Dani looked out the large window at Orlando International Airport toward the waiting plane. She took a deep breath trying to shake off her fear. It was always like this before a flight. The tingling sensation in her hands. The knot in her stomach. The instinct that made her want to turn and run the other way. In her time with The Backstreet Boys, she had flown all over the world, determined not to let a few nerves keep her from living her life. But she never failed to be close to panic before a flight. She knew it was an irrational fear, but she couldn't shake it. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she struggled to gather her courage. "OK Dani, it is just a silly airplane. You have been on tons of them. Millions of people fly in them everyday. You can handle this," she told herself out loud.
A pair of soft, warm hands slid around her waist from behind. His strong, masculine body enveloped her. Letting herself be drawn deeply into his embrace, her tension eased. "I wish there was some way I could make this easier for you, baby." Howie said reassuringly. Dani closed her eyes and said, "I know, just you being close to me makes it easier."
"Yeah, look on the bright side Dani." AJ quipped as he walked up to them with Sam in tow. "If the plane crashes, you and Howie will die together." Dani and Howie both shot AJ an irritated look. Sam smacked his head with the back of her hand, knocking his hat askew. He grinned at her as he straightened his ballcap.
The voice on the loud speaker announced that the plane was ready for preboarding. Howie had arranged with the airline for the group to board ahead of the other passengers. That way they could take their seats at the back of the plane without being seen by the majority of the passengers. It was their only hope of not having to sign autographs for every passenger on the plane. Having to book the flight on such short notice had allowed them little choice in airlines. All the first class seats on the larger airlines had been sold out. AJ had decided that Southwest Airlines, with its two rows of seating facing each other in the back of the plane, offered them the best chance at anonymity. A flight attendant came into the private lounge along side the gate and escorted them on to the plane.
The attendant helped Sam stow her carry on luggage as well as hers and Dani's laptops while Howie, Dani, and AJ settled into the row of seats facing the tail of the plane. With their backs to the entering passengers, they hoped to avoid being recognized. Sam sat down directly across from them in the middle seat, facing Dani. Unable to keep her mind on the conversation, Sam let her attention fall on the boarding passengers. Mostly, the Sunday morning flight was filled with families returning home from vacationing in Orlando. Sam didn't know whether to dread the presence of so many children on the flight because of her aching head, or let herself fall deep into the fantasy of what it would be like to hold her own child in her arms. Hers and AJ's. Yeah, right, she told herself, rolling her eyes behind her dark glasses. Readjusting her focus to keep her mind from wandering down a path she didn't want to go, she let her eyes fall on a man who was reaching up to the overhead compartment, placing a laptop computer with his bag. She pushed her shades up on her head in order to get a better look at him. He seemed familiar but she couldn't place him. Tall, blonde.... She sat up quickly, surprised and fearful, as the fog in her head cleared and she realized where she had seen the man before.
"Sam, if you're going to be sick again, use a barf bag, okay?" AJ said noticing her odd behavior. Sam shot AJ an irritated look and then ignored him. "Dani, do you remember the man from Disney yesterday? The one you thought was the plain-clothed security guard Howie hired to watch us?"
"I didn't arrange for any Disney security for you yesterday." Howie said puzzled.
Sam thought that it was very possible that she was going to be sick as all the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place in her memory. The blonde man in the black sedan parked outside Howie and Dani's house on the day she arrived, the man in the car that followed them to Disney World, the security guard.... They were all the same person. Seeing the panic on her friend's face, Dani turned and followed the direction of Sam's gaze to the man. "Sam, it's probably just a coincidence. I'm sure he's just a tourist. We're all just a little jumpy, that's all," Dani said, trying to calm her friend.
"No, Dani, I'm telling you. He's been following us! I saw him outside your house in a parked car when I first arrived. I was even considering asking him for a ride back to the airport. He was the man in the car that I thought was following us on the way to Disney yesterday. And it is no coincidence when you see the same tourist on every ride and in every shop in the magic kingdom! Not to mention the monorail and the restaurant we had lunch in. And now he is on this plane!" Her voice was rising with her panic. "Oh my God! Dani, what if he was the one that broke into your office?"
AJ reached across and grabbed Sam's hands, holding them firmly against her knees. "Would you calm down? You'll have everyone within five aisles looking back here." He held her gaze with his eyes. "I mean it, Sam. Even if by some weird chance he is involved with the CD, there's nothing he can do on the plane," he told her. "Now, just chill, woman." Sam pulled her hands out of his grasp. "Don't tell me what to do, McLean," she said, stiffening her back. "I'm a journalist. I'm trained to notice details. And I know what I'm talking about when I tell you that man is following us!" AJ rolled his eyes at her pronouncement. "For someone who's "trained to notice details" there's a hell of a lot of them you missed the last six months," he retorted.
Sam narrowed her eyes at him. "And just what is that suppose to mean?" she asked coldly. AJ returned her stare and opened his mouth to reply. He closed it again, shaking his head. "Just forget it," he said.
"What?" she insisted.
"Do you two mind?" Howie interrupted. "You are drawing attention to us." Sam and AJ both turned to look at the other passengers who were staring in their direction. Two pretty teenage girls waved at AJ and he smiled, waving back. Sam rolled her eyes as the two girls squealed shrilly. "Oh, great!" she mumbled, sliding her sunglasses back over her eyes. The plane pulled away from the gate and began it's taxi to the runway. Sam glanced over at Dani, who had a death grip on Howie's hand. "You okay?" she asked her friend. Dani nodded slightly. "You don't look okay," Sam told her. "Are you sure you don't want a Valium?"
"Take two or three, Dani," AJ suggested jokingly. "That should get you through all three take offs." Dani's face turned even paler. "You mean we aren't flying nonstop to Dallas?" AJ stretched his legs out and folded his hands behind his head. "Nah, I booked the scenic flight. Orlando to New Orleans, Houston, and then Dallas." Dani stood up suddenly and would have been halfway to the door if Howie hadn't still been holding on to her hand. He pulled her back into her seat just as the flight attendant began her take off spiel. Dani dropped her head in her hand as Howie leaned over and fastened her seat belt. "It'll be all right, baby," he said softly. She looked up at him, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping at her eyes. "If we can just get through the take off. I hate this part. I just can't imagine how something this big gets off the ground and stays in the air." She laughed shakily. Howie slid his arm around her shoulders as the plane taxied out to the long runway and stopped. "Just hang in there, Dani. When we get to the hotel later, I promise I'll make this up to you," he said, kissing her gently.
"How could you?" Sam leaned forward and hissed at AJ. "You know it's the take off that scares her the most."
"Well, excuse me," AJ said sarcastically. "This was the best flight I could get on such short notice!" The two ignored each other as the captain announced they had been cleared for departure and the plane started down the runway. Dani closed her eyes and held on to Howie as she was pushed back against her seat. She felt the nose of the plane lift and then a second later, the rear wheels left the ground and the plane began it's steep climb out. She hated the feeling of being pulled upward. Gravity wanting to keep her on the ground, but the plane forcing her upward against her will. After the plane had climbed for a few minutes and then leveled off, Dani sighed in relief. At least there hadn't been any turbulence during the take off. As her heart rate began to return to normal, Dani opened her eyes and smiled sheepishly at Howie. She shrugged at his look of concern. "Am I missing something here?" Howie asked, a puzzled expression on his face. "Because you usually handle this a little bit better than you just did. I mean, I've never seen it make you cry," he added. "Didn't you take that anxiety medication your doctor prescribed to help you relax when you fly?"
"I forgot my Lorazapam at home," Dani told him, her eyes sliding away from his. "Ummmmm, that
headache still bothering you Sam?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Howie continued to stare at
her. He knew she was under a lot of stress because of the CD, but he had a feeling there was more she
wasn't telling him. Sam looked over the top of her sunglasses at AJ. "Yeah, he's still there," she told
Dani. AJ smirked at her and stood up from his seat. He walked up to where the two teenagers sat,
glancing back at Sam as he squatted in the aisle next to them. "Hello ladies," he said smoothly, "I'm AJ."
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