I slam the locker closed and throw a searching eye down the aisle. My glance first fixes on the little girl from the queue; she smiles up at me, in her arms is cradled the Bratz doll. I'm relieved to see it's the full doll, no soft toy body - phew.
I'm about to take off down the aisle, but Kade, sensing my flight, grabs my arm, "leave it. There's no point confronting her on a packed flight," he says, pulling me back into my seat.
It's kinda hard to relax, knowing her hand and arm are rummaging around above us, and the rest of her is somewhere else on this plane.
But, I distract myself by looking at the menu, "Mmmmm, Chicken Goulash or Beef Goulash, so much choice I don't know what to choose," I jest.
......
"This is surprisingly good," says Kade, taking a mouthful of chicken stew from its foil container.
"Not as good as this," I say, taking a second slug of full fat ice-cold-coke. Kade takes a slug, "Tell me about it. It's been so long since I drank this stuff that I'd forgotten how good trash tastes," he says, savouring the drink like it's a glass of vintage champagne.
He raises his glass toward me, "Here's to a great trip," he brushes the plastic glass against mine in a celebratory gesture and as he does a feeling of relaxation sweeps over me, "Absolutely." I say, repeating the cup clinking routine, "And I'm not gonna let no disembodied arm or loopy Lucindy spoil it for us," I smile, confidently.
......
"Spaseeba," says the chisel jawed and smiling flight attendant as he takes away our completed food trays.
"Hey, I saw that," says Kade, nudging his shoulder into mine.
I jump, "What did you see?" I ask, looking over my shoulder, ever alert.
Kade nods toward the attendant, "You, locking lusty eyes with him," he says, with a playful wink.
"No way!" I was actually thinking how fake he looked," I laugh.
Kade returns the chuckle, "Total plastic fantastic." He leans back, "Anyways, it was obvious he was checking me out. He found me hot as hell, couldn't keep his eyes off of me," he says, with a confident smirk.
I nudge him back, "Get outta here, he was looking at me the whole time," I say. Kade lifts a lazy arm and presses the 'call button.' "What do you want?" The service is finished," I ask, puzzled. Kade stretches, "I just wanna ask Mr plastic fantastic who he finds the hottest, me or you," he says, stretching out his legs.
When I see the attendant rushing towards our seats a mild panic takes over, "Please Kade, stop it, don't draw attention to us," I plead.
"Relax, most gay guys love the attention, lets hope he's one of em," he smiles.
"No, don't..."
...it's too late, the attendant presents Kade with his full wattage smile, "How can I help sir?" He asks. Kade sits up, "I just wondered, in terms of hot..."
..."don't be silly Kade," I interrupt.
Kade looks at me, indignation in his eyes, "Me, silly, never." He smiles at the attendant, "Let's talk hot." The attendant looks confused as Kade takes the cardboard cup from his tray, "My coffee's cold, can you get me a hot one," he says, winking at me.
......
I pull my armrest up and lie back into Kade. He lifts his arms and puts them around me, clasping them at my chest. Kade continues to chuckle at the attendant's expense, "He's so pruned and over groomed," he says. His words remind me of something good, "Aaaaaah, grooming, I'm so looking forward to some of that in the hotel: a hot bath, with bubbles and lotions and potions to indulge in," I say, wishing the moment closer. Kade wraps his arm's tighter around me, "You bet, a long and luxurious grooming session is the first thing on our itinerary," he says, his voice suddenly sleepy.
