24. Jake
Twenty-Four
Jake
My flight to Hong Kong is worse than the flight from L.A. to Singapore. The tension in the cockpit is so thick you could cut it with a knife, and Theo and I barely speak unless it’s to radio or confirm commands. If the plane were to crash and they listened to the cockpit voice recorder, it would be a classic demonstration of a crew not working well together.
Thankfully, the plane doesn’t crash, and when we get to Hong Kong, I spend the limited time we have there avoiding him.
It’s fair to say, Theo and I are both pissed off at this point. Me, because of how much he disrespects Taylor, and him, because I assume he’s jealous and pissed that she’s stopped sleeping with him and is now sleeping with me.
Dick.
Either way, all I care about is getting back to L.A. When we finally do touch down back at LAX, we both go through the checklist before handing the plane over to the ground engineers. Just when I think I’m going to be able to walk away without any further interaction with him, he turns in his seat to face me.
“Just so you know,” he starts, a smug look on his face. “I’m going to be requesting that you and I don’t fly together anymore.”
“Works for me,” I reply, not giving him the satisfaction of asking why as I undo my belt and get out of my seat. It’s pretty fucking obvious why, and if the situation were reversed, I’d be doing the same thing.
He stands, and we face each other, our bodies close in the confined space of the cockpit. “You actually think you mean something to her?” he asks, hands on his hips. “That this…” he trails off as though he isn’t sure what else to say.
That’s okay, though because I’m sick and fucking tired of listening to him. “Theo, why the hell do you care so much?” I ask, mirroring his pose. “Why do you give two shits about who Taylor is sleeping with?”
He opens his mouth to speak, but I don’t give him the chance.
“I get you’re jealous,” I spit out. “Get you’re pissed she’s stopped sleeping with you, but you know what? You need to grow the fuck up and accept it,” I tell him, my voice loud. “And stop disrespecting a woman who is not only an amazing pilot, but also a captain at this airline. Fuck’s sake!”
I shove a hand through my hair in frustration, before grabbing my things, not bothering to stick around and wait for a response from him. Just as I’m unlocking the cockpit door, though, he speaks.
“A captain is something you’ll never be. Not if I have anything to do with it.”
I don’t turn around, and I don’t respond, just open the door and walk out, pulling it shut behind me as hard as I can.
On the crew bus to the parking garage, I pull out my phone and text Taylor, letting her know that I’m just going to swing by home and grab some clothes before heading over to her place. It’s nearly six and I’m starving, so I also ask if she wants me to grab some food.
She replies with a photo, just a single image of her bare legs, the picture cut off just before the top, with an accompanying text that says, “I’ve got something you can eat.”
I grin, flicking back a couple of the drooling face emojis to let her know exactly how I feel about that.
At my place, I take a quick shower before grabbing some clothes and shoving them into a bag. I’ve got five days off before I have to fly again, and I’m hoping the next time it’s going to be with her.
When I get to her house, the garage door is already open, and I pull in, hitting the button to close it as I walk into her silent house.
“Taylor?” I call out, dropping my bag by the island in the kitchen.
There’s no response, so I wander out to the front foyer, stopping dead at the sight that greets me.
“Fuck,” I murmur, scrubbing a hand over my mouth.
Taylor grins at me, her naked body leaning casually back against the front door as she waits for me. I don’t move though, just stand here and take her in, watch as she pushes off the door and walks slowly toward me, my eyes raking over her body.
“Hey,” she whispers, her body only inches from mine now.
My hands fly to her face, cupping her jaw as I lower my mouth to hers and kiss her hard, backing her up against the front door again. Taylor lets out a throaty laugh that I immediately silence with my tongue in her mouth.
“God, I’ve missed you,” I murmur as our mouths crash together.
“Me too,” she breathes. “You remember what you texted me?” she asks. “About what you were gonna do when you saw me again?”
I pull back, grinning. “How could I forget?” I add, slowly kissing my way down her body until I’m on my knees in front of her. Then I do exactly what I’d told her I would.
Later, we’re lying in her bed, both of us still coming down from the high of several orgasms each.
“You know, I hate not flying with you,” I start, my fingers running up her spine as she lies against me, her head on my shoulder and her arm draped across my stomach. “But this whole reunion sex part is pretty fucking awesome.”
Taylor laughs, that same throaty laugh that makes me smile and gets me hard. “It is, isn’t it?” she says, propping herself up.
I smile up at her, brushing the hair back from her face. “How’d your evaluation go yesterday?”
I see the surprise on her face before she answers, “Good. It went really good, thanks for asking.”
My fingers continue to move over her warm skin. “Any luck with getting us a flight together?”
She nods, smiling now as she says, “How do you feel about Tahiti?”
My grin widens as I wrap my arms around her and pull her on top of me. “Beaches, sunshine and you?” I ask. “Fuck, I am in!” Taylor laughs even as I lean up to kiss her. “Thank you,” I murmur.
She’s smiling as she looks down at me, her eyes bright and filled with happiness. “You don’t need to thank me,” she whispers. “I wanted it, too.”
It’s subtle, but it’s there and I know both of us see it. A shift in this thing that’s happening between us. A silent acknowledgment that we both want this, and we are both prepared to work for it.
“How’d your flight home go?” she asks, folding her arms across my chest as she rests her chin on them.
I run a finger down her nose, shrugging as I say, “It was alright. Not sure I’ll be flying with him again, but that’s a good thing.”
She pushes up, her body stiffening a little. “What? Why? What happened?”
I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, kissing her again. “Nothing, babe,” I whisper against her lips. “We both just realized we don’t work well together.”
Taylor pulls back, her eyes searching my face. “It’s me, isn’t it?” she says, and the look on her face nearly kills me. “He hates the fact that you and I are together, doesn’t he?”
My eyes meet hers. “He does,” I admit, knowing she knows this anyway. “But he can suck a dick if he thinks I give two shits about his opinion.”
“Jake,” she says, her hand on my cheek. “He’s a captain,” she says. “He’s got power. He could make life really hard for you, could…”
“Taylor,” I say, kissing her quickly. “I don’t care about him. And besides,” I add, rolling us over so she lies beneath me now. “I’ve got my own captain, haven’t I?” Then I kiss her hard, silencing any more of her questions.
We spend the next few days together, working at the flight school and just hanging out. Our nights are spent in Taylor’s bed, making up for the week we’ve spent apart. It’s a surreal feeling to think we’ve only known each other a few weeks, but already I feel like I don’t ever want to lose her.
The day before we’re due to fly out, we’re coming home from a run when my phone chimes out with a text. Glancing at the screen, I see it’s from Tyler, an old Air Force friend of mine.
“Fancy going out tonight?” I ask as I read his message.
“Sure,” Taylor says, stretching. “What are you thinking?”
I glance up and am momentarily distracted by the fact that she is bent over at the waist, her beautiful arse on display and her tits practically spilling from her sports bra. She catches me staring and smirks at me as she straightens and says, “Jake?”
I shake my head. “Friends of mine,” I say. “Their band is playing tonight. Wanna go see them?”
“Are they any good?” she asks.
I laugh. “Yeah, they are,” I tell her. “But I’d also really like you to meet them too.”
She smiles now as she goes back to stretching. “Okay, sounds good.”
I’m staring again at her long legs, at her tight arse and that amazing body of hers, still glistening with sweat after our run. “You know what sounds good,” I murmur, stepping closer as I grab her and throw her over my shoulder. Taylor squeals and I grab the arse I was just staring at. “Getting this beautiful arse of yours all hot and sweaty in the shower,” I add before giving her a hard smack and taking her inside.
The bar is in Venice Beach and even though we have to fly tomorrow, it’s a late flight, so we Uber over so we can both have a few drinks.
The place is crowded, a mix of young and old and I smile when I see my friends over in the corner, drinking a couple of beers before they go on.
“Jake!” Tyler calls, waving me over.
Grinning, I grab Taylor’s hand and pull her with me, laughing as Tyler engulfs me in a giant bear hug. “Hey,” I say.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Tyler asks, grinning back at me.
“Flying,” I say with a laugh. “And also, this is Taylor,” I add, tugging her closer. “Taylor, this here is the first friend I ever made when I moved to the States, Tyler.”
I watch as Tyler turns to Taylor, his grin widening as he gives her a once-over. “Nice to meet you,” he says, extending a hand as he shoots me a look that I know says nice one, she’s fucking hot .
“You too,” Taylor says, shaking his hand. “Were you guys in the military together?”
Tyler nods. “Some of us still are,” he says, nudging me with his shoulder. “Pretty boy here couldn’t hack it, though. Sold his soul and went commercial.”
“Fuck off,” I say, laughing. “And watch yourself, you’re talking to a full-blown captain here,” I say, gesturing to Taylor.
Tyler’s eyes widen as they flick from me to Taylor and back to me again. Then his face breaks out into a huge grin as he lifts his chin a little and says, “A superior and a woman in uniform, huh? Nice.”
Taylor blushes, and I laugh, pulling her closer as I press a kiss to her temple. “What can I say, turns me on.”
I introduce Taylor to the rest of the band, all guys that I was in the military with. Logan, like Tyler, is still in, but both Jason and Pete got out a few months ago. Taylor asks if we were all pilots, which we are, and what their plans are after the military. She’s never really asked me why I left, and it’s kind of weird to hear her ask them now.
It can be a tough life, the military, especially when you’ve seen and done some of the stuff we have. It’s not something everyone wants to or can do forever. I had my reasons for wanting to leave when I did, which were partly because of that and partly for other things. I don’t regret leaving, and if she asked, I’d tell her.
“Alright,” Tyler says, clapping his hands together once. “We gotta go get ready. You’ll stick around till we finish so we can catch up some more?” he asks.
I nod. “Of course.”
He grins. “And you might wanna think about warming up,” he says, giving me a wink.
I shake my head, laughing a little as I slap him on the shoulder. We watch as they all walk up onto the stage and people start to cheer because they are known around here and always get a good reception.
“What was that about?” Taylor asks, leaning in close.
I laugh, putting my mouth against her ear. “You’ll see.”
She gives me a puzzled look, and I lean in and kiss her, pulling her close as my arm wraps around her waist. I tease her with my tongue, urging her lips apart as I deepen the kiss, and I feel her body melt against mine.
“You’re gorgeous,” I murmur, pulling back a little and kissing the end of her nose. Then I pull her to me, so her back is against my front, wrapping my arms around her as we wait for them to start.
They kick off with some covers, belting out the songs with all the power and grit that I remember. After a brief break, where they chat with the crowd, telling them who they are, they then launch into a couple of their own songs, most of which I’ve never heard before.
It’s hard, trying to stay in contact, particularly when the five of us are all over the place with work. I miss being able to hang out with them like I could before, and I’m really glad Tyler messaged me today asking to catch up.
Eventually, their latest song ends, and I watch as Tyler steps up to the microphone, a huge grin on his face as his eyes find mine.
“Alright,” he says, rubbing his hands together. “Some of you may remember a time when we had a different singer, right?”
A couple of people cheer, one or two clapping.
“Shit,” I mutter, my head dropping onto Taylor’s shoulder.
“What?” she asks, turning to look at me.
I lift my head, still grinning as I say, “You might need to excuse me for a bit.”
“What, why?” she asks, but I don’t answer, just nod toward the stage.
Tyler’s laughing now as he continues. “Yep, once upon a time, it was a different voice that belted out these songs, while I was stuck back there,” he adds, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. “Forced to do backup.”
The crowd cheers again, and he shakes his head, still smiling as he looks around the room. “Well, that other lead singer you guys all loved so much just so happens to be here tonight,” he says, watching me again. “And I think he should come on up here and remind you all of what we used to sound like. What do you say?”
The cheer is loud, filling the room as Tyler, Logan, Jason and Pete, all piss themselves laughing up on stage.
Shaking my head, I put my mouth to Taylor’s ear. “You be okay if I go up for a bit?”
She turns in my arms, a shocked look on her face. “ You’re their former lead singer?”
“I am,” I say, laughing.
She shakes her head. “I never knew you could sing.”
I shrug. “I can.”
Her face breaks out into a huge smile now as she puts her hands on my chest and says, “Go! I absolutely have to see this!”
Laughing, I press a hard kiss to her mouth before heading up to the stage, beer in hand, and shaking my head at Tyler who waves his hand toward the microphone as if to say it’s all yours before he stands back.
I step up, wondering how the fuck I’m going to do this. It’s been a long time since I was in this band, and while I don’t normally get stage fright, this feels a little different tonight.
I search the crowd until my eyes find Taylor. She’s standing there smiling, her hands together, almost in prayer as she presses her fingertips against her lips. Grinning, I give her a tiny nod before turning to the guys and telling them what to play.
Then I turn back to her, listen as Tyler and Logan start the opening riff for “Sex on Fire”, and I start to sing.