16. Yellow Flag
SIXTEEN
YELLOW FLAG
Flynn
Boondoggle’s porch is packed. Apparently, NASA throws a mean happy hour. Even if their happy hour is more like brunch. I took hold of Jackie’s hand while walking across the parking lot, and I squeeze it before stepping up the stairs, but she seems too distracted to take much notice.
It occurs to me that Jackie spends a lot of her time distracted. When she lectures on a topic she has laser focus, but the rest of the time her mind seems to be racing in a million different directions. That’s probably why she never notices all the attention men give her.
Like now.
“Jackie!” Ian weaves through the crowd to get to her. He’s wearing a pressed dress shirt and slacks, for fuck’s sake. To a bar. “Didn’t think you’d be here,” he says once he reaches us. “You usually don’t come out to these things.”
She mumbles something about interfering, blackmailing astronauts, but I don’t think Ian’s paying much attention.
The man’s eyes are looking at the tight black tank top stretched over Jackie’s chest and the skirt that rides low on her hips, revealing an inch of midriff.
To give the guy credit, his checkout is subtle, so maybe that’s another reason why Jackie’s so clueless.
Jackie tugs her skirt down with her free hand, which only widens the expanse of skin shown at her waist. A sigh escapes me.
I know I shouldn’t be mad at my sister. I mean, when she put the thing on, I certainly appreciated how Jackie looked in the skirt.
But damn, I had not factored in that the clothes Jackie would be choosing from are ones which Rose, with her less than ladylike taste, had bought.
So not only is the skirt short, but the top is tight.
Now I’ll have to fight off everyone else’s bad intentions as well as calm my own.
Ian’s gaze travels to me, then down to our clasped hands. That’s right, buddy. She’s here with me.
Jackie tries to loosen my grip, but I squeeze tighter. It has been a long fucking time since I’ve felt this way about anyone, and I’m not above caveman-like maneuvers to scare off the competition.
“Ian, you remember Flynn. Flynn, Ian.” She gestures between us with her free hand.
I nod at Ian.
“Yes, I remember Flynn.” Ian looks somewhat amused as he motions us to follow him through the crowd. “Better take a seat while you can. The crew should call down any minute,” he says when we reach an open table.
“Thanks.” Jackie moves to sit down, but hesitates. The tables are picnic style, with attached benches. There’s no way she can straddle a seat in that skirt without flashing someone.
My lips twitch. “Problem, darling?” I let her hand go and wait to see what she’ll do.
Jackie stares hard at the bench. “No. I just need…” She tilts her head to one side, surveying the bench. “…to think a moment.”
Then she sits down and spins on her butt with her legs straight out, in one smooth motion. She did it so quickly there’s no way anyone got a glimpse of anything.
And I should know. I’d been looking.
I swing just one leg over, straddling the bench so I can bracket Jackie with my body. I rest one hand across her lower back.
Ian seems to have gotten the message, but I might as well let the rest of her co-workers understand she’s taken. Speaking of co-workers, she seems determined to avoid their eyes, despite their attempts to catch hers.
If I think about it, she hadn’t actually invited me.
Is she embarrassed of me? When it comes right down to it, I am just a mechanic.
True, I might be able to buy and sell these people twice over, but they don’t know that.
Hell, Jackie doesn’t know that. At least, I hope she doesn’t.
I lift my hand from her back, about to ask her if she’d like me to go when someone shouts out to her.
“Yoo-hoo! Jackie? We’re here!” Trish stands on the steps of the bar’s porch, waving her arm like a beauty queen on steroids.
Rose is next to her trying to steer clear of getting clobbered.
I see her eyes cut to the corner of the room, but before I can follow my sister’s line of sight, I see my brother behind her.
My whole body tenses. It’s been a while since Holt and I have been in the same room. In fact, the last time we were in the same room, he’d been busy plowing Beth.
Rose brings her attention back to Trish. “Yoo-hoo?” She rolls her eyes and makes her way to our table. “Jesus, Trish, between you and Jackie, I swear I’m hanging with the Bobbsey Twins. Why don’t you just start saying ‘Hi-dee-ho there, neighbor’ for fuck’s sake?”
“Rose. Language,” Holt’s familiar strong voice admonishes.
I smile despite the awkward situation. I’d forgotten about Holt’s life mission to get our sister to talk and act more like a lady.
Trish reaches the table and gets in Rose’s face. “Yeah, well the fact that you know who the Bobbsey Twins are negates any point you were trying to make.”
“Hey, my Gramps read those books to me. So suck it. And negate? Who are you, Jackie now? One genius is enough.”
That wipes the smile from my face and I look to see if my sister’s careless words have hurt Jackie. But she surprises me by laughing. Slowly, she stands, careful to tug down her skirt before waving to the rest of the crowd. “Everyone, these are my friends Rose, Trish and Flynn.”
Trish does the big wave again and Rose just smiles, throwing her shoulders back and putting one hand on her hip. Everyone on the porch seems transfixed with the newcomers, and I’m just happy to be included, even if she called me a friend.
I see Ian throwing a particularly intense look in Trish’s direction.
“Holt, is it?” Jackie asks, turning toward my brother.
Holt has been glaring at Rose, but looks to Jackie at the sound of his name.
“Yes, ma’am.” He tips his cowboy hat toward her and sticks out his hand.
Jackie seems to melt a bit at the whole cowboy schtick Holt has always been good at, and a flare of jealousy hits me hard and fast. I stand before Jackie can take Holt’s hand, ready to plant a fist in his smiling face.
But before I can even raise my arm, I’m interrupted.
“Holy shit, Jackie. You do not mess around.”
Everyone, including me, turns toward the bar at the back of the porch where a screen has been set up. On the screen, a cute brunette with tight spiral curls winks. I glance at Jackie to see her roll her eyes at the woman. “Nice to see you too, Jules.”
“You going to introduce me to these fine-looking men?” Jules asks.
Jackie sighs. “This is Flynn, he’s my?—”
“Date,” I supply. “I’m her date.” I wrap one arm around Jackie’s waist.
“I see. Well, hello there, Jackie’s date.” She winks again. “I’m Jules.” Her eyes track beside me to my brother. “And what’s your name, cowboy?”
“Holt West, ma’am.” He tips his hat again, this time toward the camera.
“Mmmm… me likey.” Jules blows a kiss and I’m shocked as shit to see my brother’s cheeks turn red. Jules’ eyes move back to Jackie. “Well done, hooker, well done.”
Everyone at the bar laughs while muscles I didn’t realize were tense relax a bit.
Jackie blushes and narrows her eyes at the screen. “I’m going to kill her so hard when she gets back to Earth,” she mumbles.
“Sweet Jehoshaphat.” Trish’s wide eyes meet Jackie’s. “Can astronauts say hooker?”
“This is a private feed, it isn’t broadcasted or anything. They can basically say what they want,” Ian says, stepping up to the table, still staring at Trish.
Jackie leans into me. “Which Jules definitely takes advantage of.”
I smell her hair while my fingers glide over the exposed skin at her waist. “So that’s the blackmailer, huh?”
The camera zooms out and the rest of the crew, floating in air, comes into view. There’s one woman besides Jules, and three men. They all wear polo shirts with NASA patches and cargo pants. Cheers go up, people shouting hello while raising their glasses.
“Hopefully that will be me someday,” Jackie whispers, throwing a shy smile my way.
I make myself nod, though I can’t help but hope it doesn’t happen. Jackie may have her statistics and be able to brush off concerns for safety, but I remember the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.
I try to shake off the doom and gloom when we sit back down, and Rose, Trish, Ian and Holt follow.
Everyone starts grabbing glasses, pouring beer from the pitchers on the center of the tables and talking.
Only in Texas are beer pitchers a staple of brunch.
But in the midst of all the activity, I catch Rose’s eyes bouncing back and forth between Holt and me, like she’s waiting for a throw-down.
Even Jackie’s brow furrows as if she, too, realizes something doesn’t feel right.
I wait for old anger and resentment to surge through me.
And it does, no surprise, since Holt never even fucking apologized.
But what does surprise me is the realization that the pain has dulled.
No longer a sharp spike to the chest, but more like the ache of scar tissue being prodded.
I’m really too preoccupied with Jackie. With this new feeling of contentment that I haven’t had since, well, ever.
It’s a little disconcerting how much impact this blond genius already has over my life after just one week.
But Jackie wants to be an astronaut. I mean, she sure as shit is smart enough. How many people have a doctorate at twenty-nine? And all those awards stacked up against the wall at her place. But… space?