The Ending I Want

“Ready?” He turns to look at me.

I press my lips together. “Mmhmm.”

He cups my chin with his hand, moving toward me as he pulls me closer. He softly kisses me. “It’s gonna be fine, Boston. I’m in control here, and I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay?”

“Okay.” I sit back into my seat.

Liam puts on a headset and then hands me one to put on.

He starts talking into his headset, using airplane jargon, and I have no clue what he’s talking about. Then, he starts pushing buttons and turning dials. Suddenly, the propeller at the front of the plane starts to turn. It’s slow at first, but it quickly picks up speed until it’s a blur in front of my eyes.

And I’m shitting my pants. My heart is racing, and my palms are sweating.

Liam says a few more things into his headset. Then, he looks at me and smiles. “Ready for your first Hunter flying experience?”

Nope. I wonder if I can make a break for it out of this door beside me and just do a runner?

I swallow back, but my throat is dry, so it’s like I’m swallowing gravel. “I thought I’d already had one of those.” I give a smile, but it feels awkward on my lips.

“My pilots are good, babe, but they’re not as good as me.” He winks, totally oblivious to the fact that I’m close to freaking out.

His hand goes on to what looks like a gearshift, and he slowly pushes it forward. The plane starts to move, rolling forward.

Holy fuck, we’re moving.

My hands curl around the edge of the seat, gripping.

Liam steers the plane on the tarmac, heading for the actual runway, I’m guessing. All the while, he’s talking into his headset and pressing buttons.

He maneuvers the plane around and onto the runway strip, and he brings the plane to a stop.

“Just waiting for the all-clear to go,” he tells me. “You still good?”

No.

Every muscle in my body is tense. My insides are knotted up.

“Hey…” Liam’s fingers touch my cheek, pulling my attention to him. “You don’t have to be scared. This is just you and me, babe. And I’m in control here, and I will never let anything happen to you.” He runs his fingertips over my mouth.

I stare at him, wetting my lips, after his touch. My heart is racing as I look into his autumn eyes.

“You can do this,” he whispers.

I can do this.

I let a smile onto my face. The smile he gives me in return is worth a million snapshots in my mind. I hold on to it and file it to the front of my picture memories.

He takes ahold of my hand and lifts it to his lips, pressing a kiss to it.

Liam speaks into his headset, seeming to respond to whoever is on the other end.

Then, he looks at me and says, “I’ve got the go-ahead. You ready, babe?”

I assess myself. My stomach is tight with knots. My hands are clammy. My heart is having a dance in my chest.

But all of those things mean I’m still alive. I’m still here with him. I’m safe with him.

“I’m ready,” I tell him.

He gives me one last smile before he looks ahead, and then he moves the gearshift thing forward but not slowly this time. He moves it a lot faster, and then we’re moving quickly.

Holy fuck.

We’re speeding down the runway, and my stomach is somewhere back there.

And—fuck—we’re taking off. The plane leaves the ground, and my belly does that weird dropping-out thing it does.

All I can see is blue sky as Liam takes the plane higher.

Blue sky and clouds.

Will this be what it’s like when I die, making my way up to heaven to be with my family?

That thought has a calming effect on me.

Liam is talking into the headset again and turning dials with one hand as he steers with the other.

It seems like we’ve been climbing forever before Liam levels the plane. He presses a few buttons as he continues speaking into his headset.

He moves the mouthpiece away from his mouth and looks over at me. “You doing good there, Boston?”

“Yeah.” I quickly glance out the side window, seeing houses below. “How high up are we?”

“Twenty thousand feet. We could go higher, but I thought I’d take it easy with it being your first time out.”

“You call twenty thousand easy? One thousand—no, one hundred feet would have been fine with me.”

Liam laughs deeply. “If we flew low—which you can’t fly at a hundred feet, just so you know—you would have missed out on these views. And they’re fucking spectacular. Take a look.” He nods at the window.

I force myself to look out the window again. He’s right. The views are stunning. We’re flying over fields now with green grass and trees everywhere.

“Flying at night is even better. Everything is lit up. I’ll bring you out one night, so you can see.”

Night flight? I don’t think so.

“Sounds hideous. I’m good, thanks.”

I give him a tight smile, and he laughs.

I look back out the window, still seeing fields and the odd farmhouse scattered around.

Now that we’re up here, my fear doesn’t seem as magnified as it did when we were on the ground, waiting to set off. In a weird way, being up here with Liam is serene and peaceful.

We fly in silence for a while. And I know I should be looking at the view, but the one in the plane is so much better. And staring at Liam keeps my mind away from thinking about how high we are off the ground.

I can’t stop staring at him. He seems so at ease up here, and he looks beyond hot. So commanding, sitting here, flying his airplane.