Coffee and Cockpits

by Jade Hart

  “You’re staying at the Heritage?” His face was eager, leaning toward me.

  Was he playing the ‘I’m so attractive with my pilot hat and blue eyes please sleep with me’ card? Pursing my lips, I said, “You know I am. All the crew do. Including you.”

  A sheepish response shone in his eyes. “Sorry, didn’t know if you had friends you were staying with in town.”

  I laughed. “Like you pilots do? A booty call in each port?”

  He shook his head, embarrassment rouging his cheeks “No, of course not.”

  Captain Anderson brushed past, eyeing us before disappearing down the gangway to collect his belongings. Throwing over his shoulder, he said, “Stop teasing him, Nina. We don’t all have a hound-dog reputation.”

  Liam scoffed. “You can talk, old man. How did you meet your wife again?” He leaned closer, adding, “His wife was a hosty. Badgered her until she gave in.”

  Anderson shouted from the middle galley. “I heard that and so what? She knew how to make my coffee perfect, so I married her. What else could I do?”

  Joslyn giggled; my eyes widened. I kinda liked Anderson. Liam I hadn’t decided on, but Anderson seemed jovial and happily married. I relaxed a little as contentment filled me. I’d survived my first flight and was about to stay the night in Sydney. I suddenly knew exactly what I wanted to this evening. It included a lot of sweat and music. And a sexy man or two. Or if I was lucky, even three.

  The tension was broken, and I smiled genuinely at Liam. He still hadn’t dropped his hand though, so I moved slightly. “Sorry. Yes, I’m staying at the Heritage. Why?”

  His face brightened. “Great. Do you fancy catching a cab with me and Jos?”

  I eyed Joslyn.

  She shrugged.

  Turning my attention back to Liam, I cocked my head. “And you two know each other how?” No way did I want to be a third wheel—not if Liam was the one who gave Joslyn her hickey. I’d much rather trade jobs with Crocodile Dundee and wrestle an alligator.

  My eyes flickered over the empty cabin. Not waiting for an answer, I added, “Don’t worry about me. You two go ahead. I’ll travel with Samantha and Ms. Klein.” Where the hell had they gone anyway?

  Liam shook his head. “No, it’s no problem. Come with us.”

  Joslyn sighed, understanding why I was uncomfortable. “Liam and I know each other from way back, but I haven’t banged him if that’s what you’re afraid of.” She shared a look with Liam and they both broke into noisy laughter.

  Something was going on. I bristled at being the butt of some joke.

  “You won’t be interrupting us in the back seat of the cab.” Her laugh was as multi-faceted as a wind-chime, while Liam’s was deep and made me want to indulge in some silly swoon-worthy response.

  My eyes shot wide at images of them getting heavy in a backseat. “Oh God, no. Too much information!”

  Liam’s amusement subsided and he cleared his throat. “Jos, you know spreading rumours that aren’t true really come back to bite my ass.”

  I blinked. What did he mean by that? That all the stories I’d heard were false?

  Joslyn smirked. “Whatever, Liam. You’re just afraid Nina will believe the gossipers rather than the truth.” She shot me a look. “They’re not true by the way. I know that first hand.” Her look was full of insider knowledge and mischief.

  Crap, what was I missing here?

  Liam and I made eye contact and I didn’t think I’d believe it, but nerves shimmered in his gaze. His shoulders were tense, face taut. “I know I can’t make you think otherwise, but Joslyn is telling the truth. I’m not a man-slut.”

  A laugh escaped my lips. “Duly noted.” I swung my bag to my other shoulder and drew an elaborate check in the air. “Co-pilot Liam Mikin is not a man-slut.”

  He grinned. “Great, glad we got that sorted.” He took off his pilot hat and ran a hand through his blue-black hair. “Awesome.” Raising his voice, he called down the cabin. “We’re leaving, Anderson. You coming with us or later?”

  A muffled voice came from the bathroom cubicle in the rear galley. “Leave without me. I’ve got to file paperwork. See you at the hotel.”

  Liam shrugged. “Righto.” He motioned for Joslyn and me to go first, bowing. “After you, ladies.” His eyes burned into mine and my hands pooled with sweat.

  A small tremor of uncertainty tingled. What was he up to? Did he truly have a reputation, and Joslyn just wasn’t his type? Had they been together in the past? What was with all the inside jokes and looks? I’d get a headache if I kept trying to unravel the innuendoes.

  I hoped he told the truth about his slut-status as if he thought he could brain-fuddle me into sleeping with him; he had a whole new lesson coming.

  We weaved through customs quickly—thanks to our airline identification—and we didn’t need to stop for baggage. However, airport security decided to hand search Liam’s duffel rather than x-ray, so Jos and I had to wait.

  Airport security used to treat pilots like gods, but lately they’d been getting scrutinized. One pilot was caught smuggling drugs in his briefcase—easy to do if no one suspected you.

  Once outside, Liam stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled for a cab. It was twilight and hordes of people were arriving, leaving, and hugging loved ones.

  I poked Liam in the ribs. “You do realise there’s a whole queue over there. Waiting for us to go to them?” I motioned to the line of taxis waiting patiently for passengers.

  “Ah, didn’t see them.” He gave me a lopsided smirk. “Guess my whistle technique didn’t impress them.”

  “Nope.” I grinned.

  “Did it impress you?” He leaned down to my height which wasn’t too low as I was wearing my killer pumps.

  “Nope.” I repeated.

  Joslyn piped up. “You impressed me with your fingers in your mouth.”

  I groaned. “Jos.”

  Liam laughed, shaking his head. “No filter to you at all. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.” Turning to me, he false-whispered. “What Joslyn failed to mention before was how we knew each—”

  Joslyn flew through the air and clamped a hand over his mouth. “Zip it, Mikin.”

  Liam wrenched away, chuckling. His face was alive with expression and the look he gave Joslyn reminded me of the way my older brother, Brian, watched me.

  It clicked before Liam managed to utter another word. Too busy man-handling Joslyn off him and ducking her fake punches.

  “You’re related.” I smiled, frustrated at how relieved I was by that piece of information. I tried to tell myself it was relief from not working with a sleaziod, but that was a fib.

  Joslyn dropped her arms and stopped attacking him. Pouting, she admitted, “He’s my stepbrother. His dad couldn’t live without my mom. Breaking up two marriages in the process.” Her words indicated hurt, but her smile said opposite.

  I looked to Liam for clarification.

  He nodded. “Yep. Our parents weren’t happy with other people and it was love at first sight when they met. I’ve never seen my dad so besotted. Part of the bargain of new love was inheriting this pain-in-the-ass-step-sister.” He gave Jos a fond, irritated smile. “She came with the package. God, how long have we been related again?”

  Joslyn huffed. “Fifteen years. Even at eight years old I was disappointed at having such a gorgeous specimen of a boy live across the hall from me, knowing he was off limits. Just because his dad decided to get frisky with my mom our possible future fairytale romance was ruined.” Bouncing to me, she added, “But it hasn’t been all bad. He’s brought sexy friends home. That helped mollify me.”

  I rolled my eyes. Now I knew about their relationship, I was surprised I hadn’t seen it before. Joslyn was a little overly familiar with Liam, but instead of it being too much, it was now sibling jesting. A pang from missing my own brother caught me unaware. We didn’t stay in contact much, he’d run from father’s ideals too—maybe I should make the effort to find out ho
w he was? Last I’d heard, he was off in some jungle researching who knew what. The word geek summarized my brother perfectly.

  Liam gave Joslyn one last friendly shove and headed to the taxi stand. “You comin’, ladies?” The way he moved reminded me of an airplane slicing through the atmosphere. He evaded a family stepping into his path, twisting his torso as a pilot would dip the wings.

  Joslyn grinned, looping her arm through mine. “Bet you didn’t see that one coming.”

  “What, that you had a pilot for a step-brother and failed to mention it in over two months of training? How ever did you keep that a secret?” Seriously how had she? Every day I was regaled with more nonsensical infatuations and lustful mentions. I knew the relationship status of most of the men who worked in the airport thanks to Joslyn’s gossip mill.

  Joslyn’s face fell looking at Liam’s broad shoulders and tapered waist in front of us. “I don’t like to tell. My girlfriends view me differently when they know I could hook them up with my intelligent, hot step-bro.”

  I gulped. “That must be tough.” I now had three reasons why I could never be interested in Liam: One, he would be disastrous for my career. Two, I’d never make Jos feel like I used her to get into the pants of her sibling. Three, I promised myself I would never ever sleep with a pilot. Pretty ironclad reasons to keep ignoring him and stay true to the idea that he was a panty-scoring scoundrel. Too bad the last twenty minutes had smashed those assumptions to dust.

  Liam gave us a small smile, holding open a taxi door for us.

  I didn’t return his smile as I slid over the leather seats to give Joslyn room to enter. It was better to come across cool and aloof from the get-go, that way boundaries would be clear. Liam was the no-fly zone around government buildings. I did not want to get blown to pieces for ignoring age-old wisdom and my own advice to focus on my career and not a heart-throb-inducing male.

  It was a weird ride. Liam sat in the front chatting to the driver, while Joslyn kept whispering in my ear about her escapades with ‘random hickey guy’ and how big his trouser snake had been. Judging by the bruise on her neck, I’d say she was full of tales, and I longed for the ride to be over. It didn’t help that the air had decided to turn to the atmospheric equivalent of rain-drenched clouds: thick and stifling. It was Liam’s fault. That and the knowledge he wasn’t nearly as playboyish as I thought.

  Joslyn made some crude comment about girth, and I muttered, “Seriously, I don’t want to think about that part of some unknown’s anatomy.”

  “Did you say something?” Liam asked, spinning in his seat to face us. His blue eyes blazed.

  My cheeks flushed, and I suddenly found the twinkling Sydney skyline super interesting as we hurtled toward the city. “No. You must have been hearing things.” No way did I want to repeat what Jos was now giggling about. My ears were hot enough to sizzle.

  The rest of the ride I refused to entertain Joslyn’s crass remarks and tried not to perve at Liam in the side mirrors of the car. It wasn’t fair a man had hair like that. Every street light reflected in its inky blackness. It was so glossy it could be a mirror, or an endless dark lake, waiting to drown me.

  By the time we pulled up in front of the hotel, I was tense with Joslyn’s sexy commentary. She acted as if she’d been a forced nun her entire life and had just been released. Couple that with Liam’s brooding masculinity, and I practically threw myself from the vehicle before it stopped moving.

  Joslyn laughed after me. “God, you’re such a prude, Nina.”

  Liam’s voice rose over hers. “What did you do this time, Jos? Was she freaking you out with over-exaggerated sex talk, Nina? ‘Cause I can totally relate. She does it to me all the time.”

  Fighting the urge to smile and warm to Liam—he truly did seem delicious and not sleazy—I stormed to check in. Handing over my airline credentials to the pretty, blonde receptionist, I said, “Nina Poppins. Flight crew for Kiwi Air.”

  “Ah, yes, Ms. Poppins.” She tapped on her computer before saying, “You’re on the twenty-fifth floor with a lovely harbour view. Sign here, please.”

  I did as requested, very aware Liam appeared beside me; his crisp white shirt brushed against my jade-green blazer.

  “Here you go.” The receptionist handed me an envelope and plastic key-card.

  “Thank you.” Tucking the envelope into my satchel, I kept my key in hand. I knew from our job descriptions that Jos, Samantha, and I were given ninety dollars in cash for an overnight. Whereas Captain Anderson and Liam received one hundred and twenty.

  It was the perk of flying. The ninety bucks was food money, toiletries, and a ‘we’re sorry you’re away from your family’ money. It wasn’t taxable and I loved it.

  I manoeuvred my trolley bag around Liam, flashing him a smile. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Joslyn piped in, abandoning her own paperwork filing. “You don’t wanna hang tonight? Go sample the Sydney night life?”

  Liam’s eyes lit up. “Yes, that sounds like an awesome idea. You keen, Nina?”

  The thought of going out with them was very tempting, but I had something I needed to do. It was especially important now, seeing as all my neurons decided to misfire in Liam’s presence. I needed to purge myself of these new tingly and unwanted feelings, and I knew exactly how to do it.

  “Can’t tonight.” I sighed regretfully. “Sorry.”

  Joslyn slouched. “Well, that sucks.” She nudged Liam with her shoulder. “Guess it’s just you and me, Mikin.”

  Leaving them to bicker about who owned the pen Joslyn clutched in her hand, I waved and beelined for the elevators.

  While I waited for the metal cube, I wondered where Samantha was. I hoped she was okay. I should’ve gone to find her before we left.

  Unhappy with the thought we left her behind, I pushed my worries away. I was free. No more work. No more colleagues or pilots. The night stretched temptingly in front of me, and my body itched to change and leave.

  I tapped my foot waiting for the slowest elevator in Sydney and jumped when a warm hand touched my elbow. “I’m on the same floor as you. How convenient.” Liam’s eyes glimmered in the lobby lights, looking like flecks of icebergs and snow.

  My own eyes narrowed as the lift pinged, and we entered. Liam pressed the button while I stood silently. Was it coincidence he was on my floor or was it planned? And where the hell was Joslyn?

  I opened my mouth to ask, but the doors closed. Instantly all the air sucked out of the small space, leaving us vacuum wrapped with awareness. Every one of my senses catapulted to life, and my heart decided to act like a wild roadrunner being chased by a stupid coyote.

  Liam kept sneaking glances at me, moving to talk a couple of times, but we ended up just standing there in shambling silence. The doors slid open, and I gave him a sideways look as we walked down the plush carpeted corridor.

  I stopped outside my room. “Well…this is me.” I fumbled with my bags as I tried to insert my key card and get the hell away from the sexy co-pilot who caused my body to quiver. Where the hell had Joslyn gone? I would not end up a statistic and be yet another easy conquest. No chance. Regardless if Liam seemed like a winsome guy and was related to a great friend of mine. “I’ll see you at nine a.m. to head back to the airport?”

  He paused, lips tightening at my curt tone. “Sure.” He scratched the back of his neck and took a few steps past me. Then he stopped and stalked back. “I know you said you were busy, but you sure you don’t want to come out? We could go to dinner? Perhaps head to the House of Everything by the harbour? I hear they have awesome steak.”

  I shook my head. No way was I fraternising with him. The rumours would dart faster than a concord and might wreck my career. “No thanks. I don’t like red meat.”

  Opening my door, I nodded goodnight and shut it in his face. Phew. Dodged that one. I didn’t intend to be another notch on his wingtip. No sir. Not me. Not Nina Poppins who was gonna have his job in a few years and possibly even s
it beside him as his co-pilot.

  That would be beyond awkward.

  Pulling off my uniform piece by piece, I shimmied out of the ornate hook-eye corset I wore under my shirt. Just knowing I wore something alluring and kinky under my uniform made me feel powerfully feminine.

  I sighed, relaxing for the first time since I dressed that morning and headed to the balcony in just my knickers, and stockings.

  My room was a silver dream: walls the colour of storms, sweeping pewter drapes, snowy sheets, and artwork depicting dewy, white roses. Being air crew had its perks and having the union battle for a four-and-a-half star hotel was one of them. I couldn’t wait to be rostered on routes to Thailand and Hong Kong.

  Un-plaiting my braid, I stared at the harbour view. Sydney vibrated with money, class, and Hollywood glam. Many floors below, ant-sized people darted around night-stalls. And in the distance, in Circular Quay, the Opera House glittered in its up-lit glow.

  A bit belatedly, I worried people might see me in my half-nakedness. Stepping back into the depths of my bedroom, I grabbed my trolley and unzipped it on the bed. Inside wasn’t a lot of practical clothing. I shoved aside three corsets, four pairs of knickers, and two packets of pantyhose to reach the only item that would cover me enough for public interaction. Highly stupid to pack so much nonessential finery, but it was my addiction.

  I kicked off my heels into random corners of the room and padded into the bathroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, I was fresh and reeking of hotel body wash. I took my time applying make-up—going for dark eye shadow and red lipstick this time. None of that Coral Crush crap. I wanted to be sexy and incognito in Sydney.

  I knew nobody, and nobody knew me. Therefore, I could be the real me. The me who loved to dance, to laugh, to have fun. To tease and flirt, but then walk away not having to put out, or give a part of myself that had been rejected by my ex. Even now, after two years, my heart still panged.

  Stupid jerk.

  I knew where I was headed: Latin Motion—a dance club I’d heard of and been dying to try. It was the perfect cure to a long day and some serious sexual frustration. Thanks to Liam and Nikolai, Mr. Sexy 24B.