Playboy Pilot (23 page)

Curious, I asked Muriel. “Does he sing Beatles songs while he’s up there ever?”

“He used to. Until we took him to the Kenny Rogers concert for his birthday.”

“You took him to see Kenny Rogers?”

“Yep. Most of us hadn’t celebrated our birthdays anymore until Carter moved in. But now, we look forward to them. On his birthday, we chip in and introduce him to something from our generation. On our birthday, he surprises us with something from his.”

I was blown away at how deeply connected Carter was with these people. “What did he give you for your birthday?” I asked Muriel.

Her eyes lit up, and she turned, lifting her foot to show me her shoes. “Reebok Pumps. My back was killing me when I went out for my daily walk. You pump these crazy sneakers he got me up…no more back pain.”

“I didn’t even know they still made them.”

By the end of the night, I realized I’d had a great time. Muriel had written down the recipe for Carter’s favorite meal, and Bertha, who was halfway sloshed, told me dozens of dirty jokes all centered around pilots. There I was, sitting in a Bingo hall full of people the same age as my grandparents, and there was nowhere else that I wanted to be. It was in that moment, as I watched from afar while Carter cleaned up and talked to a few of the other residents, that I realized how hard I’d already fallen. Muriel noticed me in deep contemplation.

“Confused about the man?”

I sighed. “How did you know?”

“I know that look. Been there with my Connor. Met him at eighteen, and he scared the bejesus out of me. The man could quite literally talk your pants off. Had that way about him, like Carter does. I tried to keep away. Didn’t help that he was gorgeous and a police officer who was rough around the edges, either.”

I smiled. “You said
my Connor.
I guess you eventually stopped running away from him?”

Her face fell. “I did. But, unfortunately for me, it wasn’t until I was nearly thirty-five.”

“What happened?”

“I was eighteen, and he was twenty five. I was a Jewish girl from the east, and he was an Irish boy whose parents were off the boat. My heart said yes, but my brain said no. As did my father. I made the mistake of listening to my brain over my heart. Eventually, I ran one way. He went the other. Lost almost twenty years with the love of my life before we caught up with each other again.”

“Wow. Is he…does he…live here with you?”

“Died in eighty-two. Random traffic stop gone bad when he pulled over a man who happened to have a trunk full of guns. Shot him point blank and left me a widow at thirty-seven. Found out I was pregnant with my son a few days after his funeral.”

I clutched my chest. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”

She nodded. “Thank you. But I didn’t tell you my tale of woe to bring your head down. Told you to remind you life is short. Half of the people in the world will tell you to follow your head, half will tell you to follow your heart. My advice, follow the one that isn’t confused. The stronger one will eventually convince the other to fall in line.”

Carter walked over wheeling a man in a wheelchair. “You ready? Just need to help Mr. Hank get into his car on the way out.”

I thanked Muriel by pulling her into a hug. “Thank you. For everything.”

She understood what I was saying. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. You take good care of our Captain, and I’ll make sure Bertha doesn’t come knocking on your door at 7AM tomorrow wearing that skimpy robe she thinks will land her a young pilot.”

Carter kissed her cheek. “Night, Muriel.”

After everyone was out of the Bingo hall, Carter locked up with a key on his key ring and we headed back to his place. He took my hand while we walked.

“Can I ask you something?” I said.

“Anything.”

“How did you know all those Bingo terms? That O-eighty-three was time for tea or that I-twenty-three was thee and me?”

“They told me a few of them. I saw that they got a kick out of it when I used the lingo. So I looked more up on the Internet and memorized the terms and some games.” Carter shrugged. “Long stretches of time to learn new stuff on overseas flights.” He chuckled. “Although I think my co-captain thought I was losing it when I had him quiz me the whole trip from Germany to New York.”

“I don’t know what to make of you, Carter. One minute you’re dirty talking in my ear and the next you’re taking me to Bingo.”

“Not exactly the date you’re used to, I’m guessing.”

“Definitely not.”

“Tomorrow night I’ll take you out on a real date. Just me and you to some fancy restaurant.”

I stopped on the sidewalk. “I didn’t mean it like that. This might have been the best date I’ve ever been on.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “The whole purpose of dating is to get to know the other person. It’s sad, but I don’t think I figured that out until tonight. I’ll be honest, dating for me was always about what restaurant some guy would take me to. I judged men based on what they spent and the designer they wore. Their last name meant more to me than how they treated the people who’d passed down that name. But seeing you up there tonight, I had an epiphany.”

“An epiphany, huh?”

We were still stopped on the sidewalk, holding one hand. I reached out and took Carter’s other hand into mine. Taking a deep breath, in the middle of a retirement community, I decided it was my moment of truth. “I’m crazy about you, Carter Clynes. I’d rather be with you in a Bingo hall sitting between Bertha and Muriel as they argue, than be in a five-star restaurant with a descendant of the Rockefellers. You sing Kenny Rogers because you know they love him, clip your fake father’s toenails, and buy women sneakers to help their bad backs.” I stepped to Carter and wrapped my hands around his neck. Taking one more deep breath, I spoke directly into his eyes. “I’m crazy about you, Carter. There is nowhere else I’d rather be than standing next to you, wherever that might take me.”

Carter leaned his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. He was silent for a moment before he spoke. “Perky, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that. I feel the same way, maybe even more. I don’t have all the answers, but I want to be the one to help you find them.”

Tears streamed down my face. “I’m happy, Carter. So damn happy. And I’m terrified at the same time.”

His thumbs at my cheeks caught my tears. “So am I, beautiful. So am I.”

Just then, a small red car slowed to a stop, and the window rolled down. “You need a lift, Cap?”

Carter lifted his hand. “I’m good, George. But thanks.”

The old man waved back. “I look younger in here, don’t I? The babes dig my car.”

“You look great, George. Go slay ‘em, old man. But watch out for that hip.”

The car slowly pulled away and then something dawned on me. “Was that, by any chance…a Targa?”

“It was.”

“That’s your car, isn’t it? The car you traded to a friend who had surgery?”

“He needs it more than I do, anyway.” Carter slung his arm around my shoulder, and we started walking again. “Apparently, I don’t need the car. I can pick up hot little blonde chicks at a Bingo hall.”

IT WAS A TYPICAL FLORIDA NIGHT
, breezy with a hint of drizzle in the air. But there was nothing typical about the moon tonight; it was spectacular—magical, even. There was also nothing typical about the way I was feeling, like my heart was about to beat out of my chest; like I was stepping into territory that I’d never ventured into before with Kendall. Like something big was about to happen.

The girl I was crazy about had just looked at me with tears in her eyes and told me she was crazy about me, too. I never wanted this feeling to end, never wanted this night to end. I was on cloud nine. Fuck that…I was on cloud sixty-nine.

The entire time at Bingo, I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off of my girl, couldn’t wait to get her alone again.

As Kendall and I continued our walk hand in hand back to my condo, I intentionally trailed slightly behind her, unable to resist staring at the way the thin silk material of her dress clung to her beautiful ass crack. I felt like the luckiest man in the world to be taking her home.

Adjusting my pants to combat my almost painful hard on, I glanced over at the lake in the distance. Since it was pretty much bedtime in these parts, I knew we’d have it all to ourselves. My neighbors barely ventured out to the lake even in the daytime.

Needing to prolong this night, I asked, “Wanna head down to the water? Go for a swim?”

Head.

There was my dirty mind again. I just couldn’t shut it off tonight.

“I don’t have a swimsuit. This dress is dry clean only. I can’t get it wet.”

Wet.

Fuck.

I raised my brow. “I was thinking we’d swim without clothes, actually.”

“Oh…
that
kind of swim.” She bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Sure, Captain. I’m up for anything tonight.”

Anything.

Kendall squealed as I suddenly lifted her off her feet and ran toward the lake while she wrapped her hands around my neck. Unable to remember the last time I’d been this horny, I felt like a teenager. I also couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this
happy.
Perhaps, it was sometime before Lucy died. All I knew was there was no mistaking how happy Kendall was making me feel tonight.

When I planted her back down on her feet, she looked up at me. I was still wearing my pilot’s uniform as I towered over her. She watched every movement of my hands as I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and threw it onto the grass. We were far enough away from the nearest house that I knew no one would catch us naked at this hour. I wasn’t holding back.

After whipping my belt out of my pants, I unzipped and stepped out of them, then placed my hands on my hips while staring down at her ogling me.

Her eyelids were heavy, filled with lust as she looked down at my engorged cock that was practically bursting out of my boxer briefs. I fucking loved the way she was looking at me. It only made me harder. Not even trying to hide my arousal, I wanted her to see what she was doing to me.

“I assume you can swim, Perky?”

She finally looked back up and met my stare. “Yeah. I can do a mean back stroke.”

Stroke.

Fuck.

My dick twitched.

Walking slowly toward her, I said, “I can stroke pretty well myself.”

She cleared her throat. “Or stroke
yourself
pretty well?”

I wrapped my arms around her waist. “Yeah…that.”

“I bet you can. What about the breast stroke?” she muttered, clearly affected by my touch.

Kissing down her neck and over her breasts, I said, “What about it?”

“Would you like to stroke yourself between my breasts, Carter?”

Fucking hell.

My dick was throbbing now.

“I’ve been dreaming about coming all over those beautiful, perky tits since the airport lounge. You’re killing me, dirty girl. I’m drowning, and we haven’t even gone near the water yet.”

“Don’t worry. If you drown, I know mouth to mouth.” She smiled against my lips.

Tugging at the strap of her dress, I asked. “Can I take this off?”