Oh Baby, I'm a Fool For You

I grimaced when a large man took the seat next to me. His blue suit fit him way too tightly, and there was a large ketchup smear on his white tie. “Hey, hot stuff,” he said in a gruff voice when he saw me evaluating him.

I groaned softly and cracked my book open again, only to see Ben chuckling out of the corner of my eye. “I’m glad I amuse you,” I said quietly, trying not to smile.

He peeked over at me, then laughed into his closed fist.

The stewardess began walking down the aisles, passing every passenger a set of headphones. I took a pair and fit them over my ears, temporarily putting the book in between my thigh and the armrest. I plugged them into the little hole that was on the opposite armrest, my fingers brushing those of the perverted man on my left. I cringed, and leaned away from him.

“Good morning passengers and thank you for choosing us for your flying needs,” she said in a high nasally voice. “Our feature in flight film is Stardust, so sit back and relax.”

Through all the commercials, Ben was looking around nervously at the other people on the plane. I shrugged it off and settled myself against the slightly comfortable grey cushioned seat. The movie started, and I felt something hit my foot. I looked down and saw the man to my right holding onto my ankle as he leaned forward to cough. A different stewardess came by and helped him out of his seat, offering him a drink and patting his back, taking him through the short red curtain.

A familiar voice invaded my ears. I looked up at Ben through a piece of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail. The man on screen had shorter hair, but there was no mistaking those eyes or that accent. I slipped off my headphones and turned slightly to look at him more clearly.

He had sunken down into his seat so his head was at the same level as mine. His head was still, but his eyes were darting around. I slowly observed the other people, who seemed to have absolutely no reaction.

“Is that you?” I asked quietly.

He nodded, and laughed quietly to himself. He leaned over so he was closer to me and whispered, “I’m mostly a stage actor. You know, I have to say that I’m a little disappointed that I’m not being mobbed with adoring fans.”

I laughed and looked up at the screen again, seeing a woman leading Ben into her bright yellow trailer. I yanked up the book that was wedged somewhere on my seat and opened it to the back of the front cover. “Oh, Mr. Barnes, you’re so fabulous, will you give me your autograph?” I said in a girly, high pitched voice.

His smile faltered slightly. “You don’t have to mock me, Kaya,” he whispered.

My throat tightened. “Oh, Ben, I’m sorry, I was trying to-“

He was already laughing, and taking my book from me. “You know what, I’m going to give you that autograph,” he said softly. His hands dropped into his lap. “So, why are you going to London?”

“I’ve been assigned to do makeup for some movie that’s got a lot of creatures to make. Are you ever going to give me my book back?”

He smirked at me and put it in his bag. “Just because you asked, no.”

“You realize that I’ll have nothing to do for the rest of the flight, right?”

“I guess you’re stuck with talking to me.”

I grinned, forgot about my book, and said to myself, ‘fine with me.’