Page 64 of Soaring and Saucy

19

TROPHY

Six months later…

“Seriously, dude? You are whupped…”

Lance smiled. He was seriously ‘whupped’ and was perfectly happy with this fact. Meeting and marrying Stephanie had been the best thing to happen to him. Forget getting assigned to fly a Hornet, forget getting assigned to Mayport, all of it paled in comparison to being a part of his wife’s world.

“I’m with Ohio,” Tic-Tak blurted out, wincing. “Who does crap like this anyhow. I mean, this is girl stuff…”

“And that is why you are single,” Pasteur commented glibly, yanking the brown T-shirt over his head that Lance had given him a moment ago.

“I don’t look good in brown.”

“Then switch with Tic-Tak or Moonbeam.”

“He’s fat…”

“WHAT’D YOU SAY, SHORT MAN?” Moonbeam snarled angrily, immediately flinging down his shirt, and Lance rolled his eyes. They all knew that Moonbeam failed his PT exam this last time and only passed by the skin of his teeth, eh, well, neck measurement. He passed because his thick neck skewed the numbers because the man was all muscle. Moonbeam was on probation and had to pass this next round, or else.

“Short? SHORT? Who’s short, ya’ big ol’ Godzilla lookin’ freak…”

“Guys?”

“Godzilla? I’m not some lizard – and we all know you are short. There’s no hiding that, Ohio!”

“Godzilla! You’re practically ancient, always whining, beefier than the rest of us, and have roguishly awful breath that could melt like acid… Go’zilla!” Ohio shrieked, mockingly, pretending to see the monster in the distance, slapping his face and speaking with an accent bad enough to insult the entire island of Japan.

“Oh my gosh,” Tic-Tak muttered, wiping his face his hands. “Do not encourage the freak… please. Ohio, lay off the old movies, buddy. It’s melting your brain. You realize that’s rude, right?”

And the stubborn aviator let out a shriek that sounded waayyy too close to Godzilla screaming, causing an uneasy ripple of laughter among the friends. Lance sighed, snatched the T-shirts from all of them except Pasteur.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Pasteur said simply, smirking.

“You,” Lance shoved a shirt at Tic-Tak, “Put it on.”

“I want the spruce color.”

All three men stopped laughing and looked at him.

“Spruce?” Ohio questioned, lifting an eyebrow questioningly. “Did you just call a green T-shirt… spruce?”

“Whatever you are thinking – STOP IT,” Tic-Tak glared at him. “My Dad worked at a body shop, and I know all the colors. Spruce, Opera Red, Piano black, Bottle Green, Fahrenheit Yellow…”

“You had me nervous for a minute – cars I get, bro.”

“Anything to shut you up, Ohio,” Shellac commented easily, chuckling.

And the man made a face immediately, mocking him in a high-pitched voice, as Lance continued handing out T-shirts before turning to dig in the other box to surprise Stephanie before she got home from work.

Madeline was picking Lila up from the airport and grabbing the cupcakes on the way here. Natalie was on her honeymoon, or she would have been coming here too. He had invited all of Stephanie’s coworkers, deliberately doing this party late in the evening after the bank closed so they could attend. She had no idea they were having a baby shower, and he wanted to surprise his beloved wife.

“I’m really glad you all are here,” Lance began – and handed out foam swords, feather dusters with the handles cut off, and round buckets he’d spray-painted metallic already and cut off the front so they could see. Was it a great costume?

Not in the slightest.

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