The Sheikh's Rebel (gay) ☑️

18. A new path

Six hours later, Tyler was on a plane. A regular plane this time, although there was nothing ordinary about the seats. Comfortable chairs, excellent service and good food. Tyler had just gotten his breakfast. Pancakes with maple syrup, scrambled eggs with chives and a croissant with strawberry jam. Starved, he attacked.

If his mother had been surprised to see Tyler by her bed side in the middle of the night to tell her he was flying to Brazil, she hid it well. She had helped him with his bag and papers and then went back to bed. He left a note just in case with all the contact details.

Jared was busy at work.
"Don't you ever sleep?" asked Tyler between bites.
"I have learned to adapt my sleep to my circumstances. So when I'm done with my work, I can get a few more hours of sleep before we land, okay?"
"Hey, don't act like I'm a liability. I'm here because you dragged me along." Thoughtless, he rattled on. "And may I remind you that the things you blame me for are all happening in your presence. Maybe it's safer for me to be far away from you. Before I knew you, I had a good and safe life."
Jared pursed his lips dissatisfied. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you kissed me" he harshly rang out.

"What a nice couple you make," smiled the hostess who came to pick up his empty tray.
"Thank you," Tyler responded amused.
Jared looked so angry that she painfully retreated.
"You don't have a sense of humor at all," Tyler pouted reproachfully.
"No," Jared surly confessed to closing his laptop. "I'm going to sleep." He lowered his backrest from his chair.

Tyler was actually tired, too. He might as well try to get his rest.
"The support is collapsible," remarked one attentive passenger as Tyler lay tossing.
"Thank you." As comfortable as in a bed, Tyler fell asleep.

He woke up with a solid body under his head and arm. A desperate sigh escaped his lips. Even unconscious, he was drawn to Jared. Thank God Jared was still in deep sleep. Careful not to wake him up, he broke free from the forbidden embrace.

On the way to the bathroom, he ran into the hostess.

"Sorry from before. My boss can get very angry and has no sense of humor."
The hostess looked at him in amazement. "Your boss?" she asked incredulously.
Tyler hesitated. "Well. It's a little more complicated than that."
She took him in piercingly and then looked past him at a still-dormant Jared. An understanding smile adorned her lips. "He's renting you?"
"What?" Tyler responded with shock. "No." 'Jared would skin him alive if this gossip was given a right to exist.'

He took her by the elbow to a secluded spot. Jennifer, as her name tag read, listened to his story. "I am unlucky that this ruler of a man takes his instructions from the women in our lives a little too literally and so I have to go on a business trip to Brazil" sighed Tyler.
"So his mother, your mother, his grandmother, your girlfriend and his girlfriend put you under his wing?" Jennifer smirked. "That poor man doesn't stand a chance," she ended with a laugh. "Be honest. He's asleep, and you, candy of the week, walk loose through the plane. There's not a person on this plane who would say no to a guy like you." She had a hand slide down his arm. "You're too naïve to make good estimates. So don't lose sight of that man!"

"I wasn't going to let that happen," Tyler heard behind him. He cringed at the sight of Jared's steering face. "I need to pee," he muttered and fled to the toilets.

He cursed in silence. Surely it wasn't his fault that he was handsome and that people went to him. That naive bit was true, but that was because he had little life experience and tried to see the good in people. It were his feelings for Jared that made him most vulnerable. Although he didn't know how, he should find a way to defend himself against these feelings.

They switched from the big plane to a smaller plane that would take them to Jared's uncle's coffee plantation. One of the passengers was an old family friend, who greeted Jared warmly. Much to Jared's annoyance and therefore to Tyler's delight, the man, after a single kind word on his part at their acquaintance, took the time to explain the family background to Tyler.