The huff that escaped Shawn's chest was a protest to having to be the adult to six full-grown boys his age.
Dammit, Julie is so going to owe me for this
. Shawn's head bobbled ever so slightly as the smile and subtle chuckle found amusement in the whole situation. Since when did I become the mature one? Golf, craps, a show, strip clubs, and who knows what else was going to be packed into the next - a quick glance at his watch gave him the answer - fifty-seven hours until the rehearsal dinner. Jake was a good guy and made Julie happy, but this last hurrah had The Hangover movie written all over it. A slow shake of the head was the only acknowledgment Shawn was willing to give to Team Jake's regression into teenage immaturity. The boom of their voices rattled the airport windows more than the planes taking off and landing. These guys were a barely contained riot.
"Hey, Shawn! Check out that redhead in front of you!"
Geeeeeeezus did Jake really need to shout that so all of Chicago could hear?
Shawn's head slumped forward as he watched the redhead and her coworker look around.
Seriously, like the hot flight attendant with hair forged in the devil's fire was hard to miss even if she wasn't four people in front of me.
"Go get her Shawn she's hot!"
Bill Willie threw in his two cents. "Go Shawn woof woof woof! Get her boooooooooy!"
A disgusted snort escaped as Shawn curled his lips inward. Dozens of heads in the terminal turned and sneered, to watch the group of prepubescent boys in their late twenties act like morons. Shawn wasn't even sure if it was a good thing or not that he was across the way as he waited in line to get a coffee. This behavior was beyond inappropriate. It's one thing to have fun but they were just being ridiculously obnoxious now.
When the two flight attendants got to the counter Shawn walked up and handed the cashier his card. "Please allow me, ladies. I need to apologize for Jack from Lord of the Flies and his crew over there. He means well, but I am sorry for any embarrassment or anything. Please allow me to get your coffee and anything else you wanted to get."
Cocking her eyebrow, the redhead skeptically questioned. "Anything?!"
"Well, unless it has raisins in it, not sure I can condone that sort of travesty, but hey look who I'm traveling with, people in glass houses shouldn't throw raisins...well except in the trash but to each their own right. So yes, anything."
The other flight attendant quickly put her hand in front of her mouth and slightly turned away, but could not stop the small giggle from escaping. The redhead's stoic resolve remained unphased. Her eyes surveyed Shawn from head to toe before her eyes locked onto his. Shawn shifted in his stance and stood taller, suddenly feeling like he was being evaluated in a much deeper way than he could comprehend. The subtle movement of her eyes was a clear sign she was sifting thru several layers searching for something. The slight nod of her head indicated when she found it.
A small smirk curled the corner of her lip before she turned to the cashier and added a cinnamon bun to her order. Shawn thanked the ladies and handed the cashier his card and proceeded to pay for the coffee for the three people he jumped ahead of before he completed the transaction. Shawn said one more apology and thank you to the two ladies as they picked up their drinks before he turned to make his way to his group of idiots.
"Thank you, Tiger." carried over the sounds of the busy terminal. Turning, Shawn saw the redhead hold up her coffee, which brought a smile to his face. That smile was quickly replaced with a headshake as Team Jake was there to pounce on the situation. In what could best be described as a scene that would have made a locker room of fourteen-year-old boys sharing a nude pic seem like an act of high society civility, ten minutes of being the focus of endless teasing was the price Shawn paid for his interaction with the flight attendant. He never got her name, for he never asked. It didn't seem appropriate to ask for her number after his travel companions made such a scene. Besides she's a flight attendant. The logistics made it an on-again, off-again long-distance, whatever. A what-if that never was.
Eventually, the boarding call was a welcome reprieve as Team Jake made their way to the plane. Shawn found himself smiling as the memory of her smile played inside his mind. His first time in first class was going to be just the tonic to put the morning behind him and get into Vegas mode. Shawn found himself about twenty feet ahead of the pack on the gangplank. Turning the corner, there waiting for him was that smile that sent a rush thru him, those delectable curves he could spend a lifetime exploring and flame-kissed hair that begged to be played with and pulled.
Did her smile just get bigger when she saw me?
Every step brought him closer to her as the sound of the impending stampede of immaturity closed in. The adults masquerading as ruckus boys were going to erupt when they see the impending awkward and embarrassing moment just a few feet in front of Shawn. This day just couldn't get
any
frakking better.
"Welcome aboard Tiger."
A quick smile and a muted good morning were all Shawn could muster as he saw her name tag said Desi before he hurried to his seat. He had already embarrassed himself in front of her once today, and the way his luck was going, she would be the one that was in charge of the first-class section. Three hours and thirty minutes, two hundred and ten minutes, and 1500 miles of making sure not to stare at her and calling as little attention to himself as possible to avoid any additional embarrassment. The whooping and hollering rumbled into the plane behind him as Team Jake stampeded onto the plane. A few teasing Tiger comments fluttered about the cabin as the rebellious rogues found their seats. Several disapproving looks and a couple of sneers formed on some of the fellow passengers' faces as they walked thru the recycled air of testosterone and immaturity. The rest of the fellow cattle made it into the tin can and it wasn't long before the flight attendants were going over all the safety information. Sure enough, there she was doing the airline version of Vanna White. Shawn's eyes kept drifting to Desi. Her legs just seemed to continue as his gaze drifted up. Her hips seemed to both stretch and cling to what should have been a classy and demure skirt. Shawn was fully aware he shouldn't be so hung up on her looks, but
damn
she was gorgeous. The toned-down outfit did nothing to hide what obviously had inspired thousand of inappropriate thoughts and a few filthy fantasies over the years. Their eyes met for a moment and Shawn was back in the fifth grade trying to muster up the nerve to cross the gym's no man's land over to the girl's side to ask Suzy Wozniak if she wanted to dance.
What the hell dude? What are you doing? Grow the fuck up and settle down.
Putting on his headphones, Shawn let himself get lost in the music as the flight took off. The melodic beat bathing his soul was somehow interrupted. Opening his eyes, he pulled off his headphones and tilted his head ever so slightly as his mind tried to pick up that morsel of information it missed.
"What can I get you, Tiger?"
Shaking his head as he tried to jumpstart his mind into the present. Lifting his head towards her but averting his eyes "Oh, um just a water, please. Thank you."
"You shy there Tiger. I don't bite, well not when I'm on duty."
The devilish smirk that pulled at the corner of her lip triggered his want to say something witty and laced with a subtle double entendre. Subconsciously he curled his lips in as he suppressed his retort and let the awkward silence grow. Placing the water on his tray did nothing to break the silence as his distracted mind even forgot his natural reflex to say thank you. Looking up at her, it was not lost on him that she seemed to be taking delight in this self-imposed limbo he seemed to be in as she waited for an answer.
For gawd sakes dude say something...ANYTHING
.
"No. Just you are working and you're gorgeous and sexy and probably get hit on a dozen times a flight". Shawn's cadence hastened as his words tried to outrun his rambling mind. "I mean you're not just gorgeous. I mean there's so much more to you than being sexy. And I'm sure you're used to dealing with rowdy passengers all the time and not just because you are gorgeous oh dear gawd someone shut me up please." Shawn's whole upper body seemed to crumple like a soda can being run over by a car before he took a large breath and let out an exhausted sigh. "That guy in the bright yellow shirt is getting married this weekend in Vegas and this is his bachelor party before so these guys are all wound up and I just want to apologize in advance they really are a great group of people when they are well normal. A muffled chuckle convulsed in his chest as he found humor in the 'normal' comment. A quick pat on his shoulder accompanied an affirmation that his friends weren't anything she couldn't handle was the last of that exchange as she mercifully moved on to the next row. If he could have facepalmed himself he probably would have.
Sooooo smooth, and seamless subject change. Not obvious at all. Dumbass!
The rest of the flight was music, witnessing a cute exchange with Desi calming a young passager, and a couple of stolen glances her way. Then it was the insane stampede of everyone trying to get off the plane as if they wouldn't have to wait for their luggage anyway. A smile and thank you were exchanged between Shawn and Desi as he got off the plane. It wasn't too long before the traveling circus boarded the shuttle to the hotel so they get the ill-advised behavior and debauchery underway. Shawn's phone buzzes and there's a message from a number he doesn't recognize. A smile creeps across his face as he reads her text.
