Page 23 of Avery

I suck in a long shaky breath and tell myself there will be no making this an uncomfortable day for either of us. I can't be lusting after Phial when he's only trying to teach me things, and I definitely can't be making him deal with my hormones and arousal when all he wants to do is teach me how to copilot the ship.

"I'm fine," I say as I exhale. And I will be. I'll force myself not to get worked up in this locked room with Phial. I can do it.

"Let me know if you need me to get you anything," Phial says, releasing my chin and turning back to the dash. "I was saying that, for the most part, you have to sit in that chair and hit buttons I can't reach. Everything's labeled, and you can take your time while you're learning. If we're ever in a situation where things need to be done quickly, I'll unstrap from my seat and take over everything."

"Okay." I nod along. "So I sit here, press buttons when you tell me, and that's it?"

"That's it." Phial shoots me another crooked grin. "Like I said, it's easier than it seems." He raps the dashboard with his knuckles and then flops into his chair, his legs going long, his body slouching into it as he stretches his hands above his head. "Once you start getting comfortable with it, I'll train you on doing more stuff on your own."

"Okay, I think this is all manageable." I chew on my lip as I sit forward, looking at all the buttons.

True to his word, there's a little label under each one with the name of what it goes to. The only one without a label is the one Jovi was flicking over and over again. I shoot Phial a quizzical look, and he frowns.

"Jovi fucked around with everything once and moved all the labels around. I couldn't find the one that went to the airlock light switch." Phial shrugs, then gets all serious. "I'm really glad you took this position."

I'm sure he's just saying it because he's happy he doesn't have to work with Jovi in here causing all sorts of issues, but a part of me wants him to mean it because he likes getting to spend even more time with me.

I'm about to ask Phial what we're going to do next when he grabs his comm tablet and starts typing away on it. He stares at the screen for a few seconds and then sets it back on its docking port.

"Want to give it a spin?" Phial asks, his feathered brows wiggling at me.

"What?" My mouth drops open so fast.

"Come on," Phial teases as he leans forward and starts harnessing me into my seat. "No one's on the ship right now, and we'll just take it right past the atmosphere."

"Are you sure?" I ask, "Isn't that too fast?"

"First, I'd never do anything to put this ship in danger," Phial says, settling into his seat after he finishes buckling me in. He pulls his harness over his shoulders and buckles it in over his chest. "Second, and more importantly, I'd never let anything happen to you."

Phial isn't looking at me as he starts up the ship, so he doesn't see the pink in my cheeks deepening, the way my lips part softly, or how my breathing catches. Sure, he's made comments aboutkeeping me safe and protecting me since he saved me from the smugglers' ship. This feels different, though.

Maybe it's because we've kissed. Maybe it's because I'm currently sitting in a puddle of my own arousal. Either way, my heart can't help but get a little too excited at his admission.

"Okay, we're warming up now," Phial says, his eyes moving from the comm screen that tells him what's happening in the ship and the navigation comm that tells us where we're headed. "Most of this is going to be on my side, but you'll need to disengage the docking system when I tell you."

I reach out toward the dash, my arms too short to touch anything. I struggle for a moment longer because I want to look for the correct button to push when Phial tells me. He notices my struggle between looking between comm screens and messing around with controls on his side. He laughs to himself, a loud sound in the room heating my face for all the wrong reasons.

"Come on, I'm trapped!" I manage to get out between my own laughter at how absurd I look as I try to wiggle around and reach for buttons that aren't getting any closer.

"My fault," Phial says. He leans over and presses a button on the underside of my chair, and I move forward until I'm pressed up against the dash. Now, I can read and reach all of the controls on my side. "I forgot to move you up. Next time, say something if something doesn't feel right." He turns back toward his comms, his smile still on his lips as he shakes his head.

I look around the dashboard, trying to find the docking controls. "Oh!" I say out loud when I see it.

Phial looks at me out of the corner of his eyes, and they crinkle to show his happiness, amusement, or maybe both. I hover my finger over the switch and wait for Phial to tell me to hit it. He messes around with more than a single switch before focusing on me.

"Would you do the honors?" he asks with a flourish, as though what I'm doing is anywhere near as difficult or important as what he's doing.

Of course, I eat it up because I like it when Phial wants to make me feel important. It reminds me of what my future could be instead of focusing on all the bad that happened in my past.

"I got this." I stick my tongue out and focus hard. I lower my finger slowly. With a deliberate flick, I move the switch from a downward position to an upward one, and the ship lurches. I let out a small sound of shock, sit back in my chair, and grab the low armrests. "Was that supposed to happen?"

Phial no longer hides the way he's laughing at my inexperience. It has me giggling as well. "Yes, that's supposed to happen. Now, let's get you out into space so you can help out some more."

"Alright, the final step. Go ahead and engage the docking system."

I scan over the various buttons, looking for the switch I hit a few hours ago that disengaged us from the dock. My eyes widen when I find it, just like they do every time I find one of the buttons or switches Phial tells me to hit.

I don't have to look over to know Phial's smiling at me. He has been since we took off, and I doubt it's going away any time soon. I flick the switch, the ship lurching slightly as we dock at the shipyard.

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