Page 54 of Too Much In Common
“Is he that bad, or are you a bit of a grump today?”
“Probably a bit of a grump. There was an accident in my old squadron yesterday. I didn’t know the airman that passed, but I still mourn with them.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.”
They turned the conversation to other topics for the remainder of the routine flight. He was a good guy. If she were to be in a relationship with a pilot again, she’d choose Cook, only she wasn’t attracted to him. Chris still filled that space, and she couldn’t wait to get to the hotel for her nightly call to him. What was she thinking? She was supposed to end things. A little longer wouldn’t hurt that much more would it?
* * *
Chris waited at the curb searching for Tian’s hat, hoping she would appear before he was told to move on. The reflective yellow jacket of a security officer appeared in his rearview mirror at the same moment that Tian emerged from the crowd of passengers. Under the watchful eye of airport security, Tian put her bags in the back seat and climbed into the front.
“I would have gotten out and assisted you, but that man looked serious about the drivers-don’t-leave-your-cars thing.” He handed her a thermos of hot chocolate.
“Not complaining. You’re spoiling me.” Tian leaned back against the headrest. “So much nicer than the blue line.”
Chris checked over his shoulder before merging into traffic. “Glad my SUV tops plastic seats on the L. Be warned—I can’t guarantee this service every time you return.”
“Sometimes I can catch a ride with Simone or Brit to the airport. My schedule rarely works for rides on my return.”
“I noticed you don’t have a parking space.”
“Checking up on me?”
“Maybe a little.” He smiled and glanced her direction. His safety-first mantra kept him from holding her hand while driving.
“We share the two cars, depending on the schedule. I pay my portion of the insurance and maintenance. Brit drives the most, although in the winter, she is just as likely to take the blue line since it is faster than rush hour traffic.”
“Would you like a ride to the last self-defense class tomorrow?”
“Is it the end of the month already?”
Chris chuckled as he merged with freeway traffic. “You sound like me. I can’t decide if January flew by or if it was slower than normal.”
“February is going to be weird too. I don’t have a flight until Sunday, which is to São Paulo—”
“As in Brazil?”
“Yup, then Paris on the thirteenth with my father, which will complete my training hours. Then I’ll be on domestic flights until I get more flight hours. Simone put me on as many flights in and out of Boston as she could.”
“That was nice of her.”
“I’ll miss her being in scheduling when she rejoins the cabin crew, although Brit is putting in for a transfer.”
“You have almost a full week off?” Oh, the plans they could make—as long as his schedule wasn’t impacted by more of his co-workers colds.
“Only five days.”
“Do you have time for a date in those days?”
A too-long pause answered his question. What could she be weighing? Was she seeing the same logistical issues with their relationship he did? Was she going to back out before they even began?
“I was thinking of going to Boston on Thursday and Friday. If your schedule allows, we can squeeze something in before that.” Her voice was too measured, too cautious.
“Today is my day off. And I should be off after class on Tuesday and Wednesday night.”
“Then it sounds like we have some date time. “
