Compass (9 page)

“Well,” she rasped, placing her glass on the flat surface. “I was waiting for someone.”

Ryan tossed his hat on the table and hung his jacket on the back of the chair. A cocky smile plastered across his face. “Lucky for me, I beat him here.” He opened his arms to her, his brows lifted in expectation. “You going to leave a guy hanging here?”

Alexis bounced from her seat and met his embrace. She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of his cologne. It was new, yet familiar. She’d caught the scent during their hug on the plane, but here, now, it engulfed her. Sandalwood, musky, with a hint of citrus. She’d determined in herself to find out what the name of his cologne was, because it just became her favorite scent in the world.

Her fingers gripped the back of his shirt and they swayed, holding tight to each other. His nose buried in her hair and his hands rested against the small of her back. This felt good. It felt right. “I still can’t believe it’s you,” she whispered. “I dreamt about you last night.”

Ryan pulled back, his eyes bouncing. “Really? What kind of dream?”

Alexis wiggled from his grasp, smacking his chest. “You dirty dog, you. Not
that
kind of dream!”

Ryan released a hardy laugh. He stepped around her, and pulled out her chair, as Chad arrived with a fresh drink for Alexis and a cold beer for Ryan. Alexis seemed surprised by Chad’s sudden appearance and disappearance as she accepted her seat. Ryan dropped down in the chair beside her, pulling it up to the table. He leaned forward with his beer placed between both hands. “So, tell me. What did you dream about?”

A light blush painted her cheeks. She took a sip of her fresh wine, searching for the words. “While I was packing, I found our old year book. It made me think back to our last day together,” she muttered against the rim.

“It makes sense you’d dream of that. So, I take it that’s why you had the compass?”

Alexis bent down, taking the compass back out of her bag. She twisted it around between her fingertips, watching the dial move to continually face north. “It is. I don’t know how long it’s been packed away with that yearbook, but after I found it, I couldn’t put it back in there.”

Ryan reached out, taking the compass from her hand. He lifted it in the air, examining it in the light. “I can’t believe this thing still works.”

“I know, right?”

Ryan handed the compass back to Alexis who slipped it back into her wallet. He took a swig from his beer, and leaned back in his chair, dangling one arm over the backrest. Alexis crossed her legs and tried to poise herself. The mere fact they were in the same room together was better than any silly dream she could ever have.

“So…”

“So,” she echoed back.

“What have you been doing with yourself for the last fifteen years? I want to know it all. School, work, family, friends...boyfriends” ─he tilted his head, his eyes narrowing─ “
girlfriends
?”

A smile lifted the corners of her lips, and the chime of her laughter filled the air. He’d changed. Shy, boyish Ryan now had a wicked sense of humor that matched her own. She liked this side of him and it made her wonder what else had changed about him.

She circled her finger around the rim of her glass. “No boyfriends, and I tried the girl thing but it never amounted to more than a college fling.” She peered up at him through her eyelashes.

He slumped forward with his mouth gaped open. “You must tell me everything.”

And she laughed again. This felt good. The conversation between them flowed with ease. She told him about her life, her friends, her patients, and her new job. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d talked that much about herself. Not that she ever minded, but Jenna was typically the center of conversation when they were together. It felt nice to have someone hanging on her every word that wasn’t a patient waiting for her to drop the bad news.

“What hospital will you be working at?”

Alexis folded her napkin in triangles. “Agape Medical Center in Grapevine.”

“I take it this job’s a great opportunity for you then?” he inquired, draining the remainder of his beer.

“It really is. The money alone is amazing and rare. Most fellowships are shitty pay.”

“That’s why I can’t wait to make captain. Don’t get me wrong, I make decent money, but captain pay is a substantial increase.”

“I bet. At least you don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars in school debt hanging over your head.”

Ryan picked at the label on the bottle. “You got me there. I got a scholarship to college and what that didn’t cover was taken care of through my Air Guard Reserve pay. I had flight school paid off in no time.”

“Smarty pants,” Alexis teased, tossing a napkin at him.

He caught it, laughing. “As if you have room to talk. Nerd.”

“Geek.”

Ryan tossed the napkin aside and reached for her hand. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve missed you.”

Their smiles disappeared and the atmosphere around them changed. She placed her hand over his, the feel of his skin on hers was mesmerizing. His green eyes pierced hers, touching her very soul. Never in her life had she felt this with anyone but him. To have him still illicit this kind of reaction stunned her. “I’ve missed you, too,” she breathed.

They moved in closer to one another. The warmth of his breath mingled with hers, washing over her skin. Her eyes started to drift close, anticipation coursing through her veins. She had no idea why she was allowing this to happen, but she didn’t want to stop it. All of the feelings she had as a girl rushed back, setting her whole body aflame. She knew him, even if fifteen years had passed, she still knew him. And he knew her.

“Fisher!” Ryan jerked back. Alexis tried to catch her breath, her eyes opening to meet his. He smiled at her, giving her a coy wink before he sat back and looked over his shoulder at their intruder.

“What do you want, Hart?” he demanded, throwing an arm in the air.

A tall man with brown hair and deep green eyes moved toward them. His stride was smooth, straight, and he carried himself with authority. He flashed a confident and debonair smile that highlighted his full lips. Dressed in a pilot’s uniform, she noticed the bars on his shoulders. He was a first officer like Ryan. The white uniform shirt formed to his shapely chest, and accented his golden skin.

He placed a glass on the table, and turned the empty chair beside her around, straddling it as if he had been invited to sit down. “I want to know who we have here.” He lifted up from the seat to lean over the back of the chair and across the table. “First Officer Declan Hart,” he introduced himself, offering her his hand.

She cut a glance at Ryan who was glaring at their newcomer. He wasn’t anymore happy about this guy interrupting them as she was. She figured she had every right to toy with this man. “First Officer. Oh, my. That must mean you’re a pilot.” She fanned her face with her hands.

Ryan covered his mouth with his fist, hiding his smirk.

Declan grinned. “Right you are, sugar. And from where you sit, I take it you like pilots.”

“What do you mean?” she wondered, acting innocent.

“Well, you’re sitting here with my boy Fisher in a pilot’s lounge. It seems befitting you like pilots.”

Alexis chewed her bottom lip then turned to Ryan. “You didn’t tell me you were a pilot, too. And here I thought when you fucked me in the bathroom during our flight you were just another passenger. I’ve hit the jackpot.”

Ryan choked on his laugh as Declan exclaimed, “You inducted her in the Mile High Club?”

Alexis and Ryan couldn’t hold back any longer. They fell against each other laughing, exactly as they had done when they were young. This wasn’t the first time they’d put the play on a dumb jock. Declan’s brow furrowed and his lips flattened. “Damn, I fell right into that one.”

Alexis shrugged. “I’m not an idiot, pal. First of all, he’s in uniform, too.” She nudged Ryan with his elbow, giving him a quick wink. “And second of all, as you pointed out, I am in the pilot’s lounge.”

Declan brushed his thumb across his nose. “Point taken. Do you have a name?” It was impossible to deny that she liked this guy. He had an air about him that oozed charisma, but even with his amazing green eyes and tight, hard body, in her mind, he couldn’t begin to compare to Ryan.

“Doctor Alexis York,” she noted, offering the hand she’d purposely not given earlier. Declan stood up and leaned over the table giving her a good shake.

“Where ya coming from, Doc?” he questioned.

“You know I was scheduled to fly in from New York today,” Ryan inserted.

Declan grinned, shrugging one shoulder. “I didn’t ask where you came from, did I?”

“Guys! Do I need to step outside and give you two lover boys some space?” Alexis joked.

Declan laughed and Ryan slumped back into his seat, letting his smile slowly curl the corners of his lips. Alexis kicked out her leg, hitting Ryan in the shin. That did it. His smile returned in full force.

“Sorry, Lex,” he mewled. “Declan, here, is my roommate and a major pain in my ass.”

“Likewise,” Declan announced.

Ryan punched him in the arm and Declan returned the favor. They both laughed. Soon Alexis joined in, not sure what she was laughing at. Before she realized it, Declan had made himself a part of the party.

Declan Hart was funny. He was also smart, but his demeanor eluded to the notion that he didn’t like people knowing that. He used his charm as a means to get what he wanted. Much like she and Ryan, he came from a small town in Utah. Alexis was intrigued to learn he’d been a physics major before attending flight school.

A couple of hours had passed and the friendly banter never let up. Alexis hadn’t even noticed the time until her father texted her wanting to know if she’d made it home safe. She ignored his message, feeling he didn’t deserve an immediate response. Not that she had a problem hailing a cab, she’d done it a million times in New York, but he’d abandoned her again, and well, he’d have to wait until she was actually home to get a reply from her.

“How long are you going to be in Dallas?” Declan asked. He downed the remaining contents of his drink in one gulp.

“Indefinitely,” Alexis admitted, her smile widening as she glanced over to Ryan. Ryan reached out, capturing her knee. She hadn’t even noticed that she was bouncing her legs again. The heat of his touch penetrated her jeans, which calmed her leg instantly, but also sent tingles up her limb.

“And now we can make up for lost time,” he claimed. She placed her hand on top of his, giving it a squeeze.

“Fifteen years is a long time to make up for,” Declan mentioned, “Mhm. Have you told her about Reagan, yet?” He clapped his hands, a flare of excitement in his tone as a mischievous grin lighted his cheeks. "I bet she’ll be so excited to meet you.”

Alexis’ eyes cut to Declan. She slipped her hand away from Ryan’s, her body stiffened with confusion. “Reagan? Who’s that?” Her heart lodged in her throat, praying that Reagan was Ryan’s cat. Or maybe his dog. Possibly a fish.

Ryan reached for her hand, linking his fingers with hers. He felt calm and steady, no matter how many darts he shot in Declan’s directions. “She’s my─”

“
Girlfriend
,” Declan announced. “She’s his girlfriend.”

Ryan shot Declan an unamused look. “Jesus, Declan! She’s not my girlfriend.”

Declan laughed, slapping his hands against the table. “She’s a girl and she’s a friend. Get it?” He pretended to tap a cymbal and pointed at Ryan with a clownish grin. “
Girlfriend.”

Ryan dropped back into his seat, rubbing his index finger and thumb across his forehead. Yes, he and Reagan had slept together,
once
. A mistake he regretted to this day.

Alexis once again pulled away from him. Tense and rigid, her face contorted as confusion crossed her features. All of their shared smiles and laughter were gone. A sort of invisible barrier seemed to appear around her. A wall that created a strange awkwardness between them. She sipped her wine, finishing off another glass.

Damn Declan and his stupid sense of humor.

“Lex,” Ryan straightened up, and reached for her hand. “Ray’s a friend. Nothing more. I swear.” When Alexis said nothing, he continued, “Really, Lex. It’s not like that. We’ve been friends for years.”

Alexis patted Ryan’s hand, and let out a strained laugh. “It’s no big deal.”

Ryan smacked his hand over his face. “Seriously, it’s not like that,” he stressed.

Her laughter became lighter with his lingering discomfort. “No, really. It’s not a big deal. I get it. Friends with benefits and all that,” she chuckled.

“Great benefits,” Declan insinuated, rubbing his hands together.

Her eyes narrowed, honing in on Declan and a single brow raised in a sarcastic expression “You sharing in Ryan’s sloppy seconds?” she popped back, giving Ryan a little wink.

The weirdness started to subside when Ryan realized she believed him. Declan snorted, “Excuse me, Doc, but who’s to say I didn’t have her first?”

Alexis’ mouth curved into a witty grin. “Because Ryan’s charming and witty, and he does have a way with women.”