"For me to bail out?"
"For the whole plane.Pull a handle, the plane floats down.Cirrus thought of everything.We shouldn’t need it, though.I still have the controls right here, too.I can take over if necessary, but I don't think it'll be necessary.There, just rest your hand."
Her eyes were still wide, but her grin was eager as she gingerly wrapped her right hand around the control stick.
"See the dial in front of you?"he asked."The one with the horizontal line across the middle?"
She nodded.
"Just keep an eye on that.If you push down gently, the nose will go down and you'll see that we dip below the line."She glanced at him and he nodded."Go ahead, try it."
She eased the stick forward a fraction of an inch, and the nose of the plane dipped slightly.He chuckled."I should have realized that you'd have a light touch.I guess with your pottery making, you have to be sensitive to the feel of things and how it changes."
She nodded but didn't look at him.Her gaze stayed fixed on the instruments in front of her."Should I bring it back up now to level with the line?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
"And if I pull back, will it make us go up higher?"she asked.
"It will.Try it."
She pulled back with a little more force and giggled as the plane started to climb."This is freaking awesome, Ollie."
His heart felt as though it swelled in his chest as he nodded his agreement."Isn't it?I'm glad you like it.A lot of people are terrified at the thought of taking the controls."
"Not me," she said."I love this.I can't believe I'm actually flying a plane."She paused."I mean, I'm not really flying it.I know that.You're in charge."
Ollie held his hands up and waved them in the air."I might be in charge, but you're definitely the one flying the plane right now."
She let out a little squeal of delight that only made him like her more.
"You should think about getting your pilot's license."
She nodded eagerly."I'd love to, but..."She made a face, and he could guess what she was thinking — and he didn't want her to go there.Didn't want the question of money to always be the thing that sat between them.
"I'm a qualified instructor," he told her.
"No shit?"she asked.
That made him laugh again."None whatsoever.Instructing is a great way to build hours in the beginning."
"You need so many hours before you can take your test, right?"
"That's right.And if you're serious, if you want to get your private pilot’s license, you'll need lots of hours, and I'll be happy to spend them with you."
She shot him a quick glance, and he realized the way he'd said it gave him away.Of course he'd be happy to teach her to fly — and it didn't hurt that it would be a good way to spend time with her.
He watched her closely, wondering how she'd react, whether she'd gloss it over — and a buzz of happiness filled his chest when she said, "I'd be happy to spend more time with you too, Ollie.And I don't just mean so you can teach me to fly."She shot him another quick glance."In fact, I don't mean that at all.That'd be great, but..."She paused."But even without the flying—"
When she didn't finish that sentence after a few moments, he had to ask."So, if I asked for another date, you might say yes?"
"I would.I will.I do."She laughed."Sorry, I'm busy flying a plane here.But yeah — and just so we're clear, if you asked, I'd say yes, but this is me asking you."
He closed his eyes briefly.He was thrilled, but he almost felt as though he didn't deserve it.
"Do you want to take the controls back?"she asked.
"Sure.Are you okay?"
