Page 32 of Fly with Me

“You smelled the couch?” Derek wrinkled his nose.

“Um. Of course not. Who would do such a ludicrous thing?” Olive scratched at the bushy bun on top of her head. “None of it matters. I don’t have her number.”

“I still don’t understand how you never got her number.”

“Because I’m an idiot.”

Joni patted her back once before turning back toward her computer to log on. “Could you message her on her Instagram or something?”

“Ooooh.” Derek whipped out his phone. “What’s her Insta?”

“Stellaflies.”

He swiped around.

“That’s a cute handle,” Joni said.

“It’s so fucking cute. She’s so fucking cute.”

“Damn, O. She really is hot.” Derek adjusted his glasses. “The uniform.”

“God, I know.” Olive sucked in a breath. “Don’t you think if she wanted me to message her, she would have left her number?”

“Maybe she thought if you wanted it, you would have asked for it.”

“My phone was dead by the time I thought of it. I planned on getting it before she left, but she was gone when I woke up.”

Joni handed the phone back to Derek. “I feel like it’s not that risky to message her and ask.”

“She has twenty thousand followers and practically no photos. I bet she never checks her DMs. She probably gets a million spam ones a day.”

“Ask her if she needs a sugar daddy, I hear that’s the best way to get an influencer’s attention.” Derek crossed his arms, swiveling back and forth in his chair.

Joni chuckled. “Maybe say hello and tell her you’d like to see her again.”

“Where does she live anyway?”

“Here. Frederick. She teaches flying lessons at the small airfield.”

Joni brightened. “My sister would call that a sign.”

“What would you call it?”

“A fortunate coincidence that would make it easier for you to have a functional and practical romantic relationship.”

“As hot as that sounds, Joni, maybe we can focus and let Olive tell us more about the hot kiss on the roller coaster.”

Joni cut in before Olive could answer. “I’m just saying, she’s a pilot so she could have lived anywhere. But she lives here. Practical concerns are important when deciding whether to pursue a relationship. Otherwise, you can get swept up in emotions.”

After giving Joni an exasperated look, Derek turned back to Olive. “O, you’re literally the only queer woman I know that doesn’t push for a commitment on the first date.”

“First of all, that’s offensive for several reasons. Second of all, it wasn’t a date. And even if it was, U-Hauling is a harmful stereotype. Like pretty much all stereotypes.”

Unfazed, Derek put up his hand, counting off on his fingers. “First, you slept next to her for six hours—”

“In a car.”

“Yeah, while she chauffeured you in a rental car from Atlanta to Orlaaaando.”

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