by Gayle Keo
Abby decided that in order to start her new life, starting a new career would be the best way to go. She enrolled in the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, clear across the country from where she used to be in California. Even that wasn’t going to be far enough away without needing a passport for people to forget where and who she was. She wasn’t going to be an embarrassment to herself or her family like she already was.
She recently received the keys to her apartment in the harbor’s historical downtown. The building she was able to rent out was cheap, she had never seen rent so low in a place such as this and she wondered why it was like that. Looking around her California flat one more time, she looked Sondra over carefully.
”Stay.” Sondra pleaded.
“You know that’s not possible. I have to go. My family is all over the tabloids. Paparazzi are swarming, I have no choice but to do this. It might be okay for you, or someone else, but it would never end for me. It has to be this way.” Abby had changed her name, her identity her entire everything.
She was the daughter of Michael Custer, the billionaire, and all she wanted was to get far away from her father.
“I understand you need to do this, but you still are able to live comfortably. You’ll never have to learn the true struggle of, well… being me.” She shook her head slowly.
“So what’s the point of doing all this?” Sondra asked her.
“No one else will have to know that! I’m late for my plane. I’ll let you know where I am and when I land in Bar Harbor. It shouldn’t really take all day.” Abby gave Sondra a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be okay, I promise.” Even though Sondra had heard those words before, she trusted that her friend knew exactly what she was doing and wasn’t going to question her any more. However, Abby knew it wasn’t going to be the last time she was going to hear about it. She would hear it from afar for a very long time.
Getting in the cab, she looked around to see if anyone had seen her leave Sondra’s apartment and breathed out a huge sigh of relief.
“Airport please.” She told the cab driver and he started off towards the airport. She leaned back to relax for a short time before the chaos would start and interrupt the solitude of her quiet mind. She wondered if she was making the right decision, but wasn’t about to second guess herself. It was to late for that. She was already on her way and she started her classes tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. at the College of the Atlantic. She was going to take advantage of the Maine culture of wildlife, and being on the Atlantic was the best decision she could have made to start her new life.
All anyone ever talked to her about was money, and how she could do whatever she wanted, when she wanted to do, it and how she got it done. Here, she hoped it would be different (little did she know it wouldn’t be) but she could have certainly tried to act like it would be. Finally getting to the airport, she paid the cabbie and walked in, taking her bags where they needed to go. She went through security and walked to the gate for her flight and sat in one of the chairs waiting for the time to board her plane.
As she sat there she looked across the way and saw a very handsome gentleman watching her carefully. She smiled toward him and nodded. They had quite a while to wait for their plane, and Abby was always at least an hour early for her flights, she was never one to procrastinate on anything.
She was getting bored so she decided to make a gutsy move and walk over towards the window and watch the planes land and take off for just a little while. It was an excuse to see if someone would take her seat and she would actually be able to sit next to the strange man. She looked around beside him and noticed no one was even near their terminal and wondered if they were going to have a small amount of people on their flight.
Deciding to go ahead and just sit down next to him, she did and was glad she did. Whatever cologne he was wearing smelled divine to her and it was all she could do to not jump him right then and there.
“If you don’t mind me being so bold; your cologne smells simply amazing! What is it that you use so that I might buy it for my husband?” She asked, not afraid to tell a lie to get where and what she wanted.
“Oh? This? It’s simple to remember, it’s just Old Spice.” He replied, giving her a genuinely handsome smile. She smiled back enjoying his warmth sitting next to him in the chair.
“Simply old spice or not, it still smells very nice on you and I’m sorry for being so straight forward, but it suits you and your looks so nicely.”
“Well, I thank you very much ma’am, I don’t usually get such straight forward compliments, so thank you. It’s made my day.” He said to her, shifting a little in his seat and adjusting his collar of his shirt not wanting her to see all the hair on his neck and make her take back the compliment and get all weirded out.
“Please, not ma’am, my name is Abby.” She said.
“Nice to meet you Abby, My name is Kurt. Where are you headed on our flight this fine day?” He asked her.
“I’m moving to Bar Harbor Maine, have you heard of it?” She asked.
“Actually, ironic as it may sound, I’m headed there myself!” He said excitedly, not knowing if it was coincidence or maybe he had a stalker and just didn’t know what he was up against, even though she seemed rather sweet and absolutely harmless.
She beamed a beautiful smile at him and her eyes got big and bright and he might have even seen a tiny sparkle in her left eye. “Simply amazing! It would be even more simply amazing if I ended up getting to sit by you on the entire flight there!” she said excitedly. “Are you flying first class? You’re here awfully early to just be flying coach.” She said.
He chuckled a little. “Nope, I’m in coach. I like getting to my appointments early, no time for error.” He said, grinning at her. She smiled back again at him and did a little thinking, she really liked this guy and was curious about him, she wanted to know more.
She nodded to him relaxed in her seat, watching the planes pull into their gates. She got up from her seat and walked over towards the front desk. “What would it take to get this gentleman’s seat upgraded to a seat next to me in first class?”
The desk clerk looked over the seating arrangements “The flight isn’t full today, there’s a seat right next to yours, if you’d like to upgrade to that.”
She thought about that and looked back over towards Kurt. Was it worth it? Yes, totally! “That would be great! Is there an extra charge?” She asked.
“No, since you are buying another seat I won’t tack on any extra fees for you, we’ll add some extra flyer miles to your account.”
“Thank you, Can I upgrade without letting him know until he actually boards the plane?”
The clerk smiled. “Certainly.” Abby smiled at the clerk and walked back over toward their seats.
“Everything okay?” Kurt asked her.
“Oh yes, I was just making sure I had my arrangements made and a car to meet me at the airport when I got there.” He nodded and continued to read the book he bought that morning at one of the gift shops.
“How’s your book?” Abby asked him, looking at the cover trying to read the title.
“Honestly, it’s horribly boring. There are no pictures in it!” She laughed, maybe a little to loudly, but he was glad she had a sense of humor.
“All passengers flying flight 1837 Cape Air may now come up to the terminal with their tickets.” They both looked up and started to pick up their belongings and walked towards the gate entrance.
“First class passengers first please.” The girl at the gate announced. Abby picked up her carry-on bag and her jacket and purse and walked over toward the gate and handed the girl her ticket.
“Thank you ma’am, hope you have a great flight today with Cape Air.”
Abby smiled and walked ahead and didn’t really look around to see if Kurt was watching her, she didn’t want it to seem obvious.
She did hear him talking on his phone. “I’ll see you in a few hours babe, don’t forget to meet
me at the airport, should be there in a few hours, I’ll text you when we land.”
Abby’s heart sank. Damn, well at least he’ll have a comfortable flight and I’ll have decent company, she thought. She moved through the line and she was thankful that there really weren’t a lot of people flying first class this trip. It would be somewhat quiet. She walked down the terminal and got to her seat, one of the flight attendants actually recognized her and smiled widely at her.
“Welcome to Cape Air, Miss Custer. Is there anything I can get for you before we take off?” Her voice was a little too excited.
“No thank you.” Abby put her carry-on in the bin above her and waited until Kurt entered the first class cabin. A few moments went by and she started to wonder if he had declined the offer.
*****
She thought to soon and saw him pull the curtain back and peek inside. “Am I in the right spot?” He asked the flight attendant standing by the entrance.
“Let me see your ticket and I can let you know.” She took his ticket and looked it over. Noticing right away that he was to sit next to Miss Custer. “Yes sir, follow me and I can show you your seat.” He nodded and did as he was told.
Seeing Abby being seated next to him, he smiled brightly at her. “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” He said to her.
“Why, yes it is! My flight will sure be a lot more pleasant now and you won’t have to listen to crying babies.” She grinned at him.
“Did you have anything to do with this?” He asked.
“Nope, not sure what you mean?”
He laughed happily, “Well, it’ll be an experience and thankfully I’ll get to experience it with you!”
She smiled, thankful that he was happy, she felt as though she did her good deed for the day. They both got comfortable in their seats and listened to the captain talk about their flight and watched the stewardess showing them how to work the masks and everything else they needed to know about their flight. Their seat belt light dinged on and both Kurt and Abby put their belts on and waited for take off, having a slight moment of silence between them.
She felt comfortable sitting next to Kurt. She had been around plenty of men but she never had felt this comfortable next to them. She liked that feeling. She put her arm on the arm rest and they both had done the move at the same time, bumping each other, letting their bodies touch one another for the first time. She blushed deeply.
“Oh… I’m sorry,” she said softly.
He was starting to realize there was a reason Abby was wanting to get to know him better but he didn’t know how to tell her without hurting her feelings that he was gay; and had a husband.
“You’re okay. Thank you for your generosity, I really appreciate it. What can I do to pay you back in return?” Kurt asked
She looked at him with a blank look, she hadn’t ever had anyone ask her that. “You don’t have to do a thing, that was compliment of a friend who really enjoys your time. We’ve just met, but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”
He nodded to her response. “I agree, I must tell you though, I have a partner.”
She looked out the window of the plane as they went down the runway. Looking back at him, with a questionable look not sure where to take that response, she replied, “Oh? That’s okay, I would like to meet them one day.”
He looked at her in surprise; the one thing Seff and Kurt had thought of was having a family, but to have a family they would need to search for the perfect surrogate.
Maybe this is something I should bring up to Seff, she seems great enough and even worthy enough to be in our family and have my baby, he thought. Thankfully he didn’t think It out loud. He wouldn’t want to embarrass her right off the bat on the first day they met.
“So, what do you do for a living?” Abby asked, as the plane flew at a comfortable speed, beginning to level out for them, making it a smooth flight.
“I’m a nurse for a big hospital at the children’s hospital. Kind of the NICU, but then I also work in the Pediatrics department as well.”
She smiled again, knowing full well he had a big heart and was happy to hear the job he did, and wondered what his partner did.
“My partner is a family lawyer in Bar Harbor, he’s originally from Bar Harbor and lived there for many years, he only left to go to college and finish his bar exam.” He grinned over at her. “What is it that you do Abby?”
“Well, honestly, I’ve worked in my father’s business since I graduated high school and I needed a change from the family drama. I decided that before it was to late, I’m going to attend the College of the Atlantic and be a marine biologist and work with sea life.”
She talked happily of the things she wanted do with her life. No babbling, and she wasn’t making a big story up like most people did when he talked to them.
“That’s wonderful! I love the ocean. Seff and I go surfing and camping a lot on the bay. You’ll love it! You’ll have to join us one day so I can show my gratitude for the kindness you’ve already shown me today!” He beamed at her and she grinned back grasping his hand tightly but almost with a loving touch.
The one thing she did love most about flying first class was that there was a little more privacy and the quietness that went with it. They were the only ones flying first class on that flight and that was amazing in itself because that never happened that she got that lucky!
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing, this never happens where there’s just a couple people in first class. I know that that this is a small flight, but still! This is pretty amazing.”
At that point it was almost half way through the flight and Abby had ordered herself a drink of vodka and cranberry when the flight attendant came through and asked them what they wanted. Grinning at him, while he had just ordered a soda and some little bottle of gin.
“Planning on getting a little tipsy on the flight are you?” she laughed a little louder then she probably ought to have but at that point she didn’t care. She enjoyed Kurt’s company.
“May I offer you a blanket and pillow for the both of you?” The attendant asked.
Abby nodded, “I’ll have both, thank you. Kurt, this is the time to get pampered, the blankets are even heated.” She grinned towards him. She got comfortable in her seat, knowing that it was going to be a long flight.
“How’s your drink?” she asked him with a lazy tone in her voice.
“It’s actually very good, thank you. I’m little more calm now I think, I can do some work that needs to get done by tomorrow morning.” She nodded as she drank her cranberry and vodka.
“How’s your drink?” He asked her seeing her get comfortable. It actually seemed as though she was trying to get closer to him, leaning against his arm, almost ready to fall asleep. He scooted closer to her in the seat, feeling like he was almost in high school again, trying to get a girl’s attention. He really liked this girl, only knowing her for the few hours that they’ve been talking since they met at the airport and he wanted more.
At that moment, not thinking about Seff and ruining the moment for the both of them, he decided against getting his work out and decided he’d like to get comfortable and close to Abby. The closer he got to her first, the most likely Seff would be willing to try for their family one more time. Someone as kind as Abby was she wouldn’t burn them like the last person did.
He leaned the chair back and rested his arm against the rest of the chair, knowing that she already had hers there. Their arms touching each other, she loved his touch already. It was soft and gentle. Knowing that it was wrong because he had his partner to think about, she just couldn’t help enjoying the soft touch of a nice full man. She got closer, acting as though she was falling asleep she leaned her head to one side and Kurt brought his upper body closer so she could rest her head against his shoulder.
*****
“Abby… I have something to ask you… you don’t have to answer right now, it could be days or weeks that you find the right answer for
us,” he said. He was going to be the brave one and just say it outright. He was the more outspoken one in his and Seff’s relationship.
“Yes?” She asked him curiously, but not moving her head.
“May I kiss you? Your touch is soft and gentle and needing, I want to see how you kiss.” She looked at him with a surprised look, not sure what to say, but knowing herself, she’d been wanting to know what his lips felt like against hers. She nodded quietly, not saying anything but just watching him; his movements, his actions, his body.
“Just don’t make any sudden movement, just be gentle.” He whispered to her. She nodded a yes, not even saying okay, just watched him as he leaned in towards her. She closed her eyes and tilted her face to the side just a little bit and felt his breath hot on her cheek. Her heart beating fast against her chest, not sure she could take any more waiting, she touched his soft lips with hers and almost let out a light moan. It had been a long time since she had felt the touch of a man, let alone someone as gentle as Kurt.
He pressed his lips gently against hers and brought his hand up towards her face, soft and caressing. If anything were to come out and happen with the three of them, Kurt already knew he would be the one to be loving towards her. Seff would be loving, but he would be more of a shopping companion. Making love he was great at yes, but it made him nervous and unsure of himself.
Abby felt the twinge of want in her gut and pressed her lips harder against his. She felt a hand unbutton the top of her shirt underneath the blanket, she felt goosebumps rise on her skin and decided then that she wanted him to continue. She felt his hand go further inside her shirt and into her bra, massaging her breast, pulling on her nipple gently between his thumb and finger.
Kurt decided then he was going to have her, he’d make Seff see what he saw and he knew Seff would agree. The three of them could have time together, or their own time with one another, but he already could see that it would be him and Abby this way and Abby and Seff in another way. The thought of it all made him even more excited. Only really thinking of the wolf coming out of him if he got anything more right now and knew he needed to calm down.