“I thought that was you, Caroline. I was gonna’ ask what you were doing out here, but now it’s clearly obvious. I’m Malena,” her friend says, trying to get me to respond. I don’t miss how her eyes rake over my body and face. “You two coming in?”
Why else would we be here? “Tahoe, this is my friend Malena. We went to school together,” Caroline says, turning to me without meeting my questioning gaze. “Malena this is my friend Tahoe. He, ah, he’s working with me now. At the airport. They’ll be using one of the hangars and airspace for their training.” That’s all she says, and I want to shake her, then kiss her, then stake my claim on her. Airports have nothing on my dick.
“Nice to meet you, Ta-hoe,” Malena drawls, looking at me. “I know of his kind, Caroline. No need to say anything further. Any of your friends joining us tonight?” She winks, like a damn poker shark.
I grin, tip my head in greeting and reply, “I’ll send them your way if they do.” More and more cars and trucks and bicycles pour into the small parking lot.
Caroline notices. “Something going on here tonight?”
Malena clicks her tongue. “Don’t you know? It’s Britt and Whit’s engagement party!”
Caroline falters, but catches herself quickly. “Of course. Of course. Why didn’t they have it down at St. Ives? It’s so much nicer than here.”
Malena shrugs. “You know how Whit loves his drink. I’m sure they gave him a deal for the night.” Caroline nods. She then asks about her family, as politeness dictates, and then promises to catch up inside. She rolls up the window, cranking hard at the end because it’s a piece of shit that barely closes, and sighs.
“I take it this isn’t good news? Come on, it’s a party! Think of how much fun this could be.” I tug on her hand, a stupid, goofy smile on my face. “Let’s go wish Britt and Whit the best of luck!” I say it in the most sarcastic voice as I can manage.
Caroline rolls her eyes to the ceiling. “They are the town stereotypes. Well, I guess they used to be. Now it’s just kind of pathetic.”
“Caroline May are you talking bad about people?” I croon. “Tell me more.” My tone is still joking, but a little part of me wants to know merely because something is bothering her. I’ve yet to see her annoyed with anyone except me.
“Shut-up, Tahoe. You seriously want to know?”
I nod, and steel myself for trivial drama I’m sure to forget in five minutes. “Okay, well he was the quarterback at my high school and obviously, she was a cheerleader. They were together all four years of high school. They broke up a couple of times, but everyone always knew they would get back together so girls wouldn’t date Whit because they were afraid of Britt’s wrath and all the popular jocks steered clear of Britt, because, well, Whit probably would have killed them had they touched her. You get it? They were meant to be. Written in the stars. In true fashion, Whit cheated on her with most of the popular girls from the town over and Britt cheated on him. She’d banged the whole band by Senior year. The percussion section twice.”
I laugh at the imagery that creates. “Wow. I have a feeling that’s not the worst part?”
She shakes her head and licks her lips. She’s getting to the juicy part. “Whit wanted to break up for good after prom. It was because he wanted to go to college and be single. I think he had scholarship offers, but Britt went crazy when he mentioned it. She took a whole bottle of headache reliever and wrote a note professing her undying love. She ended up at the hospital getting her stomach pumped.”
I raise my brows. “They’ve been together ever since?” It’s a foregone conclusion. People attach themselves to those they think they deserve—to the comfortable agony of false truths.
She nods. “Insane, right?” Caroline’s eyes are wide as she nods her head. “They deserve each other, but I still can’t believe they’re getting married.” She says the word married like a spoken reverie and I know her stance on the subject without asking.
“I can’t believe they haven’t gotten marriedyet. Idiots like that usually do stupid stuff sooner. They don’t make people wait to show their true colors.” I proclaim. “Ready to go in?”
“Marriage is not idiotic,” Caroline hisses. “It’s romantic and sweet and it’s one of the only things that’s the same as it was way back when. It hasn’t changed.” I knew it. Unsurprising, but a conversation I’d avoid having with another living human like the plague.
The word spoken aloud makes my heart race. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never considered marriage before, or maybe because it’s something so permanent in my world of impermanence. The divorce rate among the Teams is nothing to shake a stick at either. Last time someone spouted off that as a reason for staying away from it, it was over 75%. Those are about the same as BUD/s drop out odds. Even with Stella, after years of dating, I wasn’t ready to take the plunge and I thought she was my forever. I’ve lived a wild life full of change and variables. A constant never appealed to me. “It’s an old-fashioned way to tie a ball and chain around balls. Just think, back in the day you wouldn’t be flying your airplanes or twisting a wrench. You’d be pregnant in the kitchen resenting the very institution you deem so worthy.”
She crinkles her forehead and purses her lips. “I’d never resent love. The real kind that makes you want to do things like be pregnant in a kitchen. Lucky for me I can also turn a wrench and fly a plane as well. Marriage is love and I have to believe in that. If I don’t what else is there?”
The determination in which she makes this proclamation shakes me to my core—makes me want to believe in something just as fiercely. Something more than life, death, breathing or not, good or bad. I can’t help it. I let my guard slip and I envision what Caroline wants. It’s not Stella who I picture in my life, wearing my ring, either. I swallow hard, noticing how her eyes are dancing over my face. “Okay,” I state simply.
A megawatt grin splits across her face. “Okay? That easy, huh? You don’t want to argue.”
I can’t help but smile back. “Or you’re right. I’m the first to admit when I’m not an expert on a certain subject. Given our current subject matter, I’m definitely not. You could be right.”
She presses her lips together. “I am right.” This is all it takes to lighten the mood. Caroline’s face falls. “Guess we should go in.”
My throat is still tight, and my mind still fuzzy with images I’d like very much to get rid of, but I’m not sure how. “You talked mad shit about them. Pretty sure meeting these two is going to be the highlight of my evening. Let’s go.” I open my door, when she hops out.
She waits for me at the tailgate. “Can you behave in the mildest manner you’re capable of?” she asks, clasping her hands together in front of her stomach. “I wasn’t talking bad about them, either. I just told you the truth.”
I wrap my big arm around her shoulder and pull her against my side. “I can try, but nothing about me is mild.” I ignore her correction, but I mentally note she doesn’t even like the suggestion of meanness. She’s that good.
My dick twitches.
Chapter Six
