Lost in Flight Read Online Free PDF Page A

out. 
    He was already dressed and gave her a beaming smile.  Christina couldn’t help herself, she felt the smile stretch across her own face and she laughed.  He came and sat on the bed, taking her hand. 
    “Hey.  I’ve got to go, but I’ll be back later okay?” 
    When she gave a non-committal, “Sure,” he stared at her intently and leaned over to give her a kiss.  Riley’s eyes never left her face.  “It’s good to see you, Dina.  It really is.” 
    He took her hand and kissed it, then pulled her out of bed.  She threw on her robe and followed him out to see him off.  Christina offered Riley a ride home, but he declined.  He looked at his clothes and then directly at her. 
    “Nah.  It’s okay.  It’s not like I’m doing my walk of shame in a skimpy blue dress.” 
    Christina tried to keep her face passive because here they came:  the hooks, the barbs, the insults, everything designed to unnerve her.  Riley was a master at getting under her skin, pushing and prodding until he found something – anything - to upset her.  She could almost predict how this would go, so she decided to head it off at the pass.
    Attempting a neutral demeanor, Christina made eye contact with Riley, and she didn’t like the way he was looking at her.  “Did you follow me home, Riley?”
    Riley’s mouth twitched at the corners and his eyes glinted.  “Of course, I followed you home.  You should have seen yourself.  You could’ve given my old man a heart attack.” 
    Christina tried to keep her face passive, but she could feel her eyes begin to blaze.  “That was nice of you, but you didn’t need to do that…”
    To her annoyance, Riley started laughing.  “Well, it was kind of interesting.  I really did enjoy the part where you were talking to yourself about iron vaginas and stupidity, but my absolute favorite was when you pulled your panties down and went country in the field, and kind of fell in it.”
    Christina closed her eyes and grimaced.  Why did he have to do this?  And then she could feel it, lurking at the back of her mind.  Her heart started racing because it had been a long time since this happened, but when she became overwhelmed it felt like popcorn exploded in her head. 
    If it stayed locked away inside her mind, that would be fine, but it didn’t.  Usually, all her jumbled thoughts came burbling out her mouth without the benefit of a filter.  She rubbed her temples and paced around the room waving her hands, trying to keep herself under control, before it was too late. 
    She was going to have a meltdown in front of Riley, and she knew full well that he had done everything to provoke it.    No, no, no, she thought, I’m an idiot.  She tried to visualize images that would bring her tranquility, but her mind fixated on Riley witnessing her relieving herself in the field. 
    “Are you talking to me or yourself, Christina?” Riley laughed, “and you’re not an idiot.  Crazy?  Maybe.  No, definitely.  But you’re not an idiot.” 
    Oh god .  It had started and she needed to control it before it got worse.  Christina rubbed her forehead and made eye contact with Riley.  “I think you need to leave.  This,” she pointed her fingers between the two of them, “was a mistake and let’s pretend it didn’t happen.”
    “Why?  Oh come on, honey,” Riley smirked.  “It was fun.  You know it.  I know it.  There’s nothing to be ashamed of, and if the noise was anything to go by, you seemed to have a really good time.”
    Christina exploded.  All the politeness and intimacy they’d shared evaporated in that moment.  What resurfaced was their default position of two scorpions in a jar trying to sting each other to death.  “Get out,” she snapped.  “Just go – you’re a pig.”
    By this stage Riley was almost bent over double, finding it difficult to stand because he was laughing so hard.  He had his hands on his thighs to steady himself and she