Did the girl just forget the whole reason I want to get home to San Francisco in the first place? “No.” The word scrapes my throat on the way out, so I leave it at that. Enough said.
“She has a boyfriend, remember?” Angel nudges Brittany. “Besides, if she were to leave her boyfriend for anyone, it wouldn’t be Andrew James.”
My gaze slides toward Angel in confusion. Even if I weren’t sick, my head would hurt from trying to keep up with her in this conversation.
“Who is Andrew James?” Vivienne repeats.
“He’s the quarterback for the Forty-Niners, but that’s old news now.” Brittany’s dark eyes sparkle. “Who’s better than Andrew James?”
Angel plants a hand on one sassy hip. “First Officer Nathan Stuart.”
Oh please. She’s still stuck on that? I shouldn’t have even told herWyatt looked Nathan up out of jealousy. She was already making too big a deal out of him after our shuttle ride.
Brittany cocks her head. “He’s cute, but I wouldn’t advise dating him. He’s still stuck on his ex-girlfriend.”
I close my eyes, ready for this day to end.
“I’d advise against dating any pilots,” Vivienne adds sagely.
“Too late for that.” Angel giggles.
Thankfully, all attention turns her way. Including mine. She failed to mention this new man when we’d been whispering from our bunks in the dark like college students.
“Who?” Brittany demands.
“I’ll tell you when I get back from the trip I’m working with him.” Angel checks her watch, then strides toward the door. “For which I’m running late.”
Brittany jogs after her into the living room, her voice fading. “Is it the Australian guy? Or the guy who owns his own plane and lives in a hangar? Please tell me it’s not the one from Florida who wrestles alligators.”
I shake my head at the ceiling. I’d thought my dance troupe had drama, but my new roommates put them to shame. Alligator wrestling? Are we living in a crash pad or a cartoon?
Vivienne backs out the door after the other two. “I’ll let you rest,ma chérie. It was nice meeting you.”
I wave. Finally some peace and quiet to FaceTime Wyatt. My throat may hurt when talking, but text messages are getting old. I want to actually see the guy I’m seeing. At least he’ll be coming up here to celebrate my birthday next week.
Chapter Fourteen
Nathan
Whoever wisheth tolearn toflyoneday,must first learn tostand andwalk andrunandclimb anddance.
—FRIEDRICHNIETZSCHE
It’s been over a week, and Claire hasn’t taken me up on my offer to go running with Maverick. For all I know, she’s working a ton and going on jogs through Central Park in New York or on the greenways in Nashville. Or perhaps she went home and is jogging with her boyfriend over the Golden Gate.
I hate running. I’m more of a CrossFit guy. However, today I’m walking downhill to the airport because the sun is shining. Or as we say in Seattle, “The mountain is out.” It’s so cloudy here that I probably see Mount Rainier from the sky more often than I do from land.
My whole neighborhood seems to have had the same idea of going for a walk. I have to dodge slower pedestrians to get to work on time. Thankfully, it’s a late start today. The ground is still wet from an earlier rain shower and the air chilly in the shadows, but this boost of unexpected vitamin D makes up for all of that.
Across the street a flight attendant struggles to pull her bags uphill toward the apartments. Since I’m working a local trip today, I’ll return tonight and don’t have to tote any luggage. I simply wear my backpack withthe required items, like my tablet and a few basics I’ll need in case we get stuck somewhere.
I double take at the sight of a bun on the flight attendant across the street, but her hair is too dark to be Claire’s. As for Claire, she was planning to transfer out of Seattle as soon as possible, so I probably won’t see her again before she gets based in SFO.
After reaching the cross street and pushing a button for the elevator that will take me up to a sky bridge, I pull out my phone and log into the Premier Air employee website to check which date transfers are announced. The twenty-seventh of the month. If transferred, she’d have three move days before reporting to her new base. This gives us a week and a half to run into each other again, which really isn’t much time when you’re out of town as often as we are.
It’s silly I’m still thinking about this. But I enjoyed working with her, and I’d enjoy doing it again. Most flight attendants are great, but today I’m stuck with Sick Guy. I plan to stay in the flight deck as much as possible.
For the rest of my walk, I upload the flight release paperwork and mentally prepare for our trip. Three legs. The first one is only 212 miles to Walla Walla, Washington—the town so nice they named it twice. Folks who don’t live around here have probably never heard of it, but it’s a cute little place in the drier southeast region of this state. Walla Walla is known for growing sweet onions but visited for the vineyards.
