Katie always loved the bustle in the cabin before take-off; the soft shuffle of passengers finding their place in the cavernous interior of the plane, the captain’s pre-flight announcements talking about weather conditions and flight time, and then the distant whir of the four engines of the giant Airbus A380 warming up to taxi out to the runway. She settled herself into seat 24A, slipped off her jacket, and prepared for ten hours of peaceful anonymity on her flight from Dubai to Perth.

Then seat 24B arrived.

A woman, a little younger than Katie, with sun-kissed skin, long blonde hair, and a smile that caused Katie to catch her breath.

“Hi,” she said, breathless from juggling her tote and a carry-on that had probably been big enough to test the patience of the staff at the gate. “Sorry, this aisle was not designed for my long legs.”

Katie blinked, trying not to stare at the legs that this blonde goddess had just referenced. “Oh. You can have mine if you want. My legs, like my height, are tragically average.”

She laughed. Low. Musical. And very, very dangerous.

“I’m Jenny,” she said as she sat down. “And I already like you.”

Katie hoped the cabin lights were dim enough to hide the blush rising the full length of her face.

The plane rumbled down the runway, dragged itself into the twilight sky, and set off over the ocean for Perth. Conversation flowed easily. Jenny was a primary school teacher returning from a teacher exchange experience in the UK; Katie was using distant family in Bunbury as a base to explore the South Western tip of Australia for a few weeks. They swapped stories; Katie’s about her love of red wine and excitement at her forthcoming tours of the Margaret River wineries; Jenny’s about unruly children who respected her less than they did each other.

Somewhere over the vastness of the Indian Ocean, their elbows brushed and neither pulled away.

Jenny leaned in, voice soft. “You have a… smouldering intensity. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Katie swallowed, struggling for a response. “Umm… not recently.”

“Well,” Jenny whispered, “well, they should.”

For a moment, the cabin, the plane, and their location far above the ocean fell away, the steady thrum of engines fading to nothing under the steady drum of Katie’s heartbeat. Jenny’s eyes wandered lower. First to Katie’s lips, then quite obviously over her chest and down her legs, before returning to meet her gaze. The look on her face was obviously asking a question without any words.

Katie knew what was happening and answered the unanswered question with a slow but generous smile.

The flight attendant passed with drinks. Jenny accepted two tiny bottles of prosecco.

“To unexpected but very rewarding seat assignments,” she said, tapping her plastic cup to Katie’s.

“To fortuitous luck from an unwitting Emirates seat assigner.”

Somewhere over the Maldives, the cabin lights dimmed to a warm amber glow. Katie swore the stars were aligning for her, because Jenny looked even more irresistible in the soft cabin light.

They’d moved closer without meaning to. Shoulder to shoulder. Knee to knee. Every time they laughed, they leaned in, and neither cared about the gravity intensifying between them.

Jenny’s fingers brushed Katie’s thigh as she reached for her drink. It was the merest of touches; barely even there. But Katie felt it to her core.

“Sorry,” Jenny whispered, though her eyes told another story. “Are you okay with… this?”

Katie’s response was more urgent than she meant. “More than okay.”

Jenny’s smile widened perceptibly. “Good.”

Jenny leaned in, lips near Katie’s ear; not touching, but close enough for Katie to feel Jenny’s warm breath caressing her skin.

“You smell incredible,” she whispered. “Like something seductive. Tempting. It’s… intoxicating.”

Katie’s breath hitched. “You’re one to talk.”

“Oh?” Jenny tilted her head. “What do I smell like?”

“I think you smell like… trouble.”

Jenny laughed softly. “Maybe I could be… for you.”

Their legs were pressed fully together now, with neither pretending it was accidental. Every tiny movement sent heat through Katie’s body. Jenny rested her hand on the armrest, fingers close enough that Katie could slide her little finger over and hook one. She did.

Jenny’s lips parted, slow and deliberate, her tongue running over her lips in a brazen show of desire.

The plane dipped slightly in a pocket of turbulence, and Jenny’s hand came to rest on Katie’s thigh, but she didn’t move it afterward. Her fingers traced small, lazy circles through the fabric of Katie’s leggings.

Shyness dissipated quickly. Jenny raised her hand, cupping Katie’s cheek, her thumb stroking along the edge of her jaw. The touch was tender, intimate, but by now they both knew it was charged with something deeper, lustier.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since Dubai,” Jenny confessed.

Katie’s heart was pounding. “Then you’re very behind schedule.”

Jenny giggled, leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was quick, but laced with passion from both.

Their lips parted, with Jenny resting her forehead against Katie’s. Both were breathing hard.

“You’re incredible. Return a kiss like that again,” Jenny murmured, “and I’m going to misbehave.”

Katie was tingling all over. “What does that mean?” she asked.

Jenny’s eyes were full of mischief. “You need to come find out.”

She stood, fingers brushing over Katie’s legs again as she did so. Not accidentally. “You’ve ten seconds to follow me,” she stated, before slipping down the aisle towards the lavatory at the back of the plane. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled just once; an invitation as clear as spoken words.

Katie’s hesitation lasted less than four seconds before she followed.

Katie entered the small compartment that Jenny had disappeared into moments before. The door clicked shut behind her. Space was scarce, closeness inevitable. Jenny was already tucked into the corner, leaning back against the tiny counter, the soft blue light tracing her cheekbones only increasing the yearning Katie had low in her stomach.

“You came,” Jenny whispered, her voice low, suggestive.

“You asked.”

Jenny reached out, hooking a finger into the hem of Katie’s leggings to pull her closer, until they were pressed tight together. “I wasn’t sure you would.”

Katie placed a hand on Jenny’s waist, the other cupping her jaw. “I think you’ve underestimated your effect on me.”

Katie leant the final two inches until their lips met; hungry, eager, and much more intense than the kiss they had shared in Row 24. Jenny pulled Katie in deeper, their tongues meeting, both warm, searching, swirling together.

Jenny’s hands slid up Katie’s sides, fingers tracing slow, deliberate lines through her t-shirt, every caress sending shivers up her spine and down to her core. Katie felt the heat of Jenny’s body as she pressed tight, her own hands wandering over Jenny’s shoulders and down her front. Jenny’s breath hitched when Katie found her now stiff nipples with her thumbs, gently rubbing them through bra and blouse.

“I need you to touch me… properly,” Katie urged between kisses.

Jenny didn’t need to be asked twice. Her hands slid down Katie’s sides until her fingers slipped under the hem of both her leggings and panties. In one continuous motion, she gently dragged both down over Katie’s hips until they encircled the tops of her thighs; both cheeks now exposed.

Jenny’s warm palms cupped Katie, massaging her cheeks in slow circles, fingertips perilously close to teasing her most intimate place. Katie was sighing. Jenny knew her touch, that close, was driving Katie wild.

The hands moved again, this time gliding up over Katie’s cheeks round her hips then lower, fingers searching for her heat. They found it. Katie’s lips were engorged, puffy, and already slick with honey. Jenny dipped the tip of her index finger into Katie’s folds. Finding little resistance, it slipped inside.

Katie’s sharp intake of breath as Jenny entered her was all the encouragement she needed to add her forefinger, curling both together, gently rubbing the sweet spot she’d already found.

Katie was already close. She wanted that exquisite feeling of being on the edge to last for hours, but mindful of where there were she relaxed and let the quickest and sweetest of climaxes engulf her, her sticky juices running out over Jenny’s fingers.

“My turn,” said Jenny, perching herself as best as she could on the edge of the vanity unit. She lifted her skirt, revealing a set of purple lace panties, already damp with arousal.

Katie’s hands made their way up Jenny’s inner thighs until her fingers found the damp lace. They eased underneath, pulling the flimsy material aside.

Jenny’s sex was glistening with dewdrops of lust. Katie leant in, kissing over her mound before trailing her tongue lower, finding her clit. She let her tongue swirl it in gentle circles; Jenny taking her turn to sigh quietly in delight.

Jenny’s sighs gradually turned to stifled moans as Katie’s tongue shifted again, lower, hungrily licking up and down Jenny’s labia, little by little starting to dip into her core.

Needing more, Jenny lifted a leg, draping it over Katie’s right shoulder, hands pressed to the opposite wall of the tight cubicle to steady herself.

Katie took the invitation, burying her head between Jenny’s soft thighs. Legs spread around her face, Katie devoured Jenny until her sweet nectar flooded Katie’s tongue.

There was a soft knock on the door sounded from outside.

They both froze.

Jenny bit back a breathless laugh, eyes bright with mischief. “I think we’ve been discovered,” she whispered.

Katie stood, kissed her again, quick but intense. “I don’t think I care.”

Their foreheads rested together, both breathless, flushed.

“We should go,” Jenny murmured, though her hands didn’t move from Katie’s waist.

“Let’s save the rest for… for somewhere with a thicker door and without an audience waiting outside.”

Katie smiled, “Deal.”

They tidied themselves and left the lavatory one after the other, passing a waiting queue on the way. Both tried, and failed, not to look like they were floating back to their seats.

When they sat down, Jenny took Katie’s hand, squeezing once, slow and deliberate.

“Perth,” Jenny whispered, “is going to be fun.”

When the wheels finally touched down, neither let go of the other’s hand.

Perth awaited. With moonlit sand, warm ocean air, and the promise of something much deeper and more intimate than a chance encounter at 38,000 feet.