Fly With Me (Wild Aces #1)(39)

“Like meet your friends?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve told everyone about you and they’re dying to meet you.”

“Is there a dress code or something for this?”

“It’s after work so we’ll all be in flight suits. You can wear whatever. It’s casual.”

“Okay.”

I couldn’t wait to show her off. I hated that our schedules and lives were so intense right now and I couldn’t take her to California to meet my parents and the rest of my family. At least this way, she’d get a chance to meet my military family.

“Joker’s wife, Dani, will be there. You’ll love her.”

I knew Jordan was apprehensive about the whole military thing, but I figured if anyone could show her how to navigate the lifestyle, it was Dani. As the squadron commander’s wife, she was in charge of a lot of the Wild Aces social functions, and even though she was almost ten years younger than Joker, she acted as a de facto mother to all of us.

“It’ll be fun. Promise.”





THIRTEEN




JORDAN

I left Florida first thing in the morning Friday, my flight arriving in Oklahoma City in the early afternoon. I took a cab to Noah’s house, struggling to get my bag up to the front door, lifting the mat for the key he’d left there. I found it and unlocked the door, hauling my bag over the threshold and shutting the door behind me with a thud.

I walked back to Noah’s room, setting my suitcase down, checking my cell to see if he’d texted. He’d mentioned that if he finished up with his debrief, he’d try to come home early and spend the rest of the day with me.

I couldn’t wait to see him. Nearly three weeks apart from each other was way too long. I didn’t know what it was about this relationship that made the distance so tough. Maybe it was that we were just starting out. We were still in that honeymoon, can’t-keep-my-hands-off-you phase, which only made the time apart seem even longer. And it was also the fact that this was our norm. It wasn’t like he was on a business trip; our relationship was defined in so many ways by being apart. By me being the one who came to see him. Our relationship was shaped as much by the time together as it was by the absence of each other.

I started rummaging through my suitcase, setting my toiletries in the bathroom adjoining Noah’s room, hanging up the outfit I’d planned for tonight to avoid wrinkles. And then the door swung open and I turned, my gaze landing on Noah.

I opened my mouth to say, “Hi,” but the word got lost somewhere between our lips as he devoured me, his hands running over my body, kissing me until I went dizzy. God, I’d forgotten how good he could kiss. Forgotten how amazing his tongue felt, the slight nip of his teeth, the hair against my face . . .

Wait. What?

He leaned back, his arms still wrapped around my waist.

I froze at the sight of my man, tall and lean in his flight suit, aviators in hand . . . mustache.

What?

“God, I missed you,” he groaned. “You look gorgeous.”

I’d woken up at 3 a.m. just so I would have time to do my hair and makeup before I arrived. Given the thing on his face, clearly he hadn’t been as concerned.

I couldn’t look away. “Mustache” wasn’t the proper word. Mustaches were trimmed and groomed, and while definitely not my favorite thing, there was symmetry to a mustache. This was just like a forest of hair had moved in, bushy and unruly, and invaded his upper lip.

What the f*ck?

“Sorry, but I have to go back to work.”

I tore my gaze away from the mustache, focusing on the words coming out of his mouth.

“I thought you were home.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, but we had a last-minute flail with the schedule and they need me to lead a four-ship.”

He’d taught me that a four-ship meant a formation of four planes.

“I’m probably not going to make it back before the party starts tonight, so can you catch a ride with Easy? He’s coming back and can get you on base.”

My mind sped as I tried to dissect all the things being thrown at me. I was nervous enough about going to this squadron thing without the added pressure of now going with Easy, who I wasn’t even sure liked me. I wasn’t going to know anyone there; I’d sort of been counting on Noah to be there. And I really wasn’t excited about the f*cking forest on his face.

I’d flown across the country expecting the Noah who was sweet on the phone with me, and instead I’d gotten Grizzly Adams. Grizzly Adams mixed with a bad 1970s porn star. I’d sort of thought he’d be excited to see me, too. No, I didn’t expect him to get up at 3 a.m. to do his hair and makeup, but was personal hygiene too much to ask for?

My eyes narrowed as I gestured at that thing. “What’s going on?”

“I told you. Flying tonight. I’ll be home late. Sorry.” He stepped back, releasing me. “I gotta go.”

Wait. What?

“I mean what’s on your face?” I blurted out, figuring that was the easiest and most obvious place to start. I gestured toward his lip, not really wanting to touch it, already mentally cringing over the fact that it had brushed my face.

I had a thing about hair. On anyone. Boyfriend or not, I always landscaped for myself. So to say I was not thrilled to see a mustache on my boyfriend’s gorgeous face was the understatement of the year.