Nadja's already asleep after just a moment. Only a few minutes later, she starts snoring again. I try to start reading my book again, but I can't seem to focus on the words. I sigh, wondering how I can make it through the rest of the flight. As I put the book away, the guy next to me chuckles, "Not used to reading next to sleeping people?" 

I shake my head and, without looking at him, I reply, "That's not it, it's just so loud here." 

"You'll get used to it if you're flying a lot." 

"I assume you're speaking from experience?" He laughs, shakes his head and stares out of the window again. I’m not sure if that’s really a “no” but asking him about it seems weird, right? "Are you going on a holiday?" I ask him to start the conversation again, hoping to get a better answer this time. He turns his head to me with a slight smile on his face. 

"Are you trying to talk to a stranger on a plane?" he asks, completely avoiding my question. 

I chuckle and glance at Nadja before mentioning, "It would be easier if the stranger wouldn't wear sunglasses when there's no sun." His smile vanishes and he seems hesitant. I quickly add, "Sorry, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I know there are many reasons for wearing sunglasses inside." I probably shouldn’t even have made a comment about it, that was really insensitive if he actually has some medical condition that requires him to wear sunglasses. Maybe I’m also just overthinking this.

His smile reappears, probably seeing how embarrassed I feel right now, and, in a slightly amused tone, he says, "You didn't make me uncomfortable. You just made me realise that I forgot to take them off." I wonder how someone can forget to take their sunglasses off, but that thought quickly disappears when he takes off his sunglasses and looks at me. Honestly, I've often heard people say that some eyes are as blue as the ocean but his eyes were the first ones that fit that description perfectly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes as blue as his. 

I only notice that I’m still staring into his eyes when he looks away. "So, why are you on a three-hour flight?" he asks. I tell him that my best friend and I are taking a well-deserved holiday at the beach. There’s no need to go into detail on why we, or I, need this holiday but he seems interested and keeps the conversation going with questions about my life. Having someone listen to all of this is actually really nice. It also gives me a great opportunity to mention that I’m single. I don’t want him to pity me but, as Nadja would say, it’s never wrong to show a good-looking, friendly person that you’re still looking for someone special. I’d never behave like this at home. Talking to him just gave me a bit of a confidence boost again.

A flight attendant offers us snacks. The guy next to me takes a small bag of crisps. While he grabs them, his arm is right in front of my face and his sleeve slides up. Finally, I get a better view of the mandala tattoo on his wrist and I can't help but admire it. "May I see your tattoos?" I ask him while he opens the bag of crisps. 

He looks at his arm and pulls the sleeve back down as far as possible, even covering his hand, before he quickly mumbles, "They're nothing important." Something tells me that this behaviour seems suspicious. If they aren't important, why can't he just show them to me? They don't look that bad, he can't be embarrassed by them! Maybe they have a very special meaning to him and that’s why he doesn’t want me to see them. I really need to stop overthinking every little detail.

"I live close to the beach," he says, continuing the conversation about our lives and finally sharing something about himself after I told him about the rollercoaster that I went through lately. "My garden is right next to the sand of the beach, to be exact. It takes me less than a minute to get to the sea," he adds. 

"That explains the sunglasses," I say and both of us start laughing.

***

Throughout the rest of the flight, we talk about everything that comes to our minds. I tell him about the hotel we'll be staying at and he tells me about the rumours he's heard about it. That kind of shows me that he’s not just going there on a one-time holiday like we are. The beach he lives close to is the beach we are going to. He also tells me that he has a job but doesn't go into detail about it. Why would he? I’m just a stranger on a plane to him. Every few minutes, my eyes go back to his tattoos. For some reason, the way he keeps his tattoos so covered just makes me even more curious, but he always manages to get my attention back on his blue eyes. I’m about to ask him whether he's wearing contact lenses or not when everyone around us gets ready for the landing. Looks like I have to keep wondering if the blue of his eyes is natural or not.