Flight (10 page)

Sighing,
Charlie told her friend what happened. She told her everything except that little incident with Ryle outside of Jeff's place.

“
But why did you change your mind?” Mandy frowned.

Charlie
didn’t know how to explain that she couldn’t stop thinking about Ryle when Jeff was making love to her. How could she explain it when she couldn’t understand it herself? “I was not as ready as I thought.”

“
Oh,” Mandy nodded in understanding. “I know what you mean. I felt the same way with Rob at first. I mean, I wanted to sleep with him, but the timing just wasn't right. I wanted the first time with him to be special, something deeper than just a sexual act.”

“
Yes, I remember.” Charlie murmured. She didn't admit to her friend that it might be always the wrong time with Jeff. She couldn't understand why she wanted Ryle when she didn’t even like him. He was too arrogant and she knew he’ll inevitably break her heart if she got involved with him.

After Mandy closed the shop, they went over to
Joe’s for dinner.

“
Where’s Rob today?”

“
He went to a hockey game with his friends. He’s not going to be back until late.” Mandy said.

Joe
’s on a Sunday night was not busy. It was early, and there were only a few tables with diners, most of them older people, and a couple of young families. Despite the early hour, she couldn’t stop herself from looking for Ryle. But although more diners came in, it was no one they knew.

On Monday morning,
Charlie got to work earlier than usual. She wasn’t surprised to see Jeff’s car already there. She was walking towards her office when Jeff came out of his.

“
Charlie,” Jeff said her name somberly.

“
Good morning.” She murmured, briefly meeting his eyes.

The hangar was still relatively quiet except for a few early workers who were busy doing their own thing.

“I…er…tried calling you yesterday.” He said.

“
I know; I got your voicemail.” She said. “I was out all day and my cell phone ran out of power.”

“
Do you have a few minutes? Can we talk?” Jeff asked.

“
Sure.” She agreed as he fell into step beside her.

There was a long moment of silence as they walked in the direction of her office.

“So, I’m not sure where we stand.” Jeff began huskily. “Charlie, you know I really care about you and honestly, I wanted us to be more than just friends…this dating thing is not working…” He sighed, raking his hand through his hair. “I understand your reservation about trusting a man again after your ex, but I thought we were moving past your misgivings. I thought you were starting to trust me.”

Charlie
shook her head. “I trust you, Jeff.”

“
Then…”

“
I don’t know what to say, but I think we should stop dating; take a break.” She said.

“
What are you saying? You don’t even want to give us a chance…?”

“
I’m sorry, Jeff. I can't do this right now.” She admitted, being as honest as she could without admitting to some things she just wasn't ready to face. “I just need time alone to think. I would like it if we could still be friends, but I understand if you don’t want to.”

Loosing Jeff as a friend was not easy. She didn’t realized how much she was used to seeing his smiling face and talking with hi
m at lunch time and after work. Her days at PAL seemed brighter when he was around to chat with at breaks or lunch time. He shared a passion for his work much as she did, and he understood her for it unlike other men she had dated who didn’t work in the same field. As for outside of work, that time was easily filled with her friends.

She had told her friends about the breakup and they seemed to understand ev
en if they didn’t exactly agree with her about it. Telling her parents was not as easy. She knew how much her parents, especially her mom, worried about her. This breakup would cause them a lot of concern. She’ll have to break this to them gently. Maybe wait a little while, let the dust settle, before she told them. She was still wondering how to tell them when her mom asked her about Jeff over breakfast a couple of weeks later.

“Darling, how is Jeff? We haven’t seen him for the last couple of weeks.” Her mother asked.

“
Jeff is good.” Charlie murmured.

“
Did you invite him for dinner tomorrow?” Her mother asked, somewhat preoccupied with mixing the pancake batter.

“
Um…Jeff won’t be coming tomorrow.”

Eva stopped to
search her face. “Is there something wrong between you, darling? Did you have a fight?”

Charlie
opened her mouth to answer. This was it, the moment of truth. But her mom seemed so harried the last few days as she helped a local community centre organize a neighborhood event. Charlie hesitated to tell her mom the truth right now. She hated lying to her parents, but it might be better if she waited until the neighborhood event was done.

“
No. We’re fine, Mom.”

Telling her parents about Jeff was not the only thing occupied her mind. As much as she tried to push thoughts of Ryle from her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
And every time she thought of him, she remembered that look in his eyes. They were inscrutable, yet still seared so deeply into her that she didn’t know how she could face him again.

As it turned out,
she didn’t need to worry. He was away for the whole week. By Friday, she was starting to wonder if he had left Linwood. He was holding a duffle bag when she last saw him. Was he on his way out of town? Was it some kind of emergency he had to see to or had he left PAL for good? Was he coming back? The thought that she might never see him again left a strange chill through her. Now instead of worrying about seeing him, she was suddenly apprehensive she wouldn’t see him again.

Ryle took another week off PAL. The meetings turned into a series of meeting and he found himself working with Logan over the
Metix plans to make the new changes.

In any case, Ryle was not looking forward to going back to PAL. He kept thinking back to that night he was driving out of town. Seeing
Charlie hadn’t been a big shock since he already guessed she was hooking up with Hathaway. But still, the thought of her with Hathaway was like a kick in the gut. And seeing her there that night, there was no doubt why she was there. Was she and Hathaway serious? She didn’t seem like the kind of woman to go in for casual hookups. She was more like the kind of woman with one steady boyfriend at a time.

On the second week, Ryle and Logan flew out to Paris
, and it was not until Saturday night when Ryle flew back to Manhattan. Logan had to stay for a couple of more days, but Ryle was anxious to get back. It had been two weeks and he realized he wanted to see Charlie despite the fact that she and Hathaway might already be a couple.

On the flight back, he tried to get some work done. Settling into the roomy seat, he was stretching out his legs when he heard his name.

“Ryle?”

His eyes traveled up long shapely legs encased in black
leggings and tall high heel boots, to a sexy clingy top, long beautiful hair and large sunglasses covering half her face. “Katia.” He smiled, recognizing her.

“
Darling, what are you doing here?”

“
I imagine the same as you; flying back to New York.” He said.

Katia
ignored the flight attendant who was trying to show her to her seat and sat down on the empty plush chair across from Ryle’s.

“
So, are you back for good?” She asked.

“
No.”

Katia
pouted prettily. “Darling, I miss you.”

Ryle laughed softly.
“I’m sure as much as I missed you.”

Her beautiful eyes narrowed, understanding his meaning.
“You are awful.”

“
Sorry, I call it the way I see it.”

“
I will forgive you if you come see me? Tonight, da?”

“
Yeah, why not.” He agreed.

He had a one night lay over before he
the flight to Chicago. He had to make a quick stop to the office, but other than that, he had the rest of the night free. It was good to be back at his loft, but there was something missing. He felt restless and he wanted to get back to Linwood as soon as he could. He showered and changed, then went to Katia’s penthouse condo. It was several streets from his, but he drove anyway.

“
Darling,” Katia opened the door wearing sexy see-through lingerie with high heels and nothing else. She looked as breathtaking as usual. “I have champagne.” She said, holding up a bottle of Krug.

Ryle uncorked the bottle and poured two glasses.

“Mmm…just what I need.” Katia sighed, tilting her head and exposing her neck as she lounged on the arm of the sofa where he sat, temptingly putting her tits just inches in front of his face.

Ryle watched her. But he was strangely unmoved. In the past,
Katia could always stir his desires. But tonight he was preoccupied and couldn’t seem to think of anything else but Charlie.

“
Darling,” Katia said again.

“
Sorry, what?” Ryle frowned as he realized she was talking to him.

“
Never mind.” Katia shrugged slim shoulders. “You look tired, darling.”

“
Maybe tonight wasn’t a good idea.” Ryle muttered, and started to get to his feet.

“
Darling, don’t go. I know what will relax you.” She added huskily. She put down her champagne and slipped to kneel in front of him.

Ryle watched as she undid the belt and zipper of his pants.
She grasped him and pulled him out, and he lay soft in her hand. Her expert fingers caressed and rubbed him. She touched him skillfully, her mouth and tongue licking and sucking him with expertise. But for several minutes he remained oddly soft until he closed his eyes for a moment and an image of Charlie flooded his mind. He went hard so quickly that it was almost painful. Katia gasped, unprepared for it and choked a little. He opened his eyes to see Katia and not Charlie.

“
Christ!” He swore, and fought the urge to push her away. Instead he grasped her shoulders gently and held her away. “Katia,”

“
Hmm?” She looked up at him with desire glazed eyes.

“
This is not going to work.” He told her honestly.

“
What do you mean? You were enjoying, da?” She said.

He blew out a breath.
“Not for the right reasons.” He released her and straightened his pants.

“
But…I don’t understand.”

“
Sorry, Katia, this, us, it’s not working anymore.”

“
Why not? We were doing good.”

“
I was trying to forget another woman.” He admitted. “But it’s not working.”

“
Another woman? You’re using me as a substitute? Me? Katia Varekova is no substitute for anyone!” She said, looking outraged now. “Get out!”

He sighed.
“I’ll see around, Katia.”

He left her condo, disgusted with himself. It had been a few weeks since his last hookup with Vera. He was horny as hell and yet here he was turning down a
perfectly good fuck. For what, he wasn’t even sure. Charlie wasn’t interested in him. And from what he saw that night, she was probably cozily hooked up with Hathaway by now. 

He flew
back to Chicago the next day. He spent most of the day with his grandfather before driving back to Linwood.

It had been two weeks. Two weeks which
Charlie couldn’t seem to concentrate on her work. She was almost at the point of seeking out Jack to find out what happened to Ryle. Was he coming back?

Charlie
went into work on Saturday for a few hours. She had driven her father’s car. When she left the plant, she dropped the car off for maintenance and walked to the floral shop to meet Mandy for dinner since Rob won’t be home until late.

“
I thought we’ll go to Joe’s café.” Mandy suggested when Charlie met them at the floral shop. “Megan wants scramble eggs and toast.”

“
Sounds good.” Charlie said. “Hey, sweetie.” She bent down to kiss the toddler, who was holding onto Mandy’s hand.

“
She’s very cranky.” Mandy said. “She didn’t get her nap today.”

“
Can I hold you?” Charlie asked the little girl, holding out her hands. She picked up Megan to cross the street.

“
So how’s Jeff doing?” Mandy asked once they ordered their food. Megan was kept occupied with paper and crayons to scribble while they waited for their order.

“
He’s been working hard.” Charlie said.

“
You don’t look so good.” Mandy said thoughtfully.

“
Thanks.”

“
You’ve been working too hard.” It was more a statement.

“
Yes.” Charlie murmured. But for the first time, the long hours spent at the plant were not because she loved her work. It was more of an escape and to be there with hopes of running into Ryle.

“
If you’re both so miserable, why not get together?”

Charlie
shook her head. She couldn’t explain that it was not because of Jeff. It scared her how much Ryle’s absence affected her.

“
Hey, isn’t that the hot guy from your work?” Mandy murmured as someone walked into the café.

Their table was to one side of the door, against the window. Where
Charlie sat, she had her back to the door and couldn’t see who came in. Ryle! It took some effort to glance back as casually as she could.  Ryle was making his way to the counter and taking a seat there.

“
Hey, Ryle, haven’t seen you for a while,” Joe greeted casually. “Been busy at PAL?”

“
Not particularly. I’ve been out of town for a couple of weeks.” Ryle said as the other man handed him a cup of coffee without asking him. It was obvious Ryle was a regular customer.

Out of town. She had guessed as much.
Even from his profile, he seemed somewhat weary. What she wondered was where did he go? To Chicago? Was his trip for work or personal reasons? Did he go visit that beautiful young blond girl from the floral shop…? Maybe he spent the whole weekend making love…that thought didn’t even bear finishing. She didn’t want to think about that.

As if sensing her stare, Ryle turned to look backwards at the table where she sat, his eyes lightened as he recognized her. He gave her and Mandy a nod of greeting.

“Your usual?” Joe asked,

“
Thanks, Joe. Make it a double, will you? I haven’t had a chance to eat anything all day.” Ryle said.

“
Sure thing.” Joe grinned before going to the back.

Ryle stood up after
Joe left and walked purposefully towards Charlie’s table, and her heart started to race crazily.

“
Charlie,”

“
Hello Ryle.” She said, his name rolling off her lips strangely. “Mandy Stevens, Ryle Sullivan.” She introduced her friend. “And that is little Megan.” She added, smiling at the little girl who was too busy coloring, or scribbling more like, to pay the adults any attention.

“
Hey Mandy, nice to meet you.” Ryle said easily.

“
It's nice to meet you too, Ryle.” Mandy smiled. “How are the plants doing?”

“
Plants,” Ryle said the word slowly, as if it just occurred to him that he had plants. “God, I've forgotten about them. They were doing okay a couple of weeks ago, but I just got back into town today, so I honestly don't have a clue if they're still alive.”

“
I see. Don’t worry, they’re very hardy. If they’ve wilted, you can revive them with some steam.” Mandy said. She went into long details of how to care for the plants if they dried up.

Charlie
couldn’t stop watching him surreptitiously under her lashes. It was too long. Two weeks without seeing him seemed like forever somehow. He looked so attractive. His hair was a little longer, as it brushed the collar of his jacket. He wore black jeans and a dark brown leather jacket.

“
I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.” Ryle said politely.

Joe
came back with their order, depositing them onto the table.

“
Would you like to join us?” Mandy asked Ryle with a charming smile. “We just ordered too.”

“
Thanks, but I don’t want to intrude.” Ryle said.

“
Not at all.” Mandy said.

“
You’re not.” Charlie added softly. There was a slightly surprised look in Ryle’s eyes at her words.

“
All right, thanks, I’ll like that.” He accepted easily, sitting down on the empty chair beside Charlie.

“
Okay, toast and scrambled eggs for the little girl.” Joe said, setting the plate in front of Megan. “Two turkey clubs and a double turkey club.” He said, placing all the plates in front of them. 

Charlie
was conscious of Ryle sitting near her. He was so close her knees would touch his if she moved just a few inches towards him. She felt a sense of calmness settling over her, a strange peace she hadn't felt in the last two weeks. It was enough that he was here.

“
So you’re fairly new to Linwood?” Mandy was asking Ryle.

“
If you would call three months new, then yes.” Ryle said with a smile.

Mandy grinned.
“Well, to us locals, having been born and raised here, three months seems new.”

Ryle looked at
Charlie. “Did you grow up here too?”

She met his eyes and almost felt an electric shock.
“Yes.”

“
Charlie is a lot more sophisticated than me.” Mandy said, giving her a look of affection. “She’s traveled and lived in other places besides Linwood.”

“
Oh yeah, where have you lived?” Ryle asked her.

“
I’ve lived in Boston for several years while I was attending school there.” Charlie murmured.

“
Boston University?” He asked. But it wasn't really a question, more of a statement.

Charlie
was a little surprised since she never told him. “Yes.” She nodded.

“
And France too.” Mandy added.

“
Prescott Aerodynamics has a strong presence at Toulouse’s aviation trade shows.” Charlie told him. “I try to get to it as much as my schedule allows.”

“
I heard you’re presenting the AIR230 this year.” He said.

“
Yes.” It was not a secret they’re trying to complete the testing program to get to Toulouse this year, but she was surprised he seemed so informed about everything going on in the plant.

“
Charlie, you didn’t tell me.” Mandy said excitedly.

“
It’s still too early to tell if we can make it for this year.” Charlie told her friend. “We’re hoping we’ll be able to complete it in time.”

“
Oh.”

“
There is another trade show coming up in the summer that I’ll be attending.” Charlie added.

Ryle looked at her for a long moment.
“You really enjoy you work, don’t you?” He asked softly, and she thought she saw a light of admiration in his eyes.

“
Yes.” She murmured, suddenly feeling breathless. Oh, God, what was happening to her?

“
What about you, Ryle? How long have you been working at Prescott Aerodynamics?” Mandy asked interestedly.

“
Three months.” Ryle answered. “But you could say I’ve had an interest in the company for a long time. The experience at PAL has been extremely informative.”

“
Oh,” Mandy murmured, exchanging a look with Charlie at his ambiguous answer.

Charlie
gave an invisible shrug.

“
That’s great.” Mandy said brightly. “I hope you’ll have a nice long career at PAL.”

“
My contract is for six months.” He said quietly. He was looking at Charlie.

Her heart tightened at this revelation. Six months? There had been contract workers that came and went, but usually for at least a couple of years. Six months was unusually short. A six month contract as a support worker? That was something completely new. All their support workers were salaried employees.

“Oh.” Mandy seemed just as surprised by the shortness of his contract despite her lack of knowledge of PAL’s inner policies.

Charlie
had lost her appetite. She still had half of her sandwich left, but she suddenly wasn’t hungry. She picked at her fries for the rest of the meal. Mandy continued her chatter, and Ryle seemed to be humoring her. But Charlie felt nauseated.

“
Come on, honey, just a few more bites.” Mandy said persuasively.

“
No!” Megan said, and threw her crayon onto the floor near Mandy’s feet. Mandy bent and picked up the crayon, giving it back to her daughter.

“
Here, sweetie, look at this,” Charlie took her cell phone out to distract Megan while Mandy managed to get a few more bites into her.

“
If she doesn’t eat enough at dinner, she’ll wake up in the middle of the night.” Mandy explained to Ryle.

“
Megan’s too tired to eat.” Charlie added, more for Ryle’s benefit.

“
Uhuh!” Megan was already bored of the cell phone.

“
Hey Megan, do you want to take a look at this?” Ryle asked, holding up his keychain.

Megan dropped her crayons and eagerly grasped his keychain. A silver miniature gyroscope was attached to the keychain; it swiveled smoothly on its axis. While Megan was occupied with her new toy, Mandy finished feeding her and gave her the warm milk
Joe brought over.

Megan was fast asleep by the time they left the restaurant.

“Don’t worry about driving me; just take Megan home and get her to bed.” Charlie said to her friend.

“
Are you sure, honey? I don’t mind.” Mandy said.

“
Do you need a lift?” Ryle asked Charlie.

“
No, it’s okay, I don’t want to take you out of your way.”

“
It’s no problem.”

It was snowing when they walked outside.
It was early April, but the weather had been unseasonably colder. Mandy carried the sleeping toddler to her car, which was parked just in front of the floral shop. Charlie opened the door for her, and watched as Mandy buckled her into the car seat.

“
It was really nice meeting you, Ryle,” Mandy said, giving him a friendly smile.

“
You too, Mandy.” Ryle said.

Charlie
exchanged a hug with her friend. “I’ll call you.”

She waved as her friend got into the car and drove away.

“My car’s over there.” Ryle said, nodding towards the grey car parked just across the street from Mandy’s.

“
You don’t have to drive me home.” She told him.

“
I don’t mind.” He said simply.