AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Something else? Other than flying?” Solo reached for his beer and took a swig.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Or, you know, other than flying fighter jets.”
A frown creased his forehead as he lowered the bottle to the table. “Honestly? No. I mean, I’d rather not have to kill anyone in my line of work, but I can’t imagine not being in the air. It’s in my blood. You know that, you're the same.”
As I peeled half the label off my bottle, Solo leaned across the table and put his hand over mine, and when I looked up at him, he said, “Right?”
I blinked at him, once, twice, and slowly nodded.
“Okay, well, that didn’t seem all that convincing.”
I chuckled, but the sound was strained, even to my own ears. “I… Shit, I don’t know. I guess I’m just having a moment.”
Solo’s fingers tightened around mine. “Why don’t you try that again? But this time, be honest.”
I took in a shaky breath and wondered how smart it was to admit to your competition that the love you once had for flying had been replaced. I also wondered how smart it was to admit it had been replaced with a love for the one sitting in front of me.
God, this was insane. I’d been studying my whole life to get where I was right now. This was what I’d always wanted. I was the one to beat. I had just out-flown my father, for fuck’s sake. And yet a pair of beautiful brown eyes and a smart-ass mouth had managed to eclipse all of that.
“Grant?”
I shoved aside those thoughts and tried to remember where I’d been going with this. “Sorry. I’m just all up in my head, that’s all.”
“Don’t apologize. You’ve had a pretty intense time of it since you got here.” Solo got to his feet, my hand still in his, and then leaned against the table beside me. “Not only have you had to compete against badass pilots like myself, you’ve had all of the instructors watching you like a hawk because of your father. Not to mention your actual father coming here to check up and fly against you. Shit. And as if that wasn’t enough, add in getting ejected at a few thousand feet and plummeting to the earth, and yeah, I’m pretty sure I’d be all up in my head too.”
I gave a halfhearted smile and nodded. “Yeah, I guess it’s just made me think a lot lately.”
“About?”
“Just things. Other options, I guess. I’ve always loved flying, but…”
Solo said nothing as I sat there trying to organize my thoughts, and it didn't escape my notice the way he was slowly stroking his thumb over the back of my hand. It was calming, soothing, and I wasn’t even sure he knew he was doing it.
“I’m not sure I love this anymore.”
The thumb on my hand stopped, and Solo took my chin in hand and raised my face to his.
“You mean flying jets.”
“Yes. Flying fighter jets.”
Solo’s eyes narrowed. “How long have you felt this way?”
I shrugged, never having felt more vulnerable in my life. This was the first time I’d ever voiced this thought out loud, and I just hoped I wouldn’t regret it. “Most of my life, really. I love planes, I love being up in the air, but with my father being who is, this seemed like the only option.”
“That’s not true.”
“Have you met my father?”
“Yes, actually, a couple of times. Once in my boxer briefs, remember?”
That made me laugh.
“Look, you’ve had a big day, and I’m sure there are a lot of emotions going on with you right now. But there’s no rule out there saying just because your father does something you have to too. If that were the case, I’d be whipping up carnitas at my father’s old restaurant. Can you really see that?”
No, no I could not. I smiled at him, and when he returned it, my heart beat a little faster. There was that rush, that feeling I’d only every attributed to flying in the past. But here it was in the quiet of my room as I stared at Solo’s gorgeous face.
“You can do anything you want.” Solo took my face in both hands and kissed my lips, and as I savored the taste, reveled in his nearness, I wondered how I would ever be able to go back to a time where he wasn’t close by.
“I wish it were that easy,” I said. “I’m just so tired of playing by everyone else’s rules. My father’s, the instructors’, the Navy’s. It feels like I’ve been toeing the line my entire life, and even as an adult I’m still following orders. Like this ball we’re all supposed to go to.”
When Solo gave a curt nod, I grimaced.
“I fucking hate that I can’t take you. But my father is going to be there, and, well—”
