Crushing on Royalty (The Cuttings #1) [To Be Reconstructed]

13 | Let It Bloom

I fidgeted a little in my seat, stopping cold when my hand gripped something strong and warm, lean and fit. I lazily traced a finger on it, feeling a hill bulge from my fingertip, clearly an unmistakable muscle.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to check who I was snuggling.

It was -- oh, crap. Michael.

As if he was toxic, I jumped back in my seat, away from his presence. He was sleeping, so I quietly slipped my arm away from his.

For a moment, I looked at him, sleeping soundly without so much as a tiny breath coming through his nose. He didn't snore, and that was a miracle for a guy. Well, for guys I knew. Even my baby brother snored like the world was going to shatter.

Our chairs were leaned back to the fullest, so I had to pull mine up. A blanket was wrapped around me, then I covered myself tighter to protect myself from the cold.

Checking my crappy phone, I saw that it was already nine o'clock in the evening. We'd been in the air for three hours and I didn't die...

But that didn't mean I was still not terrified of the demonic flying machine in the air with me inside it, along with everyone else. When I opened my window, I saw everything was blue, black, and grey. Actually, it was so boring.

Although it was better than seeing planes crashing in the air and --

God, I had to stop thinking about that.

Closing the window flap with a loud jut, I felt someone tapping my shoulder and saw that it was Caroline, flight attendant extraordinaire. She was smiling down at me with understanding hazel eyes, a light green mug held in her right hand with black lettering, saying, Always Smile with a yellow smiley at the middle. She handed it to me.

"Here's the drink I wanted to give you. You've been asleep for quite a while so I didn't want to bother you. This is my mug, but I want you to have it for the moment. It's always been my favorite, but...yeah. I hope you forget about your fear and just smile and feel calm, all right?"

I stared at her with her mug in my hands. Usually, flight attendants gave their passengers Styrofoam cups for their drinks, or even plastic ones. But Caroline was kind enough to give me her favourite mug.

I felt so touched that I had to sniff even though this was so corny on so many different levels. I'd been very emotional on this plane, really. It was kind of annoying, but what could I do? I hated the plane.

"Thanks," I mumbled, taking a sip of some kind of hot chocolate mix.

Yay!

"Is this Swiss Miss?" I suddenly asked, curiously.

"Even better, I daresay," Caroline said cheekily. "Cadbury."

I grinned from ear-to-ear when I tasted the milk chocolate washing down my throat. "I've been thinking about this drink," I confessed, wiping the corners of my lips with two fingers. "Thanks so much. It's like you read my mind."

Caroline chuckled. "Don't mention it! I told you it'll make you feel better. Hot chocolate makes me feel like that when I feel awful. It's just factory-made chocolate, but to me, it has something else that's good. Also," she went on, pointing a thumb toward a sleeping Michael, "I didn't want wake you up because this lad seemed to be handling the situation with you quite nicely. He even said sweet words to calm you, actually."

Really? I started blinking.

"You just didn't hear him because you fell asleep the moment your head fell in contact with his chest. Everyone saw it, not that I want to embarrass you or make you blush" -- which, really, I was already feeling heat creeping up my pale cheeks -- "but it's true. We all thought it was very sweet of him. He didn't care if all of us saw it. He just comforted and hugged you. You've got a fine bloke in your life, miss. He's a keeper."