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My spine stiffened. You’ve got to be kidding me. I set the limes in the cart and slowly turned around to see Panther’s father standing there, immaculately dressed, as always, even on a day off, his gaze on the items in my cart.
Great. Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t be ashamed in the slightest, but I was more than aware of my delinquent status in Captain Hughes’s eyes, so adding alcohol and five bottles of lube to corrupt his son with? Definitely winning him over.
But I gave him an easy smile anyway, because he hadn’t made a scene at the Navy Ball, and Panther hadn’t been disowned. Both of those things were progress in my book. “Captain Hughes. Good to see you. Out shopping for you and the missus?” See, we could have a casual chat. Maybe the old man was coming around to the idea of our relationship.
Or, I thought as his eyes narrowed, maybe not.
“Is Grant here?”
“He’s back at base in my room. His room,” I corrected myself quickly, though I wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Fine. It’s you I’d like to talk to.” Captain Hughes folded his arms across his chest, and I prepared myself for whatever would be launched my way. From the tight set of his mouth, I guessed it wasn’t anything good. “Do you think you’re right for my son?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. It’s what he thinks.”
“So you’d agree with me, then, that you’re not an ideal partner?”
No fucking shit. “I don’t think I’d be your first choice, no.”
“And why is that?”
Suddenly feeling defensive, I crossed my arms, mimicking his pose. “Why don’t you tell me?”
“Grant has been at the top of every class he’s ever been in. He may think differently, but it’s not my name that’s gotten him to this point. He’s got the talent and work ethic to take him wherever he wants to go.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I see it every day.” Where the hell was he going with this?
“Then why would you let him risk it all?”
The comment should’ve offended me, but I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let him? I love that you assume I have the power to let Panther do anything. You should know your son better than to think he’d need anyone’s permission to do what he wants.”
Captain Hughes broke eye contact, looking away. “I thought I did.”
“But you don’t trust his judgment now? Because of me?”
His jaw twitched, and I realized I’d hit the nail on the head. It wasn’t a surprise to know he didn’t approve—hell, he hadn’t wanted us to even be flight partners—but it still stung.
“Look, I get it. You don’t like my reputation. You think I’m reckless and that I don’t care about anyone but myself. And yeah, maybe you would’ve been right a couple of months ago. But I care about Pan—Grant. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.”
“Maybe not intentionally.” His eyes met mine again, and I saw it. Behind the seemingly uncaring facade, there was a flicker of worry. “What do you suppose will happen after graduation?”
I swallowed. “We haven’t really discussed it yet.”
“Hmm.”
I knew exactly what that hmm meant. It meant there were only two weeks left of our time with the Elite, and the fact that we hadn’t given any thought to our future meant we weren’t taking things as seriously as we should be. Captain Hughes wasn’t just judging our relationship—he was judging if we even had one.
“We’ll figure it out,” I said.
“Hmm.” That was all he said. Again. Hmm.
I was beginning to fucking hate that sound.
“We’ve got a lot to consider. We’ll figure it out. Together,” I said, but I could tell from the look on his face he was correctly reading the apprehension behind my words. Obviously I knew how much time we had left, that we’d have to make a decision about what happened next, but I hadn’t expected the panic seizing my chest. It felt like we had an expiration date looming. I’d never done this shit before; how the hell was I supposed to know how to navigate a future?
“This is not what I would’ve chosen for Grant.”
“I know.”
Captain Hughes lowered his chin, looking down his nose at me. “Then I expect you’ll do the right thing.”
A surge of defensiveness made me straighten and drop my arms as I stared my superior down. “And what is the right thing, according to you…sir?”
“Making sure my son’s best interests are looked after. I’m sure if you care about him, you can figure out what that is.”
As he turned on his heel and strode off, I could only stare after him, my heart pounding out an erratic rhythm.
Fuck. I knew what I was feeling for Panther was more than I’d ever experienced with anyone. Just the thought of going our separate ways after graduation had my chest tightening and my stomach roiling.
