The Third

            “I think that my butt has gone numb,” groaned Amity. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her shoulder bashing against Bennett’s arm. “Bennett will you switch seats with me? I need to be able to stretch my legs out, which I cannot do in this undersized middle seat.”

            “Sure,” he mumbled. He stood up to let her out, switching spots, flopping down in the seat next to Jack. Her numb, frozen fingers gently held open the crisp pages of her book. Jack didn’t even look up as they switched spots. Bennett leaned over her shoulder, purposefully shoving his way into her personal space. He analyzed the page she had open.

            “Interesting. Do you like this book?” he asked.

            “Yes,” she murmured, pushing against his shoulder. He sighed and sat back in his seat, looking around for some form of entertainment. She flipped the book over on her lap and pulled her bag up from off the floor. She pulled out a book and handed it to him.

            “Hey! This is mine,” he cried.

            “I know. You left it at my house,” she laughed, dropping the bag back onto the floor. Bennett groaned in defeat and flipped the book open. Satisfied she sat back and continued reading. She couldn’t believe that they had only been in the air for an hour.

            A soft pressure on his left arm made Bennett look over. Jack’s book had slid down in her lap, barely being held open by her limp fingers. Smiling to himself he grabbed the book before it could fall shut and loose her page. Folding the top corner of the page, he shut the book and slid it in the pouch attached to the seat in front of her. Carefully, as to not wake her, he reached across her and slid the window cover shut.

            He could feel her breath, gently brushing the hair on his arm. She smelled faintly of her perfume, ginger and cinnamon. Wafting throughout the spicy smell was a gentle mint smell of her disposed of gum. The smell of her shampoo was faint but he could faintly make out its fruit and coconut smell with her so close.

            He shook the thoughts out of his head and turned back to his book. Unconsciously he ran his fingers over the indentations on inside of his front cover. ‘Happy Birthday Bennett! ~Love, Jack.’ It was his birthday present from her two years ago. It was his favorite book. Flipping the page, he continued the story that he already had memorized.

            “You like her don’t you?” asked Amity.

            “What? What are you talking about?” he sputtered.

            “Don’t play that with me. Jack. You like her. I can tell.” She stated. He shushed her, lowering his voice.

            “She maybe asleep but if she wakes up to this conversation, I’ll never live it down.” He sighed. “How can you tell?”

            “Because I’m her best friend and I’m supposed to watch for things like that.” She chuckled. “Don’t worry; I’m sure this trip is exactly what you two need.” Ignoring his protests, she plugged in her headphones into her iPod and turned up her music. Groaning, he closed his book and slid it into his bag. He leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.

            What if he just asked her? There was nothing he could really lose. Though, he thought, he should probably wait until they were back in the U.S. It would be awkward if her reaction was bad in a separate country where they were spending weeks together. Sighing he mentally shook his head and attempted to go to sleep.