Playing With Fire

Chapter 3

I continued to stare at him, not knowing what to tell him. He took off his coolers and finally, I get to see his whole face. He had a set of green eyes that were framed with thick curly lashes and perfectly angled eyebrows.

He looked too good to be true.

He was still watching me in interest, tilting his face to the side as if he was trying to get a better look making me feel uncomfortable under his gaze. Something about the way he was looking at me made me feel almost naked.

I looked away, not wanting to see his face, and lifted my heavy tongue to say something, "Um, I-"

"This should be interesting," He said, cutting me off abruptly. I looked at him again and furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "I was told that no one will be sitting here actually" He said, narrowing his eyes on me almost accusingly. The way he was speaking English suggested to me that it was not his mother tongue.

I started to shake my head at him, not wanting him to get other ideas, "This is not my seat" I said, "The seat I was supposed to be in has been ruined with orange juice so they put me here" I explained to him.

He continued to stare at me as if he was analyzing all the details on my face."Do you want me to leave then?" I asked, putting both of my hands on the armrest to push myself up, "I can do that-"

"That's okay," He said, stopping me from standing up, "I don't mind having your company. It's oddly refreshing" He added making me arch an eyebrow at him.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

He opened his mouth to say something but someone spoke via the speakers, beating him to it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. We would be leaving for Italy now and expected to arrive there at two in the afternoon, local time. Please fasten your seatbelt and get ready for take-off. We hope you have a pleasant journey with us"

A few stewardesses did a demo on how to wear the seatbelts and how to inflate the life jacket in case if they had to make an emergency landing. I listened to them diligently, wanting to know the safety precautions.

I felt the flight moving and clutched myself to the seat, saying a prayer in my mind. This is my first flight and I hope it isn't my last. Soon the flight started to move forward at high speed.

"I assume you have never been on a flight before" I heard the man say and I opened my eyes that I didn't realize closing to look at him.

"How do you know that?"I asked. Is it that obvious?

He looked really relaxed as he leaned comfortably against the seat."The way you're gripping the seat for your dear life kind of gives it away" He smiled at me, his eyes were amused.

"I am just nervous," I said breathlessly as I felt the tires of the flight leaving the ground. I tried to think of everything else except the fact that I am in a gigantic metal box that is flying in the air, thousands of feet above sea level.

The smile on his face widened,"Relax" He said almost soothingly that I found myself relaxing, "The probability of a flight crashing is really low" He suddenly added making me stiffen.

I glowered at him, "That doesn't really help" I muttered at him, looking away from him.

The flight was flying upwards before it finally stabled into a straighter position. I blew a breath of relief, "Wow" I gasped, "That's not as bad as I thought" I smiled, allowing myself to lean back to the seat and making myself comfortable.

From the corners of my eyes, I noticed that he was still looking at me but I pretended to be oblivious. He is a stranger to me and there's no need to talk with him anymore after this.

"Look"

I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows in question. "Not at me," He said, chuckling softly at me. He nodded his head to the side, gesturing at the window, "I meant to say look out" He said with a smile.

I nodded my head and looked out the window. A gasp left from my lips when my eyes landed on the most amazing sight that I have ever witnessed."It's pretty out there" I said, looking at the forest and rivers from the aerial view.

Nature is truly breathtaking.

The green-eyed man cleared his throat to get my attention, "So why are you going to Italy?" He asked me and I turned my head to look at him again and found him staring at me curiously.

It was a personal question. I had no obligation to answer it. I contemplated ignoring him but I don't know if I can do that for the next nine hours. He was sitting right in front of me and I have to meet his eyes at one point.

So I decided to be nice to him. I wouldn't probably meet him after this flight anyway and I didn't like to leave a bad impression on anyone. No matter if we cross paths in the future or not.

I sighed, "I am starting a job there" I finally said after a good minute of silence, "How about you?"I asked him, just for a formality.

What am I going to do with knowing why he was going to Italy.

"It's my home" Was his simple answer.

So I guessed it right. English wasn't his first language."Ah, I was wondering why your accent is like that" I said, nodding my head to myself. I briefly wondered how he would sound like while he is speaking Italian. He had a deep voice and it will only accentuate the words he will say.

He looked a little offended from what I had said. His nostrils flared and he glowered at me, "Why?" He asked me defensively, "What's wrong with my English?" He asked, his eyes daring me to say something that he doesn't like.

Now I was the one who is starting to get amused. That little comment was enough to throw him to an edge, "Nothing is wrong" I said, with a shake of my head. "I have been always fascinated by people who can speak more than one language. Fluently"

It was the truth. I always wished that I can speak more than a language. Well, now that I got a job in Italy and it seemed like I would be here for a long time, I might as well learn Italian.

It might be hard at first but I am petty sure that it will be worth it.

The green-eyed man obviously didn't expect that from me, "Why is that?"He asked me, leaning away from the back of his seat to lean towards me.

I tried to choose the right words so I can deliver the real reason behind my liking toward bilingual people, "They probably know a lot more things that we don't"I finally said after a few seconds of silence.

He stayed silent as processed my words, "You're something else" He said, an attractive smile playing on his lips. I also noticed that the smile on his face made him look much friendlier. I am pretty sure no one would approach him if he wasn't smiling.

I also noticed that the aura around him had authority and power in it. The way he was sitting suggested to me that he could be arrogant as well. Still, it made him attractive.

We fell into a comfortable silence after that. I turned my head to the side to look out of the window here and frowned when I only get to see the clouds. We were flying through the clouds.

Suddenly the whole plane shook for a few seconds and I grabbed the sides of my seat, squeezing my eyelids shut in fright. I said a prayer under my breath and hoped that everything is still under the control of the pilots.

I felt the plane dip down a little and my heart started to beat loudly against my chest. I held my breath and waited anxiously for this to pass.

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand prying my hand away from the seat. My eyes flew open in shock as he smoothed my hand in his and began to massage it with his thumb soothingly, "Relax, this will pass in a few" He said in a soft voice. He was still sitting in his seat but thanks to his height, he reached over to me easily.

I immediately relaxed at that and gave him a nod as I gnawed on my lips.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are currently experiencing some turbulence due to bad weather. Please keep your seatbelts on and remain seated. The usage of the restroom is prohibited during this time"

He smiled at me assuringly and I tried to offer him a smile in return but I am pretty sure that it looked like a grimace.

But he was right. After a few minutes, the plane stopped shaking and we were once again flying through the air steadily.

Phew, that's a relief.

He patted my hand and leaned away when he noticed the relief on my face. "It wasn't the worst turbulence that I have experienced. On the contrary, that was nothing compared to what I have experienced" He added, leaning his back to his seat again.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, "Well it was worst to me" I said, lifting my eyes to him again, "The way you're talking about flying makes me not take a flight anymore after this" I stated blankly without any emotion in my eyes or voice.

He threw his head back and chuckled heartily as if I had cracked a good joke. "Italy is a great place to move in permanently if that is the case" He finally said after his laughter subsided.

I didn't answer him. Instead, I gave him a tight smile and looked away from him. I haven't fully decided yet if I am leaving Canada for good or not. I don't have anyone or anything back in Canada that requires me to go back there and it made me feel sad.

I was afraid if I would spend the rest of my life without having anyone by my side.

"Did I say something wrong?" I heard him ask.

I smiled to myself and shook my head at him without looking back at him. We heard another announcement after that let us undo our seatbelts and granted the use of the toilet.

I sighed again. Watching the clouds. It was getting darker outside. The sun was going down, preparing for another day.

I felt his gaze on me the entire time and it made me feel really uncomfortable. He may look handsome and all but I still don't know if he is a good person or not. Well, so far he does seem nice but I still haven't decided yet.

Soon, the stewardess started to wheel a cart with food and beverages through the narrow path. I didn't order anything and I didn't want to pay a ridiculous amount of my money for a sandwich. It was enough that my forty dollars have gone in vain.

From the corners of my eyes, I saw the stewardess handing him the food and I prayed that my body wouldn't do anything embarrassing like letting a growl. I wasn't starving but I am tempted. At least that's what I kept saying to myself in order to make myself feel better.

The stewardess walked away after that, pushing the cart along with her."Aren't you going to have anything?" He asked me.

I let my eyes flicker towards him for a few seconds and shook my head, "No, I am good" I said with a nod of my head as I tried to look unaffected. I held my breath and tried not to think of food.

Thank god my stomach didn't decide to grumble during this time. I would have died in embarrassment right then and here.

He didn't look convinced by my answer but he didn't press me further again. I don't know how am I going to spend the remaining eight hours with him. I looked away again and prayed to God so that the stranger keeps his mouth shut for the rest of the journey.

But something tells me he wouldn't.