A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Rylie's leg begins bouncing quickly the moment we're seated, and I reach over to slip my fingers between hers. "Are you nervous?"
"Yes. Is it obvious?" She giggles anxiously.
"A little bit. It'll be okay, don't worry. The take off isn't too bad, and that's the worst part."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She glares jokingly.
"Sorry." I laugh. "You can squeeze my hand as tightly as you need."
"Deal." She replies with a laugh. "Remember at the fair when we were at camp, how I made the same offer so you would go on Samurai with us?"
"I remember very clearly." I smile. "I was so excited to simply hold your hand, I would've done just about anything."
"Had I known that at the time..." Rylie grins. "I was looking for any excuse to hold your hand, even if it was just because you were scared on a ride."
"I still look for any excuse to hold your hand." I say with a laugh. Someone slides into the seat next to me then, and I stop laughing as I study the figure out of the corner of my eye.
Holy fuck...
I throw Rylie a glance, and see the same look on her face that I'm sure covered my own. That only made this worse. The guy in the seat next to me had to be the most attractive male to ever grace this planet. Rylie was almost fully lesbian, with the exception of thinking a few male actress were attractive, so if she was just as attracted to this guys perfect features as I was, then it was serious.
"Holy shit." I whisper as I pretend to look out the window, hoping my words only reach Rylie's ears.
"Yeah, what the hell! He cannot be human. It shouldn't be possible for someone to look that attractive."
Rylie got the good end of the deal. With her seat, she could be facing me to talk while getting the perfect view of this perfect stranger.
"Should I be worried about our marriage?" I tease when her eyes don't move from him.
"Well..."
"Hey!" I gasp, and Rylie laughs.
"I'm teasing! Despite this man being God's gift to earth, I would still choose you any day. Because you are absolutely breathtaking, and still the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. Plus, his looks can't make up for the fact that he has a dick." She grins and I laugh. "Hey! Maybe he can be a sperm donor for us when we decide to have kids! That way we'd have undoubtedly the most attractive kids on earth."
I bust up laughing and have to cover my mouth as the stranger side eyes me. "I love you." I whisper with a smile before kissing her softly. Luckily, the stranger doesn't pay us any more attention before putting on his neck pillow and headphones, and closing his eyes.
The plane begins backing away from the gate, and Rylie's hand tightens in mine. I use my other hand to trace my fingers along her arm as I look out the window. For once, it's a clean window. On all the other flights I'd been on, there were always smudges and what looked to be grease stains, maybe from a child's forehead.
The airport lights blink slowly as we move towards the runway and I smile excitedly. I loved airplanes, for no reason in particular. Maybe it was the fact that we'd be thousands of feet in the air, going over 500 mph, just us and the clouds. And the occasional bird.
I'm suddenly reminded of the movie 'Sully', and I have to clench my jaw shut to keep myself from telling Rylie about it. Now was most definitely not the time to scare Rylie at least half to death by telling her about a movie where a bird flies into an airplane engine, and the pilot has to land on the Hudson River.
Maybe I'll tell her on the plane ride home... I think with an evil grin.
I was, however, going to watch 'Titanic' with her at some point on the cruise. I'd looked up the schedule for what movies would be playing on the main deck each night, and Titanic was one of them. I was more than a little bit excited, and secretly hoped it would be the first night. She might kill me, but it would be worth it. And I'd make it up to her afterwards.
The plane comes to a stop for a few moments before moving again, and it quickly begins picking up speed. The airport lights begin flying by, and I see Rylie squeeze her eyes shut just before take off.
"Open your eyes, love. You'll want to see this." I encourage softly, and Rylie's eyes peek open just as the plane leaves the ground, widening as more city lights join those of the airport, spreading out for miles in each direction.
"Wow..." Rylie's words are soft, barely a whisper, her mouth parted in a slight 'o' shape as her wide eyes take in the ground below. The lights continue to get smaller and smaller as the plane gets higher.
Normally, I would be focused on the view of the ground as well, but I can't seem to take my eyes from Rylie as she stares in wonder. I didn't mind, though. She was easily the prettiest view I would ever lay my eyes on.
The flight passes by quickly and although it's pretty uneventful in my opinion, Rylie seems to be having the time of her life. With about 30 minutes left in the flight though, that changes.
The plane suddenly rattles slightly as it hits a small pocket of turbulence, and even though it's a barely noticeable movement, Rylie's hand quickly tightens in mine.
"What was that? Are we crashing?" Her blue eyes are wide with worry, her voice a low whisper because of all the people around us asleep. Or maybe she was whispering in fear...
"It's okay." I reassure her. "It was just a little bit of turbulence. Normally there is a bit of it throughout the whole flight, so I'm surprised we made it this long without it." I tease, and the worry slowly begins fading from her eyes.
Rylie is reassured for only a moment before the plane moves again, this time more noticeable than the first, causing us to sway in our seats. The turbulence begins picking up then, the plane jolting and bouncing more each minute. Suddenly, the fasten seatbelt light turns on overhead.
"Aspen," Rylie's eyes meet mine, filled again with the worry that had only been absent for a brief moment.
"Hey, it's okay. I think there's a storm or something, which is what is causing the turbulence." I explain, trying to distract her. "It won't make the plane crash, I promise." Well, I hoped. "It will probably stay bumpy and get bumpier, but the plane and pilot can handle it. Can you still see the lights on the ground?" I ask calmly.
Rylie's eyes break away from mine for only a moment as she glances quickly out the window before connecting with mine again. "No. I see clouds when the lights on the wing blink, though."
"So it is a storm." I smile. "Just think of this like a rollercoaster."
"A rollercoaster thousands of feet in the air?" Rylie's eyes narrow.
"Right... don't think about that part." I reply with a grin. The plane jolts again, and I glance around to see nearly everyone awake now. Not many of them look overly worried, which I assume means they've flown before. A few people look almost as nervous as Rylie, and I smile to myself.
Over the next minute or two, the turbulence continues to worsen, but I can tell that Rylie is slowly getting used to it. And maybe... was she starting to enjoy it? I knew I was. The bumping was enough to drop your stomach just enough that it was fun to me.
On a particularly big bump, the children around us giggle and scream in delight, and I peek over to see a grin on Rylie's face. "You're having fun now, huh?" I tease with a smile.
"A little bit, yeah." She confesses with a laugh. "It is pretty much a rollercoaster."
"I told you!" I grin. "Although I've never been on a flight this bumpy before." I say without thinking. A new flash of worry sparks in Rylie's eyes, and I hurry to put it out. "But we are almost on the ground now." I reassure her.
A voice suddenly sounds over the speakers, and the pilot announces himself. "Ladies and gentleman, we are only a few minutes away from landing. I know it has been a very bumpy ride, but I didn't hear much screaming which I'll take as a compliment." I can hear the smile in his voice, and a few passengers laugh around the cabin.
He speaks for only a couple more minutes and soon, we feel the plane begin to descend. It continues to stay bumpy for only a little bit, but I can tell the moment we break through the cloud coverage because of the sudden calm we feel.
The landing itself is surprisingly not too bad, and within 30 minutes, we're off the plane and heading towards baggage claim. "How do you know exactly where to go?" Rylie asks as we speed walk, hurrying between the people walking slowly.
"I've done this a few times." I grin. "And," I point above us to a white sign hanging from the ceiling. "I follow the signs."
Rylie laughs and rolls her eyes. "I guess I should look up instead of focusing on my feet and not tripping."
"I'll make sure you don't trip." I laugh, slipping my fingers between hers. "We're almost to baggage claim, and then we need to find where our shuttle will be to take us to the hotel."
"When do we need to be on the shuttle?"
"In 10 minutes. We're cutting it close." I laugh nervously, but stop when I see Rylie's eyes widen. I was not doing a good job of making this stress or worry free for her. "But another shuttle will come in an hour so we won't be screwed if we miss this one!" I assure her quickly.
"Okay." Rylie laughs as relief washes over her face. "Let's go get our bags then!" I grin and kiss her hand before continuing on our way.