Chapter Five
A Glass To Far
I don’t know how long I’d slept, but I was jarred awake at the sound of turbulence rattling the glasses and cupboards in the cab of the aircraft. There was something else that was off about the atmosphere besides just the unwelcome turbulence. Everything was dark except for the dim glow of the walkway lights as mostly everyone was asleep.
I pondered on what it could be that was off about the atmosphere of the plane. I realized what the second thing was that had helped to awaken me. The plane was turning!
Turbulence was to be expected, but turning was alarming!
I got up and was careful not to disturb Koke in my passage past him to get to the main aisle. I headed for the bathroom area as the plane shook again.
The turbulence was harder this time and I had to catch myself against a seat slightly jarring awake its occupant in the process. I quickly moved on to the bathroom area.
I saw a stewardess stationed there and I diverted over to her and asked, “Why are we turning?”
“Nothing to be alarmed over Miss. A storm’s been detected and the Captains just diverting a bit to miss it.” Was her quick response and her professionalism helped relax any concern I had over the unexpected occurrence.
Suddenly thirsty I asked, “Can I have another glass of water?”
“Certainly!” She said as she rose to her feet, but just then a mother somewhere forward started calling out for what I presumed to be a wayward child.
The stewardess started forward and then seemed to remember me in mid step. I could see that she was torn between two tasks and I quickly helped her out by saying, “Just show me where I can get a glass and I’ll help myself.”
Relieved the stewardess pointed to a cupboard higher up near the ceiling, “Sorry, but that’s where they keep the extras.” She said by way of apology, as she turned to hurry down the aisle in search of the lost child.
I approached the high cupboard. I leaned up on my toes, but my fingers were short of the handle by about three inches. I was too short.
Angrily I castigated against myself that I was not overly short, but neither was I exactly of average height either I had to admit. I sighed in frustration. At least no one had seen this embarrassing attempt on my part.
A hand tanned dark brown with curly black hairs liberally sprinkled across the back of it reached out over my head and opened the cupboard. The breadth of the big hand and its fingers easily spanned out over the top of two glasses, which it removed to down somewhere behind my back.
I realized that I’d stopped breathing at the appearance of the hand. Breath made its way back in and shakily I turned to press my back up against the lower cupboard doors.
The man was as imposing and ultra-masculine as the hand and arm I had seen had been. He wasn’t looking at me as he poured both glasses full from a nearby pitcher of water.
He was easily over six feet in height and I didn’t like how far up I had to look, as it only made me feel more intensely aware of my short stature.
Instead of being lean, along with the extra height as a lot of tall men were, he wasn’t. Oh he was fit, but the muscles and large bone structure that filled out his tall frame just said big with a capitol B.
He wore blue jeans that had frayed holes in them that looked like they’d gotten there through hard work and not bought over-the-counter pre-distressed. The white T-shirt he wore stretched out over the wide expanse of his chest hugging all the dips and hollows of his muscles.
A riotous amount of black curly hair covered his arms and spilled out of the top of his T-shirt in a ring around his neck that echoed to the fact that he was likely extremely hairy all over. His jaw was square and reflected the raw power that the rest of his frame only emphasized.
His hair was black and he was in need of a haircut. He had a shadow of a beard that probably took most men a week to grow, but had only taken him a day or two. In short he exuded maleness in a way that modern men of the city and urban spheres of life had long since lost in favor of cultured features and crisp linen suits.
The unwanted realization of this midnight encounter with a man from some bygone era of warriordom were all starting to add up to something. A silent scream of ‘NO!!!’ went off in my head repeatedly; even as a response more deep and powerful that seemed to reflect the essence of what I was made of let off an affirming, ‘Yes!!!’
I almost started crying.
I covered my panic, brought on by this strange encounter with a male in the night, by martialling my will to keep my face unreadable of my inner turmoil. The man turned hard slate gray eyes to me and held out one of the glasses of water silently.
Water?
Suddenly I remembered that I had been thirsty. I took the glass and mumbled out a thank you.
“You’re welcome.”
His voice was as deep as I had expected it to be and it shook something inside of me. This was all bad!
I had to get out!
I took a sip of the water not really focusing on it at all. I made one last effort to be cordial before I made my retreat away from the close confines of this little kitchen area and the man whose presence seemed to dominate the atmosphere of it so completely.
“Thank you again. You didn’t have to get up.”
“It was worth it for the view.” He said matter-of-factly.
I blinked and then burning with anger at his apparent crudity I hotly said, “Excuse me?”
The question was of course rhetorical and meant only to garner an apology for his rudeness of context. His response was given in an even tone that had no budge to it.
“You heard me.”
I felt hot blood rush to my face and I had the sudden urge to hit him. Instead I slammed down the glass of water and stalked back into the cab of the plane towards my seat. I was halfway there when I realized that my first reason for getting up had not been satisfied. I had to go to the bathroom.
My face now completely red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger I turned to go back. I kept myself from meeting the hard gray eyes of the insufferable man who still lounged against the countertop within the kitchenette and stepped into the tiny compartment of the restroom facility that was nearby.
Upon leaving the restroom I headed back down the aisle to my seat. I felt the heat of his eyes tracing my form as I went. I did my best to curb the sway of my walk, but I was a wide hipped girl and there was little to be done.
I glanced back to the galley when I reached Koke who was still asleep. The big stranger was still there leaning up against the counter with his eyes trained on me. He lifted his free hand and flashed five fingers and then flashed four after that.
Molten anger coursed throughout me at the realization that he just rated my derrière a nine out of ten!
I thought about waking Koke to tell him to go beat the man up, but the beat down would likely go the opposite way in short order. Angrily I made my way past Koke who came awake startled at my disruption of his sleep.
He looked as if he was still caught in the lingering moments of a dream not quite sure what reality was yet.
He blinked repeatedly and looked at me sharply as I sat down in my seat.
“What put you on fire?” He asked dazedly.
I didn’t answer, but turned my head to stare out the window.
Was I so mad because of the stranger’s frank appreciation of my female form or because he’d only rated my derrière a nine out of ten?
I glared balefully at the window and stated with categorical emphasis, “He is not the man!”
“What did you say?” Koke asked puzzled.
“Nothing!” I said even further embarrassed to know that I had just spoken what I had out loud.
*****
Koke glanced from his sister where she sat turned away from him glaring a hole through the glass of her window to the open galley back a ways and the man that still stood there. He turned back in his seat and said, “I had a dream.”
He glanced over to Kim, but his sister was too lost in her angered state of mind to have heard him. He glanced back to the source of his sister’s agitation again. This bore some investigation.
Koke got up and walked back to the galley. Upon entering the galley and seeing the stranger up close two things were immediately validated to Koke within his consciousness. His dream had been a foreshadowing of future events and his sister wasn’t beyond the allure of being interested in a strong male.
The latter was a good thing. Hopefully both things would turn out for the good.
The man was undeniably rough looking of character, as he was brutally strong of form, but there was some indefinable quality within the man that caused Koke to instantly like him. The stranger met his head on gaze not wavering a bit.
Koke glanced down to the glass of water on the counter and indicating it he asked, “My sisters?”
The man nodded.
Koke picked the glass up and finished the water off. He didn’t mind sharing his sister’s amoebas; after all they had shared a womb together for nine months.
Koke looked at the man curiously, “What did you say to rile my sister’s temper up so?”
The man shrugged noncommittally.
“Well whatever it was you did a good job of it. She’s hard to rattle.”
Koke sensed a softening about the man and stuck his hand out, “Koke Pollock.”
The man looked at the hand and then reached his own out to shake it firmly, “Colt Brennan.”
At the release of hands Koke speculatively asked, “Colt Firearms Company?”
Colt responded with a slight smile, “Yes, my father had an extensive collection of them. I guess his love of the guns poured over to naming me after them.”
“It suits you. You look like something powerful that’s ready to go off at a moment’s notice.” Koke responded honestly.
Colt studied Koke in return curiously, “Why did you come back here to talk?”
“I had a dream…… no, I think it was a vision and it’s led me here to you.”
The two men stared at each other trying to gauge the intentions of the other.
Koke spoke first, “Let’s talk about my sister.”
Colt regarded him cautiously before saying, “Okay.”
“Do you find her attractive?” Koke asked.
“Did the sun rise on the planet somewhere today?” Colt responded with.
Koke smiled at Colt’s poetic response to his question, but then he sobered up quickly as he said, “What would you say if I told you something extreme is about to happen? Something beyond anything you’ve ever seen occur before.”
Colt folded his arms and studied Koke for a moment before responding with, “Well I’d say you don’t look like the crazy type, but I’ve been wrong before. Go ahead, I’ll listen and give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Koke shook his head in response, “It’s not clear to me yet what’s going to happen in general, but one detail is. I need you to look after my sister and keep her safe.”
Colt straightened away from the counter he’d been leaning against and flatly said, “I don’t babysit!”
Koke wasn’t put off by the sudden aggression of the other man in the slightest, “As I’m sure you’ve noticed for yourself my sister is no baby.”
“What are you saying?” Colt asked slowly.
“Her father is dead, her stepfather isn’t here, but as her brother you have my blessing to take things deeper with my sister if you should wish to.”
Looking angry now Colt harshly accused, “What kind of man goes around giving his sister away to strangers?”
Koke nodded, “I assure you that I am equally shocked by what I am doing, but the question remains the same. Will you take custody of my sister’s livelihood and keep her safe.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“That’s not good enough. I need an answer now!”
Colt shook his head as unbelief washed across his features, “You’re crazy! I’ll say yes, but only because I don’t want you going and passing her off to someone else and embarrassing yourself or her any more than you already have.”
Koke seemed to relax at Colt’s words and said, “It’s settled then.”
He left the galley and went back to his seat to sit down beside his sister who had fallen asleep. He felt weird for what he’d just been a part of, but he was also at peace about it.
*****
Colt looked forward and watched as the hot girl’s crazy brother sat down. What had he just gotten himself into and why on Earth had he agreed to such an arrangement?
It had just seemed to slip out of him.
He gripped the glass hard in his hand to the point of shattering it. He had a strong desire for the man’s sister, but that wasn’t the reason for his agreeing to the brother’s request.
The girl was hot, but hot or not he’d never agree to something like this. It had been something in the man’s eyes. Something that couldn’t be faked.
Colt looked around the plane area speculatively. What was going to happen?
He’d had a premonition of something imminent for hours. It’s why he’d been awake to see the Polynesian chick straining on tiptoe for the handle above her head.
That impending sense of change had been at least half of the reason why he had believed her brother wasn’t entirely crazy. Colt went back to his seat to wait and see what would happen.