I wait for Avery on my plane. I sent a car for her so that she doesn’t have to drive. We haven’t seen each other since that one earth-shattering afternoon in her tiny apartment. I’ve never felt this drawn to anyone before. My mind keeps swirling back to her. What she tastes like. How she laughs. The way her lips curl upward, as if in a smile when she gets upset. I crave her. I need her. I’m not someone who’s used to needing anymore.

When her car pulls up, my heart starts to beat a little faster. I nervously play with my cufflinks. I’m wearing a button-down shirt, a gray tie and matching charcoal-gray pants. I brush my fingers through the back of my hair – I just got a new haircut, and I feel a little naked now. It’s a bit too short for comfort.

After a month away in cold and perpetually overcast Washington D.C, my tan has faded a bit. This must be remedied ASAP. My body is starved for sunlight, warmth and Avery. I glance down at my phone absent-mindedly, listening for her footsteps going up the plane.

“Ms. Lewis? My name is Kim, and I will be your flight attendant this evening,” Kim introduces herself.

“Oh please call me Avery,” I hear her say. “Is Logan here?”

“Avery,” I say, walking up to her. I put my arms around her and give her a warm hug. I can feel how fast her heart is beating through her dress. After pulling away, I kiss her. Her lips are soft and responsive, but after a month apart, the kiss is rather chaste. Both of us are keenly aware of Kim’s presence.

I show her to the seat across from me. She’s wearing a short grey dress with long sleeves. Her legs are toned and bronzed and adorned with red heels, which match her nail polish and lips perfectly.

“I’ve missed you,” I say quietly.

“I’ve missed you too,” she says. I’ve completely forgotten that when Avery smiles, she smiles with her whole body. I want to grab her, pull her close to me and kiss her properly, but I restrain myself.

“Wow, this plane is beautiful,” Avery says, looking around. “Are we the only ones going on this flight?”

“That’s the best thing about private planes. You don’t have to travel with anyone you don’t want to.”

Her hazel eyes sparkle in the light.

“Is this real leather?”

I nod.

“What can I make you to drink?” Kim’s comes over. She’s leggy, with large breasts and very easy on the eyes. She’s my perfect type, but I’ve never made a move. I don’t sleep with the help. This wasn’t always my policy. Last year, I made the mistake of sleeping with my old flight attendant, Cherry – that was actually her name! – and when I got bored, I had to pay her a pretty extensive severance package to get rid of her. I couldn’t very well bring dates on my private plane with my ex-hook up serving us drinks.

“I’ll have a dry martini, well, you know how I like it. And you?” I turn to Avery.

She’s staring at Kim’s cleavage. I don’t blame her. Her breasts are more than a little mesmerizing.

“I’ll have a sangria. If you have the ingredients.”

“Oh yes, of course,” Kim smiles. Kim’s the ultimate professional even if she doesn’t really dress like one.

“She’s very pretty,” Avery says disapprovingly.

“Yes, she is,” I say, “but not as pretty as you.”

Avery rolls her eyes, as if she doesn’t believe me. Her self-esteem is something that I’m really going to have to work on. The only unattractive thing about her is her lack of confidence.

“So how was work?” she asks.

I sigh, looking away into the distance.

“Tiring,” I say. “Boring. Not very interesting.”

I don’t know how else to describe what happened over the last month. I’ve participated in more tests and training than I ever care to again. I’ve never been through anything that exhausting before, not even when I just started. I guess they know that my contract is expiring and there’s no way in hell I’m going to re-up. So they decided to drain me completely – emotionally, physically, and mentally. I don’t really understand the rationale though. Wouldn’t you want your agents to go out into the field, on very dangerous missions, well-rested and in full control of their faculties? All those analysts and scientists and they don’t know the first thing about being a human being.

Kim brings us our drinks and disappears.

“Wow, this is so good,” Avery says, taking a sip of her sangria, following it up with a big gulp.

My martini also goes down nicely. In addition to all the annoying tests, I also haven’t had a drink in a month. This one both exhilarates and relaxes me.

“Are you looking forward to the wedding?” she asks.

“Not as much as I’m looking forward to doing some of those things we talked about over text.”

Avery blushes, looking away. Was that a bit too far? I scrutinize her face for signs. No. She likes it. She’s trying to pretend that she doesn’t, but I can see that she does.

A couple hours later, we land in Tulum, Mexico. The nearest commercial airport is in Cancun, about two hours away by car. Here’s yet another perk of flying private. We step off the plane. The air is thick with moisture. My eyes, which often get dry in California, feel satiated.

“Oh wow,” Avery says, inhaling the world around her. “The air smells like the ocean, doesn’t it?”

I take a deep breath. A thick aroma of salt and flowers overpower my senses. The starchiness of my collar lets go a little, relaxing under the humidity.

“I feel like a movie star in the 60’s,” Avery whispers as we walk down the stair ramp. “Not many of them get off planes like this anymore, do they?”

I smile and wink at her.

“In that dress, you could pass for a movie star anywhere.”

She blushes and stumbles a little.

The airport faces the Caribbean, and far in the distance, I see its unforgettable blueness calling to me. I’ve always loved the Caribbean. The Pacific has its charms, but the water there is cold and unwelcoming in comparison to the Caribbean. Right now, I wonder why I still live in Malibu at all. I could live anywhere I want. We’re not anywhere near the beach, but the Caribbean is definitely making quite an argument. I wonder what Avery would think of that?

Shit. Did I just really think this? We’ve had two dates. This weekend is technically only our third. And yet, the closeness that I feel toward her is unlike anything I felt for anyone else. I crave her. Want her. I feel myself becoming needy around her. You know what? Fuck Dolly. Why the hell did she have to introduce me to this marvelous creature? I was fine going through life a bachelor. I was fine with my life the way it was before. Basically one endless fuck fest interrupted by a few nice dinners and a couple of three-martini lunches.

“Are you okay?” Avery asks. I must’ve blanked out. I don’t remember the last thing I said.

“Yep, fine. Just taking it all in.”

“If this is the airport, I can’t imagine what the rest looks like,” she says looking around. We landed on a small runway surrounded by thick jungle on both sides. To make the airport, they literally cut a strip away in the green.

“What is that sound?” Avery asks.

“Which one?”

Everything around buzzes with life. There are ibises walking around and crickets and other insects singing on top of their voices. Southern California is by all accounts a desert and, though there’s a lot of life in the desert, it doesn’t buzz, thrive or thump all around. There are insects and bugs, but they don’t make their presence known loudly. Not like here.

A car is already waiting for us. The driver carries our bags and places them carefully in the trunk.

“You have quite a lifestyle here,” Avery says.

“Oh, you like what you see?”

“Of course, who wouldn’t? First class is definitely the way to go.”

“I have a secret to share with you,” I say, putting my around her shoulders and giving her a small peck on the cheek. “This is better than first class.”

She shakes her head and bursts out in a sexy little laugh.

“The cockiness that comes with it does leave much to be desired,” she says.

“I’m not so sure you believe that,” I say, laughing. I grab her waist and tickle her until she admits defeat.