The Elite: The Complete Series of Boomer and Player (With Bonus) (13 page)

I ached for more, but was consoled by the small glimmer of hope that had inserted itself into the situation. Just maybe, she would be different.

We would be different.

Chapter Fifteen

Jack

“Oh, look who decided to be social.” Aaron looked up from the notepad in his hands, as he stood to the side of the front counter of the museum. Princess trotted ahead and went to Aaron’s side. He set the pad down on the counter and leaned over to scratch her ears. When he looked back at me, his eyebrows were raised. “Where the hell have you been, man?”

I rubbed the back of my neck and smirked.

“Oh, shit! Really?”

I chuckled. Aaron had obviously made the leap to thinking I’d been out getting some ass, and while that wasn’t exactly what had happened, the reality of what
had
happened, left me in the same mood, so I didn’t bother correcting his assumption. “Yep.”

“Good for you, man.” Aaron looked down, consulting Princess. “Guess he’s still got it after all, huh?”

She wagged her tail, swishing it against the concrete floor.

“Hey, listen, I actually came to ask for a favor,” I started. “I was thinking about inviting Holly out here, take her up for a flight up the coast.”

Aaron shrugged. “Sure, man, whatever you need. Just let me know when.”

“Today?” I asked, going to lean against the counter.

“All right,” he replied, chuckling. “So, who is this girl?”

“Her name is Holly Parker. She’s from Irvine, here on vacation.”

“Wait,” Aaron paused, his eyes wide, “this your mystery girl from the beach?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We ran into each other by the market the other day and went up to Sunset Bay, stopped for dinner at Joe’s.”

“Niiice.” He swiped up the notepad and started walking away. Princess looked over at me, but then got up to follow after him.

I arched a brow at his retreating form, before shoving off the counter and chasing him down. “Player, wait up.” Aaron turned. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just have to get ready to open.”

“You need any help?”

He shook his head as he looked back down at the pad. “No. I got it. Been doing it for a long time now. Just go call your girl.”

“Player!” I barked. He snapped his attention back to me. “We straight?”

He sighed and dropped his arms to his side. “Yeah, I guess I’m just a little butt hurt that you haven’t been around the past couple of days. I haven’t seen you since you got home from the last tour, and pretty soon, you’re gonna be gone again. I just figured we’d get to hang out.”

A twinge of guilt twisted me up. “I’m sorry, dude. I want to, but you’ve been pretty busy working, and there isn’t much for me to do around here.”

Aaron held up a hand, pressing his eyes closed for a moment. “I get it, it’s cool.”

I groaned. “You were the one telling me to take advantage of my leave and get some action!”

“Yeah, I did, but I meant more like go out with me, get a few drinks, have a one nighter. I didn’t realize you’d go out and start pickin’ out fuckin’ china patterns or whatever.”

I scoffed. “It’s been two days, Rosen. I hardly think that’s the same as planning a wedding.”

Rosen shook his head. “Like I said, you do you. I’m fine.”

He stalked off, into the hangar, and this time, I let him go, without bothering to try and convince him to stay and have it out with me. I was eager to meet Holly and didn’t have time for his left field bullshit.

* * * *

Before leaving Holly’s the night before, I’d managed to get her to agree to be surprised by an outing for the following day. After packing Princess into the Camaro, we hit the road and wound down the hill into town. I made record time through the sleepy beach town, and pulled into the spare parking space next to her SUV just as she and Hunter were making their way down the three stairs from the porch. Her face lit up when she saw me sitting behind the wheel and my heart went into a double time beat, flashing back to the night before, making out like a couple of teenagers in the lifeguard tower.

“Morning,” she said, as soon as I got out of the driver’s side. I raced around to open the passenger door, ushering Hunter into the back, before sliding the seat forward and letting her in. Hunter launched himself at Princess, attacking her with all his puppy enthusiasm.

Holly grinned into the backseat. “Sorry, girl. He’s a bit of a handful this time of day.”

I chuckled and rounded the car to get back behind the wheel. “She’ll be just fine.”

Princess shot me a dark look before settling down onto the seat, doing the dog equivalent of an eye roll as Hunter chewed on one of her paws.

I turned away from the four legged passengers, and focused on the two sexy legs in the seat beside me. “Get a good night sleep?”

Holly looked down and I caught a twinge of pink flood into her cheeks before her thick, blonde hair curtained her away. I smiled to myself and knew that she’d been just as hot and bothered as I’d been.

“I had a good night,” she replied, bringing her eyes back to mine.

I shifted in my seat, wondering if she’d meant to conjure the image of her alone in bed, wearing little—or preferably, no—clothing, and taking out her frustration of our all-too-quickly ejected session. I glanced up at the overhead sun and wondered if I was the only one about to melt into the leather seats.

“So, tell me already! Where are we going on this mystery excursion,” Holly insisted, shaking me from my daydreaming.

I grinned slowly at her and shook my head. “No, no, no. You’re not gonna get it outta me. It’s a surprise, all right?”

“Ugh,” she groaned, but the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips gave her delight away. “Fine! Then let’s get going already!”

“Yes ma’am.” I saluted her and she giggled.

We headed back up the hillside. I took the corners quickly, winding effortlessly around the now familiar curves of the road. Holly squealed at one, particularly sharp twist, and grabbed a hold of my forearm. I grinned over at her, knowing that what was next on our itinerary would probably freak her out even more. I just hoped it was in a good way. I hadn’t been able to figure out whether or not she was much of a daredevil. She had mentioned that she took boot camp style workouts that involved climbing large walls with no footholds, using rope swings, and repelling tactics, but other than that, there’d been no clue that indicated she was an adrenaline junkie.

As we neared the Rosen Air Museum, I just hoped she would at least give it a chance and not turn me down flat.

When we reached the main road, a sign flew by and recognition dawned on her face. “Jack, are we…?”

“Surprise, remember?” I interrupted before she could finish her question.

She crossed her arms but still couldn’t keep herself from smiling. I turned into the lot for the Air Museum and she looked over at me expectantly.

“Come on,” I said, throwing the Camaro in park.

She pushed out her door and looked back. “What about the dogs?”

“Player can watch them,” I said, hoping he was less pissed off at me now that a couple of hours had passed since our argument that morning. “Come on hounds, you too.”

Princess hopped out and Hunter followed after her like a duckling following its mother on a pond. There were a few other cars in the lot, and I knew Aaron would likely be busy giving a tour or answering guest questions, so when we stepped inside, I took Holly on a miniature tour myself. Aaron had given me the basics on all the planes in the collection and I knew Holly wasn’t likely to ask too many in-depth questions.

Halfway through our self-guided tour, Aaron spotted us. He was smiling as he approached, but I could see a hint of anger still lingering in his eyes when he got closed. “You guys decide which one you’re taking up?”

Holly turned at the voice and smiled. “You must be Player.”

“Aha, I can see I’m infamous already,” he replied, offering her his hand. “You’re correct. I am a Player.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m—”

Aaron smiled, “Holly.”

Her eyes floated to me in silent question.

“We hadn’t decided yet, actually,” I said, replying to Aaron’s original question. “Which one would you like to take out for a spin?” I asked Holly, as though we were standing at a car dealership, instead of in the middle of a warehouse full of vintage military planes.

She glanced between Aaron and me once more, and I could almost hear her wondering what I’d told Aaron about her, but she shrugged it off after a moment and looked down the line of shining planes. “Any of these?”

I grinned. “Well, not exactly. You point out which one strikes your fancy, and I’ll let you know if it’s flyable or not.”

She cast an anxious glance at Aaron before starting down the line. She took tiny steps, spending a moment with each plane, before moving on to the next. When she stopped, she was right in front of the Soviet era fighter jet that I’d been enraptured with when I’d first arrived.

Aaron glanced over at me, and I wondered if he had made the same connection. “Your girl has great taste,” he said, striding over to where Holly had stopped.

“So, it flies?” She asked, craning around to consult Aaron.

He nodded and grinned. “Sure does.”

“Okay. Then, I pick this one, Player.” She looked over at me, waiting my confirmation.

Aaron stepped in before I could, snaking an arm around her shoulders. “All right, but I have to ask, you sure you want Boomer over there to take you up?”

I rolled my eyes and shoved him away from her. Although I knew he was just fucking with me, it still riled me to see him even pretending to make a move on Holly.

“Boomer?” Holly repeated, looking between Aaron and me, waiting for an explanation.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

She wrinkled her nose. “What does it mean?”

Aaron clapped a hand to his chest. “Oh!”

She smiled at Aaron’s theatrics. “Boomer?”

“Yep,” Aaron answered, apparently recovered from his faked heart attack. “See, back in the Navy, we had a little bet going. Boomer here broke the record in our squadron of pilots for first to break the sound barrier, and as a result, ended up forever tagged as Boomer.”

“Cute,” Holly said, smiling brightly at me. “And how’d you get Player?

“Well, Holly…I’d tell ya but then—” I shot him a dirty look, and he gave me a cool smirk before backing off. He grinned and clapped his hands together. “I’ll have her on the runway in half an hour. Why don’t you two try out the simulator. You can brush up,
Boomer
.”

My blood went hot, stiffening my muscles one by one as I watched him walk away, his stride cocky as hell.

However big of a prick Player could be, he was an honest one, and true to his word, by the time Holly and I had run a few virtual missions in the flight simulator booth, he had the plane fueled up and ready to go out on the runway. I helped Holly get into her seat, double checking every strap and buckle, before getting into the pilot seat. When I’d assured everything was just right, I radioed to Player, who was standing by to oversee the takeoff.

“You ready?” I asked Holly over the radio.

She paused and I wished I could look back and see her face. She’d been nervous during the pre-flight check, but hadn’t asked me to stop. As I was about to unlatch myself to turn around, she answered, “You’re not gonna go breaking any sound barriers are you?”

“Nope, not today.”

“Okay then. Ready.”

“Let’s do it.”

After a few exchanges with Player, I pushed the throttle forward and we roared down the runway. Holly hollered when we lifted off and my heart rate spiked at the terror in her cry, but when we were off the ground and climbing, she stopped. “Sorry. I always hate that part,” she explained over the radio.

“That’s all right. I got you.”

We climbed quickly, and I was surprised at how tight everything worked on the plane. It was ancient, as far as technology was concerned, but it flew like a dream, and I knew that Aaron’s craftsmanship and attention to every last detail were to thank.

“This is amazing,” Holly exclaimed, as we cruised higher still. The Pacific Ocean spread out below and the sky ahead was just as blue.

We enjoyed the scenic view together, mostly in silent awe, as we floated. I was absorbed in the flight, the mechanics and routine of it taking over, but Holly’s presence was still very much in mind as I chose the direction of our flight. Aaron hadn’t filled the tank to capacity, so I knew we couldn’t go too far, which was for the best anyways. Mainly, I’d wanted to share my world with Holly, to show her why I loved my job. Flying was so much a part of me that it had always seemed impossible to fully open up to the women I’d dated in the past who hadn’t understood—or cared to try and understand—my passion for flying. I realized, all at once, that was the real reason why I’d cared so deeply whether Holly would reject my offer to take her up. It hadn’t been to push Holly’s boundaries or see what she would do—it was because I wanted to know if she could accept this part of my life.

As I turned over this new information in my mind, Holly chimed in on the radio, “All right, fly boy. You got me up here, so now it’s time to show me what this thing can really do.”

Chapter Sixteen

Holly

“I still can’t believe you did that…what was it called again?”

“A barrel roll?” Jack supplied, his tone helpful, but his smile pure mischief.

“Yeah. That. Well, whatever you call it, my legs still feel like rubber!”

Jack chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist, leading me out of the hangar where he’d landed the plane after our flight. “You had it coming. You can’t dare a fighter pilot to show you his tricks and not expect a couple of rolls.”

“I guess I should’ve known, when you were checking my harness for the third time,” I replied, rolling my eyes up at him, as he led me back inside the large warehouse where the rest of the planes were parked.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to my ear. “No,
that
was just because I wanted to touch you.”

I flushed at his mock confession and tried to ignore the wave of heat that spread over my body, right to my center, which was on red alert anytime I was close to him after the steamy session in the lifeguard tower. I still couldn’t figure out what had gotten into me. That morning, I’d flat out said I wanted to stay friends, and then, that night, I was ready to jump his bones right there in the middle of the beach. I’d tried to blame it on the sultry sandalwood candle, or the romantic moonlight setting, but the reality of it was that I just couldn’t help myself. I wanted Jack. Every delicious inch of him. He filled my dreams, both while awake and sleeping, and when we were together, I couldn’t think straight.