for first class to board.
I scooted over so that I was next to the outlet. No one was watching me, but I kept my movements small and economical. I popped open the pencil box, evicted the pencils, then unplugged Henry’s phone and dropped it inside. I closed the top of the box, and a red light came on.
So far so good.
Passengers eager to board crowded the aisle, blocking my view of the concession area. It didn’t matter. Assuming Henry hadn’t encountered a wait, which was unlikely, it would still take a few minutes to make the shakes. I had plenty of time.
Still, my heart pounded in my throat.
“Excuse me!” Henry’s voice cut through the hubbub, and I felt myself blanche.
I glanced into my purse. Red light.
Nothing was ever simple. I squatted on the floor and messed with my bag, transferring things from my purse to my carry-on. Messing things up was more like it; my hands shook that badly.
Henry’s feet appeared. “What are you doing?”
I looked up into Henry’s face, smooth as a mask. “Just getting our stuff together.” I smiled, pulled the plug out of the wall and dropped it into my purse. “No milkshakes?”
“When I plug my phone into an outlet, it’s because I need to charge it,” he snapped.
He grabbed at my purse, but I shifted out of his reach. “We’re boarding. I didn’t want it to get forgotten.” Under the circumstances, nonchalance wasn’t easy, but I gave it my best shot. “Should I plug it back in?”
“Yes,” he said icily. “Isn’t that obvious? What are you, stupid?” His voice had only gotten louder since he had snarled at people to get out of his way, and now passengers were staring at us. A guy my age shot me a sympathetic smile, and I wondered if he thought Henry was my father.
I fumbled with my purse, snatched out the charger and practically threw it at him, then thrust my hand in, flipped the top off the box and pulled out the phone.
He grabbed it, stared at it hard. My mouth went dry. “What now?”
“It’s dead.”
I rolled my eyes. “Use mine,” I suggested as Henry jabbed at the power button, then plugged in the phone again. I silently prayed that the program had finished installing before draining the battery.
“Well, if you change your mind and want to borrow mine, you can. But I’m getting in line,” I said. “You can be grumpy over here all by yourself.”
“You can go now.”
I snorted and put some distance between us, then I sent Corbin a text to let him know that maybe the program was on Henry’s phone.
The plane was almost full and Henry was walking down the aisle when I felt Corbin’s phone vibrate with a text.
Henry leaned along the seat-backs in front of me, his face as untroubled as if he hadn’t made a spectacle of himself. “Sorry about your shake. Fifteen people in line ahead of me.”
“Thanks anyway. I’ll get juice after takeoff.”
He gave me a long look, then headed toward the rear of the plane. I exhaled. My shoulders felt like someone had used a crank to ratchet the muscles together. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get them to fully relax.
The flight attendant announced that the cabin door was closed. That meant that Henry couldn’t get up. I quickly checked my phone.
Just the one message, but it made my blood run cold. Do not go home with Henry. He suspects. I will get you. BE CAREFUL.
“Need you to turn that off, miss,” the flight attendant said, a huge smile on his perfectly round face.
“But I thought the rules changed—”
“It’s up to the airline. Our company likes to keep things peaceful.” Bigger smile and a wink.
Rather than complain about the screaming babies on my last flight, I nodded and powered down the phone. It probably didn’t matter if I responded or not; a man who could make texts disappear was surely able to tell if I’d read them.
The flight was too long for me to be as keyed up as I was. Corbin wasn’t an all-caps sort of guy.
I sat still and stared
I scooted over so that I was next to the outlet. No one was watching me, but I kept my movements small and economical. I popped open the pencil box, evicted the pencils, then unplugged Henry’s phone and dropped it inside. I closed the top of the box, and a red light came on.
So far so good.
Passengers eager to board crowded the aisle, blocking my view of the concession area. It didn’t matter. Assuming Henry hadn’t encountered a wait, which was unlikely, it would still take a few minutes to make the shakes. I had plenty of time.
Still, my heart pounded in my throat.
“Excuse me!” Henry’s voice cut through the hubbub, and I felt myself blanche.
I glanced into my purse. Red light.
Nothing was ever simple. I squatted on the floor and messed with my bag, transferring things from my purse to my carry-on. Messing things up was more like it; my hands shook that badly.
Henry’s feet appeared. “What are you doing?”
I looked up into Henry’s face, smooth as a mask. “Just getting our stuff together.” I smiled, pulled the plug out of the wall and dropped it into my purse. “No milkshakes?”
“When I plug my phone into an outlet, it’s because I need to charge it,” he snapped.
He grabbed at my purse, but I shifted out of his reach. “We’re boarding. I didn’t want it to get forgotten.” Under the circumstances, nonchalance wasn’t easy, but I gave it my best shot. “Should I plug it back in?”
“Yes,” he said icily. “Isn’t that obvious? What are you, stupid?” His voice had only gotten louder since he had snarled at people to get out of his way, and now passengers were staring at us. A guy my age shot me a sympathetic smile, and I wondered if he thought Henry was my father.
I fumbled with my purse, snatched out the charger and practically threw it at him, then thrust my hand in, flipped the top off the box and pulled out the phone.
He grabbed it, stared at it hard. My mouth went dry. “What now?”
“It’s dead.”
I rolled my eyes. “Use mine,” I suggested as Henry jabbed at the power button, then plugged in the phone again. I silently prayed that the program had finished installing before draining the battery.
“Well, if you change your mind and want to borrow mine, you can. But I’m getting in line,” I said. “You can be grumpy over here all by yourself.”
“You can go now.”
I snorted and put some distance between us, then I sent Corbin a text to let him know that maybe the program was on Henry’s phone.
The plane was almost full and Henry was walking down the aisle when I felt Corbin’s phone vibrate with a text.
Henry leaned along the seat-backs in front of me, his face as untroubled as if he hadn’t made a spectacle of himself. “Sorry about your shake. Fifteen people in line ahead of me.”
“Thanks anyway. I’ll get juice after takeoff.”
He gave me a long look, then headed toward the rear of the plane. I exhaled. My shoulders felt like someone had used a crank to ratchet the muscles together. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get them to fully relax.
The flight attendant announced that the cabin door was closed. That meant that Henry couldn’t get up. I quickly checked my phone.
Just the one message, but it made my blood run cold. Do not go home with Henry. He suspects. I will get you. BE CAREFUL.
“Need you to turn that off, miss,” the flight attendant said, a huge smile on his perfectly round face.
“But I thought the rules changed—”
“It’s up to the airline. Our company likes to keep things peaceful.” Bigger smile and a wink.
Rather than complain about the screaming babies on my last flight, I nodded and powered down the phone. It probably didn’t matter if I responded or not; a man who could make texts disappear was surely able to tell if I’d read them.
The flight was too long for me to be as keyed up as I was. Corbin wasn’t an all-caps sort of guy.
I sat still and stared
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