Page 25 of Praise Me: Pilot
Whichever comes first.
CHAPTER 11
Joel
Ican’t believe I didn’t get a picture of her.
Haylo’s face is the one thing I want to see while sitting in the pilot’s lounge at Nashville International Airport, waiting to fly to Barcelona. Other pilots and flight attendants filter in and out of the private lounge, but they’re all a blur to me.
Instead, my mind replays images from the last twenty-four hours. Haylo walking beside me in the moonlight, bundled in my arms in the hotel room, face tearstained. That mischievous look in her eye the entire time she was determined to seduce me. The bliss on her face when I took her in the pool.
Some time and distance from the perfect distraction of her has given me time to reflect—and here is my conclusion.
If I’m going to be with Haylo—and I sure as fuck am—then commercial piloting isn’t the right profession for me anymore. For two main reasons. One, I will not be capable of spending this much time away from her. She’s burrowed herself into my heart so deep in the space of this weekend, I can only imaginewhat more time together will do. Turn me into even more of an obsessive madman, that’s what. I’m looking forward to it. Two, my time away makes my girl feel nervous and insecure. I flat out won’t have that.
I’ve got some ideas forming that will keep me close as possible to her, but my first order of business is speaking to Phil. Leveling with my friend is about more than respect. About more than honesty. The newly awakened authority in me that exists only for Haylo demands a full claim. Now. I don’t care if Phil is her biological father, I want her to be solely mine. I want the rights. I want the trust, the bond, the…everything.
Phone in hand, I call Phil, the line ringing three times in my ear before he answers.
“Hey, man! I can’t really talk. I’m in Logan, about to work a flight to Barcelona.”
That shocks a sound out of me. “I’m flying to Barcelona out of Nashville in an hour.”
“No shit?” He laughs, relaying the coincidence to someone in the background, probably his co-pilot. “Well, cervezas are on me tonight. I’ll see if my date can bring a lady friend for you.”
My stomach sours. “No, thank you, Phil. I’m not interested.”
“Come on. I owe you for covering for me with Haylo. Let me show you a good time.”
Based on the announcements being made on the other end, I don’t have much time to make my confession. He’s getting ready to board his plane. I could wait until we’re face to face in Spain before explaining that I’m a willing victim of love at first sight, and the target is his daughter, but I can’t seem to hold back. This feeling for her is huge and expanding inside of me by the second. I need to say something, need to make it known that she’s mine, or I’m going to go insane. “Phil, I’m in love with Haylo.” My heart beats rapidly at the sound of her name. “I’m in love with your daughter.”
A brief pause. “What the hell did you just say?”
“I think you heard me.”
An incredulous sound. “If this is a joke, it’s not funny, Joel.”
“It’s the furthest thing from a joke.” I stand up and pace in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the tarmac, possession thickening my voice. “Don’t hold your breath for an apology from me, either. An apology insinuates a relationship between Haylo and I is wrong. It’s not. It’s right for us.”
“She’s eighteen!” he sputters. “She’s my daughter!”
“And you neglected her.” Something lethal snaps in my blood. “She’s mine now. In every way. I’m going to alter my life to make hers happier, which is what you should have done a long time ago.”
“Fuck you, Joel. I can’t believe you betrayed me like this.”
“You can think of it as betrayal, or you can remember that I’m a man of integrity and honor who will move heaven and earth to make that girl happy. You can congratulate me for meeting the love of my life, instead of hating me for this.”
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. I want her birth certificate and social security card sent to me immediately. Medical records. Anything that says her name on it.” There is a primal roar in my chest trying to rip me wide open. Haylo is my responsibility.Mine.“Her beginnings and ends are all mine now.”
His breath suspends itself. “How did I not know you were like this?”
“I wasn’t like this until her.” A twisted part of me enjoys adding the rest. “Trust me, she loves every fucking second of it.”
Phil hisses a curse. “You bastard,” he chokes, hanging up the phone.
A mere second passes between the call ending and my alarm going off on my phone, letting me know I’m due at the terminal. I’m replaying my conversation with Phil and thinking of Haylowhile I walk, roller suitcase in tow behind me. I’m imagining her coming down the stairs on Christmas morning in my T-shirt, squealing at the mountains of presents under the tree. How I’ll fuck her among the discarded wrapping paper an hour later, reveling in her spoiled wet pussy, the flushed happiness on her face.
