He milled around the crowded airport sensing that someone was watching
from behind. He must have turned around three times to make sure no one was
staring. ‘What was the point of wearing a disguise if it didn’t protect your
identity?’ he thought to himself, twirling once more to make sure not a soul
had noticed him. Sure enough, it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He
readjusted his hat and sunglasses trying to look as natural as he possibly could.
Daniel Jones let out a sigh of relief as he stared out at the crowd around
him. No one seemed to know he was one of the founding members of Savage Garden,
and he was glad, no autographs to sign, no pesky fans trying to get pictures,
just peace and quiet for the rest of his trip to New York from Sydney, with
the occasional chatter of his traveling mates, Rebecca Mostow (Savage Garden’s
manager), Larry Tollin (head of Larry Tollin Entertainment), Walter Afanasieff
(the co-producer of “Affirmation”), and Charles Fisher (co-producer of “Savage
Garden”).
This was the second trip Daniel was making to
Daniel smiled at the thought of seeing them again. It had been over a
month since they last talked. Chance was one of his best friends even though
they barely knew each other. They shared the same interest in music and talents.
Both played multiple instruments, and both wrote songs. Yet Chance was very
different from him. She had a special gift that enabled her to learn music by
just listening to it once and watching someone play a piece. He was stunned
when she learned how to play the piano by just watching him, and was very aware
that he’d been teaching a prodigy.
Losing track of the time, Daniel didn’t realize that his flight had been
called. A hand tapped his shoulder making him spin around to see who it was.
Rebecca stood there behind him with a bag over her shoulder and a smile on her
face.
“Lost in thought again, I see,” she said, waiting for him to adjust to
the shock.
“Yeah,” Daniel replied as he began to walk towards the gate.
“Let me guess, Chance?” Rebecca asked, walking briskly behind him trying
to catch up.
“Is it that apparent?” Daniel inquired.
“Yes. Every time you get to thinking about her, your eyes glaze over
and you become dead to the world,” she answered him, walking ahead and out to
the plane.
Daniel stood for a second wondering how he could become so engrossed
in thought, but shrugged it off and made his way towards the waiting aircraft.
~~~~~~~~~~
Just across from where Daniel had been standing, a young woman sat in
one of the lounge chairs at the bar. She had been watching him ever since he
had arrived at the gate. He seemed so quiet and reserved from where she was
sitting, his tall, lanky body turning every so often to make sure no fans had
noticed him. She knew his secret, though, but decided to hold off on saying
anything until she was onboard the plane. She had been the one making him so
nervous with her sky blue eyes.
Alexia Potter stood from her seat and picked up the black leather bag
that sat next to her three-inch stiletto heels. She patted out the wrinkles
in her deep purple skirt then slipped the matching jacket over the white shirt
she was wearing. Alexia made her way towards the same gate that Daniel had gone
through, her head held high and her lips curled up in a devious smile.
Her eyes were set on making him her catch of the month. Alexia was somewhat
of a con artist. She had deceived many others the way she was about to deceive
Daniel, but this was going to be the first time she had ever tried someone so
famous. As she walked outside into the mid-afternoon sunlight, the wind blew
her long blond hair over her face. She brushed it away and kept walking towards
the plane.
Once inside, Alexia made her way through the cramped center isle to first
class. She peered through the curtain that separated it from the rest of the
plane and saw Daniel sitting there with the rest of his party. Stepping past
the curtain, Alexia made her way towards her seat right in front of him.
Daniel looked up from his seat to see the pretty young girl walking past
him in the center isle. She quickly struck his fancy when they locked eyes as
she sat down in her seat just in front of him. The more Daniel looked at her,
the more her became infatuated. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen, and to think, she was staring at him.
Alexia decided to make her move while he was still interested. “Hi, I’m
Alexia. I noticed you looking at me and though I might as well introduce myself,”
she said politely, holding out her hand for him to take. Her voice was like
that of an angel, and she had the same
‘Oh, my God! She’s talking to me,” Daniel thought. For a few moments,
he wasn’t able to do anything. After finally realizing that he was making a
fool out of himself, Daniel returned the greeting by saying, “Pleased to meet
you, Alexia. I’m Daniel.”
They shook hands, and Daniel marveled at the touch of her soft fingers
on his skin. How could he be so lucky as to have an angel sitting in front of
him for the next few hours? The thought kept running through his head even after
the plane had taken off.
“So, where are you going?” Alexia asked nearly an hour into the flight
as the attendants were passing out drinks. She took a sip of her tonic and water,
then wiped her cherry red lips with a napkin.
“
“What a coincidence, I’m also going to
“Me too,” he said, blushing at how stupid his comment was.
“Why are you going out there? You don’t seem to be the big city type.”
“Actually, my friend is turning 18 tomorrow, and we’ve decided to throw
her a surprise party.”
“Friend or girlfriend?” Alexia asked, emphasizing on “girlfriend.”
“Just a friend. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to give her the gift
of a lifetime and bring out some of my other friends to hear her sing and hopefully
give her a contract,” Daniel explained.
“That’s sweet. It’s cool that you’re in the music industry. What do you
do?” Alexia took another sip from her drink as she watched him attentively.
“I’m actually in a band. These are my producers and managers.”
“What’s your band called?”
“Promise you won’t scream or do anything that just might affect my safety
for the duration of the flight?” Alexia shook her head. Daniel bent closer to
her and whispered, “
Alexia pretended to act surprised. She covered her mouth with her hands
and gasped. “Oh, my God! No way! No wonder you looked somehow familiar,” she
said on an astonished, yet low voice.
“Thanks for not overreacting. I don’t want anyone to know I’m here, or
I’ll get swarmed.”
“So, where’s the rest of the band?”
“You mean Darren? He’s in
“Chance is your friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
They didn’t talk much after those first few hours. Alexia began to plot
her next moves and decided she needed time to think before saying anything else.
She sat in her seat watching the sun disappear under the horizon and night settling
in. The darkness all around her slowly began to put her to sleep. As she gazed
out into the blackness, she could see the North Star appear in the sky just
above the plane. With her thoughts at ease, she fell asleep.