Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Hallelujah.
I pulled on my headphones and adjusted the screen attached to the seat in front of me just as the peppermint elf yanked his eye cover under his chin and twisted to face me.
“Hello, I’m terribly sorry. I seem to have forgotten my manners. I’m Theodore Belden, and although I would undoubtedly enjoy a robust conversation with you, I’m currently under the influence of Ambien. I’m hoping it knocks me out for precisely nine and a half hours. I tend to sleep heavily, so if the flight attendant comes by for food or beverage service, don’t worry about me. I’ll wait to eat when I’m in England.”
I held eye contact for a long moment, unsure what to do with that info dump. And yeah, I was also a little distracted ’cause damn, he was very…pretty. No kidding. I’d guess Theodore was somewhere in his mid-to-late twenties with blond hair, sky-blue eyes, full lips, high cheekbones, and a square jawline so smooth-shaven, I got the impression facial hair wasn’t really an issue for him.
I rubbed my beard thoughtfully and nodded. “Uh…okay. No problem.”
Theodore flashed a brilliant smile before snapping his mask into place. All set for bedtime and the plane hadn’t even finished boarding yet.
He sat up again and pulled the mask aside. “I’m so rude. I didn’t ask your name.”
Oh, boy.
“Scott.”
“Great name,” Theodore enthused. “I had a border collie named Scottie McMuffin when I was a kid. He was a real firecracker. Every time I tossed a ball to him, he’d fetch it, race the perimeter of the vineyard, and circle around to drop it at my feet. Just watching him go was exhausting.”
I inclined my head in polite acknowledgment, biting back a stream of questions: Why McMuffin? You grew up on a vineyard? And where is that peppermint scent coming from?
Also…when did you take Ambien, and when should it kick in?
However, any of those inquiries might lead to full-scale conversation, and I wasn’t in the mood for that. So I settled for, “I bet.”
“He was a wonderful dog. I was inconsolable when he died, but that’s a tad selfish of me since he lived to be sixteen. Good innings, as my grandfather says.” He yawned as he pointed at the window. “Do you want the shade down? It doesn’t matter to me. I have a mask.”
“It’s dark anyway. Might as well close it,” I said, fiddling with the on-off switch on my headphones.
Theodore closed the shade and readjusted his mask. “All right. See you in London, Scott.”
I stared at him warily for a long moment, my gaze stalling on his parted lips. I half expected him to pop up with another comment or two, but he was quiet. Blissfully quiet.
Sweet.
It lasted for a grand total of thirty minutes. The flight attendants wanted to make sure everyone fastened up and was safety-conscious. I regretfully had to nudge my companion awake so he could prove he was wearing his seat belt. After a quick oddball recap of his Ambien-induced dream featuring a house floating in the San Francisco Bay, Theodore dozed again.
Then they wanted to feed us.
Theodore hadn’t drifted off yet, so he was able to decline his meal, opting to listlessly pick chocolate chips from a Kind bar. He struck up a halfhearted conversation about the nutritional content in protein bars, but his eyelids were heavy and every other word sounded like gibberish.
I tuned him out as I polished off my chicken with rice and mixed greens with a glass of white wine, skipping dessert. The baker in me couldn’t look at the wobbly, too-yellow custard without cringing. I thought about offering it to Theodore, but friendly overtures might be misconstrued as an invitation to chat and we still had seven-plus hours to go, so…no thanks.
Once the meals were cleared, he pulled his hoodie over his head and slouched deep into the leatherette seat. Nice enough guy, but I hoped like fuck he went to sleep. I was done-zo. I wanted nothing more than to rot my brain with a few hours’ worth of reruns and movies I’d already seen a few times.
I got my wish. And I had to say, after a couple of hours and a mini marathon of The Office, this wasn’t so bad. A little peace and quiet, high above the world with no immediate worries and no one who needed anything from me? I’d take it.
I navigated the entertainment menu, cranking up the volume on an ancient Boz Scaggs song when the plane shook slightly. It didn’t raise my blood pressure, but it gave me a reason to check the time. According to the in-flight map, we now had six hours to go. I could watch a movie and still get some rest or—
“Wh-what was that?” Theodore tore his mask off, sat up straight, and white-knuckled my forearm.