High Altitude

Chapter 4

The next morning you woke to find yourself alone in your bed. To say you were confused was an understatement. The last thing you could remember was tossing the volleyball around casually with Bradley while you talked. Catching your vision on your night stand you saw a perfectly placed glass of water and three tablets of ibuprofen waiting for you. Rooster. He must've left those for you to recover. The gesture made you smile and let your confused guard down for the moment. And only for a moment before you were on your feet racing to the toilet. "How much did I drink?" You thought to yourself. You were only supposed to hang out, so how did it turn into this? Quickly you swallowed the pain medication and drank the rest of the water to try to aid your now emptied stomach. You were hungry but definitely couldn't eat right now. Everything still felt queasy. Maybe a shower would help. The warm water relaxed every tense and stress filled muscle you possessed. The smell of your cherry blossom body wash enveloped your senses causing a state of euphoria to arise within your brain. After dressing you decided your heart wanted to work on your personal project. Trying to fix up your old plane. The walk to Mavericks hangar was filled with racing thoughts that contradicted themselves. Like him. Don't like him. Listen to Mav. Rooster seems harmless. You sighed giving up on using logic for the moment, you only wanted to do what made you happy. Opening the door you were surprised to find Maverick already working on his baby, his bike.

"It's been awhile since I've been on that thing." You announced your presence clearing your throat after your voice came out scratchy.

"Rough night?" He chuckled.

"I don't know. I don't even remember it." You groaned before you yawned.

"Been there." Pete reminisced. "Who'd you go out with? You know since you didn't take your best friend out" he asked. Your heart stopped.

"Look I asked for you old man! But you were already in bed!" You teased.

Maverick rolled his eyes, "well I've had a long week. You know you can be pretty exhausting" he joked.

"I've been on my best behavior!" You defended yourself, "sort of." You said under your breath.

"So who's the hot shot that got you drunk?" He continued to ask. He was hungry for an answer.

"Ah no one. It was just - uh.. it was Payback!" You squeaked out saying the first name that came to your head that wasn't Rooster. Though that was the only name running through your mind. All the time. It's like it was on a constant stream. All you could see was his smile from underneath those sunglasses. You smiled to yourself relishing the memory. "So he's the one who's got you smiling like an idiot?" He wondered through his own smile. There was one thing about Maverick that everyone misunderstood. He loved to see the people he cared about be happy. He wasn't a selfish person like people made him out to be. Arrogant at times? Sure. A showboat. Absolutely. But he had the biggest heart anyone could have.
"Yeah. Sure" you answered back quickly trying to avoid anymore talk of your love life. You fell into your usual pattern of listening to soft music while working. Maverick seemed lost in his own thoughts. The mission was beginning to eat him alive. "Mav... how dangerous is it?" You asked him tentatively. He stopped working and stared off into the distance.

"I don't know how to keep them safe." He stated through a hollow voice. You stopped what you were doing and saw the mist in his eyes. Slowly you walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're doing everything you can Mav" you tried to reassure him. He gave you a half smile.

"It'd be easier if I had a second in command." He suggested. You chuckled and shook your head.

"You know I would if I could. But you of all people know I'm not ready yet." You stated in a small voice. He reached up to his shoulder and squeezed your hand gently.