Every Wednesday I’m posting a little snippet from my upcoming book.  Finding My Faith, the sequel to The Light Within Me, will be out at the beginning of March, and I think you will really like the story of Rayner and Faith 🙂

“What the hell is taking so long?”

Rayner hated waiting almost as much as he hated flying.  Combine the two together, and he was not a pleasant person to be around.  He and his two companions stood side by side in the airport staring out the glass at the plane they were already supposed to be on, giving off a “how much is that doggy in the window” vibe.  The watched as a mechanic and a pilot walked around the small, private plane discussing who knows what.  Rayner hoped they were discussing things like properly working engines and wheels that would appear upon landing instead of something like baseball scores.

He looked over at his two friends, Hudson and Cohen. Hudson’s big arms were crossed over his chest and he was dressed in some expensive suit with a fancy Italian name that Rayner couldn’t pronounce.  With Hudson’s black hair in a ponytail down his back, the guy looked like he was posing for a picture that would land him in GQ.  Except his body measurements qualified him for a spread in some body building or wrestling magazine.  He stood about six foot five and weight around two sixty, give or take ten or fifteen pounds.  Most likely on the give side.   Hudson didn’t say anything just kept staring out the window at the plane they were waiting to board.

“Better to be safe, and all that,” Cohen said quietly pushing his dark mop of hair off his forehead.  He was big like Hudson, but didn’t have the fashion thing going on.  He wore a pair of jeans with a t-shirt under his knee length leather coat.

Rayner sighed, and caught his own reflection in the window.  He was just as big as his two companions, but his hair was a light blond that fell to his collar.  He wasn’t much into the clothes either, but had managed a pair of black slacks with a black silk t-shirt.  Two gold hoops hung from his right ear.  He wasn’t sure if he liked them or not.  The same went for the gold hoops through his nipples.  He had been on the losing end of a football bet with Cohen three months ago and the loser had to pierce one ear and one nipple.  Rayner had decided to double tap it on each.

He stared at his tanned skin, his high cheekbones, his full mouth, his black and gray eyes.  He had been in this body for a long time, and it was weird to think that there was more to him than what stared back at him.

“Okay, gentlemen, they’re ready for us.” All three turned to see the very pretty flight attendant who would be serving them on their trip from Reno, Nevada, to Phoenix, Arizona.  She was about twenty-five, short, thin, and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail that fell to her lower back.  Her crisp light blue suit matched her eyes and was emblazed with the logo of the company from where they were renting the jet.  Her name tag read Suzette and her smile was almost blinding.

“Thank you, Suzette,” Hudson rumbled, stepping in front of Rayner and offering his arm to her.  “May I escort you down?”

She giggled and took his arm.

Rayner looked at Cohen, who simply rolled his eyes.  Rayner wondered if today’s flight would be Suzette’s first inauguration into the mile high club.  He kind of doubted it.

As they crossed the tarmac toward the sleek, white LearJet 45 Rayner took some deep breaths.  It wasn’t that he was afraid of flying.  It just wasn’t natural.  And things that weren’t natural made him … okay, maybe he was afraid to fly.  But hurtling yourself through space in a tin can that you couldn’t even fully stand up in wasn’t right.  He climbed the steps, bent his head down to enter the plane and planted his ass in the first light brown leather seat.  He reminded himself the plane ride was only an hour and a half.

Cohen plopped down in the seat across the aisle, while Hudson moved to a seat in back—the one by the bathroom.

Easy access for him and Suzette, Rayner thought.

“Can I get you guys anything to drink before we take off?” Suzette asked.

Rayner thought about it a moment, and nodded.  “Three shots of Tequila.  Whatever you have as long as it’s the good stuff.”

Suzette nodded and looked at Cohen.  “Same.  Except make mine whiskey.”

Apparently Cohen had no intentions of being awake for the flight either.

Suzette then looked at the back of the plane, smiled, and sashayed back to Hudson.  They spoke in low tones, and Rayner heard her giggle.

Yep, he could see this one coming a mile away.

A couple minutes later, three shot glasses were lined up in front of him along with a wedge of lime.  He didn’t bother with the lime until all three little glasses of liquid were empty.  He felt the burn as they made their way into his gut, the numbing effect on his brain almost immediate.

Perfect.

Suzette stood in front of the three of them and told them what to do if the plane were to suddenly lose air pressure and start spiraling downward.

Rayner pulled out his Ipod from his jacket pocket and put the earbuds in. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the soft, plush leather.   You die, honey, he thought idly.

Copyright 2011 Carly Fall