Atie's Quest

Kieran felt lightheaded and a little dizzy as he and Katie took their seats. The intercom buzzed and a man's voice said something over it, but between the growing roar of the jet engines and the loud hiss of the plane's air conditioning systems, it was impossible for him to make out what was being said. Even if he could, he wouldn't have been able to focus on it. He was too absorbed in the fact that he was actually holding Katie's Petersen's hand. Not only had he initiated that contact, but she also even seemed to like it!

He was astonished at his own boldness. He hadn't even meant to do it. It wasn't a conscious thing. It had just...happened. Of his own free will, his hand reached out while they were walking to their seats, found hers, and took it in a gentle grip. That Katie instantly reciprocated threatened to overwhelm him. What is she thinking? Did I cross a line? Should I let it go? Will it offend her if I do?

He gave her a surreptitious glance and found her looking right at him. Katie grinned, giving his hand a little squeeze. Kieran's blood heated and his cock came to rampant attention. He almost did let go, then, but stopped himself at the last moment. He didn't want to ruin this. He knew Katie wasn't his, knew he could never have her, but dammit, he wanted to enjoy this while it lasted.

If Katie felt any similar conflicting emotions, she gave no sign of it. Her posture was relaxed and easy beside him.

The aircraft lurched into motion. Katie squeezed his hand again. He drew strength from that, found courage in her nearness and her warmth, and did his best to look like his heart wasn't beating a thousand miles an hour. His free hand gripped the armrest of his seat in a white-knuckled grip.

"It's okay." Katie's voice was soft, quiet, soothing. The sound of it was like velvet in his ears. "It's okay, Kieran. Don't be scared."

He nodded, swallowing the lump rapidly forming in his throat.

The plan began to gather speed. Faster it went and faster, faster than he'd ever gone in his life. Kieran felt the moment they became airborne, felt the lurching shudder as the plane left the ground and everything out the window to his left rapidly began to grow smaller. Kieran watched in utter fascination. This must be how birds see the world all the time.

"Quite something, isn't it?" Katie remarked. She released his hand and leaned in close to get a look herself. She smells wonderful, he thought. Like strawberries and flowers. It made him feel a little dizzy.

He gave himself a mental shake and tried to focus instead on the conversation. "Does it ever get old?" he asked. "The view, I mean."

"Nope! No matter how many times I see it, it's still amazing." Her brow furrowed with concern. "How are you holding up? Any better?"

"Much better, Kieran admitted. Thanks to you.

"Takeoff and landing tend to be the hardest parts," Katie agreed. "But landing is hours away yet, so we don't need to worry about that right now."

"Are they really going to give us free stuff to drink?"

"In a little bit, yeah. They've gotta wait for the plane to level off first--right now we're still flying up at an angle. Once we've steadied, they'll come by and take our orders.

They'll have snacks too, like peanuts or something."

Kieran's stomach growled with anticipation. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good to me." The coffee earlier helped wake him up, but it did little to mitigate the fact that he hadn't eaten yet.

Katie gave a rueful smile. "I know the feeling. I'm hungry too. They should have an inflight meal in a little bit. You can order whatever you want, my treat."

Kieran winced. I don't want her to think she has to keep paying for everything. For one thing, it wasn't fair to her. For another, it irked his pride, though he'd never admit it out loud. I don't want to be a burden or...or some kind of parasite. I don't want her to think I can't pay my own way. "Thanks, but I'll pay for myself this time."

Katie looked a little surprised. "You sure?"

"Yeah." He gave her a teasing smirk. "Don't worry, you can pay for all the expensive concessions once we get there."

"Joke's on you," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Concessions are part of the package. Three meals a day in the parks, plus snacks for two from any vendor we choose, five times a day." Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips, and Kieran's jeans instantly felt a little too tight. "I can't wait to get some ice cream. And popcorn. And something fried with lots of cheese on top. Ooh, and some of those lollipops shaped like a Mickey Mouse head!"

"I thought you were a health nut."

"I am," she confirmed with a wink. "But, Kieran, you must remember that we're on vacation, and the whole point of a vacation is to splurge. Besides, I'm not going to eat junk the whole time we're there."

"Just most of the time," Kieran said, deadpan.

She grinned. "See? Now you're catching on."

Her smile, as ever, was dazzling in its radiance. The way it made her eyes twinkle reminded Kieran of sunlight sparkling on the surface of a calm tropical sea.

I still don't understand why she chose me, of all people, to start hanging out with. I don't think I ever will, and I'm too much a coward to ask. But whatever the reason, I'm glad she came up to me in school that day and introduced herself.

His heart did an uncomfortable little somersault, which he did his best to ignore. It was much harder to ignore the smooth skin on Katie's back as she turned to dig into her purse, or the exquisite perfection of her toned midriff. Nor was he the only one; practically every breathing male on the entire plane took notice of her beauty.

Kieran felt a completely irrational, utterly illogical spike of jealousy. He knew he had no right to feel that way, but he did. He didn't like other males paying attention to Katie, and he wanted to make them all stop. To that end he scooted a little closer to her, as if trying to shield her from their gazes.

"Looking for something?" he asked.

"My lip gloss," Katie explained. She held up the thin tube for him to see. Kieran was hardly an expert on that sort of thing, but it looked expensive.

"Good thing you didn't lose it."

"Even if I did, it's no bother. I brought plenty of spares."

Of course you did, Kieran thought with an inward smile. If there was one thing he'd learned about Katie Petersen by now, it was that she left nothing to chance. Beneath her

cheerful, bubbly exterior was a meticulous attention to detail and a razor-sharp memory that still surprised him sometimes.

Eager to keep the conversation going, he asked, "You mentioned you've traveled a lot, right?"

"Oh, yeah. My parents always took me on vacations growing up."

"What sorts of places did you go to? I'd like to hear about some of them."

He expected another smile, but instead, Katie looked uncertain. Worry made his blood curdle. He'd never seen her look uncertain or unsure before. Not like this. "What is it? Did I say something wrong?"

"No!" Her response was so forceful it made him flinch. "No," she repeated, more gently this time. "No, it's not that at all. I just...I don't want you to think I'm, like, rubbing it in your face or anything."

Her consideration touched Kieran and he nearly tripped over himself in his haste to reassure her. "Not even close! I'm just curious to hear about some of the places you've been, that's all." He chuckled. "I probably won't get to see them myself, so let me live vicariously through you a little."

Katie's relief was tangible and she relaxed. "Well, let's see! Hmmm..." she tapped her chin with one slender finger. "Well, I went to London one time!"

"How long ago?"

"Two years. My dad has this thing where he wants to visit every major city in Europe by the end of the decade. London was next on his list. We stayed for five days." Her voice went a little distant with memory. "We saw the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels, went to the British Museum, went inside Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral. I wish you could have seen it, Kieran. They were beautiful, and all that history..." she sighed. "It was a great trip. My dad even got to watch a session of Parliament!"

Kieran's brows rose. "How'd he manage that?"

"He went to college with a guy who now sits in the House of Lords," Katie explained. "I met him on the trip, when Dad invited him out to eat with us. He seemed nice."

"I think it's really cool your dad still has friends from those days," Kieran said seriously. "Friends like that, the ones who last, those are the ones worth keeping."

"That's what my dad said too." Katie agreed. Then, more quietly, she asked, "You and me, we'll always be friends too, right?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Kieran meant it with all his heart.

They continued in that vein for some time. Katie regaled him with tales of her trips to Vienna, Berlin, Paris and Prague while he listened, enraptured. It wasn't just the stories--it was the way her face lit up when she told them, the way she laughed at some humorous memory or other, the way the light danced in her eyes. For all his determination to keep their friendship platonic, Kieran could not help being drawn to her.

The flight attendant came to take their drink orders, just as Katie predicted. She ordered a Pepsi, he ordered a Coke. When those were drained, they ordered something to eat. Cheeseburgers for both of them, and Katie even ordered an extra side of fries as well. Kieran watched her as she ate ravenously.

Sensing his scrutiny, she looked up, her mouth smeared with crumbs. "If you'd gone as long without a juicy burger as I have, you'd understand."

"Hey, no need to explain. I'm not gonna judge--gorge yourself to your heart's content."

Katie did. When the food was finally finished they handed in their trash to the flight attendant who came around to collect it, then resumed their conversation. Hours passed in the most pleasant manner imaginable. Everything around him seemed to melt away until only Katie remained--her laughter, her voice, her face, her smile. There could have been a fight in the next aisle over and Kieran would not have noticed. All his attention was on her, and remained on her as the plane began to descend. Slowly at first, then more rapidly.

"Already?" he asked. "But...how is that possible? It hasn't been that long!"

"It has," Katie assured him. "Kieran, we've been in the air almost five hours."

"Five hours?!"

"Yeah." She gave him a wink. "Guess time really does fly when you're having fun!"

Kieran reddened and found himself at a loss for words. Thankfully, he was spared having to respond when the intercom buzzed.

"This is your captain speaking. On behalf of Southern Airlines, welcome to Orlando. We know you have lots of options and thank you for choosing to fly with us. Please remain in your seats until the plane has stopped moving and the fasten seat belt sign is switched off. Thank you."

The first thing Kieran thought about Orlando was that it was green. Very green. It had palm trees--he could see those clearly as the plane descended--and some of them looked almost as tall as a small building. Suburbs were laid out in neat rows, each house exactly the same as the last down to the shape of the pool in each backyard. As they got closer to the airport the scene switched from houses and neighborhoods to shops and shopping centers.

Everything got bigger, closer, as the plane lost altitude. It wasn't until it touched down on the tarmac, and its tires began to screech on the asphalt, that Kieran was reminded just how fast the craft was going. For a moment, he was terrified the wheels would hit a rock or something, and the plane would spin end over end before ending in a fiery crash. But Katie, as ever, helped ease his frazzled nerves. She clutched his hand again, more tightly than before, and didn't let go until the plane came to a complete stop.

Kieran let out a long breath. "Oh, thank God."

Katie's beautiful face creased in sympathy. "I know what you mean. But it's over now. Cheer up, Kieran--we're officially in Florida!"

He made a conscious effort to do so, trying for a smile. "So...we're going to get our stuff next, right? From the carousel thing?"

"You got it in one."

"What if our stuff isn't there?" Worry began gnawing at him afresh.

"It'll be there," Katie assured him. "But even if it's not, I have our receipts from when we checked our bags at the airport. That will allow the airline to track them and figure out where they are. If our stuff got misplaced, we'll make do. The airline should be able to send them to us at the hotel when they arrive."

"That's a relief. Has that ever happened to you?"

"Once, yeah. But it was years ago." Katie stood, retrieving her purse and carry-on bag as the passengers began deboarding. She only let go of his hand once exited the jet bridge and walked out into Gate C9 at the Orlando International Airport. She took a moment to stretch, yawning cavernously. She seemed ignorant of how it drew attention to her sleek figure, how arching her back like that drew the eye to her hips and breasts. Kieran looked away.

"Ah, yeah, that's the stuff," Katie sighed. "C'mon, let's go get our stuff. I can't wait to see the hotel!"

That brought Kieran back to reality. He'd seen pictures of the luxurious hotel where they'd be staying and shared Katie's excitement. "I hope it lives up to the hype. What you showed me about it, all the pictures and everything on the Internet, looked too good to be true." Just seeing the nightly rate for a single room in that place made my eyes water.

"The Grand Floridian is one of the best," Katie said, a little smugly. "But then, I wouldn't settle for anything less and neither would you. It'll live up to the hype, I promise you that."

She led the way to the baggage claim and he followed close behind. It didn't escape Kieran's notice that Katie's passing was followed by the eyes of every living male in the vicinity. A spike of irrational, completely illogical jealousy lanced through him and he picked up his pace to walk closer to her. He wasn't getting all possessive, Kieran told himself. He was simply protecting Katie and making sure no random guy tried to make a move on her. They were on vacation, after all. Katie dealt with that sort of thing enough back home. She didn't need to deal with it here, and she wouldn't if he had anything to say about it.

Thankfully, his worries about their baggage getting lost were proved unfounded. They waited at the carousel for only a few minutes before their suitcases showed up, and after grabbing them, it was time to pick up their rental car. Katie had a mischievous gleam in her eye, one that only grew stronger the closer they got to the rental lot. "I've got a car already waiting for us," she said. "I think you'll like it."

"Was this part of the package too?"

"No." She laced her fingers in his again. "This is simply because I could."

When it was their turn to pick up a car, the employee on duty led them over to a far end of the lot. Kieran walked past SUVs, sedans, several Jeeps...and stopped cold.

"Is that...?"

"A Porsche," Katie finished, unable to help her smugness. "A really nice one too--the best they have! I know how much you love sports cars, and I thought you'd love to try driving one."

"This..." Kieran had to place a hand on the vehicle's mercury-silver hood to steady himself. "Katie, this..." What could he say when faced with such generosity? This must have cost a fortune!

Katie giggled. "You might try something like 'thank you.'"

"Thank you," he whispered, when he finally found his tongue again. "I never expected anything like this. I'm honored." It wasn't nearly enough--words alone were insufficient to describe how he was feeling right then--but it was the best he could do. I never expected to drive anything like this, either. He ran a hand lovingly over the hood. I can't believe she did this for me. He was humbled by the gesture, humbled and grateful--not only for her kindness, but also for having someone like her in his life to begin with.

"Wanna drive?"

Kieran's smile was so wide it hurt it cheeks. "Oh, hell yes."

As they pulled out onto the freeway, their luggage stowed and the airport behind them, the wind whipped through Kieran's hair. The car's convertible top was down and the Florida sun was warm on his face. Katie whooped in delight as he pressed the accelerator, and he whooped right along with her.

The Porsche zipped down the road in a silver blur.

(A/N: The slow burn continues! But don't worry--I promise you, the payoff will be worth it--and it is definitely on the horizon!)