The guy that was with him last time isn’t with him today and the poor guy looks like he’s uncomfortable. There’s a little girl sitting next to him and she’s squeezing a stuffed animal close to her chest. He leans down until he’s almost face to face with her. I’m close enough that I can hear the conversation.
“Is this your first time flying?” His voice is gentle. The little girl nods her head and hugs her bear tighter. “It’ll be okay. This is only my third time, and I’m still nervous. We’ll get through this flight together.”
The little girl looks up at him, eyes wide, and clearly doesn’t believe anything he’s saying. Bentley reaches into his backpack and pulls out a package of gum. He looks to the girl’s mom and asks, “Is it okay if I give her this.”
She smiles and looks down at her daughter. “Of course. My husband is flying into his hometown today from deployment. We wanted to surprise him. I didn’t realize how scared she would be.”
“It’s okay. My first flight was a few weeks ago, and if it hadn’t been for my friend, I’m sure I would have curled up into a ball.”
“I’m glad you’re here to help ease her fears. I flew all the time before I had her, and she doesn’t always believe what I say.”
Bentley laughs. “I had a similar conversation with my friend.” He holds out the pack of gum and offers it to the little girl. “Here you go. If you chew it, your ears won’t pop when we lift off.”
“Thank you,” she squeaks out as she takes a piece and shoves it into her mouth.
We’re done with our safety precautions, and the pilot announces for everyone to prepare for takeoff. I won’t lie, what he did for that girl melted my heart just the tiniest bit.
I’m sure he doesn’t have any kids. At least, nothing I googled showed that he did. Doing that was probably a terrible idea, but I needed to know more about him. If anything, to prove that my first impression of him was correct. Every image I found of him since he joined the team is with a different girl. That’s not exactly compelling evidence for me to want to consider a date with him. He’s obviously not like that all the time if his interaction with the little girl is any sign.
The plane starts down the runway and I see Bentley’s body tense and his hands grip the armrest. The child next to him grabs hold of her mom’s hand and squeezes it tight. She looks over at Bentley before setting her bear next to her and places her hand on his arm. My heart is now mush.
I quickly make my way to the back of the plane and take my seat until we are in the air. Seeing a softer side to him should not change the way I see him, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. At least a little bit.
We’ve finally landed, and people are getting off the plane. Those who are seasoned at this are already off and doing whatever it is they came here to do. Bentley is still sitting with the woman and her daughter. I’m sure she’s waiting until there are fewer people since she has to make sure her little one has all of her stuff.
Bentley and the girl are laughing, and a bar from the cage around my heart disappears. Oh no, that shit needs to go right back where it was. I’m not letting this guy get under my skin.
Now that most of the passengers are gone, Bentley and his seatmates can get into the aisle. While the mom is getting her daughter situated, Bentley reaches above them to the bins, and pulls out his suitcase as well as the suitcase for the mom and child.
Another wall is destroyed. He pulls out his phone and taps something on it. Before showing it to the girl. The mom and child are now heading toward the exit, and the girl is carrying one of our napkins with ink scrawled across it. He must have autographed it for her.
They near me and they are both beaming. “I hope y’all had a great flight, and hope you have fun while you’re in Chicago.”
“Thank you. I had no idea athletes flew on regular planes. It looks like my family and I have plans tonight, now.”
“What do you mean?” It’s weird that they wouldn’t have plans before they got here. Most people have an entire itinerary set out before they leave home.
“Bentley plays for the visiting team, and he set tickets up for us and my husband, who just got back from deployment, to go to the game tonight.” Her smile is gigantic, and I can tell that it means a lot to her.
“That’s great. I hope all three of you have a fantastic time at the game tonight.”
“Thank you.”
My eyes fall on the man of the hour and he’s now helping an older woman get her luggage from the carry-on bin. This is such a different side of him than I saw when we first met. Maybe he’s not as arrogant as he appears. When the woman reaches for her suitcase, he waves her off and tells her to go ahead of him.
They walk down the aisle, slowly, and finally make it to me. “I hope you both had a great flight.”
“Thank you, Dear. This is one of my favorite airlines to fly with.” The lady gives me a curt nod and takes a few steps into the hallway.
“That’s good to hear.”
Bentley rushes toward her, and asks, “Can you give me just a second I’ll bring your luggage out to you at the gate.” She glances at him and then me before grinning and shuffling along down the hall.
“When did you become such a hero?” I roll my eyes as he lopes back toward me.
He stops in his tracks and puts his hands to his heart. “You wound me.”
“Please,” I laugh. “Don’t act like you weren’t doing that for my benefit.” It’s the only reason I can come up with. What other person is that helpful without getting anything in return?
