Page 3 of Wyatt
The entire time, he worked with the Navy to prepare for his opportunity to fly the big boys. He didn’t care what it was as long as he could fly. F/A-18 Super Hornets, F-35C Lightning IIs, EA-18G Growlers, EP-3 Ares IIs, and so many more. Just give him the controls, and he’d be happy.
But as much as Wyatt tried to hide from the female population, they seemed to sniff him out. Worse than that, his buddies were constantly trying to fix him up with some girlfriend of the woman they wanted to take to bed. It was always easier if the girlfriend was occupied.
Wyatt never scored any points.
“Do you have a PlayStation?” he asked. The girl looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“A video game thingy?” she cringed.
“Yeah. You wanna play?”
“Um, no. I thought we’d hang out on the couch while your buddy fucks my friend’s brains out.” Wyatt stared at her and shook his head.
“No, thanks. You can sit there and watch me, but I’ve got a game to finish.” He really didn’t give a shit about the game. It wasn’t even his; it was his roommate’s. But it was a sure-fire way of getting women to back off.
“This sucks! I’m leaving,” she screeched. Standing, she pounded on the bedroom door. “Leah? I’m leaving. This loser is an asshole gamer. I’ll see you at home.”
The roommate didn’t reply, probably because his roommate had her otherwise occupied. As soon as the woman was gone, Wyatt smirked to himself. He grabbed a beer, stepped out onto his balcony, and watched the sun set over the Pacific.
In spite of all the shitty experiences, somehow his roommate always seemed to get him to go out with him. He never expected that his world would be turned upside down by a single night out.
What none of them knew, what he told no one, was that there was a girl. A girl who occupied his thoughts every day. A girl who walked in his dreams, driving him mad! But she was untouchable. At least for now.
“So, you’re a pilot,” giggled the young woman beside him at the bar. She was walking one long, claw-like nail up his arm,and it wasn’t having the effect she’d hoped it would. In fact, it was having the opposite effect.
“Uh. Yeah,” he said, pulling his arm back.
She sneered at him and then scooted closer. He pushed back, and she glared at him. She couldn’t be more than twenty-two or twenty-three, but she was definitely trying to mark her territory.
“I heard the Navy pilots earn extra money when they’re deployed,” she smiled.
And there it was. He’d seen it and experienced it before, but this one was pretty blatant. He stared at her, frowning with a strange expression.
“Where would you hear that? I make about twenty bucks an hour. That’s all.”
“Yeah, right,” she snorted. He stared at her, and she frowned. “No way!”
“Sorry. That’s why I live in my van,” he lied.
“God, you’re so pathetic! I know you’re lying. My girlfriend dated a pilot, and I know what they make.”
“Then you shouldn’t have asked a question that you already knew the answer to.” He stood, covering his glass with a spare coaster and pushing the beer toward the bartender, then walked to the bathroom. He hoped the woman would get the hint.
By the time he returned, she was already working a little scam on some stupid tourist. He sat down, reaching for the beer, and the bartender reached for it as well, causing it to spill.
“Damn,” he muttered.
“Sorry,” she said louder than she needed to. “Let me get you another one.” Wyatt didn’t even look up, wiping the beer off his hand.
“No, it’s alright. I don’t need another.”
“Yes, you do,” she said, staring at him. “And I’ll explain why.”
Wyatt looked up at her and opened and closed his mouth. He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe who he was seeing before him. His walking dream was standing behind the bar.
“Hello, Wyatt,” she smiled. “Let me get you that beer.”
CHAPTER THREE
