Like a Dream Come True

Lianna took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before she replied to the woman across the counter from her. “Okay,” she said as calmly as possible, although she wanted to lunge at her. Lianna knew it was a crime to physically attack an airline worker, but any jury that actually met this woman would have to understand why she did it. “Can you PLEASE tell me how you managed to sell my seat on the flight? I bought these tickets months ago, and I am two hours early for the flight.”

“You’re raising your voice again,” the woman told Lianna. She’s getting some sick thrill out of pissing me off, Lianna thought.

“For the love of God,” Lianna looked into the woman’s face. “There is a line behind me of people. I am holding a ticket to San Francisco in my hand. The plane leaves in under two hours. Just PLEASE go get me someone that can answer my question. I swear on all that is holy, if you do that, I will never speak to you again. I promise. Now please!”

With one last look of disdain, the woman wandered into a back room, returning a minute later with a plump, pleasant-looking middle-aged man. His eyes were searching through the line of people with a puzzled expression on his round face. “Where is she?” he asked the woman in a near-whisper. “Where’s this foul-mouthed crazed customer that was screaming at you?”

“Oh, that would be me, I suppose,” Lianna gave the man a weary look. “I actually didn’t ask for you to come out here to complain. I’m not the type of person who needs to put others down to make myself feel better about my life,” Lianna said without looking at the woman. “I simply wanted a rational, helpful individual to explain why I have a ticket for a flight to San Francisco in my hand, but the computer is showing my seat as sold.”

“Oh, of course,” the manager seemed taken aback by Lianna’s quiet demeanor. “Here, let me see your ticket and identification please, Miss… Well, Ms. Long,” he looked at the screen. “This is embarrassing. It looks like the flight was overbooked. Of course, since you had such a problem getting an answer to your simple question,” he shot a withering look at the woman beside him, who looked down, chastised. “I would like to offer you a seat in first class, at no extra charge. Would that be sufficient retribution for your troubles this morning?”

“Fine. Wonderful. Thank you,” Lianna let out relieved sigh. As much as she hated flying, this little stress-fest had just added to her discomfort. At least she would have a seat on the flight… and in first-class, no less.

The manager hit some keys on the keyboard and printed out a new ticket for Lianna in moments. “Well, Ms. Long, I am sorry for your trouble. Here’s your ticket, and I hope you have a wonderful flight.”

“Thank you,” Lianna picked up her carry-on luggage and headed away from the ticket line. After wading through the masses at the security checkpoint, she found her way to the gate. She was still over an hour early, so she bought a cup of coffee. A man sat next to her, and to Lianna’s dismay, started talking to her.

“So I just saw what happened at the ticket counter,” the middle-aged guy with the briefcase gave her a flirtatious smile. “You have more patience than me. I would have lost it on that woman.”

“Yeah, well,” Lianna hated being rude to people, but she really didn’t want to talk to this guy right then. “You know what they say, you catch more flies with honey… Although I probably should have added some subtle lesbian undertones. It either would have helped me or made her uncomfortable enough to just want to get rid of me.” As the man looked at Lianne perplexed, she was sure she heard someone behind her chuckle. “That was a joke,” she finally told the man sitting beside her.

“Oh,” the man tried to recover from the uncomfortable silence. “Yes, well, it was funny. So… are you going to San Francisco for business or pleasure?”

“I’m visiting my family,” Lianna told him. “Nice wedding ring, by the way. How long have you been married?” Again, there seemed to be a chuckle coming from behind where she was sitting, but Lianna didn’t care enough to turn around.

“Oh, well, a few years,” the man looked immediately uncomfortable. “Well, it was nice speaking with you. Have a good flight.” He rose quickly and walked to the other side of the gate.

One perk of being a first-class passenger, Lianna learned, is that you get to board the plane before the coach passengers. She found her seat, sticking her bag in the overhead compartment, and sat down next to the window. Even the large, comfortable seats weren’t enough to relax her. “I seriously hate flying,” Lianna thought silently. “I’d rather poke myself repeatedly with a fork.”

As she stared out the window of the plane, watching the workers on the runway scurrying around, she gripped the armrest until her knuckles turned white. She barely noticed when someone took the seat beside her, but her interest was definitely piqued when she heard the airline attendant ask if she would like anything to drink before the plane took off. “Vodka,” she said instantaneously. “And cranberry juice. Please.”

The person sitting beside Lianna started to chuckle, the same chuckle she had heard when she was in the waiting area, and she looked over. It was a guy, maybe a few years older than Lianna, wearing a baseball hat. In fact, he looked like he was trying to hide under the brim. “Isn’t it a little early for liquor?” he teased.

“I hate flying,” Lianna explained. “Therefore, the less sober I am, the less annoying to you I will be for the next five-to-six hours.”

“Unless of course you throw up,” he joked. “I’ll have one of the same,” he told the attendant with a grin. “I hate flying, too,” he added conspiratorially. As he lifted his chin a little, Lianna couldn’t understand why he would be trying to hide behind his hat. He had bright green eyes, a strong jaw and full lips. He was striking looking. There was almost something familiar about him, but Lianna knew that if she had met him before, she would have remembered.

“Well, I’ll try to walk that fine line between sober-and-terrified and drunk-and-disorderly,” Lianna said, suddenly much shyer than she had been a moment ago. “By the way, I’m Lianna.”

Giving Lianna a questioning look, like he was trying to figure something out, a smile slowly spread across his face. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lianna,” he slid off his cap, revealing a head of dark, messy hair that complemented his olive complexion perfectly. “I’m Joseph. I have to say, I just heard you in the waiting area with that guy. I give you props; you made him squirm.”

Shrugging, Lianna just smiled. “It grosses me out when married guys hit on people.”

“I get that,” Joseph smiled widely at Lianna, obviously taking her in with his eyes. Normally, Lianna didn’t pay much attention to how she looked. She considered herself attractive enough, with light brown hair grown just long enough that she could pull it into a ponytail and large blue eyes, which everyone said were her best feature. But she rarely did anything with her appearance, and that morning had been no different. She had her hair up, no makeup on, and she was wearing baggy jeans and a sweatshirt. But as she looked at Joseph sitting beside her, she got an overwhelming sense that she should have done something to look better.

“Two vodka-cranberries,” the attendant set the drinks before them. Lianna thanked her and reached for her wallet, but Joseph put his hand on hers. He leaned toward her ear and whispered, “Drinks are free in first-class.” He said it low as not to embarrass Lianna, but having his hand resting on hers and feeling his hot breath against her ear was enough to turn Lianna’s cheeks pink.

“Oh, okay, thanks,” she nodded dumbly.

“You’ve never flown first-class before, I take it,” Joseph didn’t sound condescending, just curious.

“Nope,” Lianna told him, letting her eyes run over him quickly to check him out. He was in a pair of jeans and a casual long-sleeved button-down in a deep olive that really made his eyes stand out. “I just got upgraded because they sold my seat in coach. I’m as out of place here as a keg at an AA meeting-” At that moment, Lianna heard an attendant ask that everyone please make sure their seatbelts were fastened, and the regular safety instructions started playing on the movie screen above them. Lianna froze, completely forgetting about her conversation, as her fear of flying took over her body.

“No, don’t do that,” Joseph smiled gently at Lianna, noticing her body tensing. “Here, take a sip,” he picked up her drink and handed it to her. “We’ll be fine, I promise.”

Lianna looked at him at he said this and took a sip of her drink. She began wondering if she needed to calm her nerves regarding the flight, or the way Joseph was looking at her. Lianna hadn’t been this attracted to anyone in ages. She had had one boyfriend in high school, one guy she dated in college, and exactly one one-night-stand after that college relationship had dissolved. She wasn’t really the wild and impetuous type when it came to men, but something about Joseph was making her dizzy. Or maybe it’s how quickly I’m drinking the vodka, Lianna thought to herself.

“Crap,” Lianna felt her stomach dropping as the plane began to lift off. To her shock, she felt Joseph reach over and take her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “Don’t worry,” he told her as she looked over at him. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

By the time the plane had reached full cruising altitude, Lianna was feeling the effects of the second drink she had ordered. Joseph kept asking her questions about herself, about her family and school and plans for the future. Every time she asked him a question in return, though, he seemed to dodge it. “Do you need another?” he asked, looking at Lianna’s empty drink.

“God, no,” Lianna told him, leaning back into the seat. “I don’t usually drink like this.”

“Well, I do,” Joseph laughed, motioning to the attendant for another drink. “Comes with the territory, I guess.”

“What territory?” Lianna asked, completely confused.

Joseph immediately looked uncomfortable. “Um, never mind, stupid joke,” he said quickly. He turned towards the attendant and handed her his empty glass, taking the new drink from her as he thanked her. As he did, his sleeve slid up some, and Lianna was surprised to see an array of colors around his wrist.

“You have tattoos?” she motioned toward his arm. Putting his drink down, he nodded and unbuttoned his sleeve.

“Holy shit,” Lianna said as he slid up his shirt, revealing his arm, which was covered in bright tattoos. “I wouldn’t have guessed it at all,” she told him, the alcohol making it a bit hard to hide the attraction she was feeling.

“That’s the idea,” Joseph seemed to have a double meaning in everything he said. “And I have a lot more than that. Maybe I’ll get to show you those another time.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively and threw her a sexy smile.

Giving him as disapproving a look as she could muster, Lianna tried not to laugh, although she was flattered that Joseph seemed interested in her. They talked for the entire flight, and Lianna found that aside from being unbelievably attractive, Joseph was funny and smart as well. Still, he barely told her anything about himself, except to talk about his parents, who he was visiting that week. When a voice came over the speaker system saying they were about to descend into San Francisco, Lianna’s heart sunk. She couldn’t believe it, but she actually didn’t want this flight to end.

“My ears are popping,” Joseph said suddenly. “Do you want some gum?” Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he produced a packet of gum.

“You had gum in your pocket?” Lianna joked. “Damn it! And here I was, thinking you were just happy to see me.”

Laughing, Joseph shook his head. “This is going to sound really lame,” he looked at Lianna. “But I’m a little sad that the flight is over.”

Joseph had echoed her thoughts from a few moments earlier exactly, and Lianna felt her face heating. “Me too,” she admitted.

“Listen, Lianna, I want to tell you something, but first I want to ask you something.”

Feeling confused, Lianna looked into Joseph’s bright green eyes. “Okay… what did you want to ask?”

“Well, I just had an incredible time talking to you,” he reached over and slid his hand onto Lianna’s neck, making her whole body feel like it was on fire. “And I wanted to ask if it would be okay if I kissed you now.”

“Um, okay,” Lianna felt ridiculous, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say. She let her eyes flutter closed as Joseph brought his lips to hers softy. His mouth was warm and gentle, and he kept it a fairly chaste kiss, pulling back to give Lianna a grin. “That was nice,” she said, immediately regretting how lame she sounded. Why do I always have to say something, Lianna wondered to herself.

“It was nice,” Joseph didn’t seem to mind Lianna’s description. “And now, I want to tell you something.”

“Let me guess. You have a girlfriend or a wife,” Lianna replied, but Joseph smiled as he shook his head. “Ok, no girlfriend. Um… you’re a hit man for the mob? A Russian spy? A woman?”

Joseph began cracking up, and Lianna felt a warmth fill her. The sound of his laugh was intoxicating. “No, nothing like that,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I, um, see… I’m a musician. I am-”

“Holy shit,” Lianna interrupted, suddenly realizing why he had seemed familiar to her earlier, when she first saw him. “You’re Joey Hart, from Broken Dynamite.” Lianna had just kissed the guitarist of one of the most popular bands on the radio. How had I not recognized him until now, Lianna chastised herself.

“Guilty,” Joseph gave Lianna a little grin. “When you didn’t recognize me at first, I didn’t know if you had even heard of us…”

“Of course I have,” Lianna told him. “It’s just, with the long sleeves… and your hair’s not done… and you’re not wearing eyeliner…” She stopped speaking, not knowing what else to say.

“I try to stay pretty inconspicuous when I can,” Joseph told Lianna. “And I don’t wear the eyeliner unless I’m on stage. Or if the dress I’m wearing really requires it,” he smirked. “But anyway, I like you. And I’d like to see you again. I mean, I know we’re both visiting family this week, but if you have time, I’d love to take you out. Or if you don’t have time this week, maybe when we’re both back to New York.”

“Seriously, you’re asking me out?” Lianna couldn’t hide my surprise, but luckily Joseph laughed at this. “I mean, you’re asking a random girl from the plane who has never flown first-class before, who drank herself silly to get over her fear of flying, who didn’t even recognize you at first? Why are you possibly asking me on a date?”

“Those are the reasons that I am asking you out,” Joseph looked confident that she would say yes, but Lianna couldn’t blame him. “Because you didn’t know who I was and you still spent five hours talking to me, making me laugh my ass off. That’s why I’m asking you out. That, and you’re really cute.”

“Well, I guess I should give you my number,” Lianna told him, blushing.

“I guess you should,” Joseph smiled at her. “Here, here’s a pen.”

As Lianna wrote down her phone number on the magazine he had with him, she felt like her heart was going to explode in her chest. She was giving Joey Hart her phone number. Does this make me a groupie, Lianna wondered. Wouldn’t I have to know he was famous before I kissed him to be a groupie? Before she could think about this any further, Joseph took her by surprise, cupping her face in his hands and pressing his lips to hers once more. His breath was hot on he lips, and although Lianna had the feeling they both wanted to deepen the kiss, this was not the appropriate time or place.

“That’s my cell number,” Lianna sighed against his mouth, pulling back slightly. “I should be able to get a night free this week.”

“Awesome,” Joseph smiled, his eyes shining. As the plane landed, Lianna barely noticed. They walked silently but companionably from the plane side-by-side, towards the area where passengers could be met. Lianna didn’t say anything as she saw Joseph slide his hat on and then pull out sunglasses from his duffel bag, putting those on, too. It might seem silly or stuck up to others, but she thought he just wanted to make sure his reunion with his parents wasn’t ruined by a bunch of fans looking for autographs. “Well, we should probably…” his words faded off as he gave her a grin.

“Yeah, we should,” Lianna agreed, smiling. “I hope you call.”

“Don’t worry, Lianna,” Joseph said, motioning at the magazine in his hands. “I will call. You can bet on that.” With that, he leaned over and kissed her cheek softly. Lianna watched him walk towards a middle-aged couple that greeted him eagerly, and then she looked into the crowd to find her own family.

Finally finding them standing towards the back of the crowd, Lianna ran excitedly towards her parents and younger sister. “Hello, darling,” her mother wrapped her arms around Lianna’s shoulders. “Oh sweety, it’s so good to see you. How was your flight? Was it awful? I know how you hate to fly.”

“Oh no,” Lianna grinned. “That was the best plane ride ever!”

-----

“So how’s school going?” Lianna asked her sister, Kirsten. They had gotten back to their parents’ house a little while earlier, and Lianna had led Kirsten to her bedroom as quickly as possible without rousing her parents’ suspicion.

“Fine,” Kirsten furrowed her eyebrows as she watched Lianna. Her older sister, nearly an adult in her eyes at twenty-two, was one of her favorite people in the world. Normally, Kirsten would have been thrilled for Lianna to want to hang out with her, but as soon as her sister had arrived in her room, she had been sorting through Kirsten’s belongings. “Hey, Lianna, if you want to ask me anything about my personal life, you know I’ll be honest. You don’t have to ambush me and go through all my shit.”

Looking at the perplexed sixteen year old beside her, Lianna immediately felt ashamed. “I’m sorry, Keer,” she said with heartfelt apology. “I just… I needed to see if you have any music magazines around.”

Raising her eyebrows, Kirsten didn’t hide her confusion. “Music magazines? You’ve never been that much into music…”

“Please, Keer,” Lianna begged her sister to understand without explanation. Of course, Kirsten did. Some people had said through the years that it was a shame that Lianna and Kirsten were so far apart in age – over six years. But neither girl had ever felt that way. The age difference allowed for there to be little rivalry and competition. Instead, Kirsten had always aided Lianna when she needed to hide something “older” from their parents, and Lianna had always been non-judgmental and supportive with the questions and recommendations Kirsten asked of her. It was a perfect relationship in both their eyes.

“Here,” Kirsten grabbed a few magazines from her nightstand and thrust them towards Lianna. “Why the sudden interest in music journalism, though?”

Taking a seat on her teenage sister’s bed, Lianna picked up the magazine on top of the stack Kirsten had handed her. She quickly began flipping through it, while Kirsten sat down beside her. As she turned to one page, a huge smile spread on Lianna’s face, and she could feel heat rising in her cheeks. She motioned toward the picture on the magazine’s page. “See this guy?” she asked Kirsten. “Do you know who he is?”

“I’m just shocked you do,” Kirsten admitted. “Yeah, that’s Joey from B.D. They’re awesome. But they’re also totally punk and dark and… not you. When did you get into their stuff?”

“Do you like their music?” Lianna looked strangely anxious.

“I do,” Kirsten admitted slowly, her voice confused.

“Well,” Lianna turned towards her sister and gave her a huge grin. “What would you say if I told you I was seated beside Joey Hart on the plane today?” She could see that Kirsten was about to respond, so she pushed on. “And what if I told you that I didn’t recognize him at first, and we spent the whole plane ride talking, and he kissed me, and that whole time I never knew who he was?”

Looking astonished, Kirsten shook her head. “If it were anyone in the whole world besides you, Lee,” she gave her sister an amazed look. “I would call them a liar. But you would never lie to me about something like this, would you?”

“Never,” Lianna laughed, feeling her body overwhelmed with confusion and delight. “He kissed me, Keer. He kissed me, and THEN he told me who he was. And he asked for my phone number.”

“I am going to die,” Kirsten said in total sixteen-year-old style. “Seriously, I am going to drop dead right here. My sister – who never listens to cool music, who almost never dates - my sister made out on the plane with the guitarist from Broken Dynamite.”

“We didn’t make out,” Lianna’s cheeks turned pink. “We just kissed a little. But… well, I gave him my number. He said he wanted to go out.”

“Do you think he will call?” Kirsten had risen excitedly on her knees.

Looking at her younger sister, Lianna hated being anything but confident and collected. But right now, she knew there was no way she could fake what she was feeling. “God, Keer, he’s so beautiful,” she said. “I mean, upclose. He’s so perfect. And he was funny and sweet and… and he’s a really good kisser.” Kirsten broke into the fit of adolescent giggles that were exactly what Lianna needed right then. “I hope he calls.”

“Oh, he will,” Kirsten looked admiringly at her big sister. “Even though you never do anything with yourself, you’re still gorgeous.”

“That’s not true,” Lianna denied, red rushing to her cheeks. “Okay, we don’t even know if he’ll ever call, so let’s stop talking about this for now. But while we’re on the subject, how’s your love life? Are you and Dan still together?”

“Screw Dan,” Kirsten seemed able to lose herself in conversations about high school almost immediately. “We were together, like, two months, and he was pissy that I wouldn’t give it up. So screw him. No, now I’m interested in this senior, Kyle Hawkins. He’s all sorts of hot…”

As Kirsten began getting into her description of high school romance, Lianna laid back in the bed. Even when she tried to concentrate on her sister’s story, all she could think about was the feeling of Joseph’s lips upon hers earlier that afternoon. His mouth had been so soft, so warm, so moist…

“So what do you think?” Kirsten looked expectantly at her big sister.

Forcing herself to focus for a minute, Lianna tried to gather together what she could remember from Kirsten’s conversation. “Well, I think you were right to dump Dan. If he can’t respect you’re decision to wait, he’s worthless.” Seeing the satisfied nod Kirsten gave her, Lianna continued. “And this Kyle seems nice, but always watch out for seniors. They’re usually one of two guys: those that have had sex and therefore expect it, or those who haven’t and are dying to have it before they graduate.”

Cracking up, Kirsten reached over to hug Lianna. “This is why I miss you so much,” she told her older sister. “You always know the right thing to say.”

“Well, let’s hope I know the right thing to say if Joey Hart decides to call me,” Lianna gave her sister a wry smile. “Not that he will… Oh, and Keer, please don’t tell anyone about this. Please?”

“Of course he will call,” Kirsten had no doubt as she rose from the bed. “And of course I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to. Now, come on. Mom and Dad are probably furious that we’ve been ditching them for so long. Let’s go downstairs.”

“Okay, that sounds good,” Lianna smiled at her sister as she got up and followed her out of the room. It was wonderful to have been able to talk to Kirsten about the thoughts swirling through her head; it made everything seem more real to Lianna. And as much as I love New York when I’m there, Lianna thought, there really is no place like home.