Love at a Higher Altitude

‘All passengers are requested to fasten their seat belts.’ a dignified female’s voice echoed through the plane aisle.

‘We shall be taking off from Dubai International Airport in the next 10 minutes and reach Heathrow Airport in an estimated 7 hours. Enjoy your flight.’ She ended in a chirpy tone.

Goodbye vacation, Cherie sighed inwardly and reached for her seat belt to fasten it. It was 2.45am. She already longed for the exotic shores of Arabian Peninsula, to feel the heat of the golden sun and sand. She never assumed she would actually enjoy her 2 weeks stay in Dubai.

She glanced at the empty seat next to her and wondered who shall be her partner this time.

Just that minute, a tall well built man towered above the seat next to hers confirming the seat no.

He shoved his handbag inside the passenger cabinet above and plopped onto the seat next to Cherie’s. He unlocked the mini table in front of him, switched on his laptop and disappeared into his work without a glance towards his partner.
Oh well so much for the niceties, she thought. The strong spicy scent that wore around him almost intoxicated her nerves. She stretched out in her seat and diverted her eyes to the images outside her window. The runaway was glowing with neon lights, stretching its brightness to the sky. She always experienced nervousness when the plane was on the brink off a take-off or landing. As the plane moved slowly, she felt her nerves reacting immediately. She closed her eyes and reached for the arms of the seat to support her. Her heart pounding harder as she felt the plane adjust its position in the air. She opened her eyes slowly to look out of the window and all she could see was a dim orange reflection of the plane inside.

‘Err…Excuse Me’, she heard a deep voice sloughing through her nervousness.
She turned her head to see herself staring into a pair of dark eyes, eyes the colour of mocha. She looked at the man next to her lost for words.

‘As….’ He cleared his throat, ‘As much as I would like to consider myself irresistible to the opposite gender, I wonder if your grabbing my arm had anything to do my charms’, he gestured to her hands on his arm, a devilish smile, appearing around the corners of his mouth.

She immediately removed her hand, her face burning with embarrassment. She felt a flush of heat race through her, ‘Uh..I..I’m sorry’ she managed to whisper.
‘Fear of flying, eh?’ he raised his eyebrows, ‘I thought so’, he chuckled at her nod.
To pretend as if it was nothing, she fidgeted through her handbag for a novel. Anything to do that would dilute the effects of this moment. She pretended to divulge in her reading, hoping to wear her eyes out into slumber to soothe her embarrassment. After a futile struggle, she dared to sneak a glance at her neighbor who was deeply engrossed in whatever glowed on the screen.

He has a nice profile, she thought. He had short dark hair, similar to his eye colour. His nose straight and aristocratic, rooming a pair of glasses. A well sculpted masculine jaw, lined under tiny stubble and an extremely sexy mouth that carried the deep smooth voice threatening to melt any senses. She noticed a deep scar lining on his neck and wondered how far down it went as it was hidden by the collar of his shirt. She realized that she was still staring at him, or rather at his scar when he turned his head towards her and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

She mumbled an apology and went back to her pretense of reading, why can’t I just go to sleep?!

He gazed at her intently. She has a nice profile, he echoed the same thought. When she had suddenly grabbed his arm, he had felt a sudden jolt of electric current shoot right up to his arm. That had certainly taken him up by surprise, since he had least bothered to notice who was sitting next to him. He had turned to see her, her eyes shut nervously. A lock of fair hair teased her cheek, restricting his view of her face. A perverse thought of actually lifting her hair to see her face knocked his mind! When he spoke to her, he found himself staring into a pair of very aquatic eyes. Lost for words for a moment there, he quickly regained his composure. He probed further when she continued staring at him but was rewarded with another apology.

He tried to focus his attention back to what he was working on. But after tapping aimlessly on his keyboard he snapped off the laptop, took off his glasses and turned to her, ‘You know since we are flight partners and it is a long flight back, we might as well introduce ourselves. I am Michael Stanford.’ He extended his hand for a shake.

Cherie smiled hesitantly and shook his hand, ‘I’m Cherie Wainthropp.’
The moment their hands shook, they both felt it. The same jolt of current he felt earlier. They both stared at each other in surprise, Cherie withdraw her hand abruptly. He gave a slow nervous laugh.

Their discomfort was interrupted by the flight attendant offering the routine rounds of refreshments, which was highly appreciated.

After a prolonged silence, they mumbled an apology in unison. A few more fumbling of words and the tension between them eased out ultimately.

‘So what bought you to Dubai?’ he prodded hoping to get to know her further.
‘A vacation, I was here to visit my parents who live in Dubai’, she replied taking a sip of her soda.

‘You live alone here in London then?’ he asked rather surprised, noting her ring less finger. He wondered why an attractive woman like her was still single.

‘Yes,’ she heard a note of surprised in his voice. ‘Why does that surprise you?’
‘No reason at all, just asking.’ He shrugged it off.

‘Well my parents shifted to Dubai couple of years back, I wasn’t keen on re-locating and starting all over so I refused. Besides I had just gotten my fine arts degree and an offer to display my works on regular basis at an art gallery in London, so all the more reasons to stay back.’ She explained.

‘So what about you, what made you come half way across the globe’, she smiled settling the question on him.

’Well unlike yours, mine was an official excursion. I came here to sign a deal for my software company. Now that it’s sealed, I can finally drink to success.’ He raised his glass to hers in gesture of a toast. ‘Care to join me?’

Cherie couldn’t help smiling and raised her glass in return,’ To success.’

‘And….to new acquaintances,’ Michael added with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. To that Cherie’s broke into laughter.

The next few hours of the journey flew smoothly. Their acquaintance paced a step forward, the physical attraction that sparkled earlier continued to glow with intensity. Their conversation glimmered with silent whispers of humor and seriousness, balanced equally. They were so engrossed with each other that they seemed unperturbed and oblivious to the passengers around them. Sleep finally conquered Cherie while she was in the middle of discussing the basic elements of arts that are now replaced with modern technology.

When she returned to the living world, she realized she had dozed off on Michael’s shoulder. To her relief she noticed Michael asleep and unaware of her actions. She couldn’t bring herself to stop staring at him. Her heart beat accelerating a step faster. She fingered the deep scar on his neck ever so gently and removed it quickly when he stirred slightly. Though he never mentioned the story behind his scar, she couldn’t help wondering.

With a sigh she turned to look out of the window. The sky was now a spread out of grayish white cotton sprinkled with layers of bright golden rays. She peered closely out of the window to see first sign of dawn winking at her. The clouds glided swiftly alongside the plane brushing itself on the exteriors. She gazed at heavens dreamily and smiled, I think I’m falling for Michael.

Michael woke up to find Cherie staring out of the window, far away in thoughts. The hidden rays of the sun glistened on her golden hair. Her skin smooth and glowing despite of the long journey. She was curvaceous but on a smaller side, he decided. But what he loved most about her were her eyes, whenever he stared into them he felt himself drowning hypnotically. Damn! He realized, I’m falling for Cherie. He analyzed the odds of developing feelings for someone you just met, on a plane, beyond the real world. But, he decided, I definitely want to see her again and see what these feelings mould into.

The rest of the journey was a mixed bag of emotions for both Cherie and Michael. Neither talking much but could feel each other’s presence. The feeling was like a pulse igniting slowly, enveloping them in a warm cocoon of love. The same thoughts penetrated through their minds, a tiny expectation building into their hearts to follow this trail of new developments to where it leads.

Just then a voice announced their landing schedule interrupting their thoughts. The shuffling on the seats and the clicking of the seat belts bought them back to reality. Though she would prefer the comfort of her apartment, Cherie found herself well-settled in the plane. The idea of leaving this haven suddenly seemed alien to her. Must be the lack of oxygen getting to me, she shook her head to discard the silly thought. But she already knew the reason for feeling this way. Michael.
Cherie’s nerves threatened to waver off as soon as the plane was on a brink of landing. But this time, Michael spotted the tense on her face and reached for her hand. Cherie looked at him in surprise but he only smiled in return. This was just the beginning.

The aftermath of the higher altitude suddenly gripped her body. As soon as she put her feet on the ground she felt everything spin around her. She somehow managed to control herself and completed the regular airport formalities. She made her way to the baggage claim counter to collect her luggage along with Michael.

On reaching the airport exit door they both stood still, not attempting to depart. The airport was bustling with people arriving and departing but neither wanted to say goodbye to each other yet and let this momentum pass away. This journey had kindled unexpected emotions that promised to spread out its wings and explore. They stared at each other for a long time, each wanting to say something but unable to speak the words aloud. Michael finally broke into the unspoken words.
‘So this is it?’ he said looking around him.

‘Hmm…, oh yes. This is it’, Cherie answered absently.
‘Cherie…..’
‘Michael…’
They both spoke in unison and stopped, waiting for the other to continue until Michael spoke once again.

‘Cherie, I……, he took a deep breath, ‘I know this may sound a little absurd considering the situation but I think I’m attracted to you and…….and I would love to meet you again. If it’s alright with you of course? He looked at her expectantly.
Cherie looked at him, eyes wide and shocked. She smiled and nodded an approval.
‘It’s a date then,’ he confirmed. He bent his head towards her to plant a slow feathery kiss onto her lips and lingered there for a moment before raising his head.
He pulled out his business card and jolted down his private numbers, ‘Call me sometime soon.’

Michael picked up his luggage and walked towards the permanent parking area. He turned and waved at Cherie. Call me, he signaled once again and disappeared into the crowd.

Cherie’s heart pulsated at a different beat and a sudden flush of heat passed through her body. She stared at the business card he had given her. Oh yes, I will definitely meet him again. On that note she picked up her luggage and walked into the crowd smiling her heart out.

Tags: Fiction, Romance, Short Stories

Category: Short Stories