I might not like taking orders normally, but it was definitely helpful when my brain was this foggy. It was too early in the morning for me to function normally. At this hour, it would be a miracle if I could brush my own teeth.
I clicked the buckle. He took my hand.
“We’re ready,” he called to the pilots. I could hear the murmur of a radio as they communicated with the air control tower.
Then we were taxiing on the runway. I squeezed his hand a little. I wasn’t a bad flier, but we were in a pretty little jet and I felt us tilt backwards. It was a lot more obvious when we were in a small aircraft than it would be in a commercial airliner.
“We’ll be fine,” he soothed. “Do you want some whiskey?”
“Is it a good idea to get drunk at this altitude?”
“Bottoms up.”
He poured us each a little bit of whiskey from a bottle that was in a small, ice filled container at the side of the plane.
I drank it. It helped a little bit with my nerves.
He put a gentle hand on my cheek and pulled me towards his shoulder.
“Sleep. By the time that you wake up, we’ll be back in America.”
I yawned and closed my eyes. He felt so solid. I knew that it was irrational, but I felt like he could save me somehow if anything happened to the plane. I slept on his shoulder.
Home in DC
Naelle
I was gently jolted when the airplane landed at Reagan.
I looked at Emilio, who was sleeping, his head turned in an unnatural position. He was going to have a sore neck.
“Hey,” I said, shaking his shoulder.
His eyes suddenly opened and looked straight into mine. He was rigid for a moment before taking my hand and kissing my engagement ring.
“Are you happy to be home in the United States? Would you prefer to live here or in Ecuador?”
“A little bit of A, a little bit of B.”
I kissed the corner of his mouth. He had perfect lips. I traced them with the tip of my tongue before he grabbed the back of my head and slid his own tongue into my mouth.
The plane stopped moving.
“We better stop before we give the pilots a show.”
He bit my ear, then he let go of me.
“Come on.”
We got out of the plane. The sun was extremely bright.
“Did you order a car or are we going to take an Uber home?”
“I got a car. Well, my assistant did.”
I raised my eyebrows at him.
“I didn’t even notice you contacting your assistant.”