Airplane Man

If I'm remembering correctly, the last time I went to Mexico was almost three years ago with Abby and Kari. As luck would have it, the three of us ended up in the very last row of seats in the airplane. As you know, those seats do not recline; in fact, they practically sit straight up and down. It's not the most comfortable place to sit for a five hour plane flight.

However, as luck would have it, our flight attendant was a cute little lady who took a liking to the three of us. She had traveled to Cancun frequently, so she told us of a fabulous Thai restaurant that we just HAD to visit.

As we were waiting to take off, the last few passengers were straggling on. One guy in particular caught the attention of Abby, and she leaned over to me as this guy was walking toward our direction in the back of the plane. "Shi, he's really cute. You should talk to him!" As luck would have it, this guy ended up sitting directly in front of us. He was in the window seat, and I was behind him in the aisle seat. I could see him through the seats, and every time he turned around, he had direct eye contact with me.

Being girls, we were giggling and whispering about him, and Abby and Kari were encouraging me to talk to him. It was 10 a.m., and I wasn't quite in the mood to strike up a conversation, so I snuggled back to enjoy the company of my two friends.

As luck would have it again, while our cute attendant was passing out our free beverages, she slipped the three of us our own free bottle of vodka. She whispered, "I feel sorry that you're in the back row, so this vodka should help you relax." Nothing like a Screwdriver early in the morning, but we were on vacation, so we happily partook.

After our first Screwdriver was finished, our lady friend flight attendant slipped us each ANOTHER vodka. Now we were really starting to have fun. As the drinks flowed, we got happier and I grew bolder. This guy in front of me kept turning around, we would make eye contact and smile, and then I would blush and he would quickly turn around. It was obvious that he was paying attention to the three of us. After we finished our second drink, I was ready to make contact.

He was looking at me, so I introduced myself (through the seat crack) and asked where he was from. He was from Denver, his name was Allen, he was a musician, and he was going to Cancun to play in a wedding. From there, the conversation lasted for the rest of the flight. We discovered that he was staying at a hotel just a few spots down the beach from ours, so I invited him and his friend to come swimming with us. By the end of the flight, he had given me his number and told me to call him sometime. We went through customs together and stayed together until our shuttle came to take us away. I didn't know if I would ever see this guy again, but I thought, "Hey, that was fun. I just met a guy on an airplane."

The three of us got settled in the hotel and spent the rest of the day at the pool. We arose early the next morning and hit the pool right after breakfast. We were staking our claim in the "perfect" spot for sitting at the pool all day when Abby, wide eyed and gaping mouth, started hitting me. She was stuttering, so it took me a moment to realize what she was trying to say.

"Shi, Shi, Shi. You'll never believe who is walking toward us right now."

I turned my head to see Allen and his friend coming our way from up the beach. I was shocked. And I was mortified. I was in a swimming suit for goodness sakes!!! They told us that they had come to the our hotel the night before to find us, but the hotel security would not let them come into the hotel, so they had come up from the beach on this try and it had worked. They asked if they could hang with us for a while. We spent the next two hours swimming and getting to know each other. While we were sitting at the pool, Allen said he would really like to see me again once we got back to Denver. I told him I would call.

Around noon, he had to leave to go to the wedding, so we said our goodbye's. He told me to call. Once I got back to Denver after our week long vacation, I did call Allen. We ended up dating for about three months, and that story of our "relationship" is quite the adventure and obviously didn't last, but it makes for a really fun story of how I met a guy on an airplane thanks to a cute little flight attendant and vodka.

As I prepare to leave for Mexico tomorrow morning, I am really praying that I meet a fun guy on the airplane. I'm not sure if luck is with me, though. Our flight leaves at 6 a.m., so I doubt the vodka will be flowing (unless mom and dad are up for some fun).