Bob went toward the cockpit and closed the door.
Dante buckled his seat belt, sinking back into the seat. He and Laurie were going to get off the island safely. That thought released all of the pent up adrenaline in his body, which pooled in the back of his chair.
Laurie on the other hand sat up stick straight, her eyes darting around the plane.
Laurie turned her head toward the window as they began to charge down the runway. When the plane began to lift off the ground with a roar, Laurie’s eyes went wide. She clutched at his hand with one hand, and his thigh with the other.
“Haven’t flown in a while?” He dropped his arm over her.
“Never. I’ve never been on a plane. Never been off the island.” She was breathless, as the engines hurtled them toward the sky.
“Ahhhh,” Dante said. Since Bob was gone, he kissed her left temple. “Relax. Just take a deep breath.”
Laurie nodded. As the plane leveled out, she sank back into Dante’s arm. She looked out the window to find herself among the clouds. She leaned forward, almost pressing her face against the glass. Laurie watched out the window as the wind built and shaped the puffs of white into swirls.
“Wow.”
Behind her, Dante grinned. He enjoyed her wide-eyed fascination. The scene captivated Laurie for several minutes, until they hit some mild bumps and she jerked back.
“What was that?”
“Just some turbulence.” He ran his hand down her back.
Laurie must have decided that pressing back into her seat was a safer location, so she relaxed against Dante again.
“I like your uncle.” She smiled up at him.
“He hasn’t changed at all. He got older, but that’s it.”
“Is he like your dad?”
Dante laughed so hard he sputtered and started to cough.
“No. He’s not at all like my dad.”
Laurie’s brow furrowed.
“Is your uncle from the CIA too?”
“No, he’s been in the Air Force his whole life. Both had incredible careers.”
“Like you?”
“Yeah, until I met you.”
“It is not my fault.” Her eyes turned to daggers.
“Uh huh.” He touched his forehead to hers. He kissed her, running his hand through her hair. Then he rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’m so relieved to get you off the island. I had no idea what I was going to do if my father didn’t call me back.”
“You would have found a way.”
“Yeah, well, I’m glad I didn’t have to.” He squeezed her tighter. “I hope you brought some more books though. I don’t know where we’re going, but we’re at least five hours from the rest of the U.S. We’re gonna have a long flight.”
They did. At first, Laurie watched outside the window, but half-an-hour of cloud gazing is plenty for anyone. She had Dante pull out one of her books on criminal justice. She read for a few hours before falling asleep on his shoulder.
Dante had a much more tedious flight. He fidgeted in his seat, then got up and wandered around the cabin for a little while. Then he spotted a few magazines someone had left. He flipped through them listlessly. The hours dragged by. When Laurie fell asleep beside him, it forced him to sit and think of the last time he saw his parents.
It was his graduation from Marshals training, and his parents had come to Georgia to see it. His father had arranged for them to fly in only the night before the ceremony. It had irritated Dante and his mother made her disapproval quite clear. He had been away for more than four months of training. His father had refused to visit him at all, saying it “would be too obvious a target.”
Dante had to report to his assignment in Hawaii right after graduation, and both his parents damn well knew it too. Yet his dad insisted they needed to leave minutes after the graduation ceremony. He and Dante got into a fight and Dante told his father he didn’t even want him to come to the ceremony anymore. In the end, Dante’s mother came to the ceremony, but his father was nowhere in sight. After that, Dante spoke to his mother occasionally, but he never went to visit. They didn’t visit him. He hadn’t spoken to his father again until yesterday.
There was chirp over the loud speaker in the plane, rousing Dante from his troubled memories.
“Attention please, this is your uncle speaking.” Bob’s voice relayed over the crackling speaker. “Please prepare yourself for our first landing. Since we’ll just be gassing up, I ask you to remain seated until we can take off again.”
Dante buckled his seatbelt, then double-checked Laurie’s, which hadn’t been touched since they got on the plane. He eased her still dozing form back into her chair, but placed his hand over hers for landing.
Bob brought the plane down, the wheels barely bumping against the pavement before they rolled. After taxiing, Dante glanced out the window to see familiar buildings and low hills climbing from the landing strip. He knew where he was. Bob emerged from the cockpit.
“I see the flight was a good one.” He eyed Laurie’s sleeping form and Dante’s hand still covering hers.
Dante’s eyes dropped to his hand. He pulled it back like his hand had been caught in the cookie jar.
“She’s never been on a plane before. She was pretty anxious for a while,” Dante tried to explain.
“Sure she was kid, sure she was.” Bob winked at him. He strode to the cabin door, and lowered it to the ground.
“How did you get permission to land at Miramar?” Dante shifted in his seat, running his hand through his hair. “A Marine training base doesn’t just usually allow uninvited guests.”
Bob chuckled, turning to Dante.
“I told them I had a decorated Marine on board, bringing him back to his parents. They seemed to think that was worthy of a quick gas and go.”
Bob left the plane to talk to the ground crew who were waiting for him. Dante covered Laurie’s hand again, resting his other hand on his gun. He peered out the window at his old training base. He had come here several times for tactical and skills training. It changed little in the years since he left. He noticed a couple of buildings were new, but everything else remained the same.
Laurie stretched, rolling in her chair to look up at him.
“Hi,” she said sleepily. “Are we there?”
“Not yet.” He brushed a lock of hair away from her cheek. “Uncle Bob’s just filling up the gas tank and we’ll be on our way again.”
Laurie nodded, nuzzling his shoulder.
He stretched his arm around her shoulders to hold her for a few minutes.
Laurie started kissing his neck.
He leaned down to kiss her forehead.
She tilted her head up to him and drew him down to meet her.
He cupped her face, stroking her cheek while they brushed each other’s lips. Until they heard a cough.
They pulled away from each other with a startled gasp. They turned their heads to the cabin door to see Bob leaning against the doorframe.
“I hate to interrupt, but we’re ready to be on our way.” He wore a broad grin, his eyes gleaming with laughter.
Dante looked down at the floor, his cheeks heating. He hadn’t felt so embarrassed about kissing a woman since high school.
Laurie flushed, smiling at Bob. Then she laughed nervously.
Bob said nothing more; he closed the plane door and walked to the cockpit chuckling all the way.
Dante looked at Laurie. He sighed and reached for her hand as the plane began to taxi down the runway. So much for trying to hide it.
The next flight was far shorter than the first. They passed over the Rocky Mountains in those few hours, which had Laurie glued to the window again. Afterwards, Bob announced they were going to be landing. They landed at another air base, which Dante didn’t recognize at all, but Bob seemed to have many friends there, since he left the plane to talk to the ground crew for quite a while before re-boarding. He brought sandwiches and chips back with him. It had been hours since they had eaten.
Dante and Laurie were famished.