“I’ll run an extra thirty at the gym tomorrow. I can’t handle more than bread.” She took a sip of water.
They sat outside at a downtown deli close to the water. It was a sunny, breezy day, and perfect for dining al fresco.
“Enough about my stupid stomach problems. You left off in the middle of a very juicy story. You have to tell me more about this guy. A name for starters.”
Skye adjusted her sunglasses.
“His name is Bolt.”
“What kind of name is Bolt?”
“It’s his call sign. His real name is Ben Hardcastle. I like calling him Ben, I think.” She still wasn’t sure which felt more comfortable.
“Oh, good lord. Do not tell me you hooked up with a Miramar pilot.”
“Why, what’s wrong with that?” Skye felt a little wounded and concerned. What did Kari know about the Miramar pilots that she didn’t? Probably a lot. Skye’s social life consisted of office events and client parties.
Kari shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I think it’s great you met someone. I shouldn’t have said that. Tell me what you did on night two.”
“No, wait. What’s the big deal if he’s a pilot?” She didn’t know why but suddenly there were nervous butterflies skydiving in her stomach.
“It’s just I had a friend who dated a pilot once, and he was gone all the time and well…he ended up cheating on her with some girl in Japan. It was a mess. Total disaster, but I’m sure this guy is nothing like that womanizing man whore.”
Skye ran her fingers through her hair. “Right. I’m sure he’s nothing like that.” She thought about how easily he had seduced her back to her place two nights in a row. If he wasn’t a player, she didn’t know what one looked like.
“What’s wrong? I said the wrong thing didn’t I? Shit. I shouldn’t have mentioned my friend. I’m sorry.” Kari pinched off a roll, but hesitated to eat it.
“No. It’s ok. You’re probably right. I already had a feeling since he was in the military it was a bad idea, but then I got caught up in how charming he was. And we just had this immediate banter that I liked. He wasn’t afraid to come back at me with something smart-assy, you know?” Kari nodded. “Ahh, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t sleep with him and besides that he hasn’t asked me out again, so he’s probably already moved on.”
She didn’t like how that sounded and she didn’t like the idea of Ben buying another woman a drink, or driving someone else crazy with his baby blue eyes. But she barely knew him. She didn’t think she could name five things they had in common. Everything about the two of them was physical. It was best to move on now before she got attached and he cheated on her with someone in Japan.
“I think if he does call you should definitely go out with him again.” Kari smiled.
“We’ll see.” Skye knew she had already convinced herself dating Ben Hardcastle was nothing but a recipe for heartache and disaster, even if she’d had the best orgasms of her life.
Seven
There was a Padres game at seven. He knew it was last minute, but the tickets went up in the ready room when he was in the air and Bolt didn’t see them until after his flight. He pulled out his phone to call Skye.
“Hello? This is Skye Stephens.”
He smiled. She was all business. It made him laugh. “Hey, it’s Ben.”
“Oh, hey. Sorry I’m at work and didn’t recognize your number.”
“I’m calling from the briefing room. You sounded very professional.” He pictured her in that tight black suit, with the skirt hiked to her hips. He had to remind himself about the tickets he was holding in his hand.
She giggled. “I am at work.”
“Right. Me too. I just landed, but I got a pair of tickets to the Padres game tonight. I was wondering if you would want to go.”
“Tonight?”
“Yep. Game starts at seven, so I could pick you up at six-thirty. You’re not far from the ballpark.”
“Oh, wow. I don’t know. That’s in a couple of hours, and I have a pile of work on my desk.”
“Skye, come on. We both know that a night with me and the Padres is way more fun than any spreadsheet you’ve got going on.” He heard her sigh into the phone and he knew she was rethinking her hesitation.