised. Then she said,
"Well, you see, it's definitely against the rules to share meals with passengers. I could get a warning for that."
Johan looked at Lena. "But it feels so extremely sad to sit here all alone. Please, can't you sit with me?"
Lena considered the delicate situation. Then she smiled at him.
"OK then. The pilots won't give me away if they see us together. By the way, what's your name?"
So Lena found out that the lonely passenger was Johan, and Johan found out that the stewardess was Lena.
Lena got an extra portion and sat down next to Johan. They ate and talked about Johan's customers, about Lena's flights to places all over the world, about Johan's small three-room flat in Uppsala and about Lena's small two-room flat in Märsta near Arlanda Airport. When they had finished eating, the conversation changed.
Lena said: "Your family must be happy to have you back again.
"I don't have a family," Johan replied. "I've been alone for a year."
"Oh, sorry!"
"But, Lena, you don't need to be sorry. It was an exhausting relationship. I'm glad it's over. She was really nasty and difficult, especially towards the end. And I wasn't always so nice to her either. But now I'm alone.
Johan wiped a tear from his eye. At first Lena was silent. Then she gently stroked his cheek. And Johan put his hand on hers.
"But poor Johan, how are you?"
"Well, not so well, actually. But Lena, you have someone waiting for you, don't you?"
"No, Johan. I haven't. I've been alone too, for two years now. Our relationship didn't work out so well either.
"Do you miss him?"
"No! Not at all. And I was the one who left. Because he wasn't nice to me."
She fell silent and looked down.
"Did he beat you?"
"She looked him straight in the eye.
"Yes. He did."
They both fell silent. Lena's answer had shocked him, even though it was he who had asked the question. Finally, he pulled himself together.
"So that's why you prefer to be alone?"
"No, not really. I don't like being alone at all. I long so much for someone who is kind and loves me."
Johan stroked Lena's hair gently and smiled at her. And she smiled back, tears rolling down her cheeks. Johan took a clean napkin from his tray and wiped the tears from her face.
Then Lena put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. And they sat in silence for a long time.
Johan's pulse accelerated. It had been a long time since a woman had held him like that.
Suddenly there was a click in the cabin loudspeakers and the captain announced that they were now cruising at 9400 metres. And through the left window they could see one of the Statoil platforms.
Silence fell again and they sat back in their seats. A lot of thoughts were running through Lena's head. She was really attracted to Johan. But what kind of man was he? He had told her a bit about himself. And he seemed so nice and kind. But they had only known each other for an hour. And did she really dare to trust a man again after what she had been through with her ex?
Johan took deep, slow breaths to calm down after the intense hugs. But it was difficult. The feeling of Lena's warm body against his was still with him. He wondered what he was doing. Was it possible to get involved with a woman he had only met an hour ago? But yes, apparently it was. Johan had to admit that he had fallen in love with Lena at first sight. Then he wondered how she felt. Would she just say goodbye in the arrival hall and then they would never see each other again?
But Lena had made up her mind that she would not just say goodbye to Johan. She looked into his troubled eyes.
"Johan?"
"Yes?"
"Would you like to come home for a cup of tea?"
Johan's heart beat twice. "Yes, Lena, I'd love to!"
Lena squeezed his hand. And they continued to talk.
PART 2
When they landed at Arlanda, it was dark and raining. And the roadsides were covered with wet, dirty snowbanks. Lena and Johan took the bus to Märsta, and after a while they arrived at Lena's flat. They went in and Johan looked around. The flat had good furniture, but it needed a bit of tidying up. It seemed that Lena had been in a hurry when she left for her last shift.
Lena excused herself and went to her bedroom. After a while she came back, dressed in a grey leisure suit. She smiled at Johan.
"You look so dashing in your suit and tie."
"Thank you! And you look so comfortable in your leisure suit."
"You don't think I look dashing, do you? Maybe I should change back into my uniform?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant. You are dashing too..."
Very well, then. But it's not compulsory to wear a tie in my flat. So please take off your tie and jacket.
Lena led Johan into the kitchen. She handed him a watering can and asked him to water her plants while she made tea. And her plants did need watering.
Then they sat down on her sofa, had tea and biscuits, and talked. Johan longed to hug Lena again, but he didn't dare. And it was getting late. Finally he decided to go home while there were still trains to Uppsala.
He got up, and so did Lena. And finally she hugged him. And Johan didn't want to go at all. Lena didn't let go, but held him. And then she kissed him. She opened her mouth and their tongues met. And Johan got a hard-on.
Then suddenly Lena let go of him and stepped back. He sighed and thought she wanted him to leave. But she didn't.
"Johan?"
"Yes, Lena?"
"Would you like to... stay with me tonight?"
PART 3
Lena put on a thin nightgown and slipped into bed. Next to her in bed was Johan, in his underpants.
They hugged and kissed. And Johan enjoyed the feeling of Lena's warm body. She was calm and secure, but also very sexy. He felt as if he had known her for a long time. And Lena felt the same.
Suddenly she said,
"Johan, please, can you help me take off my nightgown? And my panties?"