Chapter 11
MITCHELL
Iwas on my way back to the jets after doing a quick meet and greet when I noticed a group by my plane.
It was PitA and some of the younger guys that had recently latched onto him.
They were going down the wrong road. It was hero worship.
I’d seen it a hundred times. I was often the guy in PitA’s shoes, but I believed I handled it better than him.
He was cocky. I knew I was cocky, but I felt like I took risks that only impacted myself.
“Did you see her tits bouncing?” I heard one of the men say.
Another one laughed. “Dude, everything was bouncing.”
“What do you think, Double Ds or bigger?” PitA asked.
Something told me I wasn’t going to like this. “What’s going on?” I asked.
The petty officers had the good sense to look startled. They stood up a little straighter. They all looked to PitA to answer. “We were just enjoying the show,” he said with a shrug.
“The show?” I asked.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t notice the tits.” He laughed.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked.
“Not what,” one of the petty officers said. “Who.”
Another one must have been emboldened and spoke up. “The chick with the tits and ass for days. She’d never fit in a flight suit.”
“Who?” I asked. I already knew who they were talking about, but I needed them to say it.
“The mechanic lady,” one said. “The one that isn’t one of us.”
“Could you imagine her going through boot camp?” one said, and they all laughed.
“Her name is Sam,” I hissed. “She might not have gone through boot camp, but she’s still one of us. She’s a government employee, which makes her a coworker. She’s a member of our crew. In fact, I would venture to say she outranks you.”
“Relax.” PitA laughed. “You’re the one that pulled her out of my arms. Don’t pretend you didn’t notice those tits. If you wouldn’t have cut in that night, I would have been riding those waves all night.”
“You will treat her with respect,” I said in a tight voice.
He laughed again. “I’d treat her with all kinds of respect.”
“Me too,” one of the others chimed in.
“You know, she knows more about this machine we fly around in than you or me or all four of you combined,” I said.
“She’s fucking brilliant. She’s worked with the designers of some of the most elite aircraft in the world.
When someone has a question or a problem, they call her.
She has a security clearance none of you will ever have. ”
PitA rolled his eyes. “No one is questioning her skills.”
“You’re undermining her,” I said. “You would never talk about a female officer like this. You would never talk about Medusa’s ass or tits.”
PitA smirked. “Speak for yourself.”
“That kind of shit will get you thrown off the squad in a flash,” I warned him. “Be respectful.”
“Please,” he said. “Don’t try to be the white knight now. Your reputation precedes you. Everyone knows how you roll.”
“My reputation has nothing to do with the women I work with,” I clarified. “I would never disrespect someone that is our equal.”
“I guess we didn’t realize how perfect you are,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Just remember she’s an inspector,” I reminded him. “She’s a part of the team. She has the authority to keep you on the ground if she sees fit. If I were you, I’d remember that before you talk shit about her.”
“We weren’t talking shit,” PitA shot back.
“We were talking about how fine her tits are. Her ass is round and big, and in those pants she wears, it’s on full display.
If she didn’t want us looking, she shouldn’t have been running.
She had to know her shit was going to be bouncing all over the place. ”
“Enough,” I growled.
“Get over yourself,” PitA shot back.
I didn’t usually throw around my rank, but I did outrank all of them.
The enlisted men knew better. PitA was only a grade lower than I was, but it still put me above him.
“As a Lieutenant Commander, I’m ordering you all to stop.
Stop or I’ll take this to the CO. One write-up in your file is all it takes to get you booted from this squadron.
Your position on the Blue Angels is a privilege. ”
PitA smirked. “Do you feel better?” he asked. “I’ll outrank you by the end of my career.”
“Good,” I snapped. “I hope you do. Right now, you don’t. Don’t you all have something you should be doing?”
They didn’t look happy, but they walked away. PitA shook his head. “You need to get laid,” he said. “You’re way too uptight.”
“Just don’t be a dick,” I said. “It’s not hard.
Be respectful. She doesn’t deserve to be talked about like that.
She’s a nice person. She’s solid in her job.
Just give her the respect she deserves. That’s all I’m asking.
I know you guys think it’s fun. Talk about someone else—not her.
Not Medusa. Not any woman on our team. You know better. ”
I walked away before anything else could be said.
We had to fly together. I wasn’t going to let the man ruin my career by goading me into a fight.
I couldn’t let myself be overprotective of Sam.
That would piss her off and people would ask questions.
She’d be pissed that people were asking.
It would just end badly. There was a fine line I had to walk.
She was keeping her distance. When we did have conversations about whatever, it was always stilted.
We were never alone. She made sure I knew my place.
I wasn’t allowed to look at her. Well, technically, I was allowed, but I tried not to.
Whenever I did, it was hard to look away.
I couldn’t get the image of her naked body out of my head.
I had never been quite so haunted by a woman.
Usually—and I was a little ashamed to admit it—it was a one and done.
Sometimes on rare occasions, there would be some repeat visitors.
It was about the closest I got to a relationship.
The morning I walked out of her hotel room, I had been pissed and hurt.
I had been na?ve enough to think that maybe we could have a regular thing while on the road.
For me, I thought it was the best of both worlds.
I thought I was offering her something she couldn’t resist. She shut me down.
Hard. I walked away mad and determined to find someone else to hook up with.
I’d flirted. I kissed a few ladies but I could never bring myself to invite them back to the hotel.
Sam always stopped me. Not physically, but it was her face I saw.
It was her body I craved. I wanted her again.
Initially, her offer to hook up after the season was a little insulting.
Now, I was seriously considering it. But if I accepted that offer, that meant I was willing to commit to her.
She was not the kind of woman that did the casual thing.
She would kick my ass if I was out with other women while seeing her.
That made me smile. I kind of liked that idea.
I hated it, but I liked it. I liked the idea of belonging to someone.
One someone. Not a team. Not the government.
Not the Navy. Just one person that cared about me and me alone.
I was thirty-five and had never had a real girlfriend. Maybe it was time. Sam was unlike any woman I had ever met. I loved that she could talk planes, jets, and the feeling of soaring through the air with me. We had enough in common that we could actually have a conversation and amazing sex.
I was lost in thought and missed the conversation coming from around the corner until I heard something that piqued my interest.
“Did you see her tits bouncing when we landed?”
“Dude, I thought she was going to end up with two black eyes!”
There was a lot of snickering and what sounded like some high-fives. “I’m going to tell the pilots to hit the turbulence hard on our next flight,” someone said. “Maybe one will bounce right out!”
“I’m a little jealous I don’t get to see that show.” It was PitA’s voice, which told me exactly who they were talking about. Even after I warned them, they were still talking about Sam in a way that made me want to kick all their asses.
I stepped out from behind the communications cart that was a part of the Blue Angels equipment. “I know I didn’t just hear you talking shit about our colleague again,” I growled.
PitA laughed. “No one heard us. You need to chill the fuck out. We don’t need a hall monitor. Don’t act like you’re so perfect.”
“Fuck you,” I growled. “You should know better. You should be better.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I don’t give a shit what you think I should or shouldn’t be. All you need to know is I’m a kickass pilot.”
“You’re a kickass pilot that’s about to get kicked off the team,” I said.
He smirked. “Yeah, you’re no one. You’re one stupid move away from getting yourself kicked off.
I would suggest you worry about yourself and less about me.
You’re a year away from being washed up.
No one is going to remember you. You’re just the guy that thought he was a hotshot and turned out to be a nobody. ”
I was seeing red. My temper was no longer mine to control. I’d always been a bit of a hothead, but usually there’d been someone around to pull me back from the edge.
“Fuck you,” I hissed.
“I’m going to fuck that woman, is what I’m going to do.” PitA laughed. “I’m going to bury my face in her tits and she’s going to wrap those thick thighs around my waist.”
That was it. The control I’d barely been holding on to snapped. I stepped forward and swung. My fist connected with his cheek. The blow took him by surprise. He immediately reacted and tried to land a punch. I dodged it and pushed him back.
“I’m not doing this with you,” I warned him.
“The fuck you aren’t,” he shouted back.
He lunged and tried to hit once again. It ended up brushing across my jaw. I swung again out of blind rage. It didn’t land.
“Break it up,” a few of the guys that had been talking shit shouted.
I felt hands on my arms trying to pull me back. It was too late. I was too pissed. I threw them off, shoving one of the guys hard enough to knock him on his ass.
“Dice, back off!”
I heard them, but I was laser focused on PitA, who was coming in for a sucker punch while his two buddies tried to hold me back.
I managed to shake them off with very little effort but not before PitA got a good shot in.
I barely felt the impact, but it did make my ears ring a bit.
Just enough to incite my fury even more.
I lunged, swinging and connecting once again.
All thoughts of the repercussions for this fight vanished.
He had pissed me off and crossed the line.
His ass was mine.