Page 31 of The Pilot & the Athlete

Paul reached over and flipped on the lamp. It wasn’t as bright as an overhead light, but she still blinked against the sudden brightness.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I need to look into those beguiling, teal-colored eyes while we talk.”

“You are low-key flexing your romance on me,” she burst out with. She wasn’t certain what had changed tonight from three nights ago when he’d walked away from kissing her, but she wasn’t about to second guess it. The past three days had been great being with him, but they’d both had their guard up. She was thrilled to tear that down now.

Paul chuckled at her dialogue. Then he released one hand from her back and cupped her cheek. “Oh, Shay …” He didn’t finish his thought but brought his mouth down to meet hers.

She hungrily responded to his enticing lips. They kissed as the world outside his arms was pushed farther away. They could kiss all night and she wouldn’t complain. Nobody and nothing could hurt her in the circle of Paul’s strong arms.

Paul broke away and kissed her cheek, her chin, her neck. He trailed kisses down her neck to her collarbone. She gasped for oxygen and clung to him.

Paul pulled back and stared up at her, his dark eyes full of desire. “Shay, you are enthralling.”

“No cap, you are too,” she said.

He laughed unsteadily. “What does that mean again?”

“No lie.” She grinned at him.

“No lie,” he repeated. Then his smile slid away, and darkness filled his eyes. “I’m ready to be done lying to you.”

“Excuse me?” Her grip softened on him. Paul was lying to her? About thinking she was a little sister? They had already cleared that up.

Paul wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her off his lap and onto the cushion next to him. She hated that abrupt breakaway. To make matters worse, he stood and paced away from the couch. He turned back and stared down at her. She’d never thought of Paul as ‘broody’, but he looked it now.

“Paul?” She stood. “Are you all right?”

He nodded. “If you don’t hate me when we’re done, hopefully we can talk about … us.”

“Hate you?” She shook her head, unable to comprehend what he was trying to say. “Paul, there is no world where I would hate you.”

“I hope that’s true.” He pushed out a breath and clenched and unclenched his fists. “I need to clear some things up.”

“Okay.” She smiled encouragingly. What things? It didn’t matter. She and Paul could weather anything, but her stomach churned from him saying she could hate him.

“When I was twenty-three, I was home on leave and Darian had a break from the law school. He had a friend who set us both up on blind dates with girls from Denver. His date was Carrie. I can’t even remember my date’s name.”

She nodded for him to continue with his story, wondering what Darian’s first date with Carrie had to do with anything.

“Darian and Carrie hit it off. Not long after, Carrie startedemailing me. I’d been gone from home for five years at this point. I lived and breathed the military life and my team were my brothers, but it was a highlight to get an email or letter from home. After five years, it was pretty much only my parents who were consistent. Occasionally I’d hear from my sisters, Darian, and the pastor.”

He paused again.

“Why did Carrie email you?” she asked. She’d been about fifteen or sixteen at the time and she remembered how Carrie had loved her brother. They’d both been at different universities in Denver so the family only saw them on weekends, but Shay thought they had a beautiful romance. She’d never seen Darian so happy.

“She reached out as a friend and I responded. We emailed almost every day throughout that year. I’d heard from my parents that Carrie and Darian were dating seriously, so I told myself we were just emailing as friends.” His hands clenched into fists again. “After they got engaged, I went home for a short leave and there was a big celebration for me. I’d graduated top of my flight class; basically, I was Maverick from Top Gun.” He smiled slightly.

“I remember how proud everyone was.”

“Thanks.” He pushed a hand through his hair and swallowed. “I’d barely walked into the park when Carrie ran at me, threw her arms around me, and kissed me.”

Shay remembered hearing about it. She’d missed the actual dramatic moment.

“Did you like the kiss?” she heard herself ask, knowing that was hardly important.

“I was stunned, but there was a moment when I thought maybe she and Darian had broken up and our year of writingand developing a friendship could lead to something. I had to pull away and get some answers. The first person I saw was Darian. He was obviously furious and they were obviously not broken up. He stalked off. Everybody was watching us. Carrie whispered to me that she loved me. I had no idea what to do. I told her I didn’t love her, that Darian was one of the best men I knew and she should go after him. She started crying and ran off.”

He paced again. Shay watched him. Darian had claimed that Paul and Carrie had a relationship and nobody had believed him. She guessed she could see Paul’s perspective that they’d only emailed and it wasn’t a romantic relationship. Not from his side. Still, it was a detail he’d kept hidden from everyone.

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