Heaving
a sigh, Sierra sat and stared out the small window on the miniature
plane. She barely glanced up as a large, male body filled the empty
space between her and the aisle. He struggled a moment with his tray
table, flopped it down and set something on it. Sierra caught the
heavenly aroma of coffee. Inhaling deeply, she smiled wishing it was
hers. The covered cup toppled slightly and she grabbed it
instinctively as her seat mate swore softly.
"Shit!"
Laughing,
she moved his cup to her tray and looked up for the first time. "Can
I help you with something?"
"Not
unless you can make the compartment bigger. There's this huge orange
bag in here that feels like it's full of concrete."
"Not
mine," she grinned. "I had to move across the aisle to stow
mine. There should be room."
Smiling
his thanks, he turned and shoved his bag in next to hers. His
expensive carry-on lay side by side with her knockoff Prada.
"You
two behave now," he chided the unwary luggage and slammed the
compartment shut. He dropped in his seat with a grin, extending his
hand. Sierra put the coffee in it and he laughed loudly.
"I
wasn't asking for that back, I wanted to introduce myself. David
Anders. Thanks for the help."
"Sierra
McLaughlin. You're welcome."
David
took the coffee with his left hand and shook with his right. His grip
was sure and strong. Sierra couldn't help admiring his expressive
blue eyes, shoulder length sun streaked blond hair and rolling
muscles under his tanned skin. He looked like a surfer, but was
dressed like a golfer in a yellow Polo shirt and white, blue and
yellow Madras plaid shorts. Only his flip-flops gave him away.
"You
live up here?" he asked casually as he set his coffee down.
"Yes.
I'm heading to Daytona to visit my brother. I may be going to
Stetson, so I'm touring the college this week too."
"I
just graduated from Southern," he remarked with a flip of his
hair. "I can't wait to get back home. I haven't been on my board
since spring break. I'm going through withdrawal."
He
laughed and stretched. His shirt slid up and his shorts down
slightly, revealing an amazing set of abs. Sierra tried not to stare,
but wow!
"What
are you majoring in?" he asked as he took a sip of his coffee.
Making a face, he slid it away from him with a curse. "Gah! Too
sweet! What was I thinking? You want it? My first sip, I swear. I'm
free of all major diseases and I don't backwash." He offered her
the coffee.
Normally
she would have declined, but she was desperate. "Sure," she
took the cup. "I didn't get mine this morning. My alarm didn't
go off in time. My stupid roommate reset it!"
"Ugh!
Roommates bite! Mine's an idiot. Another reason I'm glad to be going
home. He washed clothes last night. Which is great, only he threw his
new Red Sox T-shirt in and everything turned a delicate shade of
pink. This was all I had clean." He indicated his preppy
clothing with disdain. "It will make my step mom happy. She
thinks I dress like a slob. Which I do because it bugs her. How's the
coffee?"
"Great!
It's perfect. I like it extra light and sweet."
"I
fixed it for you then. I like it medium on both. That's sweet enough
to curl my hair!" He winked. His thick, blond hair was already
curly. "So we got sidetracked," he grinned and stretched
long and slow. "What's your major?" His clothing danced up
and down again.
Sierra
almost choked on the coffee as he exposed his fine musculature.
"Abs," she mumbled. "Art," she said more loudly.
"Emphasis in photography. I draw and paint too."
"Really?
Cool. Do you do still lifes or what?"
"I
like doing people more." She realized how that might sound and
blushed, mentally kicking herself.
He
glanced at her sideways and winked. "So do I. But I don't go
around loudly admitting it."
Sierra
giggled, trying to hide her self-consciousness behind the cup of
coffee.
"I'm
sorry." David said softly. "I've embarrassed you."
"Oh,
no," she admitted. "I do that just fine on my own."
"So,
are you a portrait photographer?" David eased away from the
embarrassment without a backward glance.
Gratefully,
Sierra answered him. "Not really. Portraits are fine, but I
prefer capturing people in candid shots. Especially when they are
doing something they love. I have some amazing shots of people rock
climbing, horseback riding, skiing—oh, and surfers. I took those
during spring break."
"You
weren't down here during break, were you? Well, by down here, I mean
Daytona. See? I'm already picturing myself at home." He chuckled
and pulled his feet out of the aisle as people passed.
"Yes.
I was in Daytona, Port Orange and New Smyrna taking pictures. Why?"
"It
would be funny if I was in any of them."
"I
have prints. Hang on to this, would you?" She handed him the
coffee as she dug in her bag.
Her
purse was a real Prada, a gift from her grandmother. It looked more
like a pink diaper bag, but it was great for traveling.
She
grabbed a small album from the bottom of the bag. "I've got to
put together a portfolio tomorrow and Sunday. I go in on Monday to
see the dean."
David
took the pictures as she took back the coffee. He opened the book and
grinned. "Great shot of the Inlet," he commented happily.
"I
like to tell a story with the pictures. I took a few landscape shots
when I got there."
He
flipped through three more. The next picture was of four surfers in
silhouette, the sun and water in front of them. One was bending over
putting on his wet suit. His tight ass was nearly center of the
frame. The guy to his right was profile, looking down at him. The
other two were checking the waves, eyes shielded against the glare.
Their boards were planted upright in the sand.
David
chuckled, pointing to the ass shot. "Very nice composition.
What's this part of the story?" He mimicked a female voice. "I
got to the beach and saw this great ass and had to take a picture?"
Sierra
grabbed for her book, but he held it away from her, out into the
aisle.
"He
has a bathing suit on!"
"Yeah,
but still! I didn't think Stu had that good an ass. Mine's better."
"You
know him?"
"Yeah.
I know all of them." He pointed to each in turn from left to
right. "Tom, Stu's ass, Brent and yours truly."
©
2016 Dellani Oakes
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