Olivia swung her boots under the chair.
Her friend took notice. “Are you five?”
“I feel like it. God, we’ve been here for what, four hours?” Olivia asked, impatiently.
“Try one hour”, Alex corrected.
“Whatever. I swear, I’ll die. If not by plane crash, then by-“
“Liv!” Alex said in a hushed tone. “You’ll worry the passengers.”
“Well, it happens”, Olivia said. She looked over her shoulders and around the other people. “Welcome to the real world, folks.” One woman looked up and smiled at her. Olivia nodded toward the woman in response. She turned back to Alex. “Alex, I-“
A monotone, male voice came on over the speakers. “Flight 675 departure to Los Angeles, California, now boarding…”
Olivia couldn’t resist. “You know, that’s awfully close to Flight 575, the one with that zombie disease. You can’t tell me this is not a coincidence, Alex”, she chattered nervously, but of course she was joking.
Of course.
They walked together through the small hallway that would take them to the plane. Alex smiled bashfully at the flight attendant.
Olivia looked at their boarding passes. “Okay, in all seriousness, we are 18B and 18C.” Olivia smiled playfully. “The window seats.”
“You can have the inside since I know you’ll be bored to death in the middle”, Alex said with a smile.
“Thanks counselor, I always knew you as a generous soul.” Olivia quickly made her way to their row and seats. She maneuvered her small frame between the seats and to her place at the window. Alex took her place beside her.
………………….
After fifteen minutes or so, the plane began moving. Alex could see that this sudden movement jolted the detective. “You okay, Liv?” Alex decided on asking.
Olivia gave a small smile. “Yeah”, she whispered. “I’m just not used to flying.”
After only a few moments of deliberation, Alex reached over and took Olivia’s hand in her own. Startled, the older woman looked at Alex with deep, dark, brown eyes. “Thank you because honestly, I-“
Alex cut her off. “Don’t mention it.”
The plane made a wide turn towards the runway. Instinctively, Olivia gripped Alex’s hand tighter. Alex looked down at their intertwined fingers. She was suddenly hyper-aware of Olivia’s bones as they connected with her own. She felt a small jolt of this feeling she couldn’t explain, but couldn’t shake off.
The plane began a rapid acceleration, and so did Alex’s heart rate. She felt Olivia’s pulse throbbing quickly through her veins. Without thinking, Alex ran her slender thumb across the back of Olivia’s smooth hand. Then, both women looked outside of the small, oval shaped window of the aircraft. Alex felt the pull of the force of the plane’s climbing speed in her chest. It took her breath away. But not nearly like the sight of the New York horizon, now a blurring smear of color, as it whizzed past them. They felt the plane’s wheels slowly lift off of the earth, and fold back into the aircraft. Their bodies were pressed against the leather seats and air scarcely moved past their lips. Alex watched as her familiar city disappeared and blended into the pastel-blue skyline. But nothing, no feeling could take her breath away like the feeling of Olivia’s hand in her own; and for once, she was calm, just happy to be there.
…………………..
The still silence of altitude calmed Olivia’s restless soul. It was a different view up here. Here, there were no victims. Cragen wasn’t going to call her to his office and she wouldn’t have to console tearful parents, at least for a while. She couldn’t see tall buildings and she couldn’t hear the sirens. There were just scattered clouds, the light of the golden sun, and Alexandra Cabot in their silent heaven. And for the first time in awhile, that was enough.
……………
A voice soon came over the speakers, saying that they were to begin descent momentarily. Alex looked over at the sleeping detective. She smiled but she didn’t know why. Maybe it’s because Olivia looked so peaceful, like she rarely was. Alex was excited and ready to land, but had this feeling of slight reluctance. Maybe it was because she sensed the serenity of the atmosphere.
Maybe she was scared of never feeling it again.
She watched the rise and fall of Olivia’s chest. She thought about the air in Olivia’s lungs and the blood in her veins. She knows the difference between love and lust. If this were lust, she’d look at her breasts or something, and she doesn’t. This isn’t lust. She doesn’t know what this is.
And that scares the hell out of her.
She knows she can’t think of her friend like this. Maybe twelve or thirteen years of pretending everything was okay between them is coming to a screeching halt. Or maybe, maybe she’s just confused. Olivia fascinates her. But that doesn’t mean she’s in love with one of her best friends.
That reassured her.
Olivia jolted awake.
“We almost there?” Olivia mumbled, the sounds of sleep thick in her voice.
“Yeah, the pilot says we should be going down soon”, Alex replied quickly, averting her eyes to the seat ahead of her.
And in that moment, she realizes that she has got to get her head together.
……………..
The women sat down on a wooden bench, outside the terminal. “Okay, the car we’re looking for is a silver Chrysler; it’s a convertible”, Alex said, looking around.
“There.” Olivia instantly spotted the car; the driver aimlessly driving around. “Damn Alex, that’s a nice car. I hope you don’t have to sacrifice your monthly rent and your left leg to pay for it.”
“Of course not. It’s not like it’s a brand new model, and besides the fact, the dealership I rented the car from is surprisingly cheap”, Alex said, distracted.
“And reliable, I hope?” Olivia asked with doubt.
“Of course”, Alex said.
The driver rounded the corner of the small strip of roadway. The car came to a smooth stop in front of the two.
“And the adventure begins”, Olivia spoke, standing while she talked.