"Mr. Markus G. if you're in the boarding area please come see the gate agent at gate D1. Markus G. come see the gate agent at D1."
Fred elbowed Mark's arm. He pushed one of his noise-cancelling headphones back.
"What's up?" Mark asked.
"They just called a Markus G to the gate agent," Fred informed him. Mark sighed deeply and rolled his eyes.
"I swear to Christ if they bumped me from this flight..." Mark trailed off as he got up to see what the announcement was about.
He had good reason to be nervous about getting bumped. It seemed like every flight he took with Fred and Aaron he got bumped or moved or fucked around with in some way.
Aaron had claimed it was because Mark insisted on booking the cheapest fare on some bargain website instead of dealing with the airlines directly. Mark didn't think that should matter, but Fred and Aaron never seemed to have any issues and they always booked directly with the airlines they were traveling with.
Fred glanced up at Aaron sitting across from him reading a magazine. Aaron looked up for a moment and met his gaze. Fred winked and Aaron smiled a little, blushing slightly.
Mark came back holding a new printed boarding pass.
"Did they bump you?" Aaron asked, feeling smug.
"No, actually," Mark paused waiting for Aaron to look up from his reading material. Once he did, Mark continued. "They upgraded my seat. I'm riding first class home baby!"
"Oh shit! How did that happen?" Fred asked.
"The gate agent said the seat I was booked in is broken, and coach is super packed." Mark replied. "I thought for sure she was going to say I'd been bumped, but they had a couple seats free in first class, so they put me up there!"
"Wow, what a lucky break!" Aaron said. He couldn't help but realize that now he and Fred would have a row all to themselves for several hours.
"Yeah! I've never flown first class before," Mark said.
"Of course you haven't Mr. 'I found a super cheap fare through a very sketchy website,'" Aaron said. Fred glanced at him once more and winked again. Aaron adjusted in his seat and went back to reading his magazine.
A little while later Mark was saluting his two friends as he boarded the plane with one of the first groups. Fred and Aaron each gave a small wave as they waited for their boarding group to be called.
"He's so damn pleased with himself," Aaron smiled.
"Yeah, little does he know how this works out for us," Fred said winking.
"Oh, come on Fred, we'll be on a plane, surrounded by people." Aaron rolled his eyes, but his penis swelled slightly with anticipation. Fred raised his eyebrows and looked at Aaron sideways.
"Sure, it is a full flight, but it's also a red eye," he pointed out. "Chances are most people will be sleeping on this flight." Aaron flushed a bit and chuckled nervously.
"Ok, fair point. Maybe that's true, but seriously the flight attendants won't let us get away with... shenanigans." Aaron cleared his throat.
"Now boarding group B. If your boarding pass says group B you may now board," the gate agent announced.
Fred and Aaron stood, bringing out their phones to present their boarding passes to the gate agent. Fred shouldered his backpack and grabbed his duffel. Aaron pulled his rolling bag next to him.
"We'll see what we can get away with," Fred muttered to Aaron as they lined up with the others in group B. Aaron's face blazed red all the way to the tips of his ears.
Mark lifted his glass of champagne to his two friends as they passed him on the way to their seats.
"Settle down, bougie boy," Fred teased. Mark laughed lightly and sipped his drink.
Aaron and Fred were seated toward the front of the cabin only a few rows into coach. The window seat was blocked off with 'Out of Order' signs stuck to it. Aaron took the middle seat and Fred sat on the aisle.
After everyone had boarded a flight attendant came by to make sure they knew the window seat was broken and ask that they not try to sit on it.
"It makes me sad that you have to tell people that," Fred said. He smiled at the flight attendant, whose name tag read 'Gary'. Gary smiled back.
"Believe me sir, it makes me sad too. But you'd be surprised," Gary said. "We'll be taking off shortly." The flight attendant bustled off to collect his supplies for the safety information announcement.
Fred sighed and leaned his head back putting his arms on the rests.
"Hey, don't take my armrest," Aaron said, gently pushing Fred's arm aside.
"You can share," Fred said, gently pushing back.
"No, I'm in the middle. I get both armrests," Aaron replied. "It's a well-known courtesy."