He was tired and hot from his dash to the airport after his office decided at the last minute to send him to their Auckland office. Al didn't mind the trip so much, it was the short notice and frantic arrangements that annoyed him. Still, he was at last on the plane with a glass of chilled champagne, waiting for the last passengers to board so they could taxi down the runway and finally take off. He had an empty seat beside him and hoped it would stay that way so he could relax and spread out on the flight, although he knew from previous experience that that wasn't actually likely and he'd end up with an overweight, over-talkative idiot beside him, probably with halitosis too. He sighed and turned the page of the paper he was reading, glancing up at the stragglers coming onto the plane as he did so.
There, coming down the aisle, was a woman that made him forget all about his paper. She was tall, brunette and curvy, wearing a knee length red skirt and a fitted blouse unbuttoned enough to show a glimpse of her impressive cleavage but not enough to appear slutty. He couldn't believe his luck when she stopped at the empty seat beside him and put her handbag there. He tried not to be too obvious in his admiration of her figure as she reached up to put her luggage in over head locker, the movement pulling her shirt tightly against the lacy bra covering her pert breasts. For one second he was sure he could even see the faint outline of a nipple through the thin materials, but all too soon she closed the locker and moved to take her seat.
As she sat, a member of the cabin crew passed her a glass of champagne which she took with thanks, her voice soft and musical. She finally turned to Al.
"Hi," she said. "As we're going to be sitting next to each other for the next ten hours I thought we might as well get acquainted! I'm Charlotte. Pleased to meet you." She extended her hand and Al offered his own, taking her cool slender fingers.
"Pleased to meet you too. I'm Al." He smiled at her and she grinned back, holding his hand for what seemed like a few seconds longer than an introductory handshake would normally take.
She lifted her champagne and they chinked glasses with a quiet "cheers" to each other before taking a sip.
"So, Al, what's a boy like you doing on a plane like this?," she said with a teasing smile. He had hoped for an empty seat beside him and instead ended up with a gorgeous woman who appeared to be flirting with him already, and they hadn't even taken off yet! It seemed like maybe this would be an even better trip than he'd hoped.
As he was about to answer though the cabin crew came round collecting glasses and preparing for take-off, and before he knew it she'd got a book out of her handbag and they were heading down the runway.
She glanced at him before looking back at the book. "Sorry for this --I have to read on take-off, I'm a bit of a nervous flyer actually and it's the only thing that stops me screaming. Sorry" she said again, seeming embarrassed at herself.
"No need to apologise," he said with a smile. "If you get too scared you can always hold my hand".