Page 90 of Come Fly with Me

With twenty-four hours to kill until I get to see Taylor again, I message Tyler to see if he’s free for a catch up, knowing we bailed on him early the other week when Taylor and I came to see his band.

Luckily, he’s in town and free, so after going home to unpack and take a shower, I head over to El Segundo to catch up with him.

“Hey, twice in a month, this must be a record!” Tyler shouts as I walk into the dingy bar near the base.

I shake my head, even as I’m smiling. “Whatever, just remember you do as much traveling as me.”

Tyler rolls his eyes and gives me a quick embrace before we grab a couple of beers and take a seat in a booth in the corner. “Where’s your girl then?”

I let out a long exhale before taking a sip of my beer. “Away,” I tell him. “Gets in tomorrow.”

“Uh huh,” he says. “And why are you so unhappy about that?”

I glance over, and Tyler cocks a brow in my direction when I don’t answer.

“Dude,” he says, chuckling. “We’ve known each other for ten years. We’ve flown combat together, got drunk together. I know when you’re pissed about something. And I know when something is bothering you.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, shaking my head a little. “She found out about Maggie.”

“What?” Tyler asks, his voice loud. “You hadn’t told her?”

“No, I was trying to sort…ugh, fuck, I don’t know, it just didn’t come up.”

Tyler laughs now, but it’s without humor. “Um, Jake,” he says sarcastically. “Exactly how does the fact that you were married not come up in conversation?”

I let out a long exhale as my head falls to the table with a thump. I hear Tyler’s muffled laugh before he nudges my beer closer. Lifting my head, I take a long pull before saying, “I’m an idiot, okay? I know that.”

Tyler nods his head. “Ya think?”

I roll my eyes at him as I finish my beer. “It just, I don’t know, it’s hard to explain okay, but it never came up, never felt like the right time and fuck, Tyler, you know I haven’t considered myself married since…since…”

“About five minutes after it happened?”

I let out a short laugh. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Still shoulda told her though.”

“I know, I know,” I say, nodding. “And of course she found out when she came over and Maggie was at my house, sitting in my kitchen.”

“Fuck,” Tyler says, laughing a little. “How’d that go down?”

I cock a brow in his direction but say nothing.

“Okay, so what, are you guys broken up now?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. She won’t take my calls, she bailed on a flight we had together, she’s just…gone.”

Tyler lets out a low whistle before muttering, “Handed you your ass.”

“You have no idea,” I say, smiling a little. “She’s fiery this one. But she’s strong and stubborn and opinionated and she fucking fights for what she wants.”

“Sounds like a real firecracker.”

I nod. “She is, she’s…”

“Jake,” Tyler says, cutting me off. “I get you’re into her, seriously,” he continues, his gaze meeting mine. “And it’s good, really good. This is so much more than Maggie ever was and I’m happy for you. She seems great.”

“But?” I ask.

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