Publicity

Chapter 17: Secret Crush

I sat on top of my suitcase in a semi-deserted corner of the airport Somehow, Ray and I had managed to convince, not only our moms but also my grandparents, that a trip to California would be a good idea.  Therefore, here we were.

It was 9 pm, waiting to board our private flight. Ray was somewhere talking to his mom saying we were coming. This trip was pretty much to benefit him. I felt bad that this past week had been all about me. He deserved to do something for himself.

"Excited for this trip?" Somehow my mom had managed to make her way over to me in the time span where I had completely zoned out.

I looked up at her and smiled lightly. "Yeah. It's gonna be nice to get out of the ATL for a while."

"Some place in LA is definitely more calm." She nodded.

"I'm excited." I grinned. "Not too excited for the plane ride though." I hated flying with a passion. No matter how many times I've traveled by plane, I will never get used to it. I literally have a panicked attack every time. My paranoia kicks in and I just think of worst case scenarios.

"I forgot you dont like flying?" She asked.

"I hate it, especially night flights because everyone falls asleep and I'm the only one awake. It's impossible for me to sleep on a plane." I explained.

"Don't worry. Everything's gonna be , alright." She laughed and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Private flights are a little more comfortable. You'll see." I simply nodded, hoping she was right.

"Our flights ready. Let's go!" Ray yelled, his excitement practically causing him to jump up and down. I laughed lightly. This trip to Cali was definitely gonna be..... interesting.

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"Please buckle in your seat belts. We are about to take off. As soon as we are up in the air a green light will appear, letting you know that it's okay to unbuckle and move around. Enjoy the flight." The pilots voice sounded smooth over the speakers. I felt my hands get shaky as nervous butterfly's filled my stomach.

"Are you okay?" Ray asked. I was seated beside Ray, and I was still debating if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Good thing, he could possibly calm me down during the flights. Bad thing, I looked like a complete idiot right now.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, looking out the little window to my right.

I felt Ray's fingers slide through mine. "You don't like flying. Do you?" He questioned. I shook my head while biting my lip. "It's okay." He promised, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "Just try to relax." I did as told, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I felt the plane start to take off and an unexpected squeal escaped my lips. I hid my face in Ray's shoulder, feeling safer that way.

Ray chuckled and rubbed my lower back with his free hand. "Nique, it's okay." I didn't reply. I was going to stay in this position until we were up in the air.

After what felt like years, the pilots voice leaked from the speakers. "We're now in flight. Feel free to move around and use your Wi-Fi." I reluctantly detached myself from Ray. I reached forward and pulled out my iPad to go on Wattpad.

"You're seriously gonna read?" Ray laughed while pulling out his Mac Book.

"You're seriously gonna waste your time on the internet?" I mocked.

"The internet has endless ways for me to entertain myself." He defended. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the screen clicking on this Urban book I've been reading for the past few weeks.

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I had been so caught up in this book, that I hadn't even noticed we had already been on this flight for 2 hours. The various snores bellowing through the plane confirmed my guess that everyone had fallen asleep. I glanced to my left, noticing Ray was very much awake. His face was lit up by his computer screen with a faint smile painted across his lips. Every once in a while, his fingers would dance across the keyboard. My curiosity getting the better of me, I snuck a look at his screen. He was iChatting with, I'm guessing Jacob, considering his username was princemisfit. He always considered himself that. I looked closer, without making it obvious, and began reading their conversation.