When they returned to the marina at the hotel and got off the catamaran, Janine heard Kerri’s voice behind her. “Uh-oh.”
“What’s the matter, Kerri?”
“You have a nasty sunburn on your back.”
“Oh, no. I must have missed a spot with my sunscreen.”
“It’s more than just a spot. It’s the whole center of your back. Do you have any aloe vera?”
“No, I don’t.” Janine was starting to feel heat radiate from her mid-back.
“You really need to put something on that burn, or it’s going to blister.”
“I’ll stop at the hotel gift shop and get something.”
“Unfortunately, they don’t carry aloe-vera gel there. I have some in my bag you can borrow.”
“Thanks, Kerri.”
Janine followed Kerri back to her hotel room. Normally, she would be uncomfortable in another crew member’s hotel room, but she didn’t feel that way walking into Kerri’s tidy room. Kerri’s uniform hung in the closet, her black suitcase lay open on the luggage stand, and even the bed was made.
Kerri walked into the bathroom and came out with a small plastic bottle of green gel. “Here you go. This is pure aloe-vera gel. You should put this on your back every four hours. It really helps with a bad burn.”
“Thank you.” Janine was truly grateful for the medicine. Her back was really starting to sting now.
“Can you reach your back to put this on?”
“Uh, not really.”
“Let me put it on you. Boy, that’s getting really red.”
Janine handed the gel back to Kerri, turned around, and waited for her to apply it.
“Your shoulders got burned too. I’m sorry. I should have put sunscreen on your back for you.”
Kerri’s concern touched Janine.
“Why don’t you lie down on the bed and pull your bathing suit straps down so I can apply this gel all over the burned area.”
Janine hesitated but then complied. After snorkeling together, she trusted Kerri. She went over to the bed, pulled the bathing suit straps off her shoulders, lay down, and waited for Kerri, the skin of her back throbbing now.
“This’ll feel cold.” Kerri’s voice soothed her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Kerri’s fingertips were light at the base of her neck as she smoothed on the cool gel. “Is this okay?”
“Yes.” Kerri’s gentle hands moved across her burned skin, slowly and methodically, covering every square inch of her tender back. Her touch felt more like a caress than a medical treatment. Janine decided to just relax and enjoy the sensation of Kerri’s strong hands gliding over her.
“You’re burned to a crisp. I need to apply a second layer of aloe. Is it okay if I lie down next to you while the first layer dries?”
“Sure. Go ahead.” Janine felt the weight of Kerri’s body on the bed. Her eyelids were heavy from the exertion of swimming, and she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
The flaming red skin of Janine’s poor back made Kerri feel guilty. Why didn’t I make sure she had sunscreen on? She’ll never want to go snorkeling again.
She touched Janine’s skin as softly as she could to spread around the aloe gel. Heat rose from the burned skin. As she smoothed the gel from Janine’s neck to her shoulders to her mid-back, her breathing slowed to a steady rhythm. Kerri took advantage of this opportunity to study Janine’s body.
The skin that wasn’t burned resembled pale porcelain and was as soft as warm silk. She took her time applying the soothing gel, moving her fingers slowly across Janine’s shoulders and back. It had been quite a while since she’d touched a woman’s body, and she was enjoying the sensation. Seeing the rise and fall of Janine’s ribs as she slept next to her, Kerri stopped touching her like she was giving her a medical treatment and started caressing her. She ran her hand up and down the shallow valley of Janine’s spine, feeling strong muscles under the hot skin. What does Janine look like under her bathing suit?
A small sigh escaped Janine’s lips as Kerri continued to soothe her skin. She moved her hand around the perimeter of the burned area and let only the tips of her fingers slide by the side of Janine’s breast. A vein the color of lapis lazuli was visible under the skin of her side breast. Kerri suddenly had the desire to drag the tip of her tongue across this vein. Where is this coming from?
Kerri banished the thought of licking Janine’s breast and continued to smooth on the aloe, letting her eyes drift to the small hollow at the base of Janine’s back where the exposed skin stopped and the bathing suit covered her bottom. The thin fabric of the navy-blue Speedo stretched nicely across Janine’s firm backside. Kerri had to fight the urge to move her hand lower and squeeze those lovely cheeks. Down, girl. Down.
Kerri suddenly stopped touching Janine. She might cross a line she’d regret later. She removed her hand from Janine’s back to let the next layer of aloe dry. Lying on the bed beside her, listening to her deep breathing, Kerri simply wanted to rest next to her for a moment. She closed her eyes and dreamt of floating in the ocean, holding hands with this gorgeous woman.
* * *
A sound in the distance made Janine slowly open her eyes. The light in the hotel room was starting to dim. Where am I? What time is it? She was disoriented and her back hurt. She looked around, surprised to see Kerri next to her on the bed. Why is Kerri in my room? What the hell happened? Her shoulders and back were uncovered. Why am I naked? Oh my God. What have I done?
Panic started to rise in her throat, but then she moved and felt the sharp sting of her sunburned back. She was actually in Kerri’s hotel room and on the bed so Kerri could put aloe on her burned skin. Thankfully, she still had her bathing suit on and wasn’t naked after all. She forced the panic back down and made herself breathe.
Janine recalled the amazing snorkeling trip with Kerri and that she’d gotten sunburned. She looked at Kerri’s peaceful face as she lay sleeping next to her, appearing so relaxed and content. Kerri made a little sound, rolled toward Janine, then pressed her hip next to Janine’s bottom. A small tingle ran from the place where Kerri touched her to her belly. Enjoying the sensation for just a moment, she then realized how completely inappropriate this situation was. She looked at the bedside clock.
“Oh, no. It’s forty-five minutes until bus pick-up time. Kerri, wake up. We’re going to be late for our show time.”
Janine jumped off the bed, pulled up her bathing suit straps, grabbed her stuff, and ran out the door to her own room.
* * *
Kerri woke up to the sound of her hotel room door slamming. She looked around, saw that it was dark outside, glanced at the clock, and realized that Janine had left. “Fuck. I have to throw myself together.”
She took the fastest shower of her life, crammed her clothes into her roller-board suitcase, hurriedly put on her uniform, and reached for the door handle to leave. “Crap. Where’s my hat?” Her round captain’s hat sat on the coffee table, where she always put it, along with her airline ID badge. “That’s all I need, to forget my damn badge.”
Kerri ran down the hall to the elevator and looked at her big pilot’s watch. “Shit. I’m five minutes late for the crew bus.”
Everyone on the bus was waiting for her. “God damn it, I hate being late,” she mumbled to herself. When she boarded the bus, she quickly did a head count to make sure her entire crew was present. She saw Janine sitting in the last row of the bus, looking professional and elegant, and they exchanged a hot look. “Sorry for the delay, everyone. Driver, we’re ready to go now.”
Kerri’s tardiness flustered her, made her feel disorganized and embarrassed. She prided herself on always being prepared and hated not to be. She did a quick inventory of all her essential equipment—cell phone, wallet, airline ID, gun, book bag—sighing in relief that she hadn’t forgotten anything. The flight attendants were chatting with each other about their layover activities, and she heard one of them ask Janine what she’d done. Janine answered, “Not much. I just walked around a bit.”
Kerri felt slighted that Janine didn’t mention the snorkel trip. Maybe it was no big deal to her, though Kerri thought it had been an amazing adventure. Obviously, Janine didn’t have the same feelings about the snorkel trip as she did. Kerri shut down that thought since they were turning into the airport and she had to focus on the flight. Nothing could derail her thoughts when it came to preparing for departure.
After they went through security, they had to walk past the crowd of passengers to get onto the jet. Kerri was aware of all the passengers staring at her in her uniform. Many people had probably never seen a woman pilot before, much less a woman captain, and seemed very curious. She checked in with the gate agent, put her bags in the cockpit, then went down the Jetway stairs to flight operations. Kerri and Joe reviewed the flight plan, the weather forecast, the aircraft maintenance status, the fuel load, the weight and balance, the pilot reports, and the passenger count. Everything looked good, so Kerri signed the flight release and was finally able to relax.
Kerri returned to the flight deck and started her preflight checks. This was where she felt most at home, in the captain’s seat of her jet. Her hands flew over the knobs and buttons on the overhead panel, the forward instrument panel, and the center console as she checked and set everything for the flight. She could program the flight management computer with the flying route and complete all her checks in fifteen minutes. “Joe, the route’s in the box, if you want to check it for me.” Kerri watched him review the flight plan point by point to verify the navigation fixes and altitudes.
“Everything looks good to me, Kerri.”
“I’m going to brief the flight attendants, and then we’ll run the preflight checklist. Do you have your fuel sheet yet?”
“Nope, but it looks like we’re getting close to our fuel load.”
On the PA, Kerri called all the flight attendants to come forward for their flight briefing. When she stepped back to the cabin, she saw who her chief purser was, and she wasn’t pleased. She’d known it wouldn’t be George Cato, since he’d flown back on the return leg last night, but she certainly didn’t want to see Michelle Hendricks. She was one of the very few flight attendants Kerri couldn’t stand.
* * *
When Janine heard Kerri’s announcement, she walked to the front of the plane for the flight briefing. Kerri delivered the flight information in a very professional manner, though without the same friendliness as during their first flight briefing to Maui. Somehow she sounded different. She provided the required information on the flight time, weather, turbulence, and maintenance status, but her words had a slight edge that Janine hadn’t heard before. The chief purser, Michelle, asked a question, and Kerri gave her a very clipped reply, almost like she didn’t want to talk to her.
As a flight attendant, Janine had developed a strong ability to read people and their body language. She often encountered international passengers who spoke no English, or kids traveling by themselves, and she had to understand their needs. She sensed some issue between Michelle and Kerri, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.
Michelle was competent as a chief purser, but she was no George Cato. She was pleasant and friendly, but she didn’t appear to have much enthusiasm for her job. Maybe she was simply tired from having just flown in from LA and now had to stay awake all night for the return trip.
Janine was hoping to have a minute alone with Kerri to thank her for taking her on that spectacular snorkeling trip. She felt bad she’d left Kerri so abruptly in the hotel room when they overslept and almost missed their show time. With all her captain duties, Kerri was much too busy to talk to right now, so Janine would find a few minutes to chat with her once they were enroute to LA and all the passengers were asleep.
Kerri looked so different than she did during their layover in Hawaii. Magnificent in her captain’s uniform, she was all business now. No fun and games like when they’d been in the water together. Kerri was very impressive as a captain. She was sharp, on top of everything, confident, and definitely in command of this flight. Janine could see even more clearly how some people could find Kerri intimidating, especially male pilots.
Janine watched Kerri’s hands as she talked and felt another tingle in her belly at the remembrance of holding her strong, soft hand in the water. Janine especially liked the memory of her gentle touch on her burned back.
The passengers started boarding; it would be a full airplane for the all-night flight back to Los Angeles. Janine would do a beverage service, and then maybe everyone would sleep for the next five hours. So many thoughts were racing through her mind. She looked forward to a few peaceful moments sitting on her jump seat, without constant passenger interruptions, to process everything that had happened today.
“Flight attendants, please prepare for takeoff,” Joe announced over the PA.
Janine double-checked that both left and right aft doors were armed, and she mentally reviewed her emergency evacuation procedures, in case anything happened during the takeoff. She was thankful she’d never had to do a real evacuation, but she practiced the procedure every year during recurrent training. Everything in the galley was stowed, she was strapped in tight to her jump seat, and she nodded to her flying partner, indicating she was ready. As the massive engines came up to full power, they produced their familiar whine. This was her favorite part of flying. The excitement of the takeoff, magically rising into the sky, and the promise of adventure ahead made her love her job.
Janine heard the double ding of the cabin chime signaled from the cockpit. They were climbing past ten thousand feet, and it was safe to leave their jump seats. She and the other aft-cabin flight attendant set up the beverage cart and pushed the heavy cart up the aisle, handing out drinks and snacks. Most people looked exhausted from their Hawaiian vacations, and thankfully, many were already asleep.
After serving all the passengers, Janine glanced at her watch. It was two a.m. California time, and they had three more hours before landing. Janine had a few minutes to relax in her jump seat, and she wanted to relive all the magical sights she’d seen on the snorkeling trip with Kerri. The fish were so gorgeous, and seeing the dolphin pod and the Honu sea turtle had been amazing. Then her thoughts turned to the time she and Kerri had spent lying on the bed together. Kerri had been so sweet to her when she treated her horrible sunburn, which was really stinging now under her uniform dress. This might be a good time to go to the cockpit and chat with Kerri. She pressed the cabin-to-cockpit call button.
“This is Kerri.” Her voice sounded very official.
“Hi. It’s Janine. Do you guys need a restroom break?”
“Thanks, Janine. Yes. We’ll take a break now.” Kerri’s voice sounded a lot cheerier.
“I’ll be right up.”
Joe let Janine into the cockpit as he stepped out, and she closed the cockpit door securely behind her. The lights in the flight deck were dim, with a soft reddish glow from all the instruments, and it was pitch-black out the big windows.
“How’s everything in the back?” Kerri asked. She was smiling and friendly, completely different than she’d been during the initial flight briefing. “Would you like to sit down?”
Not all captains offered to let flight attendants sit in the copilot’s seat, so it was a nice gesture.
“No, but thank you. It kind of hurts my back to lean against a seat.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Is it painful?” Kerri’s concern appeared genuine.
“Yes. My back’s really sore.”
“I wish I could put some more aloe on you.” Kerri’s voice had a sultry edge, and Janine wanted to hear more of it.
“Well, maybe you can, after we land.” Janine couldn’t stop herself from grinning. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d said anything flirtatious to another woman.
A big smile slowly spread across Kerri’s face. “I’d like that. My house is ten minutes from the airport. You could come over for coffee, if you like.” Kerri looked into Janine’s eyes, then reached for her hand and held it, like they were in the water again.
Janine put her other hand over Kerri’s and slowly caressed Kerri’s fingers between her hands. Her hand is so warm. “I almost forgot why I came up here. I wanted to thank you for taking me on that snorkeling trip. It was amazing.”
“You’re very welcome. I’m so glad you had a good time. I really enjoyed snorkeling with you too.”
Janine stared at Kerri’s beautiful lips. They looked so delicious. Then she sensed a slight pull toward Kerri. Was Kerri pulling her hands toward her? Was this some kind of magnetic thing? Whatever it was, Janine decided not to resist. Her lips moved closer to Kerri’s, and she saw just the tip of Kerri’s pink tongue move across her lower lip. I want that.
Janine slowly pressed her lips to Kerri’s and was met with the softest kiss she’d ever felt. She opened her mouth for more, and Kerri slid her hot tongue into Janine’s hungry mouth. Electric current ran directly from Janine’s lips to her belly as a small moan escaped her mouth. Kerri’s kiss became more intense. She moved her hand up to Janine’s neck and caressed the side of her face as Kerri kissed her fervently. Janine was losing herself in the flood of sensations from Kerri’s kisses.
“Ding.” They jumped apart. It was the cabin-to-cockpit chime. Kerri reached up to a panel and flipped on the switch for the overhead light. Janine stood up and smoothed out her uniform dress. They were acting like teenagers caught necking.
“Joe’s at the door. I’ll let him in. Are you stepping back, Kerri?”
“No, thank you.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you after landing.”
“You sure will.” Kerri flashed that dazzling smile again. This would be a long three hours.