Chapter 1 - A Fresh Start
Scarlette awoke from her slumber when her morning alarm blares from her cell phone and she rushes to grab her luggage from the closet. Not minding her wild hair and wrinkled clothing from a rough night’s sleep, she races through her bare apartment to make sure she has everything she needs for her journey. She has a long flight ahead of her that she does not want to miss.
It has been six months since she ended her toxic relationship with Antonio, her high school sweetheart, which turned sour. Upon returning home from a long day at work, Scarlette caught him cheating in her bed with another woman. However, she was glad she found out when she did because she knew he would have kept deceiving her otherwise. Now, she was alone. As an only child adopted by a wealthy older couple with no other living relatives, who recently passed away leaving their fortune to her, she didn't know what to do with her life and had no one to turn to for guidance.
Scarlette craved human interaction, other than dealing with the often rude people she served at her dead-end serving job. She needed a fresh start and knew that if she wanted to change, she would have to make it happen. That’s what she did when she dipped into the funds her adoptive parents left behind for her. Scarlette used a small portion of that money to buy herself a plane ticket, as well as pay movers to have her belongings shipped to her newly purchased condo in Hollywood.
Scarlette drops her bags off at the door leading to the hallway of her apartment building before checking the time on her phone. She has thirty minutes before the taxi arrives to take her to the airport. After placing her phone on the kitchen counter, Scarlette rushes to the bathroom. She strips off her red lace robe and matching slip before donning her matching white lace bra and underwear set.
She takes a moment to admire herself in the mirror after putting them on. A smile hints at the corners of her mouth before she realizes that she needs to speed up her pace. She quickly slips into the sundress she had recently purchased from a new boutique across the street.
After dressing up, Scarlette brushes her hair and ties it up in a high ponytail, with curly strands hanging by her ears. Then she brushes her teeth with her charcoal toothpaste. The gray paste foams in her mouth, leaving a smokey mint flavor on her tastebuds. She spits into the sink and rinses her mouth with mouthwash, then cleans the sink with water from the running faucet.
Being that she has natural beauty, she didn’t need a ton of makeup. Her porcelain skin is as soft as a glass doll's. She uses a small brush to add contour to her cheeks and nose. Then she used a slightly bigger brush for the blush and a medium brush for applying highlight. After that, she applies mascara and eyeliner. As she touched up her smudged eyeliner, the alarm on her phone rang. That meant there were five minutes before the taxi would arrive.
Scarlette packs up her makeup, placing it in the smaller bag that matches her purse. Before running out the bathroom door, she quickly picks up her robe and matching slip, piling them inside her purse in a rush. She grabs her phone and luggage bag before sliding on her sandals and heading out the door, meeting the taxi driver out front of her building.
She takes one last look at the building she has lived in since she graduated high school four years ago. There were so many memories wrapped up in that place. Some she would never forget, and others she wished she could. She breathes a sigh of relief before entering the taxi and heading to the airport.
The ride was short and quiet until they arrived at JFK International Airport in New York. It only made Scarlette more anxious to see the sign at the entrance. She knew her life was about to change. Whether it would be for the better is the real question. Though it is too late now, there is no turning back.
"That will be fifty dollars, miss," the taxi driver said without even looking back at Scarlette.
She hands him the money before stepping out of the taxi. He meets her at the trunk, where he is holding her luggage bag. After he hands it to her, the man nods his head and smiles politely before he takes off. Scarlette grips the handles of her purse as she swings it over her right shoulder. Then she pushes the button to release the long handle of her luggage bag. It lands on its wheels with a soft thud.
Scarlette flicks her hair behind her shoulder as she stares at the rotating entrance doors of the airport, trying to ease her anxiety and fear of heights. It was now or never. Her flight would leave in a half hour, and she still needed to check in as well as go through airport security. After taking a deep breath, Scarlette confidently walks towards the entrance. Once inside, other people racing to make their flights surrounded her. She quickly but elegantly walked up to the front desk, where she was greeted by a perky woman. Scarlette read the woman’s name tag, and couldn’t help but notice the woman was not wearing a bra today.
"Hello! Welcome to JFK International Airport!" Kate said with a smile. "How can I help you?"
"Ticket pickup and baggage check?" Scarlette asked as she glanced up from her chest.
"Sure thing!" the woman said in a chipper voice. "Name?"
"Scarlette Rivers," she says confidently, with a smile.
The woman types in her name, and prints out her ticket, while another worker weighs her luggage bag. Scarlette’s ears buzzed with the sound of the other travelers' voices talking at once. It almost sounded like a loud hum. After a few moments of silence, Kate finally hands Scarlette her boarding pass and a tag for her luggage. While Scarlette is tying the tag to her luggage and filling out the contact information, a young man is hollering at the next station over.
"What do you mean, you overbooked my flight?" he asked angrily. "This was supposed to be a round-trip business flight."
"I’m sorry for the inconvenience, sir. I can book you on the next available flight, but, unfortunately, you won’t have the option to be seated in first class," the man behind the desk stated. "It leaves in a half hour, otherwise you will have to wait until tonight for the next flight."
"I don’t have time for that. I’m supposed to meet with friends later," the traveling man argues before sighing. "Alright, fine, just book me on the flight that leaves soon."
"You’re in luck! There is only one seat left, and it now has your name on it," the deskman said in relief. "Flight 169, Seat A42."
"Thank you!" the man said in an annoyed tone, before walking away.
Scarlette stood up and handed over the tagged luggage bag to Kate. That's when she noticed the tips of her breast poking at the seams of her fitted uniform. It made Scarlette blush from the intrusive thoughts she experienced as she thanked Kate for all the help she provided her with. After leaving the desk, Scarlette approached the security checkpoint, where the line was long on one side, and the other side was moving rather quickly.
Upon walking up to the scanner, Scarlette places her shoes and purse on the conveyer belt to be x-rayed. While she is being scanned with a wand after stepping through the metal detector, she hears the same man complaining again. This time about being pulled aside and checked by airport security. Additionally, Scarlette overhears the workers in her line gossiping about how they targeted the angry passenger after his behavior toward one of the lobby workers. Her plump lips curled up into a smile at the corner of her mouth. She figured that it was Karma at its finest.
Once Scarlette’s cleared by security, she passes the man, while he's patted down by a woman wearing gloves. She watches the woman moving toward his inner thighs out of the corner of her eye. Scarlette looks away after the woman blushes as she looks up at him with a nervous smile. She hears the man chuckle as the woman quickly moves on with the process before allowing him to proceed on his way.
Scarlette shook her head at the thought of what made the woman blush. Perhaps the man was extremely handsome or well-endowed in other areas. Although Scarlette didn’t see his face, she saw the back of his head, broad shoulders, and his perfectly round ass in his suit pants. That was enough for her to believe that the man she saw was, more than likely, every girl's wet dream. A person she would never have a chance with.
After walking down an almost endless hall of flight gates, Scarlette finally stopped to check the airport map posted on a billboard attached to the wall. She successfully located the boarding gate and is on her way.
"Gate 21B is located in the south wing," Scarlette reminded herself as she looked at the signs.
Scarlette made it just in time, as passengers had just begun to board the plane. She stood in line, waiting for her turn. It wasn’t until she handed over her boarding pass that she noticed her flight number was also Flight 169.
"Seat 40, Miss Rivers," the woman informed her.
Once on the plane, Scarlette followed the line of fellow travelers, searching for a plaque with her seat number on it. She noticed the seats were in a specific order, even numbers on the left and odd numbers on the right. Her eyes drifted along the left side of the plane, just below the overhead compartments.
"A32 and A34... A36 and A38..." Scarlette quietly reads under her breath.
Scarlette finally arrives at seats A40 and A42. Scarlette quickly takes the seat closest to the window. As much as she hates heights, she doesn't want to miss the beautiful view. To cope with her anxiety, she stares out the window. Her hands are moistened from sweating. She reaches for a piece of gum inside the front pocket of her purse, while pushing away any thoughts of the plane leaving the ground.
Scarlette is suddenly torn from her thoughts, when a bag drops onto the seat next to her, making Scarlette jump. She looks over, only to see the tall body of a man standing in the aisle. Though she couldn't see his face. While he piled another bag inside the compartment above their seats, Scarlette's eyes lingered on the mysterious man in a black suit.
As Scarlette observed the man blocking the aisle, she noticed his white undershirt was slightly unbuttoned at the top. Yet, he still wore a loose black tie. The opening revealed his muscular toned body underneath. When he turned to allow a mother carrying her infant to pass by, Scarlette recognized his perfectly shaped ass. It was none other than the angry man whose flight had been switched, who would share a seat with her on this flight.
Her eyes dared linger lower until she heard the loud snap of the overhead compartment closing. After the man closed the compartment, he leaned down to grab his other bag. Their eyes met, and an instant smile appeared on his handsome face. Scarlette looked away first, before the man moved his other bag under his seat.
Once he is satisfied with his bag's placement, he sits in his assigned seat next to Scarlette. She is too nervous to look at him again, not knowing what to say to the handsome man sitting next to her. Luckily, the pilot's voice bellowed loudly over the intercom and the flight attendant began her safety instructions.
