Beached.

Good Evening, Aviators

I swung my front door open to find Jake leaning against the jamb with his hands in his khakis. The top three buttons on his white linen shirt were undone and exposed just a little bit of his chest—enough to draw my attention.

I bit my lip, pulling my gaze from his chest to his eyes. "Good evening." His pleasure with my reaction was evident by his smirk.

I felt the corners of my lips involuntarily pull to match his expression. "Good evening, Jake."

He held out his hand. "Shall we?" I took it, and we walked to his vehicle. He helped me into his Bronco and warned me about his immense love of 80s and 90s rock as he fired up the engine. Guns N' Roses and Poison wrote the soundtrack for our ride.

I wasn't the least bit surprised when he pulled into a beach parking lot. I gave him a side glance. "We cannot skinny dip at least until the sun goes down," I joked.

He returned the glance. "Depending how the night goes, maybe we'll end up naked. For now, I figured we could have a low-key picnic where it all began." I laughed at his response but was impressed with the thoughtfulness of his idea.

I tucked the blanket under my arm, while Jake carried the basket. We each carried our shoes so traversing the sand was easier.

After picking a spot, Jake opened a bottle of wine, and then set up a charcuterie board. We clinked glasses and snacked as we stared into the sunset.

The evening was gorgeous. Conversation flowed as the sun slid into the ocean. Eventually, we finished the bottle of wine and most of the cheese board. We packed up and headed back to the vehicle.

"Can I make a pit stop?" He asked as he shifted into drive.

I shrugged. "Sure."

We sailed by The Hard Deck, and I realized we were headed toward the base. I stayed quiet but was skeptical. I caught Jake looking at me out of the corner of his eye just waiting for me to say something.

"Jake."

"Yes, Kyle."

"Why are we headed to the base?" We looked at each other. He had the biggest grin.

"Well, our friend Rooster said we should put you in a jet, so we're going to put you in a jet."

Adrenaline surged from all corners of my body. "Uh, first off, Rooster said a plane, which I've been in many. Second, this can't be legal."

Jake pretended to ponder the thought. "It's not illegal." He elongated the final "L".

"There we go." Like a dad and his toddler, Jake made sure I was snapped, buttoned, belted and fastened. I felt like Randy in A Christmas Story—thank goodness I didn't have to pee. Jake surely would've offed me on the tarmac.

"Thank your girl Phoenix next time you see her." He presented her helmet. "Since you don't have your own, her head shape is probably closest to yours. Although Bob's is pretty small—we could try his in a pinch." Jake laughed at his own joke. My eyes almost disappeared in the back of my head, I rolled them so hard.

He made sure my helmet was secure and stepped back. "You're a cute pilot. We'll have to get you some wings after this."

Once Jake was suited up, we loaded into Phoenix and Bob's jet. The one-man show he was, we needed a two-seater jet. I was beginning to question if Phoenix knew about her borrowed belongings.

With every switch flick, my nerves grew. Good nerves. Excitement nerves. I was also a little nervous for Jake. There was no way he wouldn't face some type of reprimand for this. We absolutely were going to get caught. The minute we began to move, we'd be spotted.

Jake's voice crackled in my headset as he readied us for takeoff.

Jake had to pry me out of the cockpit. It was sweet how concerned he was for my well-being. Once I had two feet on the ground and my helmet off, I looked up at him. "Can we go again?" He smiled and hugged me from behind.

My mind was still processing the fact I had just been upside down in a fighter jet. That was the fastest I'd ever flown in an aircraft. Fortunately, Jake was kind enough to keep the G force for a minimum for my non-fighter pilot trained body.

I stayed pressed to his chest, reliving the flight in my head. He lightly shook me to get my attention. "Look!" I followed his eyes to the lens on his phone. My smile widened when I felt Jake's lips in my temple.

"Ok, let's go before we overstay our welcome." Pocketing his phone, he grabbed my hand and led me around the nose of the jet toward the hangar.

Jake stopped dead in his tracks, and I smacked right into his back. I poked my head around to see the man I recognized to be Maverick staring at us.

"Good evening, aviators," he greeted. He squinted at me trying to figure out who I was. "MVP?" He had a laugh in his voice.

"Hey, Maverick!" My greeting came with a wave as I stepped out from behind Jake.