the kink club • luke hemmings ✔️

25. the one where sophie has a boyfriend.

chapter twenty-five:
the one where sophie has a boyfriend.

Airplanes make me sick. I don't know why I agreed to catching a plane to Orlando in the first place, but now, as I stand over the small sink of the cubicle, I really wish I hadn't.

It's not so much the turbulence that gets to me as it is the thought of being so high up in the air. I don't like the feeling of having space to move yet being trapped at the same time. I don't like knowing that the window can burst open at any given moment now and suck us all out, into a sky-filled oblivion with only god knows what's beneath.

I don't like having Luke beside me, sleeping, his head lolling against my shoulder and his perfect lips parted in the most attractive way. I don't like knowing that once he wakes up, he'll remember, remember how it's 'complicated' and remember how much I'm trying to push him away despite wanting anything but.

The sky is clear and the clouds run past the little plane windows in a blur, mirroring cotton embedded into blue. I step out of the small cubicle, and into the aisles. Carefully, I walk back to my seat.

There aren't that many people on this flight and I guess it's because they're already where they need to be. If you're staying somewhere for Christmas, you book a flight before. If you're hoping to get there for the New Year, you book a little while later. And if you're hoping to attend a wedding you want no part in, you chose nearest flight available now.

When I get back to the seat, Luke's got his head propped up on his hand, boredly watching the little screen in front of him. He shifts his legs to the side, creating just enough space for me to sit down in my original place next to the window.

We have an hour left until the plane lands in Orlando, an hour I want to spend fast asleep if possible. Luke extends his arm, draping it across my shoulders. He smiles faintly at me.

"You tired?" he asks.

I can't help but yawn, nodding my head lightly. "A little."

"Come on," he murmurs, planting a small kiss on my forehead. It's stuff like this that makes me feel even guiltier for acting as if I don't like him like that. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we land."

"I'm not sleepy," I say back, wrapping my arm around his torso. I pull him closer to me, thankful for the fact that being so high up in the air has removed any awkward tension between us.

"Your eyes are red."

"Yours are blue."

"How are you so stubborn, even up here?" he asks me, a little entertained.

"It's a gift." I yawn, and he laughs.

"Well, I can't exactly make you go to sleep," Luke sighs playfully, resting his chin on top of my head and turning his attention back to the movie. "So alright."

In front of us, and while he's looking away, Bailey does a double take. She gives me a smug smirk, amused at the position we're in, and I'd flip her off right this very second if I didn't want to ruin the somewhat peaceful moment.

"Get some," she mouths.

"Shut up." I mouth back.

Two hours pass by unbelievably fast when you're concentrating on one person the entire time, taking in every little thing they're doing. In my case, it's Luke; and once the pilot announces the landing times, I have to rip my eyes away from how his long fingers are tapping against the armrest, creating a soft, unpredictable rhythm.

There isn't a single part of him that I don't find attractive. I've been trying to convince myself that Luke Hemmings isn't anything special for a while now, and the mere thought of not being able to spot a sole flaw in him worries me.