Page 48 of Flyboy

They made their way back to the classroom. “I think I’m going to leave this to you.” Colton held out his fist for her to bump.

“Why me?”

“You know what they did wrong. You know how we exploited it. I want you to drill into them that mistakes happen, but some mistakes are dumber than others.”

She nodded. “I can do that.”

“Excellent. Then I’m going to come in and drill it in them again.”

They did just as he suggested. And it took more out of Ivy than she thought it would. She’d gone to great lengths to show each pilot specifically what he needed to improve upon, and in some cases, it didn’t go down as well as she would like, so it had taken more energy. But by the time she and Colton were both done with them, each pilot had had a harsh reality lesson and, at the same time, hope for their future flying ability.

The next morning,Colton watched Ivy run out the front door with air pods in her ears and wearing running shorts. Something about that sight, watching her check her watch and move off into the misty morning, solidified a couple of things in his mind. One being that he knew he wanted Ivy in his life. What he’d said up in the plane, he’d meant it. He liked Ivy with him. He wanted her in his life. Always? Maybe. That thought floored him. He’d never once wanted a woman in his life forever.

Omar knocked on his bedroom door. “Hey, man. You got a minute?”

“Sure thing.”

When Omar closed the door behind him, Colton’s interest piqued. “What’s on your mind?”

“It’s the guys.”

“Who?”

“Antonio, Burger, Firebrand, Ferdinand, all of them. They aren’t sure we’re giving them what we said we would.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Colton didn’t like the sound of that.

“Don’t get all up in arms with me. I’m just passing along something I’m noticing. They’re all complaining that most of this stuff they could learn anywhere and that they already learned it from their own government.”

“Brazil has a pilot training program?”

“An in-classroom with some time in a jet. Similar to what we’re doing.”

“Do you agree with them?”

“No. But here’s where I think it’s coming from. You guys sell this training as out of the box, as touting real flight experience. You have a reputation. When Flyboy is coming, there’s a certain expectation.”

Colton started to bristle. He tried to keep his face passive. He needed to understand where the disappointment was coming from, and if he got all defensive, Omar might shut down or temper his comments.

“I mean, you haven’t even done the move yet.”

He looked away. He’d been flying carefully. He told himself he was doing what he would do no matter what, that the pilots weren’t ready to be trying anything more advanced, but he knew he’d just been altering his behavior because Ivy was watching. He could just imagine her reaction if he were to invert a plane for no other reason except to show off to the pilots. But it wouldn’t be just to do that. He’d always told himself and anyone else who cared to listen that understanding those more advanced maneuvers could save your life someday. And Omar had a point, he was doing everyone a disservice by not including at least a demonstration by now in their training.

“What do you think I should do?”

Omar eyed him for a moment. “Don’t fly with Ivy in your head.”

Colton grunted. How was that even possible? She was always in his head. But especially when he flew. It was her letter about him. And then they’d talked about it. He realized he’d been holding back when he flew, knowing he’d see her as soon as he stepped back into the classroom. And that meant he had not included anything that he would normally have by now: some of his more advanced flying that Ivy might consider dangerous.

“You want to go up with me tomorrow?”

“Yep.” Omar grinned. “You gonna do the move?”

“Sounds like I have to.”

“All right! I can’t wait to hear them talk about it after. They’re going to die, plain and simple. It’s one thing to hear about the move, but seeing it, even on a radar monitor, that’ll shut their mouths, that’s for sure.”

“You did great telling me. Thanks.”

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