Playboy Pilot (11 page)

I headed to the pilot’s lounge to check in, get the forecast and go over the flight details. Still no word from Kendall. There was no choice but to stick to the itinerary because this plane wasn’t going to fly itself.

Checking my phone constantly as I met with the crew, it was beginning to feel like Kendall getting on this flight just wasn’t going to happen. In a last ditch effort to stall, I did something I’d never even considered doing once in my entire career: I intentionally caused a delay.

As the first officer, it was my responsibility to inspect the plane when it arrived. I created a fake concern that one of the instruments in the cockpit wasn’t calibrating properly and needed to be looked into. That resulted in an engineer having to run some tests on it. Although the inspection ended up delaying the plane for over an hour, it was all in vain. No Kendall.

I finally closed the cockpit doors, and when my pre-flight paperwork was completed, I got the go ahead for push back.

Ten minutes later, I lifted the plane to a smooth take off while images of blonde hair, honest blue eyes and the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen flashed through my brain. I wondered if we would ever cross paths again.

Once we were at cruising altitude, I decided to use up my last glimmer of hope. The ticket I’d bought for Kendall was for seat 12C. Sometimes a few stragglers boarded at the last minute. Could I have missed her?

When a flight attendant entered with water, I asked, “Is there anyone sitting in 12C by any chance?”

“Let me check,” she said.

The lives of nearly two hundred people were in my hands, and it didn’t make me nervous in the least. Waiting for that flight attendant to come back with the answer? It was torture.

The door opened.

“Actually, Captain, no. That seat is empty.”

“Thank you, Cammie.”

With confirmation that Kendall was definitely not on my plane, I released the breath I’d been holding and took to the intercom to do what I always did when I was feeling down.

But this one was for her.

I TRIED TO RELAX
into my seat, even though I was a nervous wreck.

The flight attendant made the announcement to shut down all wireless devices, but that wasn’t necessary in my case, since my phone had died. In my haste to get ready this morning, I’d left my phone charger plugged into the wall back in the bedroom at Maria’s.

Shortly after dropping Carter off at the airport, I had what felt like a panic attack in Maria Rosa’s car. The thought of continuing this trip alone seemed unbearable.

We were almost to the hotel when it all suddenly became clear.

I didn’t even know how to speak Portuguese, so I took a wild guess as to how to relay my thoughts to Maria.

Pointing in the direction behind us, I said, “Aeropuerto!”

She nodded and kept driving toward the Westin.

“Maria, I need to go back to the airport.”

She must have understood me because she suddenly made a sharp left u-turn, up and over the median. Then, we were finally heading the way to the airport. My heart was beating a mile a minute during the drive back.

When she pulled up to the drop off area, I gave her a quick hug. “Muchas gracias!” Immediately realizing that was Spanish, I simply didn’t have enough time to figure out the correct way to thank her. Later, I’d send her a translated thank you note along with some cash to remove the apparent curse on me.

Rushing through the door to the International Airlines ticket counter, I nearly tripped over my own suitcase.

“Has the flight to Dubai left yet?”

The attendant clicked a few buttons. “Actually, that’s been delayed due to technical issues.”

Thank you, Jesus.

“Is there still time to get on that flight?”

She made a phone call before answering, “You’ll have to hurry, but I’ve alerted them to expect you at the gate. Give me your credit card, and we’ll get you set up as fast as possible.”

She printed my boarding pass, and I ran as fast as I could to security. Thankfully, there were no issues getting through, and I was able to make it onto the plane.

He hadn’t asked me to come with him. This was a huge risk.

Despite my growing insecurity, I held onto the memory of the look in his eyes when he turned around to wave to me that last time. His expression had seemed filled with regret and doubt. He’d looked how I had felt.

It would be fourteen hours before I would figure out whether this was a big mistake. The cockpit had already been closed when I made my way to the back of the plane.

Now, I would try to just relax. Well, as best as I could with the knowledge that most, if not all, of the leggy brunettes walking these aisles had likely slept with Carter.

As the plane taxied down the runway, I closed my eyes and let myself feel his presence in every movement of the vessel as it ascended toward the sky. Memories of our tandem gliding ran through my mind. The thought that Carter was the one controlling this aircraft was just as comforting as it was a huge turn on. There was nothing more powerful than holding dozens of lives in your hands. He was a hero, if you asked me.

Once the plane had leveled off, my heart nearly skipped a beat at the sound of his deep, soothing voice over the intercom.

“Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Supreme Commander otherwise known as Captain Clynes. I’d like to take a moment to welcome you this afternoon to my home away from home here on this beautiful Boeing 757. Our flying time from Rio de Janeiro to Dubai is a whopping fourteen hours. We anticipate some pockets of turbulence in the first forty minutes or so, but after that, it should be smooth sailing. Again, welcome aboard International Airlines Flight 237 to the United Arab Emirates.”

Then, without warning, Carter began to sing. While all of the passengers seemed amused, the flight attendants, who were clearly used to his singing, were completely unphased.

The Beatles song he’d chosen this time was
Ticket to Ride.
Two things weren’t lost on me: the fact that the song was about a careless girl who was going away and the fact that he’d sung it instead of
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
He’d replaced his signature song with one that I was pretty sure was about me.

If you wanted me to stay, why didn’t you ask me?

I couldn’t begin to imagine what his reaction was going to be when he saw me in Dubai.

The day had taken its toll on me. I normally couldn’t sleep well on an aircraft, but Carter being at the helm made me feel safe. I ended up nodding off for a couple of hours.

When I woke up, I was greeted by a rude awakening. A few of the flight attendants were gossiping in the galley. My seat in the last row was located right in front of the area where they prepared the food.

I tried to block out the surrounding sounds to focus in on what they were saying.

“Did you and Trip hook up in Rio?”

“No. We’re not seeing each other anymore. And don’t you dare tell me ‘I told you so.’”

“Honestly…you lasted longer with him than anyone else I’ve ever seen him messing around with.”

“Two whole months.” She laughed. I turned around so I could get a look at which one was speaking. It was the one named Jolene. Tall brunette.
Shocker.

“Two months is a lifetime in
Trip
time. I was hoping it would work out for you. But I knew better…because of personal experience, unfortunately.”

“I should’ve listened to you.”

“Sometimes we need to find things out for ourselves.”

“I’m sorry that I almost risked our friendship to be with him.”

“By the time you told me you were sleeping with him, I was happy with Brian. Someday, you’ll meet a good guy, too. Fuck Carter.”

“That’s the problem. I already did. Now, I just need to get over it.”

I couldn’t stand to listen anymore. Putting my earbuds in, I blasted the music.

Was I sick in the head?

There were just so many reasons why I could potentially be delusional. This guy had a proven track record of being an asshole to women.
Attractive
women. Suddenly, I was going to be the one to change him? A girl who was potentially about to get pregnant by another man?

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, I felt trapped. Both literally on this long-haul flight, and figuratively by my own idiotic heart. Because as much as I knew I should get out of this situation—my heart wouldn’t let me.

What if.

What if.

What if.

What if what we have is different?

When Jolene came by to take my dinner order, I couldn’t help myself. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” She smiled, flashing her perfect white teeth. God, could she have been more opposite from me physically? She was like an Amazon woman. They all were. What did he want with me, if he liked them?

“I noticed that the pilot likes to sing Beatles songs. I was on another flight with him, and he sang
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
”

“Uh-huh. Usually, he just sings that one. For some reason, he did a different one today.”

“My dad used to sing the Lucy song to me,” I lied. “Is there a story behind why he sings that one in particular?”

Without hesitation, she shook her head. “I don’t think so. He told me once he just likes the song.”

I examined her face for any sign of dishonesty. “Okay. Thanks.”

I knew she was telling the truth because she had no reason to protect him at this point. If anything, it probably would have given her pleasure to spill his secret. He hadn’t told her the meaning behind the song.

As Jolene took my order, my heart was doing a bit of a happy dance. The fact that he’d dated her for two months and never opened up to her like he did with me gave me a bit of hope. The cynical side of me, however, quickly concluded that maybe he opened up to me because he figured he’d never see me again.

The rest of the entire flight was spent ruminating. I asked God to give me a clue that my being here wasn’t all a huge mistake. At one point, I was able to fall asleep again.

By the time I woke up this time, the sun was shining through the plane windows, and we were almost in Dubai. I had no clue what time it even was there.

I noticed that the man sitting across the aisle from me had a charger plugged in. Thankfully, he let me borrow it to power up my dead phone.

When Carter’s voice came on the intercom, it sent chills through me, not only because I hadn’t heard it in a while, but because he sounded down and tired.

“Ladies and Gentleman, we are now on our final approach into Dubai International Airport. The time here is a little after one-thirty in the afternoon. This is the hottest time of the year in the UAE. Current temperature is a scorching ninety-three degrees. Stay cool and thank you again for flying International Airlines. We hope to see you again soon.”

Closing my eyes, I said a little prayer for a smooth landing. My ears popped as the plane lost altitude. My heart began to beat out of control in anticipation of revealing myself to Carter.

The landing was smooth as could be. When the engines were shut down, I powered on my phone, shocked to find that there were several missed messages—all from Carter.