Every Shade by Nora Phoenix
1
Munich Airport reminded Micah of an ant colony. It was busy, but efficient and organized. Despite not speaking German, he had no trouble finding his way, slaloming through the hordes of people to the check-in desk. When he got there, the expected line was absent, and in its place was utter chaos. What the hell was going on?
People were angry, that much was clear by the raised voices, sharp gestures, and the excessive pointing at the screens above the check-in desks. He looked up to see what they were pointing at, and his stomach sank. Behind their flight number and destination—JFK airport— a big, red-letter word flashed. Delayed.
His eyes dropped lower to the new expected departure time, and that’s when he broke out in a sweat. Their flight was supposed to leave at noon, and instead, it now showed noon again. Twenty-four hours later, that was. It was delayed by twenty-four hours? Holy crap.
What the hell was he supposed to do now? He ran a mental check of his calendar for the next day, and to his relief, he didn’t come up with anything urgent he would need to reschedule. He had already counted on having jet lag with the six-hour time difference, so he had scheduled a day working from home. That, at least, was covered then. The question was, what would he do in the meantime? He had twenty-four hours to bridge, but where?
All around him, fellow travelers were asking the same question, though a little less polite and a lot louder than he had. They were the usual bunch of business travelers like him, some who had raised the art of looking bored and unimpressed to a level he would never achieve. Then there were the groups of friends and couples of various ages, probably on their way to a trip to New York City. The rest were the unidentifieds, as he called them, people that made him wonder why they were traveling to New York.
All of them were asking that same question: now what?
“They’ll put us up in a hotel,” a young, male voice to his right said.
Micah turned his head, curious to see who was talking and if it was directed at him. His eyes met those of a guy his age, casually dressed with a backpack flung over his shoulder. He was cute, Micah noticed, with messy hair, a short scruff, and a pair of crystal blue eyes.
“I’m sorry?” Micah said, not sure if that had been the guy who spoke.
The man shrugged. “Everyone’s getting so worked up, but there’s no need. They’ll put us up in a hotel. It’s what they always do.”
Something about his calm confidence spoke to Micah. The man clearly had a lot more experience traveling than Micah did. “Do you know why the flight is delayed?”
“Did you see the news about the plane with the faulty landing gear in L.A.? The one that had to execute an emergency landing?”
Micah nodded. He’d caught it on CNN the night before in his hotel, grateful to spot an American news channel in his hotel’s channel lineup.
“Well, that’s why. The FAA has issued a directive for all airlines to perform a check of the landing gear. Apparently, something turns loose after so many hours of flight, I don’t know. I’m not an engineer, but I do know that I prefer my planes to be thoroughly checked before going up in the air, so you won’t hear me complain about this one. This airline flies a lot of that type of plane, so they can’t offer us an alternative either, and from what I’ve heard, all other flights to major cities on the East Coast are already overbooked, since many airlines are struggling with this same issue.”
“I am an engineer,” Micah said. “And I wholeheartedly concur that I’d rather be delayed than take my chances with a faulty airplane.”
Knowing there was a valid reason for the delay did bring his frustration down somewhat. As a quality control engineer, he could appreciate the checkups the FAA ordered in cases like this. It was what his whole job was about, developing fail-proof procedures and then making sure everyone stuck to them.
“What kind of engineer are you?” the guy asked, his face open with curiosity.
“I’m a quality control engineer,” Micah said with the familiar rush of pride at his job. He would never forget how far he had come, and conversations like this brought that home to him all over again.
“How cool,” the guy said. “Then I’m sure you can appreciate measures like this.”
“You said they will put us up in a hotel tonight? How does that work?” Micah asked.
“Well, you can either wait for them to arrange a hotel for you, which they will do in cases like this where a whole plane gets stuck, or you can book your own hotel and get reimbursed. Either way, the airline will pay for your stay, and they will also have to offer you a hefty compensation of around six hundred euros, I think.”
The guy sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and Micah was impressed. He hadn’t traveled much so far, and this was his first trip to Europe. He’d prepared extensively, but he had never expected to encounter a delay this long.
“Which one do you recommend, waiting for their hotel or booking one yourself?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m not gonna wait for them to arrange something. By the time they’re getting into motion, all the best hotels are booked. The ones close to the airport, I mean. They’re going to shuttle you to the other side of Munich, which will be a major hassle tomorrow when we have to get back to the airport. So no, I’ll book my own hotel, thank you very much.”
Micah swallowed, his pride battling with his need to make sure he had accommodations for tonight. If what the guy said was true, he would be in ten kinds of trouble. Waiting for hours for the airline to find him something and not knowing where he was going to end up, that would send him into a major panic. On the other hand, acknowledging to a complete stranger he had no experience with this kind of thing wasn’t attractive either.
In the end, his need for control won over his need to pretend he was cool. As usual.
“Is there any chance you could maybe do the same for me? I don’t speak German, and my company booked my hotel for me here, so I have no idea what I’m doing.”
The guy sent him a smile that lit up his face. “I figured as much, but that’s okay. I’d be happy to help. What kind of hotel are you looking for?”
“The same one where you’re staying?” Micah said. He didn’t realize how flirty it would come across until he saw the guy’s grin broaden, and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“In that case, I think it’s custom we introduce ourselves first.” The guy extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Forest, outdoors fanatic. I test outdoors gear and I write for an outdoors magazine.”
Micah took it, certain that his whole face was red as a beet. “Micah. And I really didn’t mean it like that. I’m just a little uncomfortable traveling in a strange country, so I figured if you knew where you were going, I could, like, tag along?”
Forest squeezed his hand before he let it go, still showing that gorgeous smile that made Micah’s stomach do funny flips. “Oh, sweetie, you can tag along as long as you want.”
* * *
Makinga hotel reservation took Forest all of two minutes, aided by the fact that he contacted the hotel he’d been staying at the night before. He usually stayed at an airport hotel the night before flying out, because of the free airport shuttles that made getting to the gate on time so much easier. The hotel receptionist even remembered him from checking out earlier that morning, courtesy of some innocent flirting he had done, and immediately procured a room for Forest. He’d added a second room for Micah, putting it in his name until he could check in himself.
Micah was still flustered from his little goof, which Forest had found insanely adorable. He had to resist the urge to tease Micah with it, guessing that he was genuinely embarrassed by it, even though Forest thought it was cute. The whole package was cute, he mused, from Micah’s carefully styled dark hair, his brown puppy eyes, to his neatly groomed beard. The guy must have some Mediterranean blood, he guessed, judging by his gorgeous skin. He was ten kinds of yummy. Too bad Forest didn’t do hookups anymore.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” he asked once they were seated in the small van to the hotel. He’d gently ushered Micah out of the chaos to the curb, where they caught a hotel shuttle almost immediately.
Micah carefully straightened his suit and tie before answering. “Work, I guess.”
Forest raised his eyebrows. “Work? Don’t you want to see something of Munich? I assume you haven’t had time for that since you were traveling for business.”
Micah avoided his eyes, straightening his tie again. “I don’t think I would feel comfortable exploring an unknown city by myself. I don’t know anything about Munich, and I don’t speak the language. Plus, I don’t have any other clothes, so I would be pretty uncomfortable.”
With anyone else, Forest would’ve accepted it for the truth: a long list of reasons why they preferred to stay inside. But something about Micah tickled him. He couldn’t be much older than Forest, and yet he chose to stay inside on this glorious, sunny May day, rather than venturing out into this fascinating city. Micah had spent two days in Munich after a backpacking trip in the Bavarian Alps, and he would gladly add one more day to his stay.
“They’re used to tourists,” he said gently. “Most people understand enough English to communicate. It’s a beautiful city, you know, and pretty safe, especially in the center this time of day.”
Micah looked out the window of the van as he spoke. “I’m sure you’re right, but I just don’t see myself going out on my own.”
“Do you want to come with me?” Forest asked before he could squash down this weird urge to spend a little more time with this cute guy who looked like he would rather attend an execution than go on a little adventure in a new city.
Micah’s head whipped around. “With you? To do what?”
Forest shrugged, pleased that there had been an excitement in Micah’s voice that hadn’t been there before. “I could show you around a little. I speak enough German to get by, and after spending two days exploring the city, I’m well familiar with the city center, the Altstadt.”
“What does that mean?” Micah asked.
“Altstadt? It literally means old city, or more loosely translated, the old city center. Munich dates back to the twelfth century, you know, and there are still a lot of gorgeous churches, houses, and even residential buildings from centuries ago. The city center is dripping with history.”
“I hadn’t realized it was that old,” Micah said. “The factory I went to was north of Munich and looked very modern, as did the buildings around it.”
“Sure, the city has a lot of modern buildings as well, particularly in industrial areas like the one you were in. Are those shoes comfortable?”
He eyed Micah’s build. They had to be pretty close in size, with Micah probably being an inch shorter than he was. Still, he would probably fit into a pair of jeans and a shirt from him to replace the stuffy, if dashing, suit he was wearing.
Micah looked down at his feet, then up again, his brows frowning in confusion. “Not particularly, no. Why?”
Forest put his own foot flush against Micah’s. It wrapped their legs together, sending a spark of electricity through him. “You wear what, a size nine? So do I.”
The van stopped in front of their hotel, and Forest unbuckled his seatbelt and got up. He looked down at Micah, who was still seated but staring at him with a mix of terror and excitement. “Take a risk, Micah. Hang out with me today and explore Munich with me. I promise you it will be fun.”
For a few breathless seconds they stared at each other, and Forest saw the battle inside Micah. He wasn’t sure why the man had such a hard time with something as simple as this, but he figured he’d done enough pushing for now. In the end, it had to be Micah’s choice to take the next step. Or not. But god, Forest was hoping he would take the jump. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him just yet.
“You’ll stay with me, the whole day?” Micah asked, then let out a soft gasp at his own words. “I didn’t mean to—”
Forest cut him off by extending his hand and pulling him out of his seat. “Yes, I’ll stay with you until we are back at the hotel. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Ve are ghere,” the driver said in heavily accented English, but Forest ignored him, holding his breath until Micah answered.
Micah took a deep breath, then straightened his shoulders. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, I will go to Munich with you.”
Impulsively, Forest leaned in for a quick peck on his cheek. “You won’t regret it. I promise.”
