Dreams Take Flight (8 page)

“Mike, you’ve been in this business for a long time. What do you think?”

“Look, whether you get the Global job or not, you have a good job here. Being a corporate pilot has a lot to offer.”

“I know,” said Lucas. “But I’ve dreamed of an airline job since I was twelve. I can remember as a kid, when my mother worked for Great Western; I would fly free all over the country just to fly. I took a plane to New York and back the same day just for the experience. That was when kids could still visit the pilots in the cockpit. I would go up front and be in heaven. I idolized those pilots.”

“Too bad about Great Western going out of business; seems to be the trend in the airline industry. As for Global, don’t let any of this get you down. Did they pull the offer?”

“No.”

“Then what are you fretting about?”

“All right. Did you remember what you wanted me for?”

“Don’t have a clue.”

“That’s cool. I’m going to do the preflight.” Lucas began to walk away, but hesitated and turned back toward Mike to say, “What’s with Heather? She said she was going with us again tonight.”

“She asked if she could go, and I didn’t see any reason to say no.”

Lucas restated his previous concern: “You know, Mike, she has me in the crosshairs of Cupid’s bow. It’s like I have a target painted on my back.”

Mike responded sharply, saying, “Lucas, we’ve been through this before. You run your life as you see fit. I’m not going to interfere with it, but you shouldn’t be so uptight about this Heather thing.”

“That’s just it. I don’t have a ‘Heather thing’ and don’t want a ‘Heather thing.’”

“You didn’t have a problem last time, did you? Besides, she is a beautiful young girl—a nice person who happens to work for Gold Coast, and we always take their employees for a ride. How could I say no to her?”

“OK. I’m just beginning to feel pressure from someone.”

“Lucas, how old are you?”

“Twenty-nine.”

“I don’t want to sound like your dad, but if you slept with the ladies a little more often, you wouldn’t be so uptight.”

“Mike, sex isn’t a cure-all.”

“If you tried it more often, you wouldn’t say that. Besides, how do you think I stay in such good shape?”

“If you’re an example of what sex will do for a person, then I wouldn’t go around promoting it like you just discovered a new wonder drug.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Just that you’re no poster child for what romance will do for a person. You know that she reminds me of Morgan. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. See you in a few minutes.” Lucas closed the door with purpose.

Lucas proceeded to the Convair and performed his usual preflight. Unlike most nights, he decided to stay with the plane while workers loaded in the cargo. Meanwhile, Heather clocked out, consciously deciding not to say anything to Autumn. Instead, she dashed straight to the office, where Mike was completing some paperwork. Not wanting to interfere with Mike, she slipped in and took a seat at one end of the desk.

When Mike finished his last entry, he tilted his head toward Heather, his eyes still scanning his paperwork and said, “You know that Lucas is going to be a project, right?”

“What do you mean?” asked Heather.

“At the moment, he has his mind on one thing—that airline job waiting for him when he graduates. Women and relationships are not high on his list of priorities. If you want to get his attention, you’ll have to be persistent. You are always welcome to go with us if we have room. Incidentally, you don’t need to mention that we had this conversation. He already suspects a conspiracy of some sort.”

“I’m glad you told me this. Do I have any chance with him?”

“I think you have a good chance with him. He doesn’t have a girlfriend—at least not one that I know about—and he pretty much sticks to himself.” Mike looked up at Heather and caught her eye. “Now I’m going to tell you something that
must
stay between us. Lucas has a demon from the past. He lost a previous girlfriend. I mean she died. Just be sensitive of that. He may take a little more encouragement than other fellows you’ve dated. At the end of the day, though, you are a gorgeous young lady and he would be a fool not to chase you around town.”

“Nice of you to say that. I hope things work out between us, and I promise I won’t say a word to him.”

“I do, too. Be patient.”

The word “too” from Mike’s mouth was still in the air when Lucas stuck his head through the door to announce that the Convair was ready to go and he had their clearance in hand. After making his announcement, Lucas withdrew from the doorway and returned to the plane.

With a slight grin, Mike gave Heather a quick wink and said, “Let’s hit it.”

Mike and Heather ascended the stairs to the plane. The cabin’s entrance was just outside the cockpit. Once inside the plane, a sharp left turn and a few steps took Mike and Heather into the cockpit area. The passage to the flight deck was narrow and about six feet long. The flight deck was elevated about a foot above the floor. On the left side of the aisle was a floor-to-ceiling stack of radios. On the right side was a small access door intended to be used by ground support personnel. Two people could just squeeze past one another if both of them were small.

Heather stood at the door leading to the cockpit. When she peered in, she could see Lucas seated to the right. From just a few feet away, she watched him prepare for their flight.

Mike brought up the stairs and secured the door. After confirming that the door was locked, he moved with purpose to the left seat, clearing the aisle so that Heather could approach the deck. Wanting to go mostly unnoticed, she just stood there, watching as Mike and Lucas converted their mass of metal into a creation with a life of its own. She couldn’t help but think of the cylindrical chamber as some sort of a wondrous, mechanical Frankenstein.

Once Mike and Lucas got underway, Lucas asked Heather to step onto the flight deck so he could lower and latch the jump seat. Having done this once before, she no longer felt like a rookie, and instead stepped up with confidence and stood close to Lucas, turned so that her back was mostly to him. This allowed Lucas to reach behind her and drop the jump seat into position. Lucas had chosen his short-sleeved uniform for the night’s flight, and his innocent decision, made hours ago, contributed to Heather’s sexual frustration. The small cockpit meant that clearing enough space for Lucas to reach the jump seat required an almost acrobatic maneuver.

When Lucas reached behind Heather, his bare arm rubbed the back of her right thigh. As he continued trying to release the stubborn latch, his rustling put serious pressure on her leg, even lifting her miniskirt as he brushed against the cheeks of her ass. His skin against her legs, and then her ass, sent a chill up Heather’s spine and caused her senses to come suddenly to life.

“Mike, remind me to report that fucking latch when we get back,” Lucas said as he finished. “Sorry about the language, Heather; I nearly sprain my wrist every time I mess with it.”

“That’s OK—not like I’ve never heard it before.”

With seat and Heather in place, Lucas shifts his focus back to business, trying to forget that his arm was just under the dress of a beautiful young lady. If the latch hadn’t been so difficult to wrangle, he may have even enjoyed the touch of her warm, soft leg. In a different setting, in fact, he would have felt guilty for feeling up a woman he hardly knew.

Lucas turned and looked at Heather and at the legs he just fondled. Then he looks at Heather’s face and sees her watching him. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Lucas turned away and pulled the checklist from the sunshield.

“Lucas, are you finished screwing around over there?” asked Mike. “Are you going to make this short trip an all-night endeavor? Fuck!”

“What got your panties in a wad?” asked Lucas.

“Can we just get this show on the road?”

“Sure. Let’s do it.”

“Lucas, Heather,” Mike said more calmly, “sorry about my little outburst.”

“Not a problem, Mike. I’m with you. Let’s go,” said Lucas with enthusiasm.

“Guys, do your own thing,” said Heather. “I certainly don’t want my presence to get in the way.”

Lucas began to wonder what else the night had in store for him. It only took a few seconds to make that discovery. As he scanned the instrument panel, Lucas found that he could once again see up Heather’s skirt in the BMEP instrument’s reflection.
My God!
Lucas thought to himself.
Here is a lady that I have no interest in, and yet I’ve already had my hand up her skirt and may as well be able to see her business. I am a living, breathing guy—how can I focus on my job when I have her hooch staring at me? We have to get this plane to Omaha and back, and I’m sitting here getting a woody. I’m supposed to be sitting here thinking about takeoff speeds and stuff like that. Instead I’m thinking about getting into some girl’s pants, if she has any on. This was never discussed in flight school.

Despite Lucas’s distraction, the trio had an uneventful trip to Omaha and everyone arrived in a good mood. Their flight back to St. Louis also started off well.

As they approached St. Louis, Heather began to frantically wonder what she would have to do to get Lucas to pay attention to her. He’d been nice to her, but he was nice to everybody. She racked her brain to figure out a way to get him to see her differently. The closer they got to St. Louis, the more her anxiety grew, until she had a hard time thinking rationally.

M
aybe I should stop beating around the bush and just throw myself at him.
Reality set in.
That won’t work. That will just drive him away. No, if we get together it will have to be his idea.

As they began their final approach, it came to her. She thought to herself,
I’ll invite everyone over to my place for a nightcap.
Although no one else could tell, a celebration began to take place in Heather’s heart and mind. She became convinced that her idea would move forward her relationship with Lucas.
He might see me differently if we can spend some quality time together—away from airplanes and on my turf.

As the trio descended the airplane’s stairs, Heather took the lead. Just before reaching the ramp, she stopped and spun to her right, so she could see both Lucas and Mike. Trying to make it sound like an afterthought, Heather said, “This was a quick trip. Why don’t you guys come over to my place for a nightcap?”

Mike responded first, saying, “I’d love to. Lucas, you in?”

“I could swing by for a little while. I have class at ten later this morning, so I can’t stay long—gotta get some sleep, you know!”

Unlike most evenings, the route to their cars took them through the lobby rather than asking Heather to weave around the airplanes parked in the hanger. As they entered the lobby, Autumn greeted them warmly: “Welcome back to St. Louis. So how was your trip tonight? Better than the last one?”

Heather was quick to answer. “Much better than the last. Tonight was perfect.”

“You guys look like you’re on a mission!” Autumn said. “You aren’t just going to pass through and leave, are you? Anybody want to stick around and chat? It’s been dead all night.”

Mike, Lucas, and Heather all stood directly across the counter from Autumn. Each glanced at the other, not sure how to respond to Autumn’s invitation.

“Hey, Autumn,” Lucas finally said.

Not wanting the conversation between Autumn and Lucas to go any further, Heather interrupted, saying, “Autumn, these guys have put up with me for a couple of flights. I figure the least I can do is have them over for a nightcap.”

“Sounds like fun. If you wait until six, I’ll go with you.”

“That offer’s hard to refuse,” said Heather, “but Lucas can only stay for a little while.”

“Likely story. You two need a chaperone.”

“I don’t think a chaperone is needed,” retorted Heather, “but if so, we have Mike.”

Mike quickly responded by saying, “Hey, that makes me feel like a third wheel. What’s this chaperone stuff? You don’t think I need watching?”

“Mike, I’m just joking,” said Heather.

“I know,” said Mike.

Heather turned to face Autumn and said, “Thanks for the offer, Autumn, but not tonight. See you tomorrow night.”

Autumn responded with an upbeat voice. “You guys take care and have fun! See you tomorrow.”

On the surface, everyone seemed to be having a good time as they matched wits with one another, while Lucas felt out of place. Nothing being said sounded cute or funny. Given the choice, he’d rather stick around and talk to Autumn instead of going for a drink with Mike and Heather. Heather was feeling anxious, and Autumn was annoyed by being excluded from their outing. Mike was just busy trying to think of a way to get things moving for Heather.

As the three reached the Gold Coast exit, Mike started to open the door for the others, but then turned to Lucas and Heather. “I just remembered that I have a meeting at eight tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve got to get some shut-eye. Have a good night, though, you two.”

“Join us next time?” Heather asked before Lucas even had time to register Mike’s excuse.

How did I let this happen
? Lucas thought to himself.
There won’t be a “next time.”

The three passed through the lobby and into the parking lot.

Mike turned back to Heather and Lucas on his way to his own car. “Have a nice evening! See ya tomorrow night,” he said. Lucas and Heather walked to their own cars, which were separated by a few hundred feet. The lot was almost empty, so they had no trouble keeping an eye on one another. Heather pulled out first, followed by Lucas.

Lucas had never seen any personal aspect of Heather except for her warm, soft legs extending beyond the bounds of her miniskirt. Behind the wheel, he thought to himself,
This is strange. Here I am just watching Heather pull out in her car, and I suddenly feel a personal connection with her. I’ve had her legs brush against me—no,
rub
against me. I’ve looked up her skirt—well, that’s not exactly how it went, but I may as well have. Every time I looked at the BMEP instrument, that’s all I could see. Why does seeing her pull out in her dark burgundy Mustang feel like a personal connection? My God, how am I going to feel if I look inside her refrigerator? Maybe I should just drive off.
As he continued to think about the next few hours, he began to feel nervous, uncomfortable, and out of control—not a good feeling for anyone, especially a pilot.