Chapter 20 Harrison
HARRISON
“Hey, you need any help up here?” I asked Kevin as he settled into the cockpit.
He turned to look at me over his shoulder. “Do I look like I need help?”
I chuckled. “Point taken, sorry.”
“That her?” Kevin jutted his chin toward the window, where a Town Car was speeding into view across the tarmac.
“Yeah, that’s Gwen. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
“That’s a first,” he said with a teasing laugh. “I don’t think I’ve met any of your arm candy since Miranda.”
“Well, she’s a lot more than arm candy,” I insisted, a little offended on Gwen’s behalf. Kevin had heard all my rants about the Revenge of the Rushies. He knew just how amazing Gwen had been when it came to snatching victory from the jaws of total public repudiation.
“She’s also your employee,” he pointed out.
“Ashford doesn’t have an anti-fraternization policy,” I countered.
Kevin paused his cockpit prep to give me his full attention. “Is there something you want to tell me? Is this a real-deal situation?”
I could hear Dominic welcoming Gwen at the base of the stairs. Just the sound of her voice was enough to make me giddy. Not that I was comfortable putting that on display. The bigger the feeling, the more I needed to lock it down.
“I don’t know yet,” I hedged. “It’s undefined. I’m not worrying about labels at this point.”
I drifted toward the door to greet Gwen, working to look relaxed rather than revealing that I was as excited as a puppy as she climbed up the stairs.
“Hi,” she grinned at me. “Are you ready to party or what?”
Right. The party. My family. In this moment, it felt like Gwen and I were headed out for an adventure together, but the reality was that I was subjecting both of us to a huge dose of Ashford drama. Why had I been excited about this again?
“Something like that. You look stunning, as usual.”
Gwen was in a flowy pale-yellow dress that swirled around her when the wind blew, making her look like Marilyn Monroe above the subway grate.
“Thanks to my sister,” she laughed. “You look pretty incredible yourself. I like the casual resort version of you.”
Gwen would be my excuse for opting out of the inevitable nine holes my brothers would suggest we play, but I’d still dressed for athleisure.
“Hi, you,” she repeated once she was standing in front of me.
“Hi,” I echoed softly. “Good to see you.”
I folded her into my arms and gave her a brief kiss on the lips.
Far too brief, but Dominic was right behind her.
“I want you to meet someone very important to me,” I said, drawing her toward the cockpit.
She put on the brakes, shaking her head. “Nope, I’m not sitting up there again. Let me be a passenger this time, I’m begging you.”
I laughed. “No, the flight crew is covered, so you’re off the hook. My friend Kevin is taking care of us today. He’s the best.”
I nudged her into the cockpit. “Kev, meet Gwen Ackland. Gwen, this is Kevin Briggs, the best flight instructor in the world.”
Kevin’s eyes widened when he turned around and spotted Gwen. “Wow. I mean, hi there.”
“Nice to meet you!” she replied. “How are the skies?”
“Right now, we’re looking steady,” he replied. “I’ll have you there by six, just in time for dinner.”
“Oof, that reminds me I need to do one more thing before I shut down for the weekend,” Gwen patted her laptop bag. “It was so nice to meet you, Kevin. Please don’t crash.”
He barked out a laugh.
“If you’ve got work to do, then do you mind if I hang up here with Kev until we level off?” I asked.
Gwen nodded her agreement before she maneuvered past me and settled into what was becoming her usual seat.
I sat down beside Kevin and slipped on the other headset.
“You do know that you pay me to do this,” Kevin said. “You don’t have to help; you can go back and relax with that beautiful woman.”
“Hey, I can always learn something new from my sensei. Consider it continuing education.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Kevin worked through the pre-flight checks with such speed and accuracy, he could’ve done it all with his eyes closed.
He’d only been with us for a little over a week, and his level of familiarity with what had previously been a new-to-him jet was already impressive.
I watched him quietly, taking note of everything he did and confirming that I would’ve done it the same way.
Once we were airborne and leveled off, I started my inquisition.
“How are you liking working for Ashford?”
“No complaints,” he answered. “You have an incredible operation. Every single person I’ve dealt with at corporate has been super welcoming. And obviously the planes are worlds beyond what I’ve been flying.”
“Glad to hear it. I figured our fleet would be a major draw, aside from the benefits.”
“Yeah, you ain’t kidding,” Kevin agreed. “Syd found the best birthing center that’s covered under our new plan. So much better than the hospital we originally planned to use. Instead of being forced out the day after she gives birth, she’s basically going to have a week’s stay in a spa.”
That was the reason for my offer. Kevin was dealing with plenty of life-change stress, but at the very least he could be confident that his new family would be well taken care of.
I was glad I’d been able to take that weight off his shoulders, but I was less happy to see that there was a haze around him, like he was putting on a semi-happy show for me and hiding how he was really feeling.
And I had a hunch I knew what at least one part of the problem was.
“How have your passengers been so far?”
He pursed his lips. “In an effort to be diplomatic with my boss, let’s call them ‘interesting.’”
Called it. “Oh, come on, you don’t have to be politically correct with me. Spill.”
Our headsets crackled in unison, buying Kevin a few seconds. “W123AB, climb and maintain ten thousand feet.”
“Wilco,” Kevin replied.
He followed air traffic control’s instruction and remained quiet, so I decided to push.
“Kev…how have the passengers been for you? I know it’s different from dealing with students.”
He snorted. “Yeah, you could say that. If you really want to know, here’s what I’ve had so far.
A Discord gamer and his posse of ten who all wanted to vape during the flight since he’s sponsored by Juul.
An influencer who got caught pocketing everything that wasn’t locked down, including breaking into our supply closet to steal some of our VIP gift totes.
A conservative political commentator and his nineteen-year-old girlfriend who never stopped screaming at each other.
Last, a Hall of Famer who drank so many vodka tonics that he puked all over the cabin. So…not great.”
I grimaced. “Damn, you’ve had a good run of bad luck. My apologies. I swear it’s not aways like that. I can specify that you’re only to fly our elite guests from now on. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t specify it from the jump. You shouldn’t have to put up with that crap.”
“I don’t expect special treatment,” he replied. “It’s fine.”
“It’s a part of the business that’s an eternal frustration to me,” I said. “Money can’t buy class, that’s for sure. You’re dealing with plenty right now, so at least let me make this part of your life a little easier. Corporate frequent fliers only, from now on.”
“Whatever works.”
He turned to smile at me, and I had to fight a wince at how much dimmer it was than his usual bright smile.
Yeah, getting rid of the asshole clients would make things better for him, but I knew he was missing doing the thing that had defined him for so many years.
As happy as he was to be taking care of Syd and the baby-to-be, I didn’t think he was going to be over what he’d lost for a while… if ever.
I stared out at the endless blue sky in front of us, a sight that had always bonded us in the past, and thought back to our time when we were both younger, when I was just discovering the joys of flying.
That was when Kevin was at his best. The man was born to teach, but now he was being forced to give up the role he loved.
“You miss it, don’t you? Teaching?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It’s not an option for me right now. I’m doing what’s best for all of us. Syd and the baby mean more to me than teaching. I’ll get past it.”
“Well, I’m going to see to it that things go a little smoother for you in the future. Sorry you had to deal with such a bad run of passengers.”
He finally turned to give me his full attention as I pulled off the headset and stood up. “Hey. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I really owe you, man. Thanks.”
“Stop,” I insisted. “I owe you. Knowing you’re up here changes everything for me. I can actually relax.” If I couldn’t be the one at the controls myself, Kevin would be my first choice in the pilot’s seat, any day.
Kevin cracked a smile. “Well, get back there. You’ve got a hell of a traveling partner, if I may say so.”
“Gwen?” I smiled back at him. “Yeah, she’s something.”
I stuffed down my concerns about Kevin’s state of mind and headed back to where Gwen was on her laptop, so engrossed that she didn’t even notice me.
“It’s officially the weekend,” I said. “Ready to stop?”
“Just let me…finish…this…” she muttered, typing rapidly before clicking the mouse with a flourish. “There! All done.” She looked up to meet my eyes with a grin. “Got all my loose ends tied up.”
“Tied up?” I repeated with a smirk. “That’s an interesting idea. One I think we should explore further.”
Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yup, that and more.”
She brought up her pointer finger and slowly shut her laptop. “Go on.”
I nodded toward the back of the jet. “She’s smaller than what I have at home, but the lavatory is bigger than what you’d find on commercial flights.”
“But…what about Dominic?”
“He’s busy hashing out his schedule because we just lost a flight attendant, and he’s stepping up to fill in until we hire someone else.
I told him he’s on-call only for this flight since it’s so short.
He won’t leave his jump seat unless I ask for him.
Which I won’t. Because I’m about to be occupied making love to the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. ”
“In the bathroom?” I grinned as Gwen’s face turned red and her eyes went wide. “I’m sure you’re a charter member of the Mile-High club, but I’ve never joined,” she said primly.
I leaned closer to her and locked eyes. “I’ll have you know that I have never, in all my years of private aviation, ever had sex on an aircraft.”
“Liar,” she whispered back to me.
“You don’t believe me? Think about it, how did I seem when Bumpy Dan was up there?”
Her mouth twisted as she considered it. “Distracted. Fidgety.”
“Exactly. And how do I seem now that the best pilot in the world is flying us?”
“Um…” she eyed me up and down. “Focused?”
I nodded. “Right. I’m not stressing about weather updates and traffic advisories for a change. All I can think about is something sweet and wet.”
Saying it out loud made my dick strain.
“Oh, so you’ve got peaches on the brain?” Gwen asked, fluttering her lashes at me.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
I stood up and took Gwen’s hand, pulling her to her feet. We stumbled to the bathroom, laughing softly as if we were teenagers sneaking around behind our parents’ backs.
The light switched on when I opened the door to the lav.
“You’re not kidding that there’s space in here,” Gwen marveled. “This is on par with a five-star hotel!”
I looked at the space with new eyes. “It’ll do for my purposes.”
Gwen started to say something else, but I kissed her before she had a chance. Her hands came up to stroke my cheeks, making the moment even softer.
But I wasn’t in the mood for soft.
I stopped kissing and spun her around so she was facing the mirror, and I was pressed up behind her.
“I want to watch your face when I make you come,” I said as I pulled up the hem of her dress.
Her expression went wicked as she bent over and rocked her hips against me like a stripper doing a lap dance. The view of her underwear just cresting the seam of her ass made my hands itch. I palmed her cheeks for a moment, relishing their perfect curve, then finally wrenched her panties off.
I dropped my hand between her legs and explored her while simultaneously pulling off my pants and boxers. Of course, the bathroom had condoms tucked away in a discreet drawer, and I made quick work of putting one on.
It was a short flight, so it wasn’t like we had much time.
Gwen looked at me over her shoulder. “What are you waiting for? I need you now.”
She sounded as impatient as I felt, so I plunged inside of her without another word.
“Fuck,” I groaned as her warmth surrounded my cock. “You’re perfect.”
Gwen arched her back and pushed onto me. “I know.”
She was watching me in the mirror as I started pumping against her, biting her lip as she held in her usual noises.
It was hotter than any porn I’d ever watched, and it pushed me toward climax with record speed.
But like hell was I falling over the edge alone.
I moved faster, harder, running my hands over all the spots I’d learned she liked best until she had to squeeze her eyes shut from the sensation.
Normally, I tried to hold out, but the combination of my first airplane sex, watching how fucking good we looked together in the mirror, and seeing how very into it Gwen was drop-kicked me over the edge. I got there first, but I couldn’t help it.
I came fast and hard, shouting out my orgasm then dropping to rest my forehead against Gwen’s back after taking care of the condom. Panting, overheating, but so damn happy.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I eased out of her. “I’ll make it up to you.”
She started to stand up, but I moved her back into position over the counter. “Give me just five more minutes.”
“You sure you’ve got it in you?” she teased, but the strain in her voice said she needed more.
“Challenge accepted,” I murmured against her neck.
My fingertips found her wet heat again, and she bucked against me. She was close, and thanks to my view of her gorgeous face in the mirror, the tension built inside me again. Within minutes I was hard again, like a horny twenty-year-old.
We had the weekend for more fucking. Right now, the only thing that mattered to me was getting Gwen to scream my name.