As soon as the door opened, Liliana jumped out and ran into the plane, not bothering the wait for Frantz, just to earn a few seconds to control her raging thoughts. Her brain was playing tricks on her body, and Liliana wasn't faring well with the overwhelming arousal it caused. Plus, the fact that Frantz was catching on to her actions made Liliana even more nervous. She wasn't sure how long she could go on before telling Frantz the truth. But Liliana tried to not dwell on that, instead she saw to it that she sat down, and tried to clear her mind.
When Frantz entered the plane, he found Liliana already sitting down and strapped in.
Removing his jacket, Frantz sat opposite of Liliana, sending her a curious gaze as he sat down and strapped in as well. Just like before, Armagio saw to closing the door, and when he noticed that the couple was settled in and ready to go, he headed to the cockpit to join the pilot, leaving Frantz to deal with Liliana.
Frantz waited for the plane to take off, before he decided to speak to Liliana again, "so are you ready to talk to me or do I have to make you?" he demanded, and if only he knew the truth that when he spoke that way, Liliana had to stop her body from shaking, maybe he wouldn't speak that way.
Liliana felt her breath miss her lungs for a moment as she blinked quickly and denied, "it's nothing, really, I just..." she trailed off, while her thumbs battled one another, while she bit her bottom lip, while contemplating what to say next.
"You just...?" Frantz indicated her to continue, hating that he was riding her, but needing to get to the bottom of her strange behavior.
"It's just, it's private." Liliana declared, hoping that would slow Frantz down, and Frantz nodded as he analyzed out loud, "first it’s weird, and now its private," then he shook his head, and with a tone as though he was over her reaction he declared, "if you're having cold feet and want out Liliana, just say so."
Frowning Liliana quickly said, "of course not! I get that I'm not the easiest person to understand, but I keep my word." Liliana defended, and Frantz nodded wanting to believe her, then asked, once more, "so what is it?"
Liliana closed her eyes and sighed. She knew that Frantz wanted a clearer response, but she wasn't ready to reveal anything to him yet. Liliana feared that if she opened that can of worms, she would find herself having intimate conversations that she, personally, wasn't ready for.
"I'll tell you another time, I promise, just not right now." Liliana attempted to stall, hoping her promise would appease the curious man, and with a devious plan in mind, Frantz said, "alright, I'll ask another time, as long as you promise that you will tell me when I ask."
"Fine." Liliana nodded, then she looked away, and he did the same. Liliana pulled out a book she had begun reading during her down time, and Frantz worked on his laptop for a bit.
For now, the air wasn't as tense as it used to be. The couple sat in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company.
After a moment of silence, Frantz stood up and asked, "would you like something to drink?" and Liliana almost let her jaw drop in shock. Given that she was often used to being the one to wait on Frantz, she never thought it would change just because they were dating.
"I can do it," Liliana prepared to stand, and Frantz shook his head, stopping her halfway as he replied, "just tell me what you want," and with a surprised blink, Liliana said, "I'll have some orange juice please."
"Alright, orange juice it is." Then with a nod, Frantz headed to the small kitchenette. He poured himself a glass of scotch, and poured a cup of orange juice for Liliana, then he brought it back to her, as he sat down, and they both quietly sipped on their drinks.
When Liliana was satisfied with her drink, she cleared her throat as she said, "so I may have sent in a letter of resignation to HR a few days ago-"
"Which I instantly denied when Jenna notified me." Frantz cut her off, and Liliana frowned as she asked, curiously, "why did you do that?"
"Well whether we ever saw each other again after what happened, I didn't want to lose a good employee. All the clients you've flown with have enjoyed their trips with you, I couldn't let you get away." Frantz replied, strategically, and Liliana beamed at his words. She took pride in making sure that she performed her job well, and hearing the feedback made her proud. But now she wondered whether her professionalism was the only reason why Frantz denied her resignation.
"Oh so you kept me here solely because of my great work ethic." Liliana pointed and Frantz nodded as he added casually, "that... among other reasons."
"Do I want to know what those other reasons are?" Liliana quizzed, and Frantz simply chuckled as he said, "that is up to you."
Liliana blushed and decided to avoid that conversation. Frantz's mischievous gaze told her that she wasn't ready to have that conversation. Instead of allowing her curiosity to get the best of her, Liliana decided to sip on her orange juice, which probably wasn't the best time to drink, especially when Frantz declared out of the blue, "I want you to meet my mom."
In a sudden shock, Liliana drank too quickly, causing a bit of her juice to be inhale through her wind pipe, and as a result, she choked and coughed, causing Frantz to rush to her side, and pat her back. Frantz's timing was not the best, he had to admit. But from the moment he told his mom that he and Lili were dating, he wanted them to meet. What he hadn't told Liliana yet was that before coming down for breakfast, he had already called his mom and made plans to have the ladies meet today. But now that Liliana was having a coughing fit, he wondered whether he had acted too hastily. But who could blame him? From the moment his mother agreed, Frantz wanted to tell Lili, but between her crying when they left, and their back and forth earlier, the opportunity had only now presented itself.
Once she could no longer feel the juice droplet in her airway, Liliana shook her head, and tried to move Frantz's hand away to signal that she was fine, and Frantz commented, "well had I known you would be so excited to meet my mom, I would've told you the news sooner." He said, this to ease the tension, but the line didn't pack the punch Frantz had aimed for.
Liliana didn't know whether to laugh or frown at his statement. Frantz caught her off guard with his declaration, and now she had something new to worry about. Meeting his mom.
Liliana took a moment to ensure that her throat was cleared before she asked, "when?" and Frantz smiled as he added in a guilty tone, "I kind of told her we would stop by for lunch, today" and Lili felt her heart drop.
Frantz noticed the blood drain from Liliana's face, and he asked, carefully, "too soon?"
Liliana didn't know how to answer to that. Was it too soon to meet him mom? Wouldn't that take their new relationship to the next level?
Speaking of next level, Lili suddenly felt intimidated to meet his mother. She could bet that his mom was this grand woman, rich and proper, who may not like Liliana for her son. Liliana frowned, suddenly looking down in shame, and that didn't go unnoticed by Frantz.
He sat in the seat next to her as he asked, attentively, "what is it?"
And Liliana shook her head, but Frantz stopped her as he said, "don't do that. I want you to be honest with me Liliana, and for that to happen, you have to be comfortable with me. Just talk to me." Frantz invited, and Liliana drew in a sigh as she explained shyly, "I just, I don't know, what if your mom doesn't like me?"
And Frantz shook his head as he said, "that's not something you should worry about, she's going to love you. Should I tell her we're coming to lunch?" He asked, afterwards, and Liliana still declined as she looked for another excuse, "I can't go to lunch wearing this," she tugged at her clothes, "Especially since it’s the first time I'm meeting your mom."
"Okay, we'll stop by a shop and pick out an outfit, even though I personally think you look great." Frantz complimented, and Liliana looked down at her dark dress pants and long sleeve cotton shirt, then she looked over at his grey slacks and white dress shirt as she sent him an exasperated gaze as she said, "really? I can't meet your mom wearing this, and my hair is not even brushed-"
"Liliana, seriously babe, relax. You want to change, we'll get you another dress, my mom is not intimidating as you would think." Frantz rubbed her arm, as he noticed a flustered blush settle on her cheeks. But when he called her babe, her heart skipped an excited beat.
"Yeah easy for you to say." Liliana pointed, "You looked hot when you met my parents." Liliana blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Yeah, and you look hot now." Frantz replied, and Liliana rolled her eyes as she said, "you're trying to change to subject. Can we go to lunch another time? When I've mentally prepared, and I actually look presentable?" Liliana asked, not feeling up to the task of meeting his mom, though she knew she wasn't being fair towards Frantz, but now meeting his mom was not the only issue.
"I thought I told you we'd go buy a dress?" Frantz asked, puzzled, and Liliana looked away shamefully as she bit her lip before adding, "I know you said, that, but, like, I don't want you to buy anything, if I already have something I can wear at home, I mean if you don't mind taking me home, I can get ready then..."
Frantz studied Liliana as she avoided his eyes, and he realized something, "you don't want me to spend money on you?" But Liliana didn't reply, she didn't need to, he had figured it out, so instead she kept her eyes away from his, but Frantz wasn't having it.
He pulled her hands into his, and eventually, Liliana drew her eyes back to him, though she found it hard to hold eyes contact. His dark gaze was so intense, it made Liliana feel things that were not even relevant to the conversation they were currently having.
"Listen," Frantz spoke softly as he caressed her arm, "I am invested one hundred percent in this relationship, and that includes me spoiling you and buying you gifts. So maybe I jumped the gun with setting up this lunch with my mom, but she is excited to meet you, just as I am excited for her to meet you. If you truly don't feel ready to meet her, I'll take you home."
At his words Liliana looked into his eyes and knew that she would be a jerk if she said, to cancel the lunch, so she agreed with an "okay, but on one condition," Liliana added quickly when Frantz smiled widely, "I don't want anything over fifty dollars," and Frantz pinched her nose as he said, "yeah okay."
Liliana swatted his hands away, and Frantz chuckled as he pulled her into his arm and kissed her cheek.
When he pulled away, it's as if he remembered, "I actually didn't get a kiss this morning. I wonder where that went?"
Liliana looked away blushing as she shrugged and said, "I don't know."
"Well can I have one now?" Frantz asked, and Liliana felt her heart flutter as she flirted, "I don't think so, it's a little too late now don't you think?" And Frantz smirked as he explained, "it's never too late for a kiss." Then he leaned forward, cupping her face as he kissed her softly. His hand cocooned her cheek and neck, and Liliana pushed against him, her actions fueled by her most recent dream.
When Frantz pulled away, he gave her a soft peck, just as the pilot spoke overhead, signaling that they would be landing soon.
At the pilot's announcement, Liliana's heart skipped a beat in dread, it seems that in less than in hour, she would meet Mr. Cavalier's mom. From that very moment Lili began to pray silently, and she could only hope that his mother liked her.