Jake
I wait in my seat until everyone has left the plane. It takes a while, because pretty much every person onboard wants to stop and congratulate me on the way out. I don’t mind though, accepting everyone’s well wishes with the smile I’ve had on my face since Taylor told me the news.
And even though I’m tired and exhausted from my flight yesterday, I haven’t slept a wink because I’m just so fucking happy.
Having kids isn’t something Taylor and I have really talked about, which isn’t to say we didn’t want them, we just hadn’t really worked out a plan for when we would have them. Both of us were always more focused on our careers, especially after the battle Taylor went through to succeed at hers. And I was always totally fine with that, wanting her to have everything she’s ever dreamed of.
Including kids with me, apparently.
Finally, the last person leaves, and I stand, accepting the hug from Ali as I make my way to the front of the plane. Taylor stayed in the cockpit as all the passengers left, and I know that’s because of the big announcement she made before we took off. My girl would have hated doing that, but she knows I will have loved it. Which is exactly why she did it.
I rap my knuckles on the open door of the cockpit, and Taylor turns, a look of surprise on her face that quickly gives way to a huge smile.
“You waited?” she asks, standing and walking over to me.
“Of course, I did,” I whisper, pulling her into my arms as I kiss her deeply. “I’m so fucking happy right now.”
“Yeah?” she asks, her hand on my cheek.
“Yes,” I confirm, smiling at her. “And I love the way you did it too. How much did doing that freak you out?”
Taylor groans, her head falling to my shoulder. “So much,” she mumbles. “I’ve never been more nervous in my life.”
Chuckling, I press a kiss to her cheek. “But you knew I’d love it, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” she replies, lifting her head.
Smiling, I lean in, my lips brushing against hers. “I love you,” I whisper against her mouth. “And I love the way you told me I’m gonna be a dad. I love that we’re having a baby together.”
“It’s going to change everything,” Taylor says, her gaze locked with mine.
“I know. I’m counting on it.”
She blows out a breath. “I’ll have to stop flying.”
I kiss her again, her lips, her cheek, her temple. “I know,” I whisper. “But I’ve had five hours to come up with a plan for that.”
“Oh, what is it?”
Grinning, I give her another quick kiss before taking her hand in mine. “Come on, let’s go to our hotel. We can talk there,” I tell her, leading her out of the cockpit. “After we’ve gotten naked,” I add with a wink.
An hour later, we are in a taxi and on the way to our hotel. Which isn’t the crew hotel, but somewhere else. Somewhere I recognize as soon as the car pulls up in front.
“Back to the scene of the crime, huh?” I tease, remembering this place even though it’s been a few years since we’ve been here.
Taylor smiles, squeezing my hand. “Well, it’s been a few years. Figured we were overdue.”
“Definitely,” I whisper, leaning over to kiss her before we get out of the taxi.
After we check in, I see Taylor has got us a suite, like the very first time we stayed here, and I can’t stop the grin as we ride the elevator up to our room. “This might have been the most expensive hook up ever,” I tease, pulling her close as the elevator slowly makes its way to the fifteenth floor.
Taylor laughs. “I hate to think what the check-in girl thought that night.”
“What? That one of us was paying for it?” I ask with a laugh.
“Hmmm,” she replies, brow arched. “At least now it doesn’t hit the wallet as hard as it used to.”
“Thanks to you,” I murmur, pulling her close as I brush my lips against hers.
“And you.”
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “You are what changed things, Taylor. You and your fierce determination. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
She smiles, her arms wrapping around my waist. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You’re never gonna need to do anything without me, babe,” I say, just as the doors open with a ding.
We walk into the massive suite with the wrap-around balcony and views of Diamond Head, both of us grinning. “We gonna recreate that balcony moment?” I ask, tipping my head in the direction of the large glass doors.
Taylor turns, stepping into my arms, an easy smile on her face as she says, “I definitely need a shower first, so we might need to do that night in reverse.”
Grinning, I reply, “Works for me,” before I bend, sliding one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders before I pick her up and walk us into the bathroom.
We strip quickly, before stepping into the huge shower, the multiple showerheads quickly filling the space with warm water and steam. Pulling Taylor into my arms, I kiss her deeply. “I’ve missed you,” I whisper against her mouth, knowing we’ve been apart more than usual these past few months. Which is probably how the whole Taylor being pregnant got past me.
“I’ve missed you too,” she says.
I kiss my way down her neck and over her breasts, stopping at her stomach to drop several kisses against it. You can’t even tell she’s pregnant yet, but I can’t wait till I can. Can’t wait to watch our baby grow inside her.
“You make me so happy,” I say, looking up at her. She smiles down at me, her fingers in my hair. With a grin, I hook one of her legs over my shoulder, so her pussy is perfectly lined up with my mouth as I say, “And now I’m about to make you very happy.”
After our shower, we’re lying in the huge bed, my head resting on Taylor’s chest, my hand on her stomach.
“So you going to tell me what these plans of yours are?” she asks, her fingers combing through my hair.
I drop a kiss on her stomach before lifting my head. “What are your plans for flying? When do you want to stop?” I ask.
Taylor shrugs. “I don’t know, soonish I think. I haven’t even told anyone yet, although after today, I’m sure everyone at Crescent knows.”
Chuckling, I drop a kiss to her chest, right over her heart. “You know gossip runs rampant through that place.”
“Don’t I ever,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“At least this time, it’s good gossip,” I tell her, knowing that even though it’s stopped now, the rumors and things people said about her back before we got together still bother her. She might have always put on a brave face, but the words hurt, especially when they came from people she thought cared about her.
“Yeah,” she says, smiling at me.
“Okay,” I continue. “So you’re gonna stop flying soon, which means I’m going to too.”
“Wait, what?” she asks, sitting up a little. “, you can’t. You’re due for promotion soon. You have to keep flying so you can make Captain.”
I sit up, joining her so we are both leaning back against the headboard. “But if I keep flying, then I’m away from you. Both of you,” I add, sliding a hand across her belly. “I don’t want that,” I whisper, my eyes meeting hers.
“But…”
“But nothing, babe. I grew up in a military family, which meant my dad was away a lot. I got it, but it didn’t mean I liked it. Doesn’t mean I want that for my kid either,” I tell her, linking our fingers together and lifting our joined hands to my mouth. “I want to be here for you and our kid. Want to be here for every second of it.”
Taylor blinks at me, a shocked look on her face as she takes in my words. Even though we’ve been together for nearly three and a half years now, I know she still struggles with accepting help, with believing people when they say they’ve got her back.
For so long she had to fight on her own, constantly getting overlooked or gossiped about or just completely screwed over because she was a woman or because she did what she wanted without giving a shit about what anyone else thought.
And as much as I totally love that about her, I know there’s a part of her that still struggles to believe it. Which is why I have a two-part plan for all of this.
“So what…what will you do?” she whispers, swallowing hard as she stares at me.
Smiling, I lean in and kiss her again. “Well, you know how we’ve talked about expanding the flight school?” I start. Taylor nods but doesn’t say anything. “So, I was thinking this would be the perfect time to do it.”
“But how?” she asks. “We need investment, money.”
Chuckling, I nod. “I know, but if I sell the Corvette, that will be a decent chunk and we can?—”
“No, , you can’t sell your car, it’s a classic, it’s your baby, it’s?—”
“Not my baby,” I say, smiling as I drop my hand to her stomach again. “It’s what I want to do, Taylor. It’s for us. You, me and our kid…kids even,” I add, giving her a wink.
“, I can’t let you do this,” she whispers. “You love that car.”
I lean in, kissing her softly as I whisper, “Yeah, but I love you more. This is what I want to do, babe,” I tell her. “I promise.” She huffs out a breath that tells me she isn’t happy about my decision, but she’s not going to fight me on it. I laugh, giving her another kiss as I say, “Don’t be stroppy with me, there’s still more.”
She rolls her eyes again, huffing out another breath as she says, “Okay, hit me with it.”
I hold up a finger before I roll out of bed and walk over to my bag. Rummaging inside, I find what I’m looking for before wandering back to the bed.
Taylor watches me the whole time, a small smile on her face because of course, I am still completely naked, just like she is.
“Taylor, love of my life,” I say, sitting on the bed and taking her hand in mine. She smiles at me now, her grin quickly turning to a smirk as I continue. “You are the crayons to my coloring book, the jelly to my donut…” I trail off, grinning at the laugh she lets out because this isn’t the first time I’ve said these words to her. Leaning in, I brush my lips against hers as I whisper, “Nobody touches my junk quite like you, babe.”
“,” she says, giggling, her hand moving to do exactly that.
“Not done yet,” I say, moving her hand. “I love you and I want to spend forever with you, flying, having babies and always having your back. What do you say we go for third time lucky?”
I hold up the ring box now, watching as her eyes drop to the diamond solitaire I’ve been holding onto for weeks, just waiting for the right time to do this.
“You came up with this on the plane?” she blurts out.
I burst out laughing, shaking my head. “No, babe, this has been in the works for a while, your little announcement just inspired me to actually get on with it.”
She looks up at me, a grin tugging at her beautiful mouth even as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “Third time?”
I shrug, grinning as I say, “Well, you’ve done it, so once. I’ve done it, that’s twice. How about we do it a third and final time?”
She’s full-on smiling now as she watches me sitting opposite her, the two of us still completely naked, a ring box between us as I wait for her answer. I’m not worried about what it’s going to be, even though we have talked even less about this than we’ve talked about having kids.
“Babe,” I prompt, pulling the ring from the box.
She bursts out laughing now, throwing her arms around my neck as she yells, “Yes! Of course, I will marry you!”
Smiling, I slide the ring onto her finger before pressing a hard kiss to her lips. “I love you, Taylor Patterson, I’m glad I get to be your co-pilot forever.”
“Oh my god, !” she says, laughing, even as I continue to kiss her.
“What?” I ask, grinning.
“Could you be any cheesier?”
Laughing, I roll us over so she’s lying on top of me. “Okay, fine. I’m glad I get to be your toy boy forever,” I suggest, chuckling at the look she gives me. “Baby daddy?” I suggest.
Taylor shakes her head at me, even as she’s laughing at my suggestions. “How about my partner?”
I slide my hand down to grab her arse, squeezing it hard as I say, “Always.”