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2172 Words
Lance took his seat near the window. They were on their way to Thailand first class compliments of Venus. The entire first-class section was filled with various Venus employees, from makeup and hair stylists to wardrobe specialists, stage hands, and of course Iris who, like Lance, liked to oversee all aspects of the shoot.
Lance accepted the newspaper the steward offered. As he was flipping through the pages, he couldn’t help noticing just how tense Cassia was. She was sitting in her seat rigid and stiff, her face white as a ghost and her hand clutching the arms of her seat. She was breathing quick and shallow while sweat beaded on her forehead.
“Are you ok?” He asked concerned. She looked like she was going to hyperventilate and pass out.
“I told you,” she said her voice trembling, “I’m scared of flying.”
“How’d you get to California?”
“I took the bus.” She said as the plane began to take off. “Oh god.” She cried closing her eyes tight.
“Easy calm down, it’s completely safe. There is nothing to worry about. Just relax.”
Suddenly the plane shook, and Cassia panicked. “What was that? Are we going down?”
“It’s just turbulence.” He assured her. “It’s fine.” Now she was hyperventilating. “Calm down.” He said placing his hand on her back and forcing her to lean forward. “Put your head between your knees and breathe slowly.”
“Is she going to be ok?” Asked Iris from the seat in front of them.
“She’ll be fine. She needs to relax.”
“I got some Xanax.” Iris offered.
“Yeah let’s give her some.” He said holding out his hand. Iris reached into her handbag and took out a pill bottle. She took the lid off and popped two pills in his hand. “Cassia, take these they’ll relax you.” He said sitting her back up. She put the pills in her mouth and accepted the bottle of water Iris offered her. She took a big sip and then handed the bottle back.
Slowly her breathing returned to normal, but her grip on her chair’s arms didn’t let up. “Feeling better?” Iris asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
Iris returned to her seat, and Lance took Cassia’s hand and threaded his fingers with hers. “You’re doing great darling.”
“How far away is Thailand?” She asked.
“We’ll be there by morning.”
“That long?” She gasped.
“You’ll be fine.” He promised.
“I’m going to need more Xanax.” She muttered.
“You need to take your mind off it. Read something or watch the movie.” He suggested. “I think they're playing some romantic comedy.”
Cassia tried to watch the movie, but her grip on his hand wasn’t letting up. She needed a distraction. Lance stood up, and Cassia panicked. “Where are you going?” She asked.
“Meet me in the back in a few minutes.” He said prying her hand off his.
Lance headed back to the laboratories and waited a moment. When Cassia joined him, he dragged her into the small laboratory and locked the door. “What are we doing?” She asked as he pushed her back against the mirror and sat her up on the tiny sink.
“Ever hear of the mile-high club?” He smiled and unzipped his jeans. He then pushed up her skirt and shifted her panties out of his way. He entered her quickly in a forceful deep thrust. Cassia was instantly smiling. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Lance kissed her lips while he took her quick and forcefully. He had to put his hand over her mouth to muffle her moans as he brought her to competition pulling away just after to find his release.
Once it was over, he smiled at her. “Feeling more relaxed?”
She just smiled at him. He had a feeling he could distract her. Now the only trick was to keep her relaxed for the next fourteen hours.
***
The touchdown was a little nerve-racking, but once the plane was safely on the ground, Cassia couldn’t wait to get off. From the airport, they went straight for their hotel. Thailand seemed very much like any other city in the world. Cassia wasn’t sure why they had to come to this location.
The hotel was nice, and the architecture was unique. Perhaps not for the locals but Cassia thought the curves and moulding were all very lovely. They checked in and headed to their rooms to settle in. Cassia wasn’t surprised to find that Venus had put her in the same suite as Lance. Without a doubt, they knew there was something between them. Or it was possible Lance had just requested their accommodations.
The suite was beautiful and spacious. The bed was king sized but set upon a low wood platform with orange and red bedding. There were some low tables and no chairs. The whole place looked very different from what she was expecting. There were a lot of pillows scattered around the room with silk drapes around the window. The windows were tall and wide flooding the room with soft light.
Lance walked over to the doors that led out onto a balcony. A warm breeze made the silk drapes flutter. “Cassia, come here.” He said from the balcony.
Cassia placed her suitcase on the floor and stepped out onto the balcony. The view was beautiful. The hotel nestled into a little cove with white sand and crystal blue waters surrounded by cliffs covered in deep green foliage. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. The sun was big and bright. The warm ocean breeze wrapped around her, it was the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.
“This is amazing.” She smiled.
“We start shooting this afternoon, but after the shoot, I’m going to take you to see the sights. There’s a Floating Lantern Festival tonight in Chiang Mai. I think you’ll like it.”
“Where are we shooting?” She asked following him back inside.
“Today we’re shooting outside up in the mountain and tomorrow outside the Wat Samphran Temple. It’s this great temple with a huge stone dragon that wraps around the whole temple.”
“You’ve been to Thailand before?”
“Once, but I was working the whole time.”
“Are you ever not working?” She asked sitting down on the bed.
“I’m in high demand.” He smiled. “That’s what happens when you’re the best.”
“Are you going to have any time for me?” She asked scooting back on the bed and unbuttoning the front of her shirt.
His smile grew, and Lance pushed his suitcase aside and crawled onto the bed. “Baby I always got time for you.” He said kissing her. They were getting hot and heavy when there was a knock on the door. “I got to get that.” He said pulling away.
“Forget them.” She said pulling on his shirt trying to get him to come back to her.
“It’s probably Iris.” He said shrugging her off and answering the door. It was indeed Iris informing them their ride to the location was leaving right away. So much for their alone time.
With work waiting they all headed downstairs to the street where they took a primitive looking taxi up into the mountains. They reached the location early in the afternoon. It was the loveliest mountain range with a stunning fragrant waterfall.
Cassia spent two hours in hair and makeup while Lance and Iris fussed over the location set up all the proper lighting and cameras. Then the wardrobe girls tried stuffing Cassia into one of the outfits. They were having trouble zipping the backup.
Lance appeared behind Cassia and grabbed hold of the fabric while the girl tugged on the zipper. “Suck it in.” He snarled.
“I am.” Cassia snapped.
“See this was my point. You should have never had that hamburger.”
“I’m not fat.” She barked.
“This is high fashion baby anything above a size two is tubby. Take a deep breath.” Cassia did as he instructed and they finally got the zipper up. “Got it.”
“It’s too tight; I can’t breathe.” She complained.
“Then don’t breathe.” He said. “Ok, where’s my camera?” He bellowed as he walked away.
Cassia awkwardly walked to where the stagehand instructed. Taking his hand, she stepped into the pool below the waterfall. Lance then turned the camera on her, and the shoot began. He moved around for different angles and different light. Cassia couldn’t breathe, but she did her best trying not to let it show that the restricting garment was cutting off her circulation.
She was so grateful when it was time to change outfits, although the other three weren’t any easier to get in or out of. She did her best not to complain she remembered what Lance said about professionalism and personality, but the garments were starting to leave pressure marks. When they began to lose the light Lance called it quits. Cassia was happy when the wardrobe girls helped her out of her last outfit. She put on the robe they offered, and Cassia sat down on the folding chair for the makeup woman to wash the makeup off her face.
“You did good kid,” Lance said coming to stand beside her.
“That was horrible; the clothes were too tight. It hurt.”
“Beauty is painful.” He said watching the woman take her hair down. “But you worked through it without a single complaint. I’m proud of you.” His praise made her smile. It was nice to hear she lived up to his ridiculously high standards. “Now get dressed, and we’ll go see the lanterns.”
“Is it far?” She asked getting up from her chair and accepting the clothes he held out for her.
“It’s some ways inland.”
She quickly dressed, and they all took the taxi back into the city. They showered and changed in the hotel and then took a chartered bus to Chiang Mai. It was a gloriously, lovely city with so many sights. The sun had gone not long ago when they finally reached the festival. There were locals, monks, and tourists everywhere. Everyone were given a paper lantern. They lit each lantern and one by one they released them into the evening sky. It was quite the sight.
As they stood on the steps of a temple watching the lights in the sky, Lance took out his camera and began taking pictures of Cassia. “What are you doing?” She giggled.
“I never miss a perfect shot.” He said. “You look so beautiful in this light.”
“You know what I want?” She asked stepping down one step posing for him.
“What would that be?” He asked.
“I want a picture of the two of us.” She then took his camera from him and walked up to an old man in monk robes. “Would you take our picture?” She asked, but he only seemed confused.
Lance walked over to the monk and spoke to him in Thai. He was just full of surprises. The monk smiled and nodded. Lance showed him how to work the camera, and then he took Cassia in his arms, and they posed for a few playful pictures. He then retrieved his camera, thanked the monk, and they continued with their night.
They stopped in a local eatery where they tried the local cuisine and drank rice wine. They talked about the work and how they would spend their downtime. Lance promised he would take her to all the tourist spots before they headed back home.
It was late when they returned to the hotel. They went to bed but did not sleep as they burned the night away in each other’s arms. When dawn came, it was back to work.
- Writer
