Page 106 of Positively Pricked

"Hey," she said, throwing back her shoulders, "I'm not embarrassed by my own sexuality." When he made no response, she gave his crotch a pointed look and added, "And last I looked, you weren't either."

I sunk lower in my seat. Forget the parachute. Maybe I'd just jump out the emergency exit and pray for the best.

The brunette turned and gave me a particularly nasty smirk. "Canyousuck a golf ball through a garden hose?"

I stared up at her. What did that even mean?

Next to me, the new guy muttered, "If youreallywanna know, ask her roommate's boyfriend."

I'd had just about enough. I jumped to my feet and glared down at the guy. "What's your problem?" I demanded. "I didn't do anything to you –orto her stupid boyfriend, not that it's any of your concern."

Zane's voice cut through the commotion. "You wanna hit Kalamazoo, too?"

Just great.So now he was threatening to leavemebehind? Cripes, at this point, he'd be doing me a favor, well, aside from the fact that I'd be stranded with the garden-hose golf-ball sucker.

I turned to glare at him, only to discover that he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the new guy.

As I watched in stunned disbelief, Zane told him, "Now, apologize. Or grab your luggage."

After a long, awkward pause, the new guy looked vaguely in my direction and muttered a few words that might be considered an apology if I weren't too picky.

I was still trying to make sense of it all when the brunette demanded, "What about me? Don'tIdeserve an apology?"

I couldn’t resist asking, "For what?"

"What do you mean 'for what?'" She straightened. "I'm being kicked off for no good reason."

This might've been true five minutes ago, but now, I could see plenty of reasons to kick her off. Wasn't it some sort of flight hazard when someone stood up and flipped out on a plane? The thought had barely crossed my mind when I realized that she wasn't the only one standing.

Unsure what else to do, I sank down in my seat and tried to pretend that none of this was happening. I closed my eyes in a desperate bid to block out everyone and everything, including my own jumbled thoughts.

In the background, I heard Zane say, "Are you gonna buckle up or not?"

The brunette snapped, "No. And you can't make me."

"I wasn't talking to you," Zane said. "I was talking toher."

My eyes flew open, and I looked to Zane. He looked to my seatbelt, and his voice hardened. "Now."

Well, that wasn't bossy or anything.

Still, I reached for my seatbelt and began fastening it over my lap.

The brunette gave a single stomp of her foot. "Doesn't anyone care aboutme? I'm still standing for Christ's sake!"

Next to me, the blond guy assured her, "I care."

"Yeah?" she said. "Well, up yours!"

I glanced out the window and bit my lip. We were definitely getting ready to land. True, I couldn’t see the airport, but the ground was looking a whole lot closer than it had just a couple minutes earlier.

I looked up and told the brunette, "Seriously, I think you'd better sit."

"Oh yeah?" She crossed her arms. "What if I don't want to?"

I tried to think. "Well, um, if we have a rough landing, couldn’t your face get mangled or something?"

Her hand flew to her face. She felt around as if imagining an ear where her mouth should be and vice-versa. She stopped in mid-motion and gave me the squinty-eye. "Oh, shut up," she said, before plopping back into her seat and fastening the belt over her lap.

It was a good thing, too, because Zane wasn't kidding. We were definitely landing.

Welcome to Kalamazoo.