AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’s so nonchalant about it and I shake my head. I’m not sure if it’s bravery or stupidity or extreme talent that allows him to take the risks he does. “So what was your callsign? Something cool like Viper or Maverick?”
“Oh, man,” he grumbles and takes a drink from his mug instead of answering. “You’ve seenTop Gunone too many times.”
His reaction makes me more curious than ever. “Iceman?” I tease.
“Okay, first of all, I was Army. Top Gun is Navy.”
“Well, excuuuse me.”
“Second, you don’t get to pick your callsign. It’s chosen by your squadron mates. And the more you hate it, the more likely it is to stick. The only way it’ll change is if your squadron decides to switch it. And that’s only after something even more humiliating happens to you and they want to immortalize your embarrassment with a new callsign.”
“So what was yours?” I lean forward, dying to hear whatever embarrassing name they gave him.
“For a while they called me The Finnster. I could’ve lived with that. But then…”
“Then what humiliating thing happened to you?”
“Jesus, you’re giddy to hear all about my mortification, aren’t you?”
“Sorry,” I say with a laugh. “It’s just nice to know that you’re more than Finn, pilot extraordinaire. You’re also Eric, human with faults.”
“FTP,” he says with great reluctance.
I frown, nose scrunching as I try to figure out what it stands for. “FTP?” I repeat blankly.
“There was this girl I briefly dated. She showed up on the base one day and the other guys overheard her nickname for me. Stupidest fucking name,” he grumbles.
My smile widens. I am so ready to hear this.
A muscle flexes in his jaw and he finally grits out, “Finnie The Pooh.”
I burst out laughing and have to set my mug down before I spill my coffee. Once I start, I can’t stop. I’m dying, bent over at the waist, and the fit of giggles overtakes me. Tears stream from my eyes and I’m trying to catch my breath when Eric starts laughing, too.
“Finnie The Pooh. Oh, man,” I say, swiping the wetness from my eyes. “That is pee-your-pants fantastic.”
He’s looking at me, eyes full of mirth. “Glad you’re amused. So, yeah, you can see why I shortened it to FTP.”
My phone starts ringing inside and I stand up, still chuckling. “Be right back, Finnie.” With another chuckle, I walk inside and see Kennedy’s name flashing on the caller ID. “Hey, Kennedy!”
“Ivy, are you okay? We heard what happened.”
We.Everything is “we” now. I’m getting used to it, though. And Aidan loves her so much. No one deserves that kind of love more than Kennedy. They make a good “we.”
“How did you find out? I was going to call you.”
“We’re in town. Aidan is visiting Oz, Dom and Max. Shay ran into Fallon and, well, she told Max. You know how it goes. Where are you? We’re coming over.”
I glance over and see Eric standing in the doorway.
“Everything okay?” he asks and I nod.
“I’m at Eric’s,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant.
“Who’s Eric?” Kennedy asks. Then immediately realizes the answer to her own question. “Wait, do you meanFinn?”
“Yes.” I sigh. “There’s a lot going on and I’m going to tell you everything, but—”
“Have her meet us at the Slater Security office,” Eric says. He glances down at his watch. “Ryan just texted and they have some new information.”
