Worth Saving(19)

“Oh, my bad. Didn’t mean to offend,” he jokes, putting his hands up.

“Mm-hmm. So, what about you?”

“I like football. I’m from Seattle, so I love the Seahawks.”

“I see. I’m not a huge football fan, but if I was, I’d like the Bears.”

Austin gasps. “What? Just when I was starting to think we could be friends.”

“Still trying to be my friend, huh?” I say behind a giggle.

“Of course. I mean, I just happened to run into you today at freakin’ Red Robin. Isn’t it obvious we were meant to be . . . friends?”

I struggle to fight back another smile and shake my head. Austin is nothing if not persistent, I have to give him that. Nonetheless, this is the kind of thing I can’t get myself into. I wave my hand and signal for Brian to come back. He saunters over.

“Hi, can I get the check, please?” I say, still trying to make up for how I hurt his feelings earlier.

Brian walks off to go fetch the check just as Austin’s friends start to stand up, grabbing their things like they’re getting ready to leave.

“Welp, looks like my ride is about to leave me,” he says as he stands up. “I’ve gotta go chase down Brian so I can pay my bill, but it was nice seeing you again, Layla.”

“You too,” I reply with a closed-mouth smile. I watch him as he walks away towards Brian, then he meets up with his group as the six of them head out the door. A few minutes later, Brian is back at my table with my receipt.

“Your bill has been taken care of, ma’am,” he says, handing the paper to me.

“What? Who . . .” I start to say.

“Your friend paid for you,” Brian says with a smile. “Have a nice day.”

I take the receipt and lay it on the table. I can’t believe he paid my bill and then just walked out like nothing happened. Sneaky.

A smile tugs at my lips, but before I let myself smile over a guy I just met, I think better and shrug it off. I let out a sigh, pick up my stuff and walk out the restaurant, still having to fight the urge to smile.





Austin

“So how long you been with her?”

“Umm, about seven months. I met her while I was in the academy.”

“Well, that’s cool, Lieutenant,” I say as calmly as I can. The look on this guy’s face tells me he’s nervous as hell. Exactly the kind of thing I don’t need right now. This isn’t the time or place for babysitting, but it’s in my best interest to make sure this newbie doesn’t lose his cool before we get there. It’s his first time out.

“How about you, Captain?” he asks. I look down next to the controls and see his knee is bouncing rapidly like he’s trying to burp a baby.

“Nah, none of that for me. Been off and on a little, but definitely more off than on. I don’t do serious. I just try to get mine and be on my way. Haven’t been in a rush for anything serious because I’m always out here doing this. I try to stay focused, because if you’re not focused, you make mistakes, and I can’t have that. Got too much at stake for distractions.”

“I hear you there. The last thing you’d want is for me to get shot in the stomach and to die right there in the back because you weren’t paying attention. Too f*cking distracted. Not f*cking paying attention, Austin.”

I scrunch my forehead in confusion. Where the hell did that come from?

“What’d you say?” I inquire, searching his face for answers.

“Hmm?”

“Just now, what’d you just say?”

“Oh, I said, so how long you been doing this?” he replies, and then he looks out the window, down at the clouds below us.

Is that what he really said? I try to think if that’s what I actually heard, but I can’t remember, so I let it go.

“Umm, well, I joined when I was eighteen and got commissioned earlier than most, and I started flying these missions when I was twenty, so it’s been three years now.” I say as I adjust my headset.

“Three years, wow. Are you ever afraid?”

I adjust the headset again, and look out the window. I heard a popping sound on the headset, so I know a transmission is about to come in.

“Don’t really have time for fear up here, Lieutenant. When things happen, they happen too fast for you to really be afraid. Fear can get you killed out here,” I say as I look over at the lieutenant, but when I look over, he’s not there anymore. His battle gear is sitting in the seat in his place.

Suddenly, I hear a loud roaring sound coming from the back. I have to turn around in my seat so I can see, but the sight of Lieutenant Weston standing in front of the door he just opened is still startling to me. He’s standing there holding his 9mm pistol at his side, and he’s staring down at the clouds with a lifeless look on his face.

“Hey, what the hell are you doing, Lieutenant?” I yell. “Get back in your seat, we’re about to descend. Sit down!”

“Am I supposed to be wearing my battle armor right now?” he asks, staring down at his chest, still clutching the pistol.

“Yes, you need to put your gear on. Come on, man, stop f*cking around.”

“Oh, okay,” he responds, but he doesn’t stop there. “Hey, but what happens when I do this?”