A Beautiful Forever - By Anderson, Lilliana Page 0,4

I’m there, this guy who screws around and sees women as sex toys isn’t me. At least, I don’t think it is - I don’t even know who the fuck I am anymore.

Chapter 2

Paige

I walk until I reach the back of the plane where there's a little alcove with a window. I'm so tired that I rest my forehead against the glass and just look out at the nothingness that is the night sky.

“Hey there,” a deep rumble of a voice says from behind me, I tilt my head to the side, still pressed up against the glass - it’s the guy from my row.

Sighing, I turn and face him, not saying anything. I just look at him and wait for him to speak – he obviously wants to have a conversation, and I'm doing my best to seem uninterested, so we get this done as quickly as possible.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he says, putting his hands in his jean's pockets, suddenly looking unsure of himself. “I needed to get away from the noise too.” The corner of his lip turns up as he studies me. I notice his eyes scan the length of my body and automatically fold my arms across my middle protectively, feeling betrayed by my body as it flashes hot under his gaze.

“Why would I mind?” I ask him flatly. “It’s not like I own the plane.”

He gives me what I think might be his most dashing smile, but he still looks unsure of me. “I’m Elliot by the way,” he tells me, extending his hand to shake mine.

My eyes travel down to his outstretched arm. I don’t want to take it. When I look up at his expectant face, his eyes narrow slightly, but he keeps his hand stretched out towards me stubbornly.

Elliot

“I won’t bite,” I tell her, still holding out my hand, watching her brow furrow as she wars with something in her mind.

Hesitantly, she says, “Paige,” as she slips her hand into mine and gives me a light squeeze before quickly taking her hand back and looking past me, like she really wishes I’d piss off.

I smile at her, enjoying the lingering feel of her touch on my hand. This is the first girl I have spoken to in a long time that isn’t giggling and flicking her hair the moment I make eye contact. I like it.

I try to make small talk with her for a while, but she’s not buying it. “Well, Paige,” I venture, “as much as I enjoy holding a one-sided conversation with you. We can’t really do this for the entire rest of the flight. So my question is - what are we going to do about Connie McSnores-a-lot back there?”

A tiny smile pulls at the corner of her mouth but it doesn’t turn into anything more than that, surprisingly I feel disappointed. I want her to smile at me again like she did when we were seated before.

“Is her name really Connie?” she asks, completely serious.

I chuckle and shake my head slightly. “I have no idea. I just made it up – same as the McSnores-a-lot part. As appropriate as it is – that’s not her name either,” I tell her as seriously as I can.

Suddenly, she’s laughing. Her hand flies up and covers her mouth. She’s trying to keep quiet, but her shoulders are shaking and small sounds are escaping as she gasps for breath.

She holds out her hand and tries to speak. “Man, I am obviously heading to delirium from a lack of sleep as well. I just can’t stop thinking how funny it would be if that really was her name.” She shakes her head from side to side, laughing all over again as she leans back up against the side of the plane. I’m just standing here with this huge grin on my face watching her eyes sparkle from tears of laughter.

“Oh God,” she says, clutching her stomach. “It’s not even that funny.”

“You got a hold of yourself now?” I ask her as she endeavors to stay calm.

Nodding, she wipes her eyes and stands up straight again, taking a deep breath and attempting to look serious. “Maybe we could ask to move seats. I noticed a couple of empty rows in the middle aisle.”

“Alright, leave it to me. I’ll go and find a flight attendant,” I tell her.

Immediately her eyebrows shoot up as she eyes me off, not looking so amused now. I wonder what I’ve done wrong as I walk towards