Breaking Sky(34)

When she blinked back to Tristan, she couldn’t quite tell how much she’d said aloud. He had that affect on her. And his eyes put Tanner’s to shame. The blue was so focused. It was worse than warm; it was acceptance. But then maybe Tristan did this to everyone. Maybe that’s why people liked him. After all, he’d already proved he was a social chameleon.

“You do realize this is the first real conversation we’ve ever had.” She paused. “Why are we talking about my exes?”

“You brought it up.”

A few freshmen passed, and Tristan bumped fists with two of them.

She was annoyed all over again, and it was much more familiar than being honest. “You think you know me because you watched my tapes at JAFA. But you only know how I fly. You don’t know anything about me on the ground. Besides the fact that…”

She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t bring up her father.

Tristan eyed her. “I bet you think you know me because you’ve seen me fly a few times.”

“I know you’re—” Chase’s voice cut off because they’d turned the corner. The auditorium door was open, and Riot stood cross-armed in the entrance. He looked from Chase to Tristan, and his face twitched.

“You stood me up last night.” Riot was angry, but he forced a smile, which made her want to punch him.

“We already talked about this, Riot.”

“Are you breaking up with me?”

“Did you think we were together? Wouldn’t that involve dates or hand-holding or anything vaguely romantic?” Riot looked more hurt than she had intended, and she was overly aware Tristan was listening. “We’re friends. Just no more…you know.”

“Nyx,” he said. Chase tried to pass him, but he tugged on her bag. She checked the desire to throw him off, not wanting to embarrass him. To make a Tanner of him. “I knew you were a tease when we started this, but—”

Tristan stepped closer. She expected to see some variety of testosterone overkill, but he was wearing that polite I-love-everyone look.

“Riot. I thought you were a RIO. I hear it’s pilots only for this class.”

Chase pushed Riot. “He’s leaving.”

Riot’s eyes lit up for a fight. “You fuc—”

Sylph flew out of the auditorium. She got Riot by the ear and dragged him down the hallway. “Everyone can hear you blabbering at Nyx. Get your head together and get to class!” She shoved him and stomped back toward the door. “You,” she snapped at Chase. “You fix him ASAP.” Her braid swung as she whipped into the auditorium.

“Wow,” Tristan said. “You guys definitely have more fun than we did at our academy.”

“How’s that?” Chase felt a creeping blush. “You guys didn’t mess around?”

“There were thirty-four cadets at JAFA. Eleven girls. We were close like a family. I think it would have been like dating my cousins. I mean, consider the breakups…yikes.”

Chase felt judged. No doubt Tristan was hearing that her breakups always ended badly. Tanner was among the worst, but others had become favorite stories in the rec room. There was Killian, who became a booze-in-his-water-bottle drunk. And Meg, who bitched Chase out so loud in the chow hall that even Ritz had overheard, spawning a super awkward conversation about “alternative sexualities.”

The flash of heat in her face was giving away her embarrassment, which only brought about an even deeper flush. This was why she didn’t like to talk to people. It was a steep fall from telling someone nothing—to everything. She had to push him back beyond her walls and out of her way.

Chase was shaking her head without realizing it. “I’m glad I’m American then. JAFA sounds like it would have been way too small for me.”

“Good thing I’m no longer stuck there.” Tristan’s expression darkened. The recollection that his academy—his world—had burned came a little late. Chase saw the deeper side of him in that moment. The hard as steel pilot. Right before he blew it with a Sylph-quality insult. “I hear you’d find someone no matter the situation.”

He was over the wall all right. He was light-years away in a blink. But then she’d known since that first moment she saw him that he knew how to hit the gas. Nonetheless, something dense sunk inside as she scrounged up a retort.

“True. I hook up with everyone. Except Canadians.”





17


    BOUGHT THE FARM


   Killed in Action


The overhead lights were already off in the auditorium, and the only light came from the projector screen on the stage.

Chief Master Sergeant Black fussed with the media equipment while every pilot at the Star sat tall in flip-down chairs. Chase took a spot toward the back, more than a little aware that Tristan settled in her row, two seats over. She got the feeling that although they had just traded barbs, he still wanted to be pals with her.

No way.

Sylph sat a few rows down and threw a threatening look over her shoulder. Chase felt the girl’s glare like a laser scope. Riot was now a problem. A problem that came with Sylph. He had been fun because she had assumed he wasn’t like Tanner. He wasn’t sweet or innocent. He wasn’t trying to make her his girlfriend—but apparently he had been. How could she keep missing these signs?