Rayne

At the airport, waiting in line to get into the plane, she observed Alliyah. Rayne didn’t enjoy talking much, but the other young woman appeared different to her. She was staring into the distance, a slight frown drawn on her features.

“…Are you okay?” She pressed herself to ask.

“Uh?” Alliyah blinked and looked down at her. “Oh, yeah, just… I’ve never been away from Lamar, ever since we’ve been together.”

Rayne decided to distract her instead of talking about the subject:

“So, ummh, how’s the job hunt?”

“A couple of weeks ago, I applied to a pet store in Brooklyn. They said they’d call me, but…” She shrugged.

“Oh, that is abominable. I loathe bosses like that. I have had one call me months later, expecting me to still be waiting for their response.”

She rolled her eyes, but Alliyah smiled at her. That infuriating, absurd… Scrumptious smile that forced her to look away.

"So, you are fully done with interior designing, now?"

"Yes, I worked to complete all my remaining designs before we traveled."

"Probably a good idea."

“Have you ever volunteered to help a natural disaster?” Alliyah asked, to her surprise.

“An earthquake in India, and a hurricane in the Philippines.”

“Wow. You’ve been all over the world, uh? What’s been your favorite place?”

“I wasn’t there for the fun of it, Smith.” She glared.

“No. Right, I didn’t mean-”

“India.” Rayne smirked, knowing she made Alliyah sweat a bit. “For the food.”

Already inside the airplane, Rayne realized she hadn’t considered just how close she was going to be to Alliyah during the entirety of the flight.

“I feel like I should warn you,” Alliyah started. “in these fifteen hours, I’ll probably be going to the bathroom like thirty times. Also, I get cuddly when I’m sleepy.”

Rayne scorned herself for thinking I wouldn’t mind that at all. I wouldn’t quite mind her tugging at my sleeve pulling me closer… Laying her head on my shoulder, maybe holding hands…

The plane started moving, which not only interrupted her thoughts but also made her stomach twist.

“Are you okay?” Alliyah furrowed her brow, looking at her. Her nervousness must have been obvious.

“I despise takeoffs and landings”

“But you’ve been to so many.”

“It never got any more manageable.”

Rayne was gripping the seat-belt clasps. She hated losing control over her emotions, especially in public, especially in front of Alliyah.

But the other girl didn’t make fun. Instead, she reached for her hand, interlaced their fingers, and looked at her reassuringly, without adding a word.

She closed her eyes and gripped Alliyah’s hand. Maybe a little harder than she was aware.