“I know. But there’s nothing. I’ve just got to go get ready.”
I stared Solo down, he held my gaze, and I wondered if maybe he just needed some space. Just because I wanted to spend every minute with him didn’t mean he felt the same. Maybe he was feeling suffocated, overwhelmed? If he needed a second without me in it, I needed to step aside and give it to him.
I let go of his arm, and as he turned the handle, I felt something in my gut twist. It felt as though he was…pulling away from me. But why?
Here I’d been sitting and wishing for his speedy return, only to find Solo was feeling the exact opposite.
“Hey,” I said before he disappeared out my door. “You still want to go to the party together later, right?”
Jesus, now I sounded like an insecure shit. But that was exactly how I felt.
“Yeah, of course.” Solo nodded and pulled the door open. “I just need to get ready.”
Right…
Solo stepped out and headed toward his room, and I watched him go. He didn’t look back as he unlocked his door and stepped inside.
I shut my door then leaned against it and stared at the groceries he’d put on the table. As the silence engulfed me, the only other sound in the room was the ticking of the clock, reminding me that every second apart was one we’d never get back.
19Solo
“FUCK!” I SHOUTED as I stormed into the changing bay and threw my helmet against the locker door. “Fuck, fuck,fuck.”
I’d just come off the flight hop from hell and was still fuming at how that shit had gone down. Namely, howI’dgone down and Utah had gotten the jump on me—Utah.
Today was the first time I’d come in second place in a long while, and it didn’t take a genius to work out the reason behind it. For the last couple of days I’d been stewing over my run-in with Panther’s dear old dad, and while I’d tried to push that shit aside, it was pretty fucking obvious I was doing a piss-poor job.
My performance in the air today had been shit. From the second we’d engaged up until the moment Utah had gotten the lock on me and never let go, my flying had been average to say the least. I was all up in my head, courtesy of Captain Hughes, and if his goal had been to psych out his son’s best competition so he’d stay at the top of the class, then he should be pretty damn proud of his efforts after today’s disaster.
I kicked out at the concrete base of the bay, and then cursed as pain ricocheted up my leg. I hopped around on one booted foot and berated myself for yet another awesome decision, and then yanked off my Aviators and tossed them down on the seat to my left.
This day could fuck right off as far as I was concerned, and so could Captain Hughes.
“Ah, so this is where you tucked tail and ran after I spanked your ass good and hard just now.”
Utah…great.He was the last fucker on the planet I wanted to see right now. But with the way my day was going, I wasn’t surprised to find out that even the universe had it out for me.
“Fuck off, Utah. I’m not in the mood.”
“Oh, my bad,” Utah continued like the dumb shit he was. “Not so fun being on the receiving end of the smack talk, is it?”
No, it fucking wasn’t. But if Utah kept on, he was going to be on the end of my fist. Usually I was all about the competitive digs and bullshit smack talk, but the tension of the last couple of days had finally caught up with me.
Tension with Captain Hughes…
Tension with Panther…
Tension with my own self and every little move I made, and I knew I was pretty damn close to blowing.
Deciding it was best to ignore Utah, I unclipped the flight harness from around my legs, waist, and chest and shrugged out of it before hanging it up on its hook. I needed to get out of here, the sooner the better. Maybe I’d take a ride and try to clear my head, or maybe—
“Solo?”
At the sound of Panther’s voice, I winced, and Utah’s derisive chuckle made my fingers ball into fists.
“Aww, look, your boyfriend’s come to make sure you aren’t back here crying like a little bitch.”
“I swear to God, Utah, if you don’t get the fuck away from me right now, I’m gonna—”
