Coffee and Cockpits by Jade Hart

on the captain as he shuffled paperwork in his hands.
    “We’ve been reassigned. We aren’t flying back to New Zealand. We’re taking over for a crew who’ve become violently ill with food poisoning. We’re now flying to Samoa, before overnighting in Sydney again.” He looked at Liam. “We need to revise the flight plans and talk to operations.” Glancing at Sam, Jos, and I, he added, “We’ll see you on the plane. Head to gate fifty-seven.”
    Liam shrugged. “Work has begun, ladies. See you on the otherside.”
    The moment Liam rounded the corner, Joslyn pounced on me. “Oh my God, did you sleep with my brother?”
    “What? No! He saved me from being the latest hosty in history. That’s all.”
    Samantha rested her head on my shoulder. “But he’s so dreamy… you weren’t tempted to sneak a kiss in the taxi at least?”
    Snorting, I stretched. My corset was extremely tight. I hadn’t had time to eat last night after dancing, and with my mad rush this morning, I hadn’t had breakfast either. I’d pulled the boning tight in the hopes the laces would squeeze my stomach into thinking it was smaller and therefore full.
    “No, there was no temptation. He’s a colleague. A pilot. Also known as a ‘no touching zone’.”
    Samantha rolled her dark eyes. “As much as I want to talk about boys, we better head to the plane.”
    Joslyn pranced to the door. “You chickies ready to serve coffee at ten thousand feet?”
    Samantha grinned, lugging her baggage behind her. “Yep. You girls are my minions to boss around, seeing as I’m the senior attendant. Let’s hope you’re fully-fledged flighties and qualified to serve hot drinks in the sky.”
    I squeezed her, trepidation swimming in my veins.  “When do we find out if we passed the line exam or not?”  
    “Maybe on the flight?” Sam shrugged and the three of us hurried through the terminal and toward our aircraft. Why an airport was called a terminal I had no idea. The word conjured death in my mind—like terminal cancer or illness. The airport should be called ‘escaping your real life building’ or something more upbeat.
    I was struck with a sudden thought. “Hey, Sam? Where did you get to last night?”
    Joslyn answered for her. “Oh, you don’t know? Sam has a friend in the city. She stayed with him.” She made kissing noises and ducked Sam’s cat-swipe.
    “He’s gay, Joslyn. And a childhood friend.”
    Joslyn nodded. “Uh huh. Sure… gay.”
    We laughed as we entered the air bridge. It reeked of disinfectant, and a pretty Asian woman in an airport uniform smiled when we crossed the threshold of the aircraft. “You have one hundred and thirty-seven passengers today. No VIP’s or UM’S.
    Thank God for that. I didn’t feel like sucking up to any VIP, and I definitely couldn’t face an unaccompanied minor—also known as unaccompanied monster.
    Samantha took the manifest while Joslyn and I stowed our bags. I smoothed my roughly-done ponytail as the pilots arrived on board. Both Anderson and Liam wore their blazers and hats. The gold thread glinted expensively from the midnight fabric. My mouth dried up, unable to tear my eyes away from the resplendent vision of Liam in his uniform.
    Anderson smiled at us before disappearing into the cockpit.
    Liam paused. “Nina. Can I have a word?” 
    My heart kick-started, but I remained unruffled, which was hard against his manly, piloty perfection. Again my heart did a stupid swoon and I straightened. A piece of corset boning dug into my side, and I used it as a distraction against his deliciousness.
    I was turning into a tramp. My attraction to Nikolai last night wasn’t normal and the moment I was around Liam my body took over to become a tightly wound Liam-awareness fanatic. I really needed to get it under control.
    “Sure. What about?” My voice was professional and warm. I silently praised myself for my composure.
    “Can we go down to the rear galley?”
    My eyes shot down the aisle.