What would it be like to spend the night dressed up with George?
I want to know.
“Okay,” I say. “I’ll go.”
Chapter
26
It’s one thingto know that my brother travels in five-star luxury. It’s another to plant my ass in one of the cushy leather seats and eye a silver champagne bucket beside my armrest.
“I mean, I guess this is a step up from the Cessna.”
George snorts as he leans against the seat across the aisle from the one I’m reclining in. He seems extra tall in the aisle of the jet. There aren’t any flights for the company executives today, so he offered to give me a tour after we’d finished our flight lesson. Ever since I found out this is what George does for the company, I’ve wanted to get a peek inside one of the cockpits.
Exploring the main cabin is a bonus.
“Is there usually a flight attendant?” Seems a little overkill to me.
But that might as well be the BBN motto.
“When they’re flying customers, yeah. If it’s just Shawn and some other executives, they do self-serve.”
“Wow.” I smirk up at the pilot. “That must be so hard for them.”
“Excruciating.” His voice stays serious, but his eyes hold laughter. “Shawn is always trying to get my copilot to trade seats with him.”
That has me feigning horror. “Please tell me you never let him within arm’s reach of the controls.”
“Fuck no. He’d panic the minute he glimpsed out the windshield.” George steps forward and leans down, grasping the armrests of my chair so he’s nose to nose with me. Caging me in. “But you can touch anything you want to.”
A shiver travels down my spine, and little pleasure pulses tease between my legs.
This is new. The blatant flirting.
But we both said we didn’t want to forget what happened. Which means somethingishappening.
And I guess I’m okay with seeing where it goes.
“That’s a mighty generous offer.” I flatten my palms on George’s chest, feeling his warm skin through the material of his T-shirt. His breath catches and his eyes heat as I drag my touch up higher. Then I give him a playful shove so I can stand up and skip to the front of the plane. “I want to fondle all the instruments.”
He huffs a strained laugh and follows me.
The cockpit of a Gulfstream G650 is very different from a single-engine plane. Even an inexperienced person would be able to see that at a glance.
For one, there’s no six-pack. Everything is screens, with what seem like hundreds of switches and buttons. Makes sense, though, seeing as how there’s more than one engine and they’re turbine as opposed to piston. There are more systems needing controls, such as landing gear, plus creature comforts like air-conditioning.
“Is this the end goal?” George waves at the cockpit around us. “You want to fly jets?”
“I don’t know.” My fingers trace around the buttons, tempted to press but not wanting to mess up anything. “I haven’t thought much past getting my private pilot’s license. Even that still seems like a dream.”
“It’s a reality. You’re going to get it.” His confident words warm my chest. “Only question then is, do you want to make this a career or keep it a hobby?”
That is a question. I think of George’s job. Flying around the one percenters of the world.
A frown curves my mouth unbidden.
“What’s up?” He leans toward me, eyes flicking from my lips to my eyes, concern in his.
