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  “She’s only five years younger than us, but she makes me feel like I’m middle aged!” Tanya whined. I couldn’t blame her. I felt the same way. I loved Krista but she was like an Energizer bunny on speed. She exhausted everyone around her. Sometimes I wondered if she actually was on something; although, we had too many drug tests in our business for her to get away with it.

  It wasn’t the first time we were in Tokyo. This was a trip we had all done many times before. Despite that, walking through the airport always caused some disturbance. Our little group, like many crews, always caused attention walking through the airport. I loved the feeling of passenger’s eyes on us, in our smart uniforms and purposeful walks. We were most often the only people who had a clear idea of how to get around, and people would stare at us and smile shyly with reverence. Especially overseas. The feeling was powerful as it was magical.

  I had always loved flying and dreamed of being in the air almost my entire life. My parents had opened a flight school in our home state of Maryland soon after they had immigrated to America. Back in Portugal, my father had been a private pilot for a soft drink company. His love of air travel had been an overwhelming force in my life since day one. When other kids received teddy bears, I got plush airplanes. By the time I was a pre-teen I was handing out flyers and sorting mail at the flight school. Then all through high school, instead of working at the mall with my friends I was working the reception at the school. Keeping track of pilots logging their hours. Scheduling the planes that were being taken in and out. Knowing which ones were in repair. Even scheduling flight patterns and routes became a skill that I was proficient at long before I could even drive a car.

  As much as working in my father’s business had been difficult at times, it had given me an unparalleled love for flying. I learned to fly a glider by eighteen, and I had a private pilot’s license soon after. However, flying for me was a relaxation thing, a hobby and nothing more. The idea of being responsible for other people’s lives as a pilot, was more than I wanted. Which was why the role of flight attendant suited me better. Especially when the travel bug hit me hard. After college, I toured Europe with my besties Ava and Samantha. We had so much fun and after seeing so much of the world, it had only made me want to continue. That trip had been a defining moment in all our lives really. Ava fell in love with Conor, I fell in love with travel– and Sam…well Sam’s story was completely different, but that’s a story for another day.

  Chapter 3

  Tristano Ricci

  Royal Park Hotel –Tokyo

  They had booked me the penthouse suite again. I didn’t know how the hell I’d gotten this lucky. At my age most pilots were just starting to be considered for captain. Yet, here I was running the show on my own plane, and staying in the best suites’ airline money could buy. Some people thought I was a cocky bastard but it was just charm, and charm was easy to come by. Plus, I was damn good at my job.

  I had about an hour before I’d be balls deep inside sexy Sophia. Just thinking about it made my cock twitch in anticipation. Yet, something still kept my mind distracted. It had been the same routine now for years. Fly, fuck, rest and fly again. In between was the travel and sightseeing when I had a longer layover. I loved the skies. The feeling of soaring like a bird in a place where humans were not meant to be, was exhilarating. But the longer hauls were starting to wear on me. Maybe it was because I was thirty-five? In recent years I’d started to want more. I just wasn’t sure what exactly that was. It was on those longer layovers when I found myself sitting on the beach in places like Thailand, alone for the umpteenth time, that I felt it the most. The sunsets and nights at the bars that seemed to drag on forever. I had never been the settle-down type of guy, but after watching some of my buddies find love, I was beginning to wonder if there was something to it after all.

  My best friend was a guy named Jean-Marc. As a kid we grew up on the streets of Montreal in Canada. It was a rough neighborhood and we had to fight for our territory as much as our image. Back then, I spent a lot of time getting into trouble, and it didn’t take long to notice that getting into trouble also got me noticed by the girls. JM and I were each other’s wingmen during our teen years. Club hopping and smooth talking every girl in the city. We were a great team till I left for college in the States.

  JM had remained the same French badass he always had been. He was a tattoo artist, with a chip on his shoulder. I never expected him to leave the player life and find love– but yet he did. And he did it with the most unexpected person in the world. He fell for a girl who was his exact opposite in every way. This one unlike all the others who dropped at his feet, wouldn’t give him the time of day for the longest time. JM actually had to work his pretty little ass off for Lexi, but he said it made him fall harder than he ever had before.

  I didn’t even believe him until I had the opportunity have dinner with the two of them, a few months back during a long layover in my hometown. Watching him with Lexi was a revelation to me. If JM could find love like that and be content to only have one woman for the rest of his life, maybe it wasn’t such a far-off concept after all.

  As much as the thought had been burning in my head for months, I also had something to contend with that JM didn’t. Something that made me feel like my opportunity had already been presented to me but I had thrown it away long ago. Or maybe it was never mine to begin with. Maybe love was not available to everyone.

  In any case I knew it wouldn’t be with Sophia. She was beautiful and personable but beyond the physical, there really wasn’t much substance. Plus, we had a complicated history. One that contributed to the skeletons in my closet. But it didn’t seem like she was holding it against me tonight.

  I stood in the shower for a long time. Letting the water spill down over my body and refresh me, my mind and body. Stepping out I glimpsed at my naked body in the mirror and flexed my chest and arm muscles. I’d taken up boxing in the last few months in an attempt to release some of the nervous energy that seemed to take over my thoughts lately. It had definitely had a good effect. I’d always been fit and enjoyed going to the gym, but boxing was the best workout I’d ever had. Suddenly, the heavy bulk I had from the gym was gone, and it was replaced with a slimmer more defined cut that was growing more and more on me. It was a new look, and it gave me an older, classier appearance. Far off from my days of street fighting with JM.

  I shaved and combed my hair which was still as thick as ever. The corners of my eyes were starting to sport tiny creases when I smiled. I wasn’t sure I liked it despite the fact that women seemed to think it was “sophisticated”.

  I checked my Rolex. Ten minutes till show time. I wondered what Sophia would be wearing tonight. Last time I’d had dinner with her she’d been in a red evening gown with a side slit that went up so high the entire bar could view her lacy undergarments. Not that I minded. She’d been a fantastic lay. Warm, wet and willing as always.

  Chapter 4

  Adriana Acosta

  Royal Park Hotel –Tokyo

  “Eeek!” The girls and I were screeching in delight. We couldn’t believe the airline had chosen the Royal Park. It was a stunning hotel and somehow, we had been upgraded from a typical standard room with two double beds to a majestic suite, complete with views of the Tokyo skyline that stretched for miles and miles. It was such a huge building that our suite seemed to be floating in the air above the world.

  “Okay, we good to just shower and go out ladies?” Krista asked. Forever the Energizer bunny. Tanya and I rolled our eyes. “Yes, little girl,” we teased her. “Us older gals will forgo our nap time for you. We can see how excited you are,” I teased.

  “Fuck You!” Krista rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. “I just don’t want to waste any time! This place is so beautiful.”

  “You’re right. It really is,” Tanya mumbled under her breath, as she looked out at the view.

  Despite how I felt, I couldn’t argue. The sun was setting up over the tall buildings an
d below on the ground the sounds of the bustling nightlife were beginning to come to life.

  We showered and dressed for the evening. I let the coffee percolate as I dried and curled my hair. It was a process but one that was well worth the effort. My waist length black hair was thick and bouncy with soft relaxed curls, and it made me feel beautiful. Even if my makeup wasn’t done it was my hair that gave me my confidence. I sipped my black coffee, and tried to ignore the cheap taste. Even the nicest of hotels couldn’t rival a good Portuguese coffee.

  My parents had moved us to America when I was only three years old. But regardless, they had kept many of their homeland traditions and morning coffee was one of them. Every morning and on weekend afternoons, my parents would brew up the most incredible espresso. I still made it the same way when I was home and I always missed it when I traveled. But this cheap crap would have to do for tonight. Authentic Japanese sushi would make up for the crappy coffee.

  “Adri? Did you choose your outfit?” Tanya called out form the next bedroom. “Can I wear your black strappy heels or were you planning on wearing them?”

  “Uhm sure, it’s fine you can have them,” I responded between brushing coats of mascara on my lashes.

  Tanya and I were almost the same size in both clothing and shoes and we were forever sharing clothing like teenagers.

  “I think I’m going with my navy blue crop top and matching skirt,” I called out. “So, you take the black and I’ll go with the nude heels.” Tanya came bounding up behind me. “Thanks, sista!” Tanya said, as she blew me a kiss and began rummaging through my suitcase.

  “Five minutes till we leave ladies!” Krista called out.

  I slipped my robe off and began slithering into my navy-blue pencil skirt. It hit just above my knees and basically looked like a shift dress with the top; with the exception that it showed my midriff.

  “Damn girl, you look hot!” Tanya commented as she slid her feet into my black sandals. “You always attract attention in that outfit. You give off that classy slutty vibe.”

  “Really?” I felt self-conscious. “Slutty was definitely not what I was going for.” Not that I would mind attracting attention. I certainly enjoyed this nomadic lifestyle and the meaningless non-committal fun it brought with it. However, I was choosy and didn’t want to have to fend off everyone.

  “Just kidding babe. You’re hot. No worries, just teasing you,” Tanya answered.

  We walked out to meet Krista who was in the living area of the suite and pouring Champagne at the bar. “Girls! Your Champagne,” she said, presenting us with very full flutes.

  “To one crazy night in Tokyo!” Krista raised her glass and motioned for us to follow.

  “Why does this feel like the opening scene of one of those Hangover movies?” Tanya asked, as we raised our glasses.

  We all burst out laughing. “Fuck it really does!” I agreed.

  “All right then!” Krista continued. “To one crazy night in Tokyo and to having as much fun as they did in ‘The Hangover’!”

  “Can we minus the tiger and the tranny?” I asked, trying to show a genuine look of concern on my face.

  We all burst into laughter as we clinked our Champagne filled flutes together and let the warm liquid coat out throats for the first time that night.

  Chapter 5

  Tristano Ricci

  Royal Park Hotel –Tokyo

  I saw her before I even walked into the bar. From across the lobby, my vision was captivated by the blonde at the bar. She seemed to radiate light in a champagne colored dress that sparkled and reflected all the shining lights around her. Sophia had curled her blonde hair into mermaid waves down her back and I immediately got a vision of her naked with her hair splayed out all around her from our last tryst in Paris last month. Maybe I’d been fooling myself. Being with her again and again had to mean something right? I had always been a one-and-done kind of guy. Just the fact that she enticed me enough to want seconds and thirds, had to mean that I felt something for her. Or did it?

  As soon as that thought crossed my mind so did another. Adriana.

  I shook it off. I hadn’t seen that girl in ten years and she’d been a fucking kid when I made the mistake of kissing her behind the hanger at her father’s flight school. She was probably married with kids, and running that damn flight school all on her own by now. Maybe what I needed was therapy. JM had told me enough times that I was in love with an idea; a false vision of someone who never even existed. And that I needed to find a way to let her go. I knew he was right.

  Shaking off my distracting thoughts, I zoned in on Sophia. Her pouty red lips beckoned me in much the same way as her dress that showed off her luscious curves.

  “Hey big boy,” she cooed as I approached. “I thought you fell asleep or something. Was wondering if I’d have to bring dinner up to your room.”

  “I would never stand you up Sophia,” I answered, slightly annoyed at her suggestion.

  “Oh, that I know Tris... I know you wouldn’t miss a chance at this.” Her fingers motioned to the air between us.

  “I would have said dinner first Soph, but it seems you’re fairly deep into the drinking already. You know we only have twenty-four hours. Drink too much, and you won’t have a chance to sleep it off.”

  “I’m not here for a lecture Tristano.” Her voice was suddenly dripping with ice. “I’m here to have a good time and I thought you were too.”

  I sighed. “You’re right Soph. Maybe I need to a drink to loosen me up. It was a long flight.”

  “Already on it!” Sophia winked, as the barman slid a whiskey across the bar and I caught it in my hand. Not wasting a second, I sucked back the warm liquid, letting the burning sensation coat my throat before I slide an arm around her waist and pulled her into me. Turning my head to nestle my mouth in her neck, I heard a slight moan escape from her lips.

  “Want to just go upstairs now? I whispered seductively in her ear. We can always order room service as a midnight snack later on.”

  Sophia turned her face toward mine. “I thought you’d never ask,” she whispered before sliding her tongue across her lower lip and leaning in towards my open mouth.

  ****

  That kiss at the bar quickly escalated. In the elevator I found myself sliding one hand up her dress and the other down the front. Finding her braless was a welcome surprise. A full pink nipple popped in my mouth as I suckled on it, her making her squirm with need beneath me. This was too easy. Sometimes I wondered if a little chase would be more exciting. But it was always the same. I tested the water and suggested retiring early to an almost always welcome crowd. My buddies had no sympathy for me. The amount of times I’d heard, “You’re a good-looking pilot who travels the world, and you complain because women throw themselves at you and you don’t get the chance to chase them?”

  I guess they were right. I never had to work too hard for it. I suppose I should be happy.

  Five minutes in the suite and we were already both naked on the king size bed. Sophia on all fours had her hand between her legs, pleasuring herself and looking at me over her shoulder. “C’mon Tris, what are you waiting for? You’re the one who wanted to skip dinner,” she breathed out heavily. “Don’t make me wait baby, I need you inside me now,” she continued as she rocked her hips back and forth, fucking her own fingers.

  I slipped a condom on as I watched her. Then without much warning, I grabbed her hips with both hands and slammed my cock deep inside her, absorbing the feeling of being sucked in by her tight body. She cried out with loud, guttural sounds as I took her. We found our rhythm and were soon rocking back and forth, harder and harder with each thrust.

  I reached around her body, slipped my hand into the slick folds between her legs and pleasured her with my expert fingers as we fucked. The second I touched her nub, she began pushing her ass up into me. My fingers continued to circle and play, drawing her closer and closer.

  “C’mon baby, c’mon Soph…” I breathed into her, co
axing her orgasm to the surface. A few more strokes and thrusts and she was right there with me. Her body began to shudder and convulse in my arms as she joined me in that sweet spot. Pressure had built low in my groin and quickly made its way to the surface, as we both crashed over the abyss together.

  We lay there in silence, breathless and exhausted but sated.

  “We fuck good don’t we baby,” Sophia breathed into my neck as she rolled over into the crook of my arm.

  She was a great girl, and I did like her as much as I enjoyed fucking her. But right there in that moment, high above the Tokyo skyline in one of the most beautiful suites in the world– I suddenly wanted nothing more than for this woman who wanted me so badly, to just leave me alone.

  I cleared my throat. She was babbling on about ordering food and going at it again after a refuel.

  I cleared my throat a second time. “Soph…I’m sorry. I…”