Page 38 of Need for Speed (The Elite 2)

Oh thank fuck. So it wasn’t just me feeling this way.

“Happy now?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I’m assuming that’s what got you all freaked out a second ago right?”

When I didn’t say anything, Solo started to laugh.

“You’re so easy to read, you know that?”

“Says he who has the worst poker face in history.”

Solo rolled to his side and scooted in until his naked body was flush up against mine, and he began to play with my dog tags. “I care. So much more than I ever thought I would. But that still doesn’t change the fact that after this we’re gonna end up wherever they send us.”

Right, and what a depressing thought that was. “It might not change anything, but right now it makes me happy.”

“How happy?” Solo trailed his fingers down the center of my chest to the sheet, and this time when he lifted it, I let him. “Oooh, super fucking happy.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Hmm…” Solo nodded as though he wasn’t paying attention now that he had something much more interesting in his sights. But then he raised his eyes back to mine and grinned. “But you care about me anyway…might even like me like…a whole lot, judging by this.”

Deciding I’d tortured him long enough by having to talk about his feelings, I kicked the sheet down and tugged him up over the top of me, determined to show him exactly how much I cared.

28 Solo

AS COMMANDER LEVY went over the brief for the hop, I sketched the outline of an F-22 Raptor in my notebook, listening just enough to what was being said to file away the pertinent information. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, just that it was all so redundant. And maybe I listened better if my hands were busy, so sue me.

Beside me, Panther—ever the good student—was actually paying attention, but the real shocker was that he wasn’t sitting several rows down, like he normally preferred. He’d grabbed the seat beside mine before Houdini could get there, and I had to admit I liked that. A lot.

Panther glanced at me and then down at my drawing, the smallest of smiles crossing his face. He shook his head.

“What?” I whispered. “I’m paying attention.”

Panther waited until Levy turned around to grab something off his desk, and then he tapped the drawing with his pen. “Your vertical stabilizers should be farther back.”

I looked down and frowned. “They look good to me.”

“They’re wrong.”

“They are not.” When Panther shrugged, I held the notebook up in front of me for a different angle. “They’re fucking perfect.”

“Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us, Lieutenant Morgan?” Commander Levy’s voice boomed off the walls as he directed his stare my way. When I didn’t answer immediately, I could’ve sworn I saw a gleam in his eyes. “Please. Do share what’s so important it couldn’t wait until after the briefing.”

I let out an exaggerated sigh and then flipped my notebook around and held it up for him to see. A few snickers sounded around the room, and Panther let out a low groan, sinking down slightly in his seat.

“Ah. Doodling planes, are we?” Levy walked down the aisle toward me, clasping his hands behind his back.

“Not just any plane, sir.”

“No?” He stopped beside my desk and swiped the notebook from my hand. As he studied the drawing, he pursed his lips. “Would you say this is an accurate depiction of an F-22 Raptor?”

“It’s pretty damn close.”

“Hmm.” Commander Levy held up the notebook for the others. “Do you all agree? Has Lieutenant Morgan done the Raptor justice?”

“He shouldn’t quit his day job,” Utah cracked from somewhere behind me, and I didn’t bother looking his way as I lifted my middle finger.

“Anyone else?” As Levy’s eyes roamed over the room, the rest of my fellow trainees stayed uncharacteristically silent. “No? What about you, Lieutenant Hughes? Any critiques for your partner?”

My heart jumped at the word “partner,” until I realized seconds later that he meant “partner’ in relation to class, not outside of it.

Jesus, calm the hell down. It’s not like sitting beside him gives anything away.

Panther’s eyes shifted to me briefly before focusing on my drawing still in Levy’s hands. “It’s not a bad rendition, but the vertical stabilizers should be farther back. That looks like one of the early drafts.”

Approval beamed on Commander Levy’s face as he nodded at Panther, but when he turned his attention back to me, his lips flattened into a thin line. “Perhaps you could practice on your own time, lieutenant, and pay attention during mine.” He dropped the notebook on my desk with a loud slap, and as he walked off, I looked over to see Panther struggling not to laugh.

I rolled my eyes and closed the notebook. “Oh, shut up.”

“Now that Solo has successfully shared what’s sure to be incredibly useful information, considering we don’t fly F-22 Raptors here, perhaps you’d like to meet the former NAFTA pilots you’ll be facing in the hop today.” Levy inclined his head toward the door behind us, and on cue, it opened and a long line of men and women in uniform marched down the aisle. I recognized a couple, but there was one in particular that was very familiar.

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