"Tyler," Jess said, "how much clothes could you possibly need for two days and one night out of town?"

I sighed as I continued to pack my suitcase. "I have no idea where we'll be going or what we'll be doing while we're there. I just need a couple of different outfits to cover my bases."

She replied, "Whatever, you're still packing twice the amount of clothes that I would."

I was starting to wish that I hadn't told her about this business trip, to begin with. If she wouldn't have called me last night, I probably would have forgotten to tell her anyway. It wasn't like I had that much notice, to begin with. After surviving dinner with young Mr. Evans the other night, he dropped me off at my place and I went straight to bed. I had entirely too much to drink on a work night, so needless to say I went to bed and slept like the dead. Then I go to work today and get a call from my boss before quitting time. Apparently, Robbie had told his father about my request and won the argument this time. Now we were both flying to Chicago this morning. The only thing I heard from Robbie last night was a text telling me that he'd be by to pick me up at 8:00 sharp. Jess met me for breakfast early this morning and hasn't shut up since.

Jess said, "I so wish that I could go with you. It's super cool that you get to go to Chicago for the night with all expenses paid."

"Jess, this is a business trip, not pleasure. We're going to be working the whole time from when we get there until we leave."

She replied, "I know, but still."

Honestly, I had no idea what blondie had planned for us on this trip. Even after the other night, I still wasn't sure how to feel about him. Although I was starting to be more comfortable around him, I couldn't shake these strange feelings that I was having. Just thinking about spending today and tomorrow around him now was making me break out in a sweat. I was hoping that Jess didn't notice as I shoved my toiletries in my suitcase. I didn't realize how much I crammed into it until I tried to close it up. There was a decent sized gap preventing the zipper from closing the suitcase.

"Um, Jess. Can you give me a hand for a sec?"

She replied, "Sure."

Jess got off the side of the bed and came over to help me. She pushed down on the top of the case while I struggled with the zipper. It took a little doing, but I managed to zip the suitcase closed with her help. Once it was ready, I stood the suitcase up on the floor beside me. I looked at my watch and saw that it was just a few minutes before eight.

"Thank you, I need to get this out front though. He'll be here any minute."

I grabbed the suitcase handle while picking my backpack up from the bed. Jess followed me down the hall and we put our shoes on before going out the door. I carried my bags down the stairs and went out the front door. When we got outside, I set my bags down on the sidewalk and gave Jess a hug. Just then, a black sedan pulled up against the curb. It was the same black sedan that gave me a ride the night before and probably the same driver. Sure enough, he got out of the car and opened the trunk for me. Without even acknowledging my presence I put my suitcase in the trunk beside Robbie's and he closed the lid. I didn't even notice that Robbie got out of the car and was standing beside it with the back door open. He was holding onto the door handle as I got into the back of the sedan. Once I was seated inside, Robbie sat on the seat beside me and closed the door. As soon as the door was shut, the driver started the car and we were on our way.

Besides the usual traffic, the ride to the airport was rather quiet. Robbie was busy doing something on his iPad the entire time. Thankful for the quiet time, I spent the ride looking out the window. Getting the opportunity to just take in the sights wasn't something that I indulged in too often. I was going to try to enjoy every aspect of this trip that I could, even though I was initially pissed when I found out that I had to go. Of course, the prospect of getting some answers out of blondie alleviated most of my anger.

I watched as the city disappeared into suburbia through the window. Signs for the airport started to appear more frequently as the car navigated the highway. As we got closer, I saw the signs for the terminal, but the car didn't go in the direction that they indicated. We ended up going down some access road before stopping in front of a gate. The guard came over to the car and the driver showed him something. After seeing whatever it was, the guard went back to his booth and the gate opened. The car started moving forward again and we entered part of the airport that most travelers never get to see.

After we went past the trees, massive hangars started to come into view. Large commercial planes started coming into view, mostly with shipping company names on the sides of them. As the car went past them, a number of smaller jets became visible sitting outside the hangars. The car eventually stopped in front of one of these smaller jets. The door to the jet was open with the stairs down leading up into the opening. Robbie turned off his iPad and put it in his backpack before zipping up the pocket.

He asked, "Ready to go?"

"Wait a sec, we're flying on that?"

"Yup, my father hates flying commercial air travel."

"So, he's coming with us?"

Robbie answered, "Nope. Let's grab our things and get going. Still, have a lot to do today."

Robbie opened his door and grabbed his backpack before getting out of the car. I followed suit and got out as well. Walking around to the trunk, I met Robbie as the driver was setting our suitcases on the ground. Robbie took the handle of his suitcase and started walking towards the jet. I did the same and followed behind him as the driver closed the car doors. He was back in the driver's seat and pulling away from us before we even reached the steps.

"He really must really hate his job."

Robbie responded while starting up the stairs, "Eh, he's a good guy. John's just dealing with a lot of issues right now."

"Okay."

I followed Robbie up the stairs and entered the cabin behind him. I had only seen the inside of private jets watching movies and this wasn't that far off from them. The leather interior was freshly cleaned and smelled like new. There was a mini-bar built into the side with rotating seats on each side across the aisle from it. Behind them were booths on both sides of the cabin. They each had two seats on each side facing a table in the middle of them. Robbie placed his suitcase on one of the chairs beside the table in the back. Then, he took my suitcase and placed it on a chair beside his. After taking care of our luggage, he sat down on one of the rotating chairs beside the mini-bar and motioned for me to take the other. As I tried to buckle my seat belt, a guy who I presumed to be the pilot came back from the front of the plane.

He asked, "Ready to go, sir?"

Robbie looked at me before replying, "Yes, we're all set."

The pilot nodded and closed up the aircraft before returning to the cockpit. I was still fiddling with the seatbelt trying to get it to buckle. I wasn't sure if it was just my nerves or if I was just that incompetent. As the plane started to taxi towards the runway, Robbie looked at me and tilted his head to the side.

Robbie asked, "Do you need a hand with that?"

I nodded my head back at him and dropped the buckles to my side. Robbie unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of his seat. He came over to me and dropped to a knee in front of me. His hands brushed against my thighs as he grabbed both parts of the buckle. I sat frozen in the seat as he effortlessly buckled the seatbelt in the middle of my waist. Then his hand glided across the front of my stomach as he tightened the strap. The feel of his hand against my shirt was making chills run down my spine. Nobody has ever made me feel like this in my life. I still wasn't sure if I should embrace it or run from it. However, since I was stuck on a plane with him for the next couple of hours, I had no place to run to.

"Thank you."

"No problem," he replied. Robbie went back to his seat and buckled himself up once again. He had that same cocky look on his face that I was starting to think was his natural state.

There was a click before we heard the captain over the speaker. "We're getting in line for take-off. We should be in the air in a few minutes."

Robbie looked at me as my grip tightened to the armrests. "You have flown before, right?"

"Um, yes. Twice actually."

"Are you just nervous then?"

Oh yes, I was definitely nervous. I just wasn't sure if it was because of the plane or blondie in the seat across from me. So, I just decided to tell half of the truth. "This isn't something that I'm completely comfortable with. I think that I'll be fine though."

Robbie looked at me with a puzzled look on his face as the plane moved a little further towards the runway. "Well, you're in good hands with these guys. We use them all the time."

"I was under the impression that this was your private jet."

He replied, "Nah, we find it more cost efficient just to use a charter. It costs too much to maintain an aircraft and pilot for all the more we fly. This company is excellent though, we have nothing to worry about."

Just then, I could feel and hear the engines revving up. The jet started to race down the runway. As it picked up speed, I could feel the nose lifting up from the ground. Then, there was a jolt as the rear wheels left the ground and the plane started to climb into the air. There was a light thud under us as the landing gear retracted and the doors shut. Neither of us said anything as the plane leveled out and the seatbelt sign was turned off.

Robbie unbuckled his seat belt before saying, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not a fan of take-offs either. Since we have about two hours to kill, would you care for a drink?"

I watched Robbie as he got up from his chair and went over to the mini-bar. After making up two drinks, he handed one of the glasses to me. Putting the little straw to my lips, I took a sip of the cold beverage. He had it mixed exactly as I liked it. Just enough alcohol to taste it, but not too overpowering.

"Thanks, this is perfect."

He replied, "You're welcome, I was hoping that I didn't mix it too strong. How about we move to the table in the back and talk over this photo shoot."

"Sounds good."

I tried to unbuckle the seat belt, but my ability to undo the latch was about the same as buckling it. Robbie started chuckling as he set his drink back down on the bar. I could feel the warmth from his hands through my shirt as he unlatched the buckle for me. I should have watched what he was doing, but instead, my eyes were glued to his face.

Robbie retrieved his glass and I followed him to the back of the plane. Each of us took a seat across the table from each other. He pulled his iPad back out of his backpack and started to talk about our plans for the rest of the day.