“Okay, but I have to be back by four.”
“What time is it now?”
“Noon,” I said as I checked the clock.
He opened his mouth, closed it, and then spoke, “We’ll go out to eat, quick, and then come back. I know a good place.”
“We’ll be back before four. Promise? I’ve got to pack yet.”
“Pack now, then we go out and eat. Then be back in time for…”
“Time for what?” I asked. I stroked my hand down my body, pinched my nipple and then let my hand drop until I reached my cock and tugged it a couple of times. The look on his face was pure pleasure.
Antonio growled at me. “No, we must eat first. Then we fuck.”
My stomach grumbled in agreement, and I couldn’t help but feel excited about the plans. I raced around the room, throwing as much as I could in my suitcase. There would be time at home for me to sort everything out properly. My uniform was hanging up, and I checked it was ready for me to change into when we got back.
“You’re cabin crew?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. Come on, let’s go.” His stomach rumbled again.
As we left the room, Antonio took my hand. I looked around to see if any of the crew were about and was relieved the lobby was empty. We walked to his car, and even though I asked him where we were going, he shook his head. As we went down the road, the ocean was all I could see. There was something different about being by the ocean. I flew over it all the time, but didn’t get to see it much, especially when flying to cities. Of course, I’d been to some of the Caribbean destinations, but it had been a long time since I’d seen the ocean in America. Antonio parked the car and pointed to an Italian restaurant.
“You’re taking me for some home cooking?”
“Something like that.” He smirked.
“Your family don’t work here, do they?”
He didn’t respond.
“Antonio,” a woman cried out as we walked inside. The rest I couldn’t make out, but a woman no taller than five-foot-three, and just as wide, hugged Antonio and kissed his cheek. They spoke in Italian for a couple of minutes, and I took the time to look around the restaurant. Only when she said my name did I look back at them. Antonio was bright red.
“Sorry?” I said and turned to Antonio for answers.
“You the one who’s keeping my boy out all night?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. I tell his mother I keep an eye on him. What you intend with him?”
“Erm.”
“Zia.” Antonio stepped in front of me. “No more, please.”
Zia let out a huge laugh, pushed Antonio out of the way, and wrapped her arms around me. “You be good to him, he is one of a kind.”
Antonio spoke to her in Italian until she let me go, but she took me by the hand to a table.
“You sit here. Best seat in the house for my boy and his boy. What you want to drink?”
I ordered a Coke, and then Antonio spoke with Zia. His faced got redder every time she said something back until she patted him on the shoulder and walked off.
A mixture of feelings washed over me. Had he really brought me to a family place or was this somewhere he knew. Who was Zia, and was she really going to tell his mother?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think my aunt would have been here. I would have gone somewhere else, but I was craving some home-cooked food.”
“That’s your aunt, Zia?”
He cocked his head. “No, her name is Luisa. Zia is aunt. I thought you spoke some Italian?”
I shook my head. “No, a couple of words, nothing much at all.”
He nodded and held out his hands to me. I hesitated before I took them.
“Why did you bring me here? Do you bring all your one-night stands to your family restaurant?”
“You’re not a one-night stand.”
“What am I then?”
“Someone I will see again, and again.”
“What makes you so sure?” I smiled at his confidence and danced inside to know he wanted more than one night.
“The way you look at me. You know there’s more than just sex here.”
It took me a while before I nodded.
“I like you. The moment I saw you, I knew. I was, how do you English say, gutted to see you with that man. But I was so happy you came back last night. Even if I was an idiot.”
“You were a bit.”
I laughed when he balked at me, and then squeezed his hand. I liked how warm his hands were.
Luisa returned with our drinks, and spoke in Italian with Antonio before leaving again.
“Isn’t she going to take our order?” I hadn’t even had a chance to look at a menu.
“No, she has something coming for us.”
“What if I don’t like it?”
“Eat it anyway if you want to leave with balls.”
I stared at him, not sure whether to take him seriously or not. He didn’t laugh or smile or anything. Luisa returned and slapped him round the head.
“I heard that. Don’t worry, Max. I won’t take your balls. He likes them too much. I have some good pizza coming; give you energy for more sex.”
“Zia!”
Luisa cackled with laughter and left us again.
“You’re trouble, aren’t you?”
“You’re too easy.”
“I am not.” I huffed and tried to take my hands away. Instead, Antonio stood up and leant across to the table to kiss me. I stood to meet him half way, and then sat back in the chair with a smile.
“What are you doing in LA?” I asked, needing to shift the attention from his lips so my cock wouldn’t get excited in his family restaurant.
“I will tell you what, but not why. Okay?”
“Okay.” I was even more intrigued now.
“Good. I’m living the dream. I have a business with my brother. He manages it all in Italy, I do the online stuff. I can be anywhere in the world, so I came to visit my aunt and cousins some years ago, and never went back.”
“Do you work here?”
Antonio laughed. “No. Zia fired me an hour into my first shift.”
“What happened?”
“I poured drinks down a customer.”
“On purpose?”
“Yes. He pinched my ass.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“The problem was it was a large table, and Luisa had to give them all free dessert. She wasn’t happy with me, even though I paid for it all. I didn’t want her to lose out. I do their marketing now. It keeps me out of the restaurant, unless I come to eat.”
“But you’re not going to tell me why you’re here?”
“Not yet. Soon though. I don’t want to spoil the date.”
“We’re having a date?”
“Of course we are.”
“We’ve already had sex though. Don’t people normally have a date and then sex?”
“We do that later, but it’s not sex when there’s feeling to it.”
The matter of fact tone had me wondering what exactly he meant. There was feeling there, for sure, and I liked it. I hadn’t expected him to say it.
“Your turn. You’re cabin crew? Is that what you want to be doing?”
I took my time in answering. He had held back, and there were aspects of life I didn’t want to bring into our date, but I wanted to give him something more than I would normally.
“I want to fly.”
“You fly already.”
I shook my head. “No, I work on a plane. I want to fly the plane.”
“Like a pilot?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I love to be in the air, but I don’t want to be serving coffee for the rest of my days. I want to watch as the land disappears underneath us and the plane soars into the sky. Not watching the people in front of me that I have to serve and look after for the next eight hours or so.”
“I’m sure you’d be sexy in a pilot’s uniform.” He licked his lips.
&nb
sp; “Please don’t tell me you want me to put my uniform on and parade in front of you.”
“Of course not. Maybe when you are captain though.” He winked at me.
I flushed at his comments and sat back in my chair, not sure what to do with all he had said.
“Can you fly then?”
It took me a moment to comprehend what he had said, and then I shook my head. “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”
“Good. You should fly.”
Luisa turned up with pizza. A large pizza with a variety of meats, peppers and other vegetables that smelt delicious.
She wished us “Buon appetito!” and I thanked her before I dove in and grabbed a slice. The taste exploded over my tongue and I tried to get as much in as I could. I must have looked a sight when Antonio chuckled. “Good?”
I nodded in response.
“What you need to do to fly?” he asked me.
I chewed and swallowed as fast as I could to answer his question. Except I noticed how dark his eyes got as he watched me. I emphasised the movement. He looked away then back to me. His eyes were still dark but had a slight twinkle to them.
“I need to take some exams, things I didn’t do too well at when I was in school.”
“Why didn’t you do well?”
“Long story?”
“Okay, when will you take the exams?”
“I need to sign up first. With this job, it’s a bit more difficult.”
“Find another way then.”
“There isn’t.”
“You sure? You don’t seem like a guy that walks away easily.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You kept coming for me, despite me knocking you back.”
I soured at the thought. It wasn’t the best example he could have given me.
“I mean in a good way. Don’t be sad. It shows me you go for what you want.”
“I guess so.” I took another mouthful of pizza and hoped he would drop the question. The truth was I had investigated becoming a pilot. There were many ways, I could even apply through the airline for the trainee pilot programme, but the basic requirements didn’t seem possible for me.
We continued to make our way through the pizza, Antonio putting away a lot more than I did, but he said he needed it for later. I raised my eyebrows at him, but he assured me he had rugby practice.
We finished the pizza, said goodbye to Luisa with a promise I would visit the next time I was in LA, and headed back to the hotel. Antonio held my hand the whole way, and while I thought about how many times I’d had some fling or other when I was away, this was different.
“Where do you fly to next?” he asked as we walked to my room.
“Vegas, on Sunday.”
“Okay. You have a boyfriend there?”
“No,” I cried out.
“Good. I will come see you there.”
I stopped walking and stared at him.
“I’m not joking. I will meet you. Maybe drive, who knows. I’ll get a nice hotel.”
“I’ll have a hotel room.”
“I will get a better one.” He gave me a playful grin, and I knew he was telling the truth. I kissed him. I didn’t care who was around. Someone wanted to see me, which made all the difference in the world.
When we made it back to the hotel room, our clothes were dispensed of in quick succession. I couldn’t stand anything touching me, other than Antonio. It wasn’t sex, but it wasn’t lovemaking either. It was hot, needful and fulfilling. I cried his name when he made me come, and he grunted mine when I drew his orgasm out of him.
He left my room an hour later. We’d made sure our numbers were saved in each other’s phones. We had fooled around, taking pictures of each other, nothing rude, but something that would remind us of our time together, and a promise for something more on Sunday.
Showered and ready to go, I took one last look around the room to make sure I had everything. There was a piece of paper on the desk – Antonio’s number. I picked it up, and even though I had it in my phone, I wanted to keep a memento too.
Chapter Ten
The rest of the crew were in the lobby when I arrived. I checked my watch to confirm I wasn’t late, but I caught Jane checking her watch. Her smirk looked strange, as though she knew what I’d been up to. I was jarred out of my thoughts when Danny waved his hand in my face.
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been texting and calling you, and I banged on your door, even though the privacy sign was on there.”
“I must have been out.”
His eyes narrowed, widened, and then his mouth dropped. “You went out with him?”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and proceeded to fill him in on all the details he asked for, and in turn questioned him about his night with Brandon when we boarded the bus for the airport. Turns out this LA trip had been good for both of us.
My phone buzzed as soon as I entered the briefing room. Antonio had sent me a photo of him outside on a rugby pitch. I recognised a couple of the other guys there, along with the familiar blue and white striped rugby shirts.
Told you I had practice today.
I smiled as I replied with a wink and a kiss.
Danny jabbed me in the ribs.
“What?”
Danny pointed towards Jane.
“If you’re ready, Max, we’ll begin the briefing.”
“Sorry, Jane,” I said as I put my phone away.
Jane launched into the regular spiel about the upcoming flight and confirmed that the assignments would be the same as coming out here, with one switch around.
“Max, you will join me in First tonight, and Sophie you’ll be in Premium.”
Danny clapped my shoulder and I stared at Jane. Had she really done it, had she really put me up into First? I walked over to her.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Don’t fuck it up. As I told you before, you need to do a good job here for me to undo what Graham has done.”
“Was I that bad?” A small voice interrupted us.
“Not at all, Sophie. You do need some more training and Max has done all of that. I’ve already filed the recommendations for you to get the training you need. You’ll be up in First in no time, I’ll see to it.”
Sophie nodded but didn’t look up. She mumbled congratulations to me then walked out with Amy, who was also working Premium. It was sad to see her dejected, but I was giddy at the prospect of working First. As it was a night flight, most of the passengers would be asleep anyway.
“Thanks, Jane,” I said.
“You’ll do good, or I’ll be after your balls, you hear me?”
I laughed, but quickly stepped back when her hand flew out towards my genitals.
“You’re too easy, Max.” She laughed as she walked out of the room.
“Why does everyone go for my balls and say I’m too easy?” I asked Danny.
He shrugged as we left the briefing room with the rest of the crew. Danny didn’t stop talking all the way to the plane, and he told me in detail about his second date with Brandon, and then lamented on how I’d met Antonio.
“James having to take his gran to hospital worked out well for you then.”
“Gran to hospital?”
“That’s why you swapped, isn’t it?”
“Oh.” I recovered myself having forgotten the lie James had told to get my flight swapped. “Yeah, it did.” I said as we headed our separate ways on the plane.
My flight in First was eventful. Part of me wished I was back in Premium where the passengers actually slept. I was sure my friends had told me lies when they’d said First passengers were easy to deal with. Despite it being a night flight, according to American time, the passengers were up and about as much as the crew. When we landed at Heathrow, I breathed a sigh of relief. The sun was low in the sky, so it meant my body would recognise night-time and I would be able to sleep. My phoned buzzed as soon as I took it off aeroplane mode, a notification from Antonio set the bu
tterflies free in my stomach as I opened his text message.
There were some silly pictures of him at rugby practice, and then one of him in the locker room, alone. I closed it before anyone looked over my shoulder, and when I was sure no one was around, I opened it again. He only wore a smile. I replied with a heart-eyed emoticon and closed my phone.
Back home, James told me the fuss Graham had made about the swapping of flights. There was something James wasn’t telling me though, and it took a few attempts before he told me how he’d met someone on the flight. James was worried about telling me, because I was meant to be on that flight and could have had an opportunity with his new guy. Under normal circumstances, I would have been pissed off. Yet I’d got to meet Antonio, and with the picture of him in the locker room in my mind, I knew I’d done alright out of it.
I stayed awake as much as I could and went to bed at ten, but at two o’clock in the morning I woke up. Lying still, I willed myself back to sleep, but knew my body well enough to know it had had the rest it needed for now, and I would need to do something before I could go back to sleep. I picked up my phone and looked back at the message from Antonio. I studied the picture and was reminded of how his body felt: every curve, the warmth of his skin, the softness of the hair on his body, the way he’d held me.
The phone buzzed, and I’d dropped it before I realised I’d received a message. Antonio.
You’re awake?
Yeah. Joy of the job. How are you?
Good. Can you talk?
Yes.
FaceTime activated on my phone and his gorgeous smile filled the screen.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hey, how was your day?”
“Good. I’m getting ready for Flamingos.”
My gut clenched. “Okay, have fun.”
“Are you jealous?” He laughed.
“No. Yes. Maybe.” I shook my head and chuckled.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kiss anyone there.”
“It’s okay; we aren’t a couple or anything. You can do what you want.”
“I want you.”
My breath hitched in my throat, but I couldn’t think of a reply. I stared at his grainy image on my phone, was he going to laugh again or was he telling the truth, I couldn’t tell.
“What you doing?” he asked.
Up in the Air 2: West Coast Page 7
