Unrequited Love

Chapter 3 - Luciana

Breathing in the familiar scent of the air conditioned airport, I made my way past security where there had been a separate line for cabin crew only, per usual. I looked down at my boarding pass once, to make sure that I was heading towards the right boarding gate. Several passengers sat in the lounges as well as waiting areas, waiting for their flight to be announced.

I dragged my suitcase behind me as my legs carried me to where one of my co-workers, Sammy - whom I frequently flew with - was waiting for me, or so I was told. There wasn't a single soul lurking around the area of Boarding Gate A17, where I was supposed to board my flight.

Thankful that my Uber had made it in time to the airport, even with the heavy New York traffic, I willed my long legs to carry me faster. In my haste, I didn't notice an obstruction coming towards me from the opposite direction.

My passport and boarding pass fell to the ground as I bumped into something solid. Irritated, I looked up, only to realise that it was a man that I had collided with - and that the object that I currently had my face pressed to uncomfortably was his very toned abdomen. A six pack no doubt, by the looks of it. I stopped myself before I could drool any further as I gave him a once over.

I opened my mouth to give the man a piece of my mind only to stop short. The most beautiful blue eyes were looking at me - as if staring right into my soul. Those crystals had the power of rendering me speechless - quite the irony for a sassy Latina like me. He was wearing a tight, short sleeved white t-shirt with jeans - and was totally rocking the whole casual look. I could see a sleeve of tattoos on both arms, poking out from underneath his sleeve. The intricate artwork tangled beautifully into a masterpiece and formed into one big picture as I stared, enraptured.

I tried to rearrange my scrambled thoughts as my mind started drifting to different places. Thoughts that shouldn't have been in my mind in the first place. It wasn't a secret that I was a sucker for inked guys - and this man happened to be the embodiment of it. I took in a deep breath, grounding myself as I stood up to my full 5"4 height.

"Maybe you should watch where you're going, malyshka." He rumbled as he watched me pick up my belongings that had fallen down, in slow motion. One sentence. That's all it took for the temporary lust, that I had felt, to disappear and for the anger to make an appearance. Irritation flared in me at the mocking tone of his voice - it grated at my nerves honestly.

"I could say the same for you sir. It takes two to tango you know?" I spluttered indignantly as my nostrils flared and my breathing grew heavier. The smirk that made its way across his face only served to annoy me more. Before I could call him out for that, I was interrupted.

"Ah. Where are my manners? I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mikhail, by the way." He said as he reached out one calloused hand towards me. I blinked, momentarily stunned at the complete change in his behavior. One minute he was a cocky, arrogant asshole and the next minute, he was a gentleman.

My silence prompted him to make another comment as I stood confused as hell.

"You know, it's really rude to leave someone hanging like this with no response."

And there it was. The asshole was back. It seemed like he really had a personality disorder. Finally finding the voice to respond to him, I clutched my passport tighter to my chest.

"I'm Luciana." I muttered reluctantly as I put my small hand in his. Huh. It fit perfectly in his hand - as if they were both made for each other, as corny as it sounded.

"Luciana." Mikhail drawled as something akin to butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I clenched my legs together to hide how turned on I was, simply by hearing my name on his lips.