“Did you put on cologne?” Shit, I wasn’t supposed to ask him about it.
Jack’s lips quirked up in a smile. “Yes. I wanted to get in bed with you, but I didn’t want to smell like avgas when I did it.”
I turned up my nose. “I don’t want any guy to smell like gas in bed with me.”
The rumble of his laughter vibrated through me. “Duly noted. However, I might point out how unrealistic that preference is in the big scheme of things. Maybe you should consider going straight. For all I know, women have better bed manners. But I was talking about aviation fuel.”
“Oh. But why aren’t you telling me about your previous relationships? Are you trying to change the subject?”
I had spent plenty of time talking about my own past, my sister and her teen pregnancy with my niece, Bella, and my parents’ continued conservatism even though they tried to be supportive of my “lifestyle.” But now it was time for Jack to spill some beans.
Jack sighed, the spicy air of his alcohol breath warm and rummy against my face.
His arms tightened around me before he shifted to get more comfortable. “Let’s see. First there was Adam. He was probably the one my mom would have voted for. Came from a good family in my hometown of La Porte and got a job in New Jersey after college. Our moms knew each other from church, so when he got settled into his place in Maplewood, he looked me up. I want to say we dated on and off for like a year, year and a half?”
That surprised me. I couldn’t picture Jack in a steady relationship long-term. Which was kind of depressing. “Really? Jesus. What happened?”
“I’d wanted to become a pilot since I was a little boy. My dad’s best friend, Wayne, was a pilot for Cummins, so he managed to help me start working on my pilot’s license when I was still in high school. I went to community college for two years while I worked on accumulating flight hours, then I transferred to Indiana to finish my degree in Aviation Flight Technology. After that, I got a job with a regional airline out of Newark. I busted my ass, desperate to get to the next step. I took every flight I could, and I tried fitting in advanced certification courses too, anything to get up to the big planes faster. The result was… I was never around. I was always in the air or in a classroom. As Adam finally said, it never ended. My career was always out there demanding more attention than I gave him. And he was right.”
“But didn’t he understand it was temporary? I assume once you got on with an airline you’d have more say over your flights?”
“He knew me well enough to know I’d probably always want more. After the regional jets, I wanted the big airliners at United. After United, I wanted to become a captain, then senior captain. Then I’d get the big international flights and be gone or home and jet-lagged. It was a future he wanted no part of. And I didn’t blame him, really.”
I leaned in and tasted the rounded knob of his collarbone with the tip of my tongue. It tasted really nice. “I guess I can see that. Who was next?”
He sighed. “Next was Rico, who I actually really liked a lot. He made me laugh, and he made the best homemade pizza ever. He lived in the Upper West Side, had a ton of money, and worked his ass off for an investment banking firm. I thought since he was ambitious too, we’d do just fine.”
I picked up his hand and started fiddling with his fingers. “So what happened with Rico?”
“He invited me to his company holiday party at a fancy place in Chelsea. When I came to his place to get dressed, he surprised me with a new suit which should have tipped me off since we’d only been dating about six months. The suit probably cost an arm and a leg, but it fit like a damned dream. Rico looked amazing too, and I felt great heading out with him for the night.”
I could tell this wasn’t going anywhere good. “Obviously something happened. Did you rip the suit? In the butt? Leaving your crack exposed to his boss? Hold on…” I held up a hand and closed my eyes. “I’m picturing a sexy jock so they got the full monty. God, I wish I’d been there.”
Jack poked his fingertips in my ribs until I squealed and batted his hands away.
“Anyway,” he said, “it all went great. I met his boss and all of the coworkers he’d told me so much about. They were very friendly and complimentary, telling me Rico raved about me in the office all the time. We had a gorgeous dinner, tons of very nice wine, which went straight through me. So I went to the men’s room at one point, and that’s when I overheard Rico’s closest work friend talking smack about me. He said if Rico had to be gay, at least he’d taken everyone’s advice and found someone attractive enough to introduce to the clients. He also said he couldn’t believe I was a Columbia graduate and a United captain when I looked more like a flight attendant with a degree from an online school.”