by Violet Paige
Bolt waited for an extreme Patty Stephens meltdown, but the evening was a normal get-to-know-you dinner. He was having a good time with the two women.
“Mom, why don’t you tell us what’s going on back at home? Who is watching the dogs?”
“I dropped them off at the kennel. I couldn’t very well drive across the country with two dogs to worry about.” She took a bite of salad.
Bolt noticed Skye fidgeted with her napkin, glass, and everything on her plate. She was a completely different woman with her mother next to her. Part of him wanted to reach across the table and tell her everything was fine. He was fine. Dinner was fine. But the part that always made him hold back his emotions, won out. He finished his meal and observed the dynamic between the two women, wondering what all of this meant.
After dinner they walked to Skye’s apartment. Bolt stood in front of the entrance door. Had it only been two night’s ago they kissed against this wall? Running into her again had changed everything. It was still changing things.
“Thank you for letting me tag along on your dinner, Patty. Skye, what time do you need me in the morning?”
“Mom, can you give us a second?”
“Oh sure, honey. I’ll just wait in here.” The mother disappeared through the door.
“Thanks for tonight. Are you sure about tomorrow? You can still back out. I wouldn’t blame you if you did.” Skye stood several feet away.
“Yes.” He let his hand linger next to her arm. He wanted to pull her into his chest, but she was keeping the distance between them. “It will be fun. Don’t worry about anything. What time?”
“I usually try to leave for work by 7:30.”
“Ok. I’ll be here then.”
“Goodnight, Ben.” Skye turned toward the door, but he caught her elbow.
He brushed his mouth against her lips. “Goodnight.”
Twenty
“Here is an extra blanket if you need it.”
Skye folded a quilt in half and draped it over the back of the couch. The guest accommodations in her one-bedroom apartment were limited. Her mom would have to stay on the couch.
If she wasn’t such a night owl, Skye would offer her bedroom, but her mom could be up all night. Skye needed the door to ensure she’d get her own amount of sleep.
“Thanks, honey. I know where everything is if I need anything.” Patty turned to the TV.
“Ok, well, I have to get ready for my meeting in the morning so I’ll be in my room working on the presentation.” She leaned to hug her mother.
“Night night.”
“Goodnight.”
Skye left her mother on her couch. The nervous feelings that started this morning when her mother called had started to vanish. They weren’t entirely gone, but Skye felt her shoulders settling down her back and the tightness in her neck relaxing.
Patty had been in San Diego for six hours and so far no paranoid episodes. Maybe her new medication was working. Aunt Rose would be here Wednesday night, and she would drive back to North Carolina with her mom on Thursday.
Skye flipped open her laptop. Pictures from the zoo flashed on her screen. She was there yesterday with Ben. Laughing, pointing at monkeys, holding hands. She sighed. She didn’t want him to know about her mother, but at some point everyone found out. She could only hope that tomorrow was another smooth day.
Skye straightened her suit and stepped into her highest black heels. She liked towering over the meeting. She always felt like it gave her an edge.
Her mother was sleeping on the couch. She opened the door, careful not to wake her guest. Ben stood in front of her. Damn, he looked edible in the morning.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi.” He slipped past her and nodded when he saw Patty on the couch. He pulled Skye’s wrist and led her to her room where he closed the door behind her. “This is how I really wanted to say good morning.”
He pressed her shoulders against the door and his lips blazed along her neck.
“Ben!” Skye let out her loudest whisper scream. “My mom’s in there.”
“Yeah, but you know I love this librarian look you have going.” He pulled the collar from her neck and began to unbutton the first few buttons.
“No.” She swatted at his hands, but he gripped them and held her still.
“I didn’t kiss you last night, and I’m not going to kiss you all day. So you’ve got to give me this.”
His mouth landed on hers, and his entire body leaned against her. She felt his warmth through the opening in her shirt. His tongue danced and she moaned, taking the kiss deeper.
He pulled back and straightened her jacket. “Now, that’s a better good morning.” He winked as he buttoned the second button. “You should leave the top one undone. It will drive everyone in your meeting crazy.”
Skye took the button between her fingers. “That’s not what I’m going for.” For a second she was tempted to cancel the meeting and shuttle her mother off to a hotel so she could see how far that kiss could go, but responsibility set in.
She grinned. He had managed to surprise her before 7:30. Her hand gripped the doorknob. She had a presentation to give. If she turned around again, he would probably have her out of her skirt and in the bed in five minutes. The meeting. She had a meeting.
“Bye,” she whispered over her shoulder.
“You ready?” Greg glared over a stack of folders.
“Yes. I have everything we need right here.” Skye held up a thumb drive. She had downloaded the presentation last night as well as backed it up on her hard drive and a remote server. She was nothing if not thorough.
“Good. I’ll let you handle all the talking points on the zoo.” Greg sifted through the pastries on the center of the table until his fingers settled on a strawberry donut. “I’ve got enough on my plate with the rest of this shit.”
Skye eyed him. The usually cocky executive looked shaken. “Everything ok, Greg?”
“Oh sure. I’m only handling the biggest account we’ve ever had and I just got another client dumped on my desk yesterday. No problem.”
Skye plugged her laptop into the projection system. “Are you not happy with the accounts you have?” She wasn’t about to pipe in on how lackluster sun protection was.
He mumbled something under his breath. “It’s not like I’m sticking around. I just needed a big account to get the New York job.”
Skye looked up, the lights from the projector in her face. “What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. This was a means to an end for me. I didn’t expect it to be so much fucking work.” He clutched a second donut. “But, don’t say anything. I haven’t given my notice.”
“You expect me to keep quiet about this after you took the entire tourism account from me?”
“I gave you the zoo file.”
“Is that like hush money or something?”
Greg smirked. “You could call it that.”
Skye thought of a few choice four-letter words to throw across the conference room, but CEO Stan Preston walked through the door.
“Greg, how’s it going? Skye, so glad Greg brought you in on this account. He’s a smart guy.” Stan nodded at each of them before taking a seat at the head of the table.
“Good morning, Stan.” Skye busied herself with starting the first graphic, making sure the lighting and colors were right. Greg had just handed her the biggest piece of ammo if she wanted to get the account back, but right now it wasn’t her focus. The members of the tourism board would be walking in the room any minute. It was not the time to start a coup.
“Can’t wait to see what you have to show us, Greg. The board is extremely happy with how you’ve handled this account.” Stan stretched in his seat. “You know it’s only a matter of time before you’re sitting right here.” He patted the tabletop.
Skye rolled her eyes. Greg had weaseled his way into the account just to get a rung under his foot for the next step.
“Looks like our guests a
re here. Skye, are you ready to start?” Greg wiped the sugar from his hands.
“Absolutely.” She pulled her shoulders back and smiled as the tourism board filed in the conference room.
“This is unbelievable. Greg told you that?” Kari still hadn’t closed her mouth since Skye shared the news.
“Yes, he was even bragging about it. I would say rubbing it in my face that he got a new job and the tourism spot is now beneath him. What an ass. He knows what it meant to me.”
“I think it could be a good thing. You can take it back.” Kari shifted in her seat.
“You know what? I don’t think I want it back.” Skye took a bite of salad. Her shoes were strewn under the desk.
“How could you not want it back?” Kari unveiled a chicken salad in a Styrofoam container.
“Hold that thought.” Skye retrieved her ringing phone. “Ben, hey is everything ok?” She held her breath, waiting for him to explain how her mother was on the roof, or he lost her at the park.
“Yeah, everything is great. Patty and I were just checking to see if you needed anything at the grocery store.”
“Grocery store?”
“Mmm…hmm. Your mom wants to cook dinner for you tonight. I told her I’d take her to the closest market. Need us to pick up anything for you?”
“So everything is ok? She’s not lost?”
Ben chuckled on the other end. “No. You realize I’m a trusted member of our military. I’m not going to lose your mother.”
The tightness in Skye’s chest lessened. She smiled. “I know. I know. It just wouldn’t be the first time.”
“So you don’t need anything?”
“No, no I’m good.”
“I think you might be out of whipped cream.”
“Ben,” she scolded into the phone.
He laughed. “I’ll make sure to pick some up. Text me if you need anything.
“Ok, bye.” She smiled at Kari.
“You look happy. What was that all about?” Kari took a bite of her salad.
Skye slid the phone back into her purse. “Ben. He’s hanging out with my mom today. Kind of showing her around town.”
“Ohh, this is getting serious.” Kari moved to the edge of the chair.
“It is, isn’t it?” Skye leaned in her chair. “I didn’t ask him to stay with her, he just volunteered. Guys don’t do that unless they are serious.”
“How many days to go?”
“What do you mean?”
Kari laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re not marking them off your calendar. You have to counting until day thirty.”
“Kari! I’m not even—”
“Don’t give me that. I would be counting down the minutes if I was getting ready to roll in the hay with that guy. Whew.” She pretended to fan herself. “So when is the big night?”
“Thirty days would be Saturday night, I guess.” Skye bit her lip. Was it really that soon? She wasn’t starting the clock over. There was less than a week to go.
“Ok, so what’s the big plan?”
“Plan? We don’t have a plan. It’s not like that. We just got back together or reconnected. I don’t know how to define it. We haven’t actually sat down and said Saturday night we’re going to….”
“Then we need to start planning right now. You need lingerie. You need wine. You need a place. Where is this going to happen?”
Skye shook her head. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don’t even know—”
“If you’re going to sleep with him? You are totally sleeping with him. Because if you don’t, I will. Now what do you think about this?” Kari held up a lingerie set from Chloe’s Closet on her phone.
“You want me to wear that?” Skye didn’t know how she would even crawl into something with so many ties.
“Ok, not your style. What about this one?” She swiped the screen and showed Skye a picture with a girl leaning against a wall.
“No way. No leather.”
“Picky, picky.” Kari scrolled through the online pictures. “Ah-hah! This is the one.” She shoved the phone across the desk.
“Oh wow.” She zoomed in, examining the cuts. “You think I should wear this?”
“Definitely.” Kari beamed. “It’s the thirty-day special selection.”
“Ok. This is the one.” She blushed. All she could think about was how it would feel when Ben took it off of her.
“Knock knock. I’m home.” Skye called into the apartment. She heard laughter around the corner. She followed the sounds to see Ben and her mother chopping vegetables on the counter.
“Oh honey, you’re home.” Patty skirted around Ben and pulled Skye into a hug. “Ben here is helping me make chicken stir fry. You still like that, right?”
“Of course.” Skye nodded. She watched as Ben sliced into a red pepper. “Hey.”
He winked. “Patty was telling me all about your favorite foods. You must be the only kid in the history of kid-dom who didn’t like macaroni and cheese.”
“Oh no. What else did she tell you?” Skye noticed how happy her mother looked. Her eyes were clear.
“Nothing that embarrassing. She promised some baby photos later.”
Skye groaned. “I’m going to go change. I’ll be right back.” She left them in the kitchen, slicing and dicing. Skye returned in a pair of yoga pants and a long tank top. It always felt good getting out of heels and her suit.
“Can I help with anything?” She peered over the counter.
Ben waved a knife in the air. “We’ve got this under control. Why don’t you take this glass of wine I poured for you and sit in the living room until it’s ready?”
“Yes, sir.” She giggled.
Skye took the glass and retreated to the couch. This was nice. Coming home to dinner on the stove, a glass of wine, a somewhat sane mother, and a hot guy in the kitchen. This was something she’d like to get used to.
Twenty-One
Bolt was exhausted. He landed on his bed fully clothed. He didn’t want to tell Skye she was right. Her mother was more than a handful. He had lost her twice in the grocery store. Once he found her behind the glass talking to the butcher, and the second time was in the parking lot. While he loaded the groceries, she had started up a conversation with a homeless man. Luckily, he found her before he had to call Skye. There was also a situation with an ice cream truck driver in the park. She accused him of being part of a covert operation. Bolt had convinced her his ice cream wasn’t any good any way and steered her in a different direction.
For the most part he thought the day went ok. Considering he and Patty Stephens had only met the night before, he thought he handled it well. After an entire day with her he realized the struggles facing Skye. Patty was calm and easy to get along with, but in an instant she’d start spouting conspiracy theories or looking around her as if someone was watching her. It made him wonder what made a person start thinking things like that.
What was Skye going to do? If Patty’s illness meant she had to move back to North Carolina everything would change. San Diego without Skye in it suddenly didn’t seem like such a sunny place to live. He couldn’t worry about that now.
He’d be back at work tomorrow. Back to flying. He would call Skye to check on her before he took off. He fell asleep with his shoes still on his feet.
The skies were clear today. Sometimes the cloud layer was thick around San Diego and he had to climb to four thousand feet before there was any blue sky, but today was different. As soon as he and Eagle took off they could see the endless stretch of the Pacific. The city sprawled beneath them as Bolt broke hard right.
“It’s a good day to fly, man.” Bolt spoke through the headset in his helmet.
“Sure is. Everybody should be up here today.”
They soared through the sky in silence. Sometimes it was nice to enjoy the air and the quiet. However, the F/A-18 wasn’t the definition of quiet.
The engines roared as Bolt took them farther over the ocean.
He had only been flyi
ng four years, but days like this he couldn’t remember when he did anything else. When he and Riggs joined the Marine Corps becoming pilots wasn’t the plan. The military was a way to travel and to get farther from home. Flying fell into their laps, like rain from the sky.
Their first day in flight training they looked at each. “We are in way over our heads, Ben.” Riggs’s eyes were wide.
“What are you talking about? We can do this.” Bolt looked at the stack of manuals in front of him. They were supposed to not only memorize the contents, but also know the material front and back.
“I don’t know how you talked me into this. I just wanted some cush officer job, pushing paper. Now look what I’m doing.” Riggs flipped through the first few pages.
“Just think how proud Faith will be. She’ll be married to a pilot. What’s sexier than a pilot? She’s going to love that.”
“Don’t try to sweet talk me using her.” Riggs laughed. “But you’re right. She’s going to love it.”
Bolt didn’t have to wonder whether Faith loved it now. She was a pilot’s widow, and there was nothing wonderful about that.
Eagle called through the headset, “Looks like we’re getting low on gas. Ready to head back?”
Bolt didn’t want to leave the high altitude, but gas was a problem. They couldn’t fly more than two hours at a time without having to refuel. They weren’t scheduled to meet up with a tanker today, so refueling back at base was the only option.
“Alright man, let’s go.”
They flew straight to Miramar.
Hollywood slapped Bolt on the back. “How are things with Skye? Good to see her out the other night.”
“Shit.” Bolt mumbled. He unzipped the side pocket on the sleeve of his flight suit to retrieve his phone.
“What? Forget about her already?” Hollywood planted himself on the bench next to Bolt in the locker room.
“No, I was going to call her. Give me a minute.” He walked past the lockers in search of someplace quiet. He tapped her name on his phone.