Page 30 of Friendly Skies
There was another pause, a beat, and Darius knew Luis was letting this new reality settle into his heart because Darius was doing the same thing. How could any of this be real? And yet. It was. Luis Herrera actually loved him.
“I can’t wait for you to come home, chico,” Darius said.
“It’s going to be the longest flight e-fucking-ever.”
“But then you’ll be here, and I’ll be able to tell you how much I love you in person.”
“Oh my God,” Luis whispered. “You know how much shit we’re going to get from everyone?”
They both laughed, and Darius felt his world fall back into place and start to turn again.
Chapter seven
Luis
Without a doubt, thefollowing forty-eight hours were the longest of Luis’ life. He felt certain he’d have lost his mind without Paul and some of his fellow attendants keeping him focused on the task at hand. Still. A ridiculous grin crossed his face whenever he thought about Darius, and he found himself blurting out, “He loves me” to whoever was in his vicinity.
“Of course he does,” Paul said after what was at least the thirtieth time since they’d left Brussels.
The fact that Luis and Darius were finally getting together would have been the main topic of conversation amongst the flight crew if not for the incident on Darius’ flight. The videos had been watched, and the conversation was ongoing in the Facebook group. Their own roommate chat had been lively; even Ricky was taking potshots at the two of them. But none of it mattered.
“He loves me,” Luis said to Paul again as he sorted cups into the beverage trolley.
Paul looked up at him from where he crouched looking for more bottles of Bloody Mary mix and gave a very put-upon sigh. “You used to be a much better conversationalist. You know this, right?”
“I’m sorry,” Luis said with a helpless shrug.
Turning back to his search, Paul muttered, “I cannot wait for this flight to be over.”
“But you love me, too,” Luis said.
“I do, sweetheart, I do.”
And so it went for the rest of the flight. Thankfully, it was a smooth flight without any issues or irritated passengers, but by the time they landed, Luis was pretty sure his fellow attendants would have loved nothing more than to have thrown him off the plane mid-flight if they could have, but they were also all grinning at him and joking with him as they left the jetway and emerged into the terminal.
Luis felt as if he was floating, his feet barely touching the floor as he forced himself to keep pace with his coworkers. All he wanted to do was run through the airport, grab a Lyft, and get his ass home. He texted Darius that he was back, then stared at his phone while waiting to see a response. When there wasn’t anything, he frowned and sent another text, then called, but it went straight to voicemail.
“Anyone want to grab a drink now that we’re off the clock?” one of the attendants asked playfully.
When Luis flipped him the finger, everyone laughed.
“Put your phone away, sweetheart,” Paul said as the sliding doors parted and they stepped into the public area of the airport.
“What? Why?” Luis looked up, and when Paul nudged his shoulder, he understood. Because Darius was standing there with a sign that read “I love you” and a bouquet of red roses.
Luis stopped dead. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening to him. It was like something out of the swooniestromance. The love of his life was standing before him, proclaiming his love for all the world to see, and all Luis could do was stare at him and try to remember how to breathe.
“Go get him,” Paul said as he pried Luis’ hand from the handle on his flight bag.
Almost of their own volition, Luis’ feet carried him across the floor and into Darius’ arms. The poster board sign fell to the ground, and then Luis was lifted off his feet. He felt the flowers crush against his back, the rough edge of a leaf grazing his skin, but he didn’t care. His arms went around Darius’ neck, and he stared into the face of the man he had loved for most of his life. He knew every feature on this face, down to the dark lashes that framed Darius’ beautiful eyes, the exact angle of his cheekbones, the curve of his lips. He had studied Darius’ face so often and thought he knew all of his best friend’s expressions, but the way Darius stared at him in this moment was completely new. Love had always been there, but now there was passion, there was desire, and there was so much joy Luis felt it to the very core of his being.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he whispered.
“Of course I am, chico. I will always be here for you. Can I kiss you?”
“Oh my God.” Tears filled Luis’ eyes. “If you don’t, I think I’m going to die.”
“Can’t have that, can we?”
