“Seems legit,” she nods in agreement. “Well, it’s time to wish these passengers farewell. Well, most of them.” The devilish quirk of her lips tells me she has no doubt in her mind that I’ll be having sex tonight.
I roll my eyes and push past her. I can’t even with this woman. I swear if I had an angel on one shoulder, she’d be the bad influence on the other, but I love her like a sister. Sometimes more than my actual sister. She’s been there for me more times than I can count, and when I don’t want her there.
I stand by the plane exit, waiting for the passengers to leave, offering goodbyes and hoping they have a great trip. Most of them are waiting for another plane to reach their destination, but some are here to take in the sights. Little as they may be.
As per usual, Bentley waits until he’s the last one to get off the plane. “Are you ready for our date tonight?”
He slides his arm around my waist and pulls me close to him. He leans in for a kiss then stops, remembering I’m still on the clock. “Yes, I’m ready. I can meet you at the restaurant.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind coming to get you first.”
I shake my head before he can argue anymore. “I’m sure. It’s dumb for you to pay to come to my place and then go right back downtown. There’s no sense in it.”
“Okay,” he pulls back from me. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Hopefully, this team meeting won’t take too long.”
Glancing around me, I make sure nobody is watching and I give him a quick peck. “I’ll see you soon.” He grabs the handle of his suitcase and makes his way down the narrow hall.
“Yeah,” Lana whispers from right behind me. I jump. Where the hell did she come from? “You’re totally getting laid tonight.”
“Shut up.” I don’t say anything else. I grab my luggage and get off the plan. I don’t care if she is right, she doesn’t have to be all weird about it.
* * *
Our reservations are at a top end steakhouse. I told him I didn’t need anything fancy, but he felt bad that we’ve only been eating fast food, or whatever the hotels offer. As far as going out is concerned, I’m a pretty simple girl. I don’t need all the bells and whistles. As long as I’m enjoying my time with him, I'm perfectly happy.
I spot him as I push through the crowd of people. I can’t believe so many people are braving the cold weather, but I get it. This is normal for us. Bentley is standing outside the restaurant door with a heavy jacket on. “Hey, you beat me here.”
“I almost wish I hadn’t. It’s freezing out here,” he says through shaky lips. I can almost hear his teeth chattering.
“It’s not that bad out here.” It will be later, though. We’re supposed to get a wave of snow flurries overnight. Nothing brutal, but I’m not telling him that. I’m not sure he’ll be able to handle it.
“Speak for yourself,” he says as he pulls me close to him. His lips cold against my cheek. “This Texas boy doesn’t handle this weather well at all. Hell, it was still in the sixties when I got to the airport.”
“We can go inside now. Then you won’t be such a crybaby.” My mouth spreads into a wide, teasing grin. “Besides, I’m hungry. I didn’t have time to eat before I came.”
“I’m not a crybaby. But yes, let’s go. That meeting drained me.” He pulls the door open wide and a blast of hot air hits us. He waits for me to go ahead of him, but stands in the doorway for longer than necessary.
“You know there’s heat in here, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Taking a step forward, he puts his arm around my shoulder and leads us to the host stand. A woman in a black shirt stands behind the podium and she’s looking down at a seating chart. “Hi, we have a reservation for Bentley.”
She doesn’t even look up to greet us, instead she runs her fingers over the tablet in front of her, searching for our reservation. “Yes, I have you right here. If you’ll follow me, I’ll get you seated.” She still hasn’t bothered to make eye contact. It’s a little annoying and reeks of poor customer service. My job is in this line of work and I always pay attention to the passengers who fly with us. Well, except Bentley. I tried my hardest not to notice him. It’s good business and keeps people happy.
“She seems kind of rude,” Bentley leans down and whispers in my ear. At least I’m not the only one that feels this way.
“I thought so, too. Maybe she’s having a bad night?” I’m not sure why I’m making excuses for her, but a shitty day can definitely affect how you respond to people.
“Here we are,” she finally looks up and smiles. Maybe she heard us. “Your waiter should be with you shortly.” She’s already heading back to the stand before we seated.
“That felt odd,” Bentley says as he pulls my chair out.
“I agree.”
“Oh well, we’re here now. Let’s make the best of the rest of the night.” He takes his jacket off, hanging it over the chair, and sits across from me. “What did you do when you got off work?”
“Not much,” I shrug. “Cleaned the apartment and did some laundry. The usual when I get home from back-to-back flights.”
“I don’t see how you do it.”