Fly With Me (Wild Aces #1)(44)
“Not particularly.”
At this point, it seemed ridiculous to deny it.
“Why?”
“You kind of seem like an *.”
“That’s because I am kind of an *.”
God, he really was. I didn’t get it.
“What’s the deal with you and Noah?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“The bestie thing.”
He looked even more amused. “The bestie thing?”
“You know, you’re Robin to his Batman.”
“Why do I have to be Robin? Noah’s my wingman way more than I’m his.”
I laughed. “Is that why you keep throwing me attitude, because I didn’t fall all over myself when I saw you and instead chose Noah? Did I hurt your pride?”
He smirked. “He’s going to have his hands full with you, isn’t he?”
I ignored the implication that I was high maintenance because, really, tell me something I didn’t already know.
“And that’s a bad thing? Let me guess, you like your women to shut up and put out?”
“Honey, you have no idea how I like my women. And for the record, no, I don’t think it’s a bad thing that you challenge Noah. He’s serious. All the time. Flying has been his life for as long as I’ve known him. He needs more. He smiles with you. And he’s trying to make this work, even though relationships aren’t exactly his forte.”
I blinked.
“Really. Trust me, I’ve been through enough disastrous relationships with Noah to appreciate when he has a good thing going.”
“So if you’re so happy about me and Noah, why do you give me such a hard time?”
He shrugged. “I give everyone a hard time.”
“You didn’t give Dani a hard time. You actually seemed almost normal with her.”
“Dani doesn’t need me giving her a hard time.” He was silent for a moment. “You should take her up on the offer to talk. Trust me, there are definitely going to be moments when you get frustrated with this lifestyle. You couldn’t ask for a better person to have in your camp. And she could use a friend.”
I studied him for a beat. “So are we friends now?”
“Something like that.”
“More like annoying siblings?”
He let out a bark of laughter and a smile that shed some light on why women put up with his shit.
“Basically.” His smile deepened as his gaze drifted over my shoulder. “Oh, this is f*cking great.”
I looked up and saw Noah standing over us, dressed in his flight suit. He dipped his head, pressing his mouth to mine. He pulled back and I blinked.
Ohmigod.
Easy snorted and said something under his breath that sounded a lot like “whipped,” but I didn’t care.
He’d shaved his mustache.
I rose, cupping his face in my hands, running my thumbs over the warm skin around his mouth. He nipped at the pads of my fingers, and my nipples tightened.
“You shaved.”
“Ran by the BX before I came here. I’m sorry I was a dick earlier. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m pretty shit at relationships. And I’ve been on my own for so long that I’m kind of used to doing whatever I feel like without thinking about anyone else. I don’t want to do that anymore, though. Your sister’s wedding is important to you. So it’s important to me.”
I shook my head. “It was a stupid fight. I was overwhelmed and a little freaked, and I overreacted. I do that. A lot. You didn’t have to shave.” I looked around at the group—a veritable sea of ’staches—and back to Noah again.
“Are you going to get in trouble?”
He grinned. “No, babe. They’ll give me shit about it for a while, but it’s fine.”
“Try longer than a while,” Easy interjected.
Noah wrapped his arm around me, holding me snug against him.
“They’re just jealous,” he joked. “Ignore it.”
Easy smirked, but there was more sarcasm than amusement in the gesture, and for a moment I saw a flash of something darker than anything I’d ever seen on Easy before.
“We aren’t all lucky enough to get what we want.”
I waited for Noah to throw back a jab, but instead his mouth just got tight, and a look of guilt flashed in his eyes, like if he could take his words back, he would.
Easy rose, his smirk back in place.
“I’ll leave you to your girl.” He patted Noah on the shoulder, and something I didn’t quite understand passed between them, and then he was gone, and Noah was kissing me again, and I sort of forgot to think.
NOAH
“Did you have fun tonight?”
Jordan nodded. “Your friends seem nice. I really like Dani.”
“Dani’s awesome.”
I pulled into the garage, putting the car in Park and turning off the engine. We’d ended up staying longer than I’d anticipated, but Jordan had looked like she was really enjoying talking to everyone. Unsurprisingly, she’d been a big hit with the guys. She’d seemed to enjoy talking to the wives and I was glad to see her hitting it off with the other women. We had a squadron TDY coming up to Alaska, and I liked the idea of her having a support network while we were gone if she wanted it. I knew she had her family and friends—and it wasn’t like we weren’t already used to being apart—but I figured having other people around you who were in the same situation and understood the weird nuances of military life could be helpful. Besides, I wanted her to see other couples that were able to make military relationships work to show her that it was possible.