Or that the enemy would engage and his plane would be the first hit.
“She only said that you left the Navy long before you wanted to and that you and Casper had a unique friendship.”
Navy smiled. His heart filled with joy. The dynamics between gay and straight men were quite different from other friendships. Outsiders often wondered if there was a constant sexual tension, like there could be between men and women who were friends.
But that never entered Navy’s mind. It was rare he found himself sexually attracted to men who didn’t share his sexual orientation.
“Casper’s more like a brother to me than my own.”
“How many brothers do you have?” Bobby asked.
“I have two older and then one younger sister. We’re not all that close. At least not like your family. I mean we get together on the occasional holiday. Usually two or three times a year, at best. But outside of that, I don’t speak to them much.”
“Why not?” Bobby let out a long breath. “I’m so sorry. The writer in me doesn’t know when to stop asking questions.”
“It’s alright. Most people find me so standoffish they don’t bother. I find it refreshing. Besides, I’m about to take you up in an airplane I built with my own two hands. You should at least know a little about me, but before we get into the family history, let me get back to my accident.”
“Let me guess. You crashed.”
Navy chuckled. “I’m shocked you’re not jumping out of this motorized vehicle and hightailing it home.”
“Well, I can still back out of going up in the air, now can’t I?”
“You really are a unique individual.” Navy rolled the golf cart to a stop next to his pride and joy. This was actually the second plane he’d built. The first one he’d sold to a friend of his from college shortly after he’d finished her and he’d built a third one for a buddy of Casper’s. Since then, he’d been commissioned to build a fourth one for another friend.
Building planes had become a hobby and a way to focus his mind, keeping it from wandering too far into the painful past.
“That’s what my family says. Now, please finish your story. I promise not to interrupt or ask any questions. Until the end.”
Navy shut the vehicle off and reached behind him into the cooler and pulled out two sodas. “I never drink and fly.”
“Good to know.”
“You might have seen or heard about this incident.” Navy shook his head. “Or not since you were eleven.” What a nice reminder of their age difference. That should keep Navy’s hands off the sexy young man. “While stationed in the Middle East, my team and I were flying our regular daily flights when out of the blue we were shot at.”
“Wait a minute. I think I remember that. It nearly caused a major international incident. My father was glued to the television. The news reporter said it took more than twenty-four hours to find you.”
“Thirty-one, to be exact. I was lucky that I went down in a residential area in a town that bordered a country that wasn’t our government’s enemy, but I don’t remember a thing after pulling the eject cord.”
“Jesus. I’m sorry for what you went through. I do recall my teachers talking about it at school, but I don’t remember the name being Navy.”
“Nope. My real name is Wendel.”
Bobby covered his mouth.
“And that’s why I never fought the nickname and I let it stick.” Navy took a long sip of his soda, letting the bubbles trickle down his throat. He stared up at the sky as a small private jet prepared to land. “I never saw that bogey. It’s like it dropped from the sky and started firing. Every pilot in the air that day said it was like they were flying invisible planes and then just turned off their protective shields. Since I was point, I took the brunt. By the time I banked to the right, it was too late. I’d lost one engine and the second one was on the way out. I went into a flat spin and it’s nearly impossible to recover those. I managed to eject myself, but something malfunctioned or maybe the bogey was still firing. We’re not exactly sure. Each one of my teammates was in a dogfight for their lives, so they didn’t see it all, but my parachute never deployed properly, and I had a couple of bullets rip through my shoulder.” He lifted up his T-shirt sleeve, showing off the round scars which were located right next to one hell of a nasty one where the doctors had operated to fix the damage that his crash-landing with a few large branches had done.
Bobby raised his hands and gently ran his fingers over the raised skin.
Navy sucked in a deep breath at his gentle touch. Normally, he didn’t like people bringing attention to it, not even men he’d been intimate with. It wasn’t the accident that caused him so much emotional pain. It was all the hard work that came after, only to hear the words: Sorry, Navy. But you failed your physical. You will never fly a fighter jet for the Navy again.
And then there was Shamus.
There was no forgiveness there.
“Why the limp?” Bobby asked matter-of-factly.
“A piece of my plane became lodged in my back, dangerously close to my spinal cord. It caused temporary partial paralysis, but since I could feel pain and wiggle my toes, my doctor was confident I’d walk again.”
“But not fly.”
“For the next year, I fought tooth and nail to get my strength back. My on again off again boyfriend at the time grew even more tired of my bullshit and he left me. And then I failed the physical. I got pissed off and stuck my finger up at the military and didn’t reenlist. About a year later, Casper pulled me out of a bar.” Navy shook his head and let out a short laugh. “Literally dragged me by my shirt collar and for the last thirteen years, I’ve been flying Casper and his dad and the people who work for them wherever they need to go and honestly, I couldn’t be happier.”
“Minus the ex-boyfriend.” Bobby dropped his hand to his lap. “What was his name?”
“Shamus.” Why the fuck did Navy feel so goddamned comfortable telling his life story to Bobby? “For the record, I’m long over him.”
Bobby stepped from the golf cart. “My brother’s been in love with the same woman since he was a teenager. He says the same thing, but just recently she sent him and my parents a wedding invite.”
“That’s not cool.”
“Nope. It’s not. But she’s marrying the son of someone my dad works with, so it’s awkward all around. I know my brother has accepted she’s never coming back, but he’s far from over her, and the only thing that will cure him is if he’d ever start dating the right kind of women again. Instead, he dates chicks that are flashy and loose and only want their fifteen minutes of fame. He’s doing it all to protect his heart. Is that what you are doing?”
“Are you a shrink or a writer?”
Bobby laughed. “Sorry. I guess I’m kind of both.”
“I’m not sure any of us truly ever forget our first love. That’s what Shamus was for me. We were together for a long time. But he’s with someone and last I heard they had adopted a child together. I’m happy for him.” Navy strolled toward Destiny with vulnerability swirling in his gut. He’d exposed more about himself in the last ten minutes than he had in three months with the last man he’d been involved with. “What about you? Ever been in love?”