I roll my eyes, 'Righhht...whatever you say!'
His eyes go to slits at my sarcastic tone. 'Just shut it Jasmina and give your damn ticket to the lady'.
I smirk at him, 'Right, I'd love to. But it's a little hard to do when you're holding onto my ticket'.
He mumbles something under his breath that I don't quite catch, as he hands me both our tickets so I can give it to the lady.
'Ok ma'am, just head on through the left corridor.' She gestures with her arm and I realise it says first class not business class.
'Um excuse me I think there's been some kind of mista-' I try to say but Nikolai pushes me firmly forward, telling the flight attendant not to worry.
I stare at him pointedly, 'What do you think you're doing? We're heading to the wrong section of the plane. I need to go back there and sort it out.'
He grabs my shoulders looking me dead in the eye, 'I obviously booked us in First Class.' His voice vibrates with anger as he asks, 'Why the hell would we be travelling in Business class?'
Oh I don't know maybe because we are on a business trip and every company travels via business class, 'Yeah you're right, what was I thinking?' I say every word dripping with sarcasm as I stare back at him.
His eyes narrow, his emerald eyes glowing but he doesn't honour me with a response. Instead he drops his arms from my shoulders, and heads toward the entrance of the plane. He doesn't bother turning around to check if I am following him. For some reason that indifference annoys me.
We finally get settled into our super comfy sofa seats. The countdown for our takeoff starts and I relax into my seat excited to be flying. . His eyes are also half shut as if he can't bear to keep them open but the thought of closing them is not any more comforting.
I touch his shoulder in a comforting gesture, but he flinches under my touch causing a pang of tenderness in my chest. The sensation unfamiliar to me. I softly say, 'Are you sure you're okay?'
He doesn't say anything for a moment, but then his eyes open fully and he barks out, 'What are you a broken record player? Of course I'm alright!' I quickly drop my hand from his shoulder as if he'd slapped it.
'Jesus Christ, I was just trying to see if you were okay! There's no need to be an asshole about it!' I cross my hands over my chest and move away from him as far as I can possibly be, whilst still sitting comfortably in my seat.
'Yeah well I am! So mind your own fucking business!' I glare at him before I turn away staring out the widow.
The countdown finishes and the plane starts to lift off into the air. I'm still really annoyed with Nikolai but the image of his pale face tugs at my conscience, so I turn back toward him just to make sure he's okay for my own piece of mind.
My heart jolts when I see him. I was unprepared for the sight before my eyes. His face is ashen white, his eyes closed and he's clenching his teeth so hard that I can see the muscles in his jaw working overtime.
Not to mention, that his body is taut as he holds onto the armrest like his survival depends on it. As I take it all in, a light bulb moment happens and it all starts make sense. The pedantic need to check the time, his aggression, the short commentary and his rude behaviour just then. He's afraid of flying for crying out loud!
'You are so not okay!' I shake my head at him, 'I don't know why you felt the need to lie to me! If you are afraid of flying then just say it!' I feel a bit offended that he couldn't just tell me what was going on with him. But he's so far gone in his world of terror that he doesn't even register what I've said to him.
I huff and lean over him to grab his corded arm, but he doesn't release his iron grip on the armrest of the massive sofa chair. So I try and placate him, 'It's okay you can let go and hold onto me' I hold my hand out to him but he continues to ignore me, his eyes still firmly shut.
I glare at him annoyed with his attitude, 'Either you come to me or I'll come to you!'
He acknowledges me with the slightest shake of his head rejecting my offer, and doesn't even open his eyes. The nerve of this guy. Here he is suffering and he still doesn't want to admit it let alone accept any help.
Fed up with his macho act I aggressively grab his head and shove it against my chest. 'What the fuck do you thin--' I smother the rest of his protest by squeezing his head closer to my bosom and hold him there tightly so he can't escape. As soon as his head makes contact with my breasts he immediately ceases fighting me.
Now that I have him in my clutches I can't resist the temptation to rove my hands through his perfectly styled hair. I start to stroke his hair, enjoying the feel of him in my arms, and hopefully distracting him from his fear of flying.
I start to feel the tension from his body ebb away the longer I pat his hair. His breathing also starts to even out.
The plane finally reaches altitude and is cruising through the air.