Page 19 of Beauty Beneath the Sorrow
He leans forward, clasping his hands together on bent knees. “That’s what she said when she stormed out of the restaurant.”
I arch an eyebrow. “I’ve always been the smarter of the two of us.”
“Fuck you, Jag!”
“It’s true.” I laugh at his use of my call sign. I was calledJag, which was short forJaguar. My call sign was a nickname given to me by the guys I used to fly with. They gave meJaguarright away. Known for being fast and quickly moving, jaguars slice through the air like they don’t exist. I took this as a compliment. I don’t hear it anymore since I’m no longer serving, but it brings back intense memories of my time there.
“When I was a kid, I thought it was the best decision to remove myself from her life. I had nothing to offer her or her mother.” He sighs. “But now we don’t know each other.”
“But you’re working on that now.” I rest back in my chair and cross one leg over. “Give yourself a break.”
“I have a lot of regrets, you know?” He shrugs a shoulder. “And now we’re in uncharted waters. I want to be the dad that I wasn’t able to be, but at the same time, she’s a grown woman now.”
“I can imagine it’s a tough situation, but at least you’re in Lina’s life trying to have a relationship with her,” I point out.
Brian rests his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know my place in her life now.”
I give him a firm look. “To be her friend, Brian. That’s all she needs.”
He blows out a deep breath. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I want nothing more than to have her be a bigger part of my life and me in hers.”
It makes me sad for him. I’m sure having a child at sixteenwas extremely difficult, and then making the decision he did by stepping away? I would never want to have to go through something like that.
“Take it slow, give her time, and respect the fact that she’s willing to let you back in,” I say. “That says a lot about the type of woman she’s grown into.”
When I hear my own words, my insides warm. She is one hell of a woman. I should know. I’ve been watching her from a distance for almost a year.
But I can tell this is a touchy area for him. I never had the chance to have children, but I also never messed around without being safe, either.
There’s a brief silence before he changes the subject.
Brian’s posture straightens. “Have you heard back from the aviation school in Florida about the flight instructor position?”
“Some of the guys I’ve been in contact with said it can take up to a year for this specific program.” I glance at my watch, making sure I’m still on schedule. “But oddly enough, I heard from them this morning.”
“I’m not surprised.” He juts his chin out and squints his eyes. “They’ll want to roll out the red carpet for you.”
“Thanks, man. They want me to fly out in the next few weeks to meet with them,” I explain.
Brian’s forehead furrows. “You’re not taking anything on now, right?”
I shake my head. “No, I can’t at this point. I need to stay here, but I agreed to a meeting. Then followed up by reiterating that I can’t accept anything for some time, obviously,” I tell him while waving at another pilot who walked by.
“And you’re sure you want to go back to Florida to teach cocky students like we used to be?”
I laugh. “I want to be in the air as much as possible. Sure, I’ve enjoyed the stability of commercial flights, but the only thing keeping me stationary at this point is my grandmother.”
Brian cocks his head to the side. “I bet Bristol has some girlfriends that she can introduce you to.”
“Way to be obvious about changing the subject.” I look away, annoyed at him offering what I know he thinks is charity. I do not need help getting laid. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Hernandez, you used to love hooking up with as many incredible women as you could. What the hell happened?”
“It was different back then. I was younger and looking to have fun,” I say, lifting off the chair. “I have to head toward my gate.”
“You can still have fun. We’re notthatold, man.” Brian grabs his coffee in one hand and puts on his cap with the other. “You’ve been in Phoenix a year, and I haven’t seen you date or even hook up with anyone.”
Brian and I used to have fun back in the day, but life changed. Both of us swore off settling down with the type of freedom we had. Having a different woman in multiple countries isn’t something I’m proud of now, but I didn’t go to college, so that was me living out those partying years. Except, unlike college, my playful days didn't end at one school—they spanned multiple continents.
