The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

This had to be the world’s slowest elevator. Selena gripped the plastic handle of her suitcase, white-knuckled from stress, wobbling it as she watched the numbers go down. “C’mon, c’mon,” she muttered. She pressed “L” again, knowing it wouldn’t do anything, but it made her feel a little better.

Finally, it reached the first floor, and she strode out, thankful for her longer legs. Longer legs that helped me get what turned out to be the world’s most irritating job, she thought, then chided herself. Today was not the day to decide she was too good for this, not after her latest tongue-lashing about her demeanor, and not after her rent just went up. Rent for an apartment I never get to sleep in anyway, that mean little voice inside her said, before she clicked her tongue hard, trying to rid herself of it.

The airport van was already out in front of the lobby, and the driver was loading up the last of the passenger suitcases. She rushed over, half-expecting the automatic doors wouldn’t open for her with the morning she’d been having. “One more, please!” she yelled as he slid the last bag into the trunk. “One more.”

He gave a visible sigh, but took her suitcase, struggling to push the handle down. “Looks like you need a new one,” he grumbled.

“Mmhmm, thanks.” She climbed into the van and settled into the only open seat, crammed between a red-nosed kid playing a game on his phone and an ebony-skinned man a few years older than her who was looking out the window contemplatively.

She took in a few deep breaths. Not out of the woods yet, but she should make it just in time for preflight prep. She should have listened to her parents when they asked her why someone who had consistently missed the bus in high school would want a job that consistently required early mornings.

Because I got tricked. Which was such an invalid excuse. She’d never been dumb enough to think that being a flight attendant was a glamorous life, but it hadn’t really hit her until her first flight, when she’d been barfed on and yelled at and stubbed her toe on suitcases too big to fit down the aisle.

“It’s too early to look this done with the day.”

She turned to look at the man sitting next to her. He had a warm smile, shining eyes. He glanced at her nametag. “You’re with Elevated,” he observed.

Elevated Airlines. Once the jewel of the American skies. They still used that tagline sometimes, which Selena now found eminently ballsy.

Selena laughed. “Yeah.”

“Flight attendant?” he asked.

“Mmm.” She nodded.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” he said. “With my comment.” He had a silky, deep voice. Selena thought she could listen to it all day, but she was destined for the crackling sounds of a captain who liked to make corny jokes over the loudspeaker. “Forgive me, I have an awkward way of starting conversations sometimes. Or trying to start them, with people who otherwise aren’t interested in talking to me.”

“No, no.” Normally, she would have found his comment irritating, especially when she was this cranky, but she was already finding herself relaxing, wishing that this cramped, bad-smelling van would never make it to its destination as long as she could talk to this man. “It’s fine, just…been one thing after another this morning. I didn’t hear my alarm for almost ten minutes, then the coffee pot in my room was busted, then I noticed a stain on my sweater…” She trailed off, not wanting to bother him with her problems, though he didn’t seem bothered at all.

“Where are you flying to today?” he asked.

“Boston.”

“Oh.” His eyes lit up even more. “Then I suppose I’ll see you on board.”

In her tired state, it took a moment for her to realize what he meant. “Oh. Yeah, absolutely. Hopefully you’re in my section.”

“Hopefully,” he said with a nod and a smile.

“Are you heading home?” she asked, finally feeling up for some conversation.

“No, just more travel,” he said. “I go all over.”

“What do you do?”

His smile became more enigmatic, almost wistful. “Very boring things,” he said.

She knew better than to pry when someone was being cagey. “And how does Butte rate among your world travels?”

“Not terribly hopping, I’ll admit,” he said with a chuckle. “But the people I’ve met are very nice. Have you had a chance to explore it?”

She shook her head. “I’ve come through a few times, but I’m always too exhausted by the time I get here to venture out.” She paused. “I guess I’m always too exhausted to explore any place I go.” Then she gave a blunt laugh. “It’s funny; that was one of the things I told myself would be so great about this job. All the travelling. And all I’ve gotten is a world-class tour of all the three-star airport hotels this country has to offer. Two-star, in some cases.”

He laughed. “What else did you hope for?”

Her parents had asked a version of that question the last time she’d been home, just with a bit more bite. Well, what did you expect? What did you really think the job would be like?

But the way he asked it carried a warmth she hadn’t received from anyone she’d talked to about her job, not that she’d gotten a chance to talk to many people about it. That was another issue. This life was terribly isolating. She didn’t have time to date, or make friends, or see her family much. The few dates she had gone on had all gone similarly; once the guys found out what she did for a living, they subjected her to a barrage of “Mile High Club” jokes.

“I always loved that old timey flying aesthetic,” she admitted. “You know, the flight attendants in the snazzy uniforms and their perfect hair.” She awkwardly put her hand to her own hair, done up in a lazy ponytail with a few tendrils already sticking out. “I knew they didn’t dress like that anymore, and I knew that flying was different now, but I still thought it would be interesting. I didn’t really think it would be like the old days, you know, where flying was glamorous and one big party, but,” she sighed, “maybe I did. Maybe I thought, if I got on the right route, the right plane, that would happen. I don’t know, I think I just assumed that it would be something more than just a job.” She flopped her hands in the air and then back down on her thighs. “I think I just need to quit.”

He considered her words contemplatively, then nodded.

“Are you a therapist?” she asked. “Is that what you do?” She supposed a travelling therapist could be a thing.

“No. But I have been told I’m a good listener. I appreciate you sharing that with me. I know it’s not easy to open up to a stranger.”

That was kind of an odd thing to say, but she brushed it off, unable to think of anything sinister he could mean by it. “Well, I guess we’re not going to be strangers for very long. At least until we get to Boston.”

“True.” He held out a hand. “I’m Andre.”

She extended her own olive hand. “Selena.” Though he’d probably guessed that from her nametag.

“Selena.” He smiled. “I’m very much looking forward to getting to know you today, Selena.”

The van was pulling up to the Departures area. “Don’t be disappointed if we barely have time to say hello after this.”

He started gathering his laptop bag. “I have a feeling I’m not going to be disappointed today.”

Another odd comment. If it had come from anyone else, she might have thought this was leading to another crass joke about fucking in a lavatory. But coming from Andre, it seemed to have a different meaning. Exactly what, she wasn’t sure, but it almost seemed, for lack of a better word, elevated.

“Audiobook narrator,” she said, taking one more stab at his profession as the van door slid open.

He shook his head with a smirk. “See you at the gate, Selena.”

Selena had never volunteered for gate duty before. But she did today, after seeing she wasn’t scheduled for it. She was supposed to hang out all the way in the back of the cab, a job she normally preferred, because it meant minimal interaction with the general public. But today, when she told her crewmate Diana that she wanted to switch, she thought the poor girl’s eyes might fall out of her head, they bugged so wide. Diana didn’t ask any questions, which was good, because Selena didn’t know how to explain that she wanted to scan the tickets just so she could learn where a single passenger was sitting.

She half-expected Andre to be among the first-class passengers, of which there were ten total spots. That was another reason she wanted to be on gate duty; it meant being assigned to first class once she was on the plane. But nope, he was in group two out of three of the coach class passengers, assigned to seat 10C.

He joined the line in front of a loud family of four. “Selena,” he said again as he approached her podium with his ticket, this time with a sly grin that made her stomach flutter. “That’s a lovely name for a lovely flight attendant.”

“Well, hello there, Mr…” she made a show of looking at his ticket, “Ecchols. Andre Ecchols?”

“That’s what is says on my driver’s license.”

“Well, we’re delighted to have you aboard with us today.” She’d perfected the art of the fake-but-believable smile since starting this job, and realized as she smiled at Andre that she’d almost forgotten how to make it real. Her lips twitched at the corners and she struggled to convey warmth with her eyes. But she stared back at his very real smile, and felt her whole body relax.

“Can we keep it moving?” the harried dad behind Andre barked.

Selena handed Andre back his ticket. “Welcome aboard, sir.”

“Thank you.” He took it with a wink and went to the jetway.

The family behind him stepped forward. “Finally.” The dad carrying all of his family’s tickets slapped them onto her little scanning table. “Some of us,” he said, “are trying to get our families to their destination without being subjected to your…” He pinched his lips, clearly trying to think of an appropriate word, “…displays.”

“My…?”

“Glenn, I just want to sit down,” his wife said. She turned to Selena with a glare. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to wrangle two kids to get out of the house by five in the fucking morning?” she asked.

“I—”

“No, I don’t think you do,” she snapped. “So can we please just board now?”

Selena cleared her throat, then scanned the tickets, almost disappointed when they all beeped correctly. “Have a great flight,” she said, her smile so tight she thought her teeth might fall out.

Glenn grumbled and took the tickets back. “Thank you, Selena,” he said, looking pointedly at her nametag, in a tone that made it clear he intended to remember it so that he could complain about her later. Ugh, great.

That interaction completely overshadowed her flirtatious exchange with Andre, and she spent the rest of gate duty feeling like someone had squashed her like she was dog shit on their shoe.

Once the last panic-stricken and out-of-breath passenger was on board, Selena joined her crewmates on the plane. The most senior flight attendant, Lewis, gave the safety announcements with his usual jokes and exaggerated flamboyance. Everyone loved Lewis. Everyone loved the way he joked that if the plane did go down, people should be sure to grab as many free drinks as possible.

“Is that improv?” Selena heard an older lady whisper to her seatmate. “I bet that’s improv. He sounds so off-the-cuff.”

It wasn’t improv. Lewis told the same jokes every time, to the point where Selena could mouth along with it by memory. But she liked Lewis, and she envied his ability to be that friendly and personable.

She needed a job where she didn’t have to talk to anyone, probably. Where she didn’t have to make anyone happy.

She blinked, trying once again to pry herself out of her shitty mood. The first-class curtain hadn’t been closed yet, and she glanced over Lewis’s shoulder, trying to get eyes on Andre. Ten rows back shouldn’t be that many, but the first nine rows seemed to be occupied by a convention of the tallest people in the world. Normally, the attendant on gate duty would also be working the tiny first-class area, but Selena leaned over to Lewis as soon as his speech was done. “Do you mind if I switch with Tess and take coach?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, as if she’d asked permission to boil her own head in hot pickle juice. “Why?”

“I have a friend sitting in coach. I swear, I won’t spend a ton of time chatting or anything.” If Vacation Dad had his way, she’d be fired by the time they landed in Boston, so she didn’t see the point in being too cagey now, though she slyly left out the “friend’s” gender. “I just want to be able to check in.”

He shrugged. “Whatever. As long as Tess doesn’t care.”

Tess, of course, did not care when Selena called over to ask. Personally, Selena found the guests in first class to be just as insufferable as those in coach, more so even, but at least there were less of them, though they tended to drink more.

Selena sighed with relief once she was on the other side of the curtain, and was ready to finally locate and exchange a look with Andre, but something else caught her eye first. She looked down the aisle, and blinked. Was there…another curtain? And was the aisle…was it wider than normal?

She gripped the top of the sixth row seat, pulling her gaze away from the strange hallucination, and found Andre.

Who was staring right at her.

No, not quite at her, more like in her general direction. His eyes were glazed over and he seemed deep in thought about something. Or, maybe, not thinking at all.

For some reason, something inside of her lurched, and she got the distinct feeling that something was shifting, though she had no idea what.

Diana waved her down from the back of the plane, and she realized she needed to do the final seatbelt check and make her way back for takeoff. She did so, trying her hardest to pay attention to everyone’s laps. When she reached Andre, she looked for any sign of a change within him. His seatbelt was fastened, but he still seemed far away.

“Is everything alright, sir?” she asked.

“Hm?” He looked at her, pulled from whatever he was thinking of. “Oh, yes, thank you.” As if they’d never met. There was a definite change in his expression from the way he’d looked at her before. Had he been embarrassed by the man from the line? Did he now regret being so forward with her?

She had no further excuse to linger at his row, so she awkwardly turned away and kept on her task.

She reached Diana and settled into the attendant seat. “You okay?” Diana asked. “You seem a little distracted this morning.”

“Just,” she shook her head, unable to think of a better explanation, “one of those days.”

“I get it.” Diana patted her thigh quickly, probably one of the nicest purposeful moments of human contact Selena had had in months. “We’ve all been there.”

“Yeah,” Selena mumbled, trying to find comfort in that idea. She stared at the drink cart, which jostled slightly as the plane made its way down the runway. Off to Boston, then to yet another place that held no significance to her, on a plane so cramped she could instantly tell if someone was wearing deodorant.

She took deep breaths, trying to imagine herself somewhere more interesting, though Diana interpreted it as preflight jitters. “Just the usual takeoff turbulence,” she said to Selena. “Nothing to be concerned about.”

“I’m fine,” Selena replied, a little tenser than she meant to. The truth was, she did feel a little off, maybe even a little sick, which was unusual for her.

“Oh, I know you’re fine.” She could see Diana jiggle her shoulders out of the corner of her eye. “You got the best job today.”

Selena couldn’t help let out a mirthless laugh. “Okay, I get it. I know it’s weird that I switched duties with you, and that I’m back here in coach now, but—”

“What’re you talking about?” Did Diana’s voice suddenly get higher? More breathy? “Once we’re smooth in the air, you get to leave this stuffy old corner!”

Selena finally turned to Diana. “Di, what are you—”

She paused.

“What’s wrong?” Diana asked.

What was wrong? What was wrong was that Diana was wearing a completely different outfit than the one she’d been wearing when they sat down just minutes ago.

No more scratchy navy blue sweater and black dress slacks. Now, Diana had on a perfectly pressed flight attendant’s uniform with a short skirt and white trim, with a matching blue-and-white pillbox hat. It showed off her cleavage and slim waist perfectly. Selena looked down. Normally, Diana would wear the same kind of shoes as her, sensible sneakers or maybe ballet flats. They were on their feet all day, after all, and these days heels were forbidden as a tripping hazard anyway. But sure enough, as Selena could have almost predicted, dark blue pumps adorned Diana’s stockinged feet. She looked like she came straight out of the old magazine pictures Selena had posted in her dorm room during her training.

She realized that she still hadn’t said anything to Diana, whose hands were pressed firmly into her lap, a cheery smile plastered on her face.

“I…I…” Selena had never felt so dumb and thrown off, not even when she’d gotten dumped right before prom. “What you’re wearing…” She blinked several times, scratched her neck and pinched the back of it, but Diana’s outfit remained the same.

“Oh, is my pin not straight?” Diana adjusted the gold pin that replaced her nametag, emblazoned with a logo that took Selena a moment to place. It was an old Elevated logo. She remembered her training manual, the page that showed the logos from throughout the years. This one, a sleek stylized bird flying over the word, “Elevated,” with the word, “Airways,” in smaller script beneath, hadn’t been used since 1969.

“What is this?” Selena asked, still trying to rationalize how Diana’s quick uniform change was even possible. “Did I miss a memo? Is this a prank? Vintage day?”

“Vintage day?” Diana blinked. “Honey, why would we ever play a prank on you? I mean, we can’t all pull off the uniform the way you can, but we definitely don’t hold that against you!” She giggled.

“Hold it against…” Selena looked down at herself, which she realized she’d been avoiding doing for fear of what she would see. Sure enough, she was wearing the exact same outfit as Diana, down to the pin and shoes and everything. “Di, what is going on?”

“You must be getting so cooped up and antsy back here,” Diana said with a laugh. “Don’t worry; any minute now you’ll be free. And don’t worry about me. I like dealing with the littles.”

Selena almost asked what she meant by the littles, but she was confused enough as it was. A moment later, just as Diana predicted, there was a deep ding, indicating that they were safely in the air and passengers were free to get up, as if there was anywhere interesting to go besides the lavatory.

“Right!” Diana clapped her hands. “Off you get. Go on, go on!” When Selena didn’t react right away, couldn’t react, Diana reached over and snapped off Selena’s seatbelt. “You really gotta loosen up. I know the folks in the main lounge will help you with that.”

Diana might as well have been speaking another language, but Selena rose to her feet in a daze. She used to love wearing heels in high school and college, but by the time she graduated, the novelty had worn off and she couldn’t wear them even on special occasions without her feet immediately getting sore. But now, she didn’t wobble at all, didn’t feel the familiar soreness. She walked with surprising ease into the main cabin.

Her jaw dropped.

The aisle was wider, impossibly so, the seats much more spacious than before. And every single passenger in this section was a child. Some of them were sitting quietly, reading or coloring. Others were playing hide and seek or arguing. All of them were dressed impeccably, as if for Easter service or something like that.

“Go on, go on!” Diana hissed from behind her, shoving at her shoulder blades. “I’ll handle the littles,” she repeated. “They’re waiting for you in the next section.”

Selena felt like she was in a dream as she walked down the aisle, though everything around her felt so inexplicably real. She knew what dreams felt like, and this was not one. She also knew what hallucinations due to various drugs felt like, and this was also not that.

Probably. Maybe.

There was a dark blue curtain at the end of the children’s section. She’d never heard of any airline, including Elevate, having such a thing, but that was the best explanation she could come up with for what this was. She tentatively pushed the curtain back, and shut it immediately, looking back at Diana.

Her crewmate just laughed again and brushed her fingers towards the next section. “Go!” she mouthed.

Selena stepped through the curtain. What on earth was she seeing? The aisle in this section was somehow even wider than the previous one. Instead of traditional airline seats, there were couches and comfortable chairs with coffee tables for drinks. The dull gray carpet had been replaced by a light blue one, with swirling black abstract patterns. The center of the aisle was partially obstructed by a baby grand piano, played by none other than Lewis, serenading the adults with soft music and a crooning voice. Sinatra, Selena thought, placing the tune. He wore a suit the same color as Selena’s uniform, and his hair was much neater than normal.

Like the children in the back of the plane, everyone here was also dressed impeccably, though significantly less conservatively. The women wore colorful minidresses, high heels, and gigantic earrings and bracelets. They giggled and adjusted beehive hair, sloshing drinks around. The men wore suits in various colors and fabrics, and many of them smoked cigars, though Selena sniffed and detected nothing more than a hint of cloves and vanilla in the air. Normally her eyes watered at the slightest hint of cigar or cigarette smoke.

“There you are!” Tess bounded over to her, wearing the same uniform. “I can’t be slinging drinks all by myself.”

“I’m sorry, I…” She looked around again, looking for any sign that this bizarre scene would change. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she finally admitted.

“What’s going on is I just need you to do your job, hun.” Tess giggled as if Selena was playing a practical joke on her. “You getting enough sleep?”

Selena shook her head. She hadn’t put any hairspray on this morning. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she used hairspray. But now as she moved her head, she could feel her frozen hair against her scalp. Someone, not her, but someone, had sprayed it into oblivion. It was scary, but it also oddly thrilled her to think that she was finally wearing a work outfit that made her look like the flight attendants she’d admired when she was younger, that her hair had been done perfectly. She blinked. What was she thinking? “Definitely not getting enough sleep,” she said.

Tess sighed. “Been there. Anyway, that couple over there’s been waiting awhile to get their order taken. I haven’t gotten to them yet.” She pointed to a couple seated to the side, talking quietly. “Start with them, and just come to me if you need anything else, okay? It’s all good.” She patted Selena’s arm encouragingly, winked, and walked off.

This wasn’t supposed to be a place where the attendants took “orders.” They asked the passengers what drinks they wanted from a very limited menu of canned items, threw them a bag of peanuts or pretzels, and moved on to the next row. How was she even supposed to know what this…this place, this bizarre version of her plane, how was she even supposed to know what they served? She didn’t see a bartender…was she expected to make the drinks herself?

She looked around the cabin, and her eyes landed on Andre. She took in a breath. With everything that was happening, she’d almost forgotten about him. He was facing away from her, sitting in an easy chair, looking out the window contemplatively, much like he’d been when she’d first met him, except now he had a glass of whiskey in one hand, resting it on the armrest, the other hand on his chin. Did he notice anything strange was going on? For some reason, she felt like if there’d been a massive shift in reality, he’d be the one most likely to notice. He seemed so introspective, so observant.

She wanted to go over to him, ask him if he realized things were different, but then Tess hissed at her from across the cabin. “Selena!” Selena looked over at Tess, who jerked her head towards the couple.

Say something. Do something, a voice within Selena demanded. It was a rational voice that Selena had to acknowledge made perfect sense. She should do something. She should, like, take someone’s drink and throw it against the wall, for example. Break into the cockpit and warn the pilot there was some kind of gas leak. Tear off the uniform that someone had dressed her in without her permission. For a moment, she felt an intense, paralyzing panic as the certainty that this was all weird and wrong came crashing down on her. Her breathing got shallow and she felt lightheaded, her mouth dry.

But then, as quickly as the feeling came on, it subsided, and she felt a strange, serene calm. She still knew that what was happening was weird and inexplicable, but she no longer felt like dropping to her knees and screaming. She no longer felt a sense of danger; in fact, she knew she wasn’t in danger, whatever this was. She just wanted to see how this would play out.

She went to the couple that Tess had pointed out. “Hi, good…” she took a moment to recalibrate her internal clock, “good morning. I’m Selena. What can I—”

The couple looked up at her, and she blanched. It was the couple from the check-in line. The angry parents. Though, Selena had to admit, they looked way less angry now.

Selena tugged on the waist of her blazer and cleared her throat. “What can I get you?”

“Oh.” The husband pointed to her. He was wearing a completely different outfit than before, of course. An orange leisure suit with a white bandana around his neck. His wife wore a matching minidress, orange with white trim. “You’re the stewardess who checked us in.”

“Um, yes.” Selena nodded tightly. “I apologize if I came across—”

“No! No, no.” He waved his hand quickly. “Oh, Miss, no. You know how it is, when you’ve been traveling with the little ones. I’m sure you see it all the time, but that’s no excuse.” He put his hand on his chest. “I really apologize for our shortness. We were so stressed, weren’t we stressed, honey?” He turned to his wife, who nodded emphatically. “But now that the kids are in their section, and we can just relax and get a drink, all that stress just melts away.”

“Oh, yes,” his wife agreed. “It’s incredible. We love this airline.”

Selena blinked. “Well, that’s great. I’m…I’m so happy to hear that.” She was happy, though also taken aback. She plastered a smile on her face. “What can I get you to drink?”

“A whiskey for me, and a vodka tonic for you, sweetheart?” His wife nodded, and he turned back to Selena. “And of course, whatever you’d like for yourself.”

Add another baffling moment to the pile. “Excuse me?”

“Well, we’d love for you to join us.” He patted the space on the couch in between himself and his wife. “To make it up to you for having such a bad attitude earlier.”

“Oh, no.” Selena held up a hand. “There’s really no need, and I’m not supposed to.”

“Not supposed to what?” he asked.

“Not supposed to…” She looked around, and her eyes fell on Tess, who was sandwiched between another couple, who rubbed up against her as they all swayed to Lewis’s serene music. The man very clearly had an erection, and was running his hands over Tess’s breasts. Selena swore she saw her coworker moan in response.

Then she looked over at the piano. A man stood behind Lewis as he played, massaging his shoulders.

In fact, almost everyone in the plane, at least in this section, was in the process of some sort of sexually-charged event. Making out, rubbing themselves onto each other, and she gasped when she saw a group of four in the corner straight-up fucking. Their hips ground against each other, dresses hiked up and trousers around ankles, grasping each other as if it was the only thing keeping them from being sucked out a window into the frigid atmosphere.

Again, she felt that strange panic. And again, it subsided quickly, and the calm allowed her to observe her surroundings with a quiet curiosity.

“Are you alright?” the man asked.

What was there to say to that? She was clearly the only one who thought anything odd was going on, and so admitting that would be tantamount to admitting she was insane. “I think,” she said, “I think this is my first day.” It was as close of an explanation as she could get to.

The couple didn’t question her uncertainty, but looked at each other with wide, understanding eyes. “Well, then, we’ll definitely have to make sure you have a great first day!” the husband said. “We’re sure you’re busy, but you’re welcome to join us.”

It was like he was a completely different person than the man who had sneered at her back in the airport. As far as Selena was concerned, he was a different person. Everyone in here was different.

But they were all way, way happier than they’d been before the plane took off, so why couldn’t she be too? Fuck it. It’d been awhile since she got laid, anyway.

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

There was a cart in the corner with various bottles of liquors and mixers. She was grateful the couple hadn’t asked for anything fancy that she would have to look up the recipe for. She poured a whiskey for the husband and two vodka tonics, one for the wife, and one for herself. She took a sip of hers on the walk back to the couple and coughed a little. Strong drinks didn’t always get along with her, but she definitely needed alcohol if she was going to get through the rest of the flight to Boston.

If they were really still going to Boston. If this plane was going anywhere at all, or if this was some sort of weird afterlife that she would never escape. She knew that thought should terrify her, but she felt that odd calm again, as if she understood that no matter what happened, it would all be alright. And that this wouldn’t be forever.

“Here we go,” she said, setting the tray down on a table in front of the couple. She took her glass and clasped it in her hand. “One whiskey, and one vodka tonic.”

“Tell me that’s not just club soda in there,” the woman said, pointing to Selena’s drink.

“Nope.” She jiggled the glass, making the ice bump against the sides. Glass. She’d only ever served passengers with plastic cups. “Same as you.”

“Oh, cheers to that!” She reached up and clinked her glass against Selena’s. “Do you have a boyfriend, sweetie?”

“No time for that,” Selena said with a laugh that came out more frustrated than she meant it to. She took another sip.

“Girlfriend?” the husband asked, no hint of salaciousness.

Selena held back a frown. The fashions, the décor, everything in the plane screamed 1960’s, but no one in that era would have asked such a question, especially not so casually. “No,” she said.

Again, he tapped the space between him and his wife, and this time, after a deep breath, her breasts heaving against the tight shirt and the bra she was wearing beneath, her whole body warmed, Selena sat.

At first, she just felt awkward, like she had on so many first dates and at so many parties in high school and college. Though she was good at hiding it, she’d always felt weird in intimate social situations, or pretty much any social situation, especially with people she barely knew. But then, just like with the panic that had occasionally seized her, the awkwardness melted away. She didn’t feel like she knew the couple any better, but the unfamiliarity just stopped mattering. She wondered if other people on the plane were going through the same inner journey as her, questioning the events unfolding around them and then gradually starting to accept it. Maybe everyone on the plane was going through the same thing.

“I’m not sure what to do,” she admitted, looking between them.

“You don’t have to do anything,” the man said

“That’s right,” his wife said. “We’re here to make you comfortable.”

Selena furrowed her brow. “No, no, that’s not…I’m the one who’s supposed to be…”

“Shh.” The wife ran a hand along Selena’s thigh, teasing the hem of her very short skirt. Selena was pretty sure, even in the 60’s, Elevated’s uniform skirts had never been this short. “We’re all here to make each other comfortable. Isn’t that right, darling?” She brought her mouth to Selena’s neck, and began to nibble gently, making Selena gasp.

“That’s right,” her husband responded, putting his hands on Selena’s shoulders and massaging, hitting all the knots, all the spots she’d slept on wrong in the lumpy hotel bed, all the muscles she’d pulled helping passengers lift heavy bags in the last few months.

Fuck, she really did need this. Whatever “this” was. However long it would last. If heaven was a place where random strangers asked her to drink with them and let them touch her like this, then she’d take it.

“Selena, wasn’t it?” the husband asked.

“Mmhmm,” was all she could muster.

“You’re holding a lot of tension, Selena,” he said.

“Glenn’s a licensed chiropractor,” his wife explained. Her hand was on Selena’s panties, which she knew were soaked with arousal. The thought of it made her blush. She moaned as Glenn pressed harder into her back and his wife pressed into her clit through the fabric.

“Tough jobs like these,” Glenn murmured, “it’s a wonder you don’t crack.”

Had she cracked? Was that what was going on?

Oh, who fucking cared? She hadn’t felt this amazing in years.

“We just love flying Elevated,” the wife said, gently pulling down Selena’s panties to give her hand better access. Selena’s head rolled into Glenn’s chest, who caught her expertly. “I think you’re really going to like your job.”

Selena’s lips trembled, half from ecstasy, half from considering admitting the truth. That she’d actually worked for Elevated for almost a year now, but today wasn’t turning out at all like she’d expected. Her lower half felt so heavy. It had been months since she’d given herself an orgasm, but she recognized that rising tension in her gut, that feeling of impending release. She moaned.

“This is how flying should be,” said Glenn, which Selena was pretty sure was another one of the company’s former taglines. Selena felt his dick, hard and pressed against her back, though he made no move to free it from his trousers. “Beautiful women serving you strong drinks. Piano music. The kids being entertained somewhere else. Just pure relaxation.”

But that wasn’t what it was like, Selena thought. It had never completely been like that, or like this, but it hadn’t been even close to it for decades and decades. Another burst of discomfort and confusion pinged inside of her, but it washed away quickly as Glenn massaged her temples and his wife swirled a finger quickly and deeply against her throbbing clit, every once in awhile plunging her fingers inside of her wet pussy for lubrication. Selena thought she might cry from all of it. She gasped and groaned, her composure long gone, feeling tendrils of her hair escape and fall against her face. She was so close, so close. What would happen after she came? Would she be expected to pleasure the couple? She supposed she could, if it was part of her job now, but she still had trouble getting past the image of the man and how he’d treated her before they got on the plane. She was glad he wasn’t making her look at him right now. Maybe that was on purpose, another way to make her feel more comfortable.

“Excuse me,” a deep voice said.

The couple paused their respective rubbings, and Selena turned sleepily to the voice, trying to straighten her hair and skirt. That’s right. She was still on the clock. Someone probably needed more drinks, though it seemed like anyone could go up to the bar and get whatever they wanted.

But instead of an irate passenger, she saw Andre.

Smiling. Smiling knowingly.

He looked…different than before. Not just his clothes, which had updated to fit the surrounding aesthetics, just like everyone else. He wore a blue plaid suit jacket over a white dress shirt and matching tie, with dark gray slacks. It suited him perfectly. But that wasn’t the only change. He also looked tired, way more than he had before.

She didn’t know how, but she knew, she knew with absolutely certainty, that everything that was happening, was because of him.

And she smiled back.