Jetsetters
Jetsetters
By
S J Crabb
Copyrighted Material
Copyright © S J Crabb 2017
S J Crabb has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only
Contents
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Also by S J Crabb
Note from the Author
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Epilogue
Note from the Author
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Also by S J Crabb
Romantic Comedy:
The Diary of Madison Brown
My Perfect Life at Cornish Cottage
My Christmas Boyfriend
Romantic Suspense
The Hardcastle Saga
#1 The One That Got Away
#2 A Matter of Trust
#3 Payback
Paranormal Romance
The Devil’s Children
Scarlett
Falcondell
Falcondell Part Two
Lucas
Savannah
Marius
Ashley
Caleb
Check them out at:
sjcrabb.com
Note from The Author
In all my Chick Lit books, there is a little bit of me. Some of the situations come straight from personal experience. Not all of it my story but something I have known happen.
One review on Amazon said that The Diary of Madison Brown was full of unrealistic events.
I would say that life is full of unrealistic events that happen to ordinary people. When you read Jetsetters, I will let you wonder which things are based on true events and which ones are just figments of my very wild imagination. Like I said - there is a lot of me in these books and for those of you who know me, nothing will surprise you.
Now fasten your seat belts, you’re in for a turbulent ride.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my beloved Monarch Airlines who sadly closed for business this year. I worked for Monarch from the age of 19 for five glorious years. I made many friends, some of who I still see today.
It was a fabulous life and the majority of events that happen in this story are based on true experiences – Not all of them I hasten to say!
So, this story is dedicated to Monarch Airlines and all who flew with this great company. In particular my friend Jo who was with them until the bitter end. The end of an era but not forgotten.
(Please note, Jo the character in this story is not meant to depict my friend Jo. I just wanted to name her after such a fantastic stewardess and friend.)
I hope you enjoy seeing what your crew get up to on a stopover! You will never look at them in the same way again.
Chapter 1
“Now breathe! Deep breaths, in-out-in-out.”
“Oh, this is absurd. How many more times is she going to do this.”
Throwing my friend, for want of a better word, my best Anne Robinson scowl, I turn back to the extremely nervous one gulping for air in front of me.
“It’s ok, Jenny. There’s nothing to worry about. You do know it’s the safest form of travel, don’t you?”
She takes a deep breath and looks at me with gratitude swimming in her baby blue eyes.
“Thanks, Becca. I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I let it get to me.”
I smile and give her a hug as Rachel looks at us with a worried expression.
“Do you think she’ll be ok? I mean, it’s a long flight. What if she really freaks out and tries to open the door? I’ve heard these things happen all the time.”
Jo rolls her eyes and huffs.
“For goodness’ sake, all of you. Pull yourself together, Jenny, this is getting way out of hand. You’re stronger than this and I’m beginning to feel a panic attack of my own coming on at the thought of a week with you lot. I mean, it’s not as if my life isn’t in chaos at the moment and this is all I need.”
Sighing heavily, I smile at Jenny reassuringly.
“Take as long as you need. There’s no point in working yourself up. We’ve got plenty of time before take-off. Maybe you should just sit quietly for a minute and gather yourself together.”
Jo snorts beside me.
“Oh yes, take all the time you need. After all, it’s not as if the passengers aren’t going to arrive any minute. The sight of their fearless crew is really going to instil confidence in them. For god’s sake, Jenny, pull yourself together and remember your training.”
My heart sinks as Jenny’s eyes fill up again and I glare over at Jo. She just raises her eyes.
“What? I tell it how it is. There’s no point in pandering to her. This has been getting worse ever since her mum died and she needs to snap out of it.”
“Jo!”
She shrugs.
“Just saying. Anyway, Rachel swap with Jenny and we’ll keep her out of sight in the galley. You’ll have to take her position. This is all I need, a crew member afraid of flying and no Captain. This is not getting off to a good start.”
Jenny looks at her with a stricken expression and my patience starts to wear thin. Taking her hand, I smile softly.
“Come on, Jenny, lets’ go and make ourselves busy. It will take your mind off it. We’ll leave Jo to go and boss the rest of them around. You’ll be fine, trust me.”
Jenny sniffs and smiles gratefully as Jo looks at us angrily.
“This is all I need. One Captain down and four hundred passengers about to descend on us; they are probably drunk already and singing, ‘Loco in Acapulco’ at the top of their voices. To cap it all, Jenny is having a meltdown and I’m in my own private emotional hell.”
I smile, but any sympathy I have for her is fading fast. I know Jo is having major problems, but the priority is Jenny. She has just lost her mum, and it’s hit her hard. She never moved out, and it w
as just the two of them for most of her life. She was always timid and insecure and now she is hanging by a thread. The fear of flying started after the funeral. She was always a nervous person but never this bad. Now she fears her own shadow.
This trip was meant to bring her out of herself and bring some light to her now dark life. It’s not starting well.
Then it gets a whole lot worse as Jo hisses angrily.
“Oh, for god’s sake this can’t be happening. What the hell is he doing here?”
We look up and my heart sinks as I see the Captain entering the cabin sheepishly. Great, it just gets better and better.
He smiles at us nervously and disappears quickly into the cockpit where his First Officer is carrying out the pre-flight checks. Jo looks at us with a look of pure and deadly, murderous intent.
“Well, if he thinks I’m going anywhere with him, then he’s got another thing coming. He’s done this on purpose, you mark my words.”
I reach out and pull her back before she marches in there and lets rip.
“Calm down, Jo. It will be fine. I expect he was all they had.”
Jo glares at me but I note the mist in her eyes. I feel bad for her. Pete is—was, her boyfriend. They have just had a major bust up and was another reason to come on this trip. She needed to get away and so we engineered this trip for the four of us. One week’s stopover in Acapulco. Fun city, full of tequila shots and endless days sunbathing. Just what we all need—to leave our inhibitions behind and let ourselves go for once. It’s not often we all get rostered on a trip together and this took some engineering. If Pete is joining us, then it’s going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.
Rachel sighs heavily.
“This just gets better and better. Now, all we need is a bunch of unruly passengers, a medical emergency and to run out of gin on the first drinks run. If anyone wants me, I’ll be drowning my sorrows in First Class.”
She walks away and Jenny stares after her sadly.
“I’m sorry, guys. I’ll try to pull myself together. Becca’s right, I just need to keep busy to take my mind off it.”
“Ladies, ladies, stop your gossiping and let’s rock-and-roll. I just spoke to dreamy, sex on legs, handling guy and he told me the wheelchairs are on their way.”
We look up and see Marcus, one of the Stewards, heading towards us. Jo looks at me and shakes her head.
“Whatever, I don’t have time for this. Come on everyone, get to your positions, we’ve got a flight to operate.”
As we head towards our positions my heart sinks, as Jo smiles in a slightly maniacal, mass murderer, serial killer kind of way and says darkly, “He’s going to wish he never came.”
~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 2
“Ooh, he’s nice.”
Marcus nods and smiles flirtatiously at a rather handsome man heading down the tunnel towards us. Fighting back a grin, I smile at him politely and take a look at his boarding pass.
“Turn right, halfway down the second cabin on your right.”
He smiles and heads off as Marcus checks out his behind and whispers.
“I’d join the mile-high club with him.”
I snort. “I thought you joined that years ago.”
His eyes twinkle and he shrugs.
“What can I say, I like to keep my member-ship up.”
I snort, quickly turning it into a cough as a family descends on us with confusion all over their faces. They look around them in awe as we direct them to their seats.
Only three hundred more to go.
It’s at times like this I envy Rachel living it up in First Class. She gets the easy ride, while I serve up drinks, meal, and duty-free to the masses. At least I have Marcus to keep me entertained. The time should pass quickly enough.
I have worked at Jet Air for ten years now. Far from being just a job, it’s now a way of life. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, despite how much I moan about it. The trouble is, if I didn’t have this I would have nothing. I live alone in a flat near the airport. My family lives in Milton Keynes and I rarely see them. All of my friends live nearby and yet our timetables dictate that we are rarely off at the same time. Over the years it has become increasingly hard to meet anyone worth holding onto and I’ve become a bit of a cat lady—minus the cat. Just me and my potted plant Malcolm to care for and I have never felt so lonely. I thought I’d be married with kids by now. Not even close. The only men I meet are on Tinder and after the last one I’m seriously thinking of deleting my profile. How did it all go so wrong?
Marcus nudges me.
“Hottie alert - incoming. Cue the romantic love music.”
As I look up, my heart flutters and everything else tunes out. Wow! My fantasy male is heading purposefully towards us and now I can’t think of anything else but how much I want him to be mine. Immediately, my mind wanders as I live out our life together in two seconds flat. We are married and in love. Our family consists of two adorable children - one of each, possibly called Kitty and Oscar. We live in a pretty house with roses around the door and drive a Range Rover. Ours is the perfect life and we want for nothing.
“Let me show you to your seat, Sir. I’m going that way so it will be no trouble.”
What!? I beam back to earth just in time to see Marcus leading my new husband towards the front of the cabin.
“Excuse me, Miss, but we have been separated and I have a child under five who can’t be expected to travel with strangers. The girl at the check-in desk told me to ask when we got on board.”
I shake myself and focus on the job at hand. My heart melts as I look at the sweet little boy holding onto his mother’s hand with terrified eyes. His mother is looking at me anxiously and the father looks as if he will kill me on the spot if I don’t do as he asks.
I smile reassuringly.
“No problem. If you would just wait to the side, I will see what I can do.”
I head off to find Jo. She oversees the flight and will sort them out, I have no doubt in my mind. Nobody messes with her and it may take her mind off twenty ways to get revenge without going to prison.
By the time I offload the problem and resume my position, Marcus is back looking extremely smug.
Quickly, I whisper, “Well?”
He smirks and his eyes blaze with excitement.
“Oh my god, Becca. I haven’t been so excited since Dario Brady dressed as the biker from The Village People for Gay pride. I almost want to scream like a young girl at a One Direction concert. He is sooo hot.”
I nod vigorously.
“Yes, I know that. What did you find out? Is he travelling alone? Was there a ring on his finger? Is he gay? Come on, tell me everything.”
Marcus smirks again.
“Well. He’s sitting in 12A and so far, the seat next to him is empty. He didn’t say much, but he had that Alpha Male, brooding dominant look to him that I love.”
Marcus starts fanning himself with the safety card and looks around him conspiratorially.
“I’ll find out everything I can by the time we get to Mexico. If there’s even a small chance he’s available, then I will be on him like a sombrero on a donkey at the seaside.”
Laughing to myself, I carry on greeting the passengers. Suddenly, this flight has got a lot more interesting.
Once the passengers are on board, we start securing the cabin. I can’t stop checking out 12A whenever possible and have to admit he’s absolutely gorgeous. His hair is slightly long on top with blonde tips. His body looks like the sort that grace most Kindle covers these days and his white t-shirt is straining against the muscles underneath. His arms are inked, and he is wearing beige combat trousers and trainers. I stifle a sigh every time I look at him and wonder what his story is.
The seat next to him remains empty—thankfully and I dream about sitting next to him on our way to our honeymoon.
“Excuse me, Miss, but do you have anything for motion sickness?”
My desire filled thoughts are interru
pted by a woman in row 14. I smile and head off to the galley to fetch the pills.
Just before the plane reaches the end of the runway we take to our jump seats and Marcus whispers, “So far so good with 12A. He’s alone, and that means fair game. I’ll suss him out and report back.”
I look at him feeling annoyed.
“Why you? I could suss him out as well. Why do you get to monopolise him?”
Marcus winks.
“Because that’s my section and I’m a professional. If he sat in F-J, then he would be yours. Sorry, it’s the rules.”
He grins as I glower at him.
“Ok, but remember he’s mine if he’s straight.”
We bump fists.
“Deal!”
~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 3
Almost as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off the phone rings in the galley. My heart sinks as I hear Pete whisper urgently.
“Hey, Becca. Can you come up here, please?”
“Ok, I won’t be a second.”
I leave Marcus to set up the drinks trolley and head to the flight deck. Luckily, Jo is pre-occupied at the rear of the aircraft, so I head inside.
Barry Jolly, the First Officer, turns and smiles.
“Hi, Becca. Are you looking forward to some fun in the sun?”
I nod, smiling. I like Barry. He’s great fun and has been on a few of my trips before.
Pete looks at me anxiously.
“Listen, you know how this works. Jo is out for me and this is a long flight. Make sure you prepare everything that comes in here and don’t leave anything to her. I’ve lived with her long enough to know the tricks you girls pull and I don’t trust her an inch.”
I giggle and roll my eyes.
“I’ll try, but you know how determined she is.”
Barry looks intrigued.
“What happened?”