Wild Heart - Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell

10. Confession

Well his friends' words had inspired him to make a move - of sorts. He would ask Finley if she wanted to get together and seek her reaction from there.

Goose was right when he said that Pete fell hard and fast, but also strong - just because he fell deeply and quickly didn't mean that his feelings were any less genuine. Okay, so none of his previous relationships had ended all that well - Charlie, Penny, and many, many others -  but he had made peace with all his exes, and so he felt better going forward with Finley, and wherever that might lead to. 

Pete: Hey, so I actually went grocery shopping - can I actually cook you dinner?

No, that sounded too much like he was asking her out, and he didn't want to call it a date until he was sure she was on board with that - if she was on board with it.

Pete: Hey, so I actually went grocery shopping ;)

Maybe not a winky face, not just yet.

Pete: Hey, so I actually went grocery shopping :P

There, better. So he sent the text like that and waited for her response. He was glad when it came buzzing in a few minutes later.

Finley: Oh really? XD I'm shocked!

Pete: Yeah, haha. I was going to cook

Well, that was kind of obvious, wasn't it?

Pete: Yeah, haha! Want to join me for a home-cooked dinner and a movie?

There, that  sounded fine, wasn't implying anything, just something fun that he would rather do with someone than by himself, rather do with her.

Finley: That sounds super nice! :)

Pete gave a silent cheer.

Finley: And I have leftover brownies too ;)

Pete: Oh yes please! 

Okay, that warranted a winky face. 

Okay, he'd done the hard part, he'd asked her.  He could take it from here.

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After setting a day and time for the dinner and movie night, Finley drove out to Pete's hangar home. 

She parked her bike out front, knocked on the door, then rang the bell - nothing, no response. 

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

At first she thought it was a bug, but no, that was the sound of a motor, and it was close. She looked up, having to hold up her hand to try and shield her eyes from the sun.

 A propellor plane was gliding around above - and moving in closer. That was Pete's plane, she realized - and it was coming in for landing. 

She was up against the hangar, so clear of the runway. She'd never seen a plane land so close before. 

Once landed he turned around and taxied back towards the hangar. Then it stopped and the canopy popped open and out he stepped. 

"Hey!" he jogged over.  "Sorry, kinda lost track of time."

"No worries, I'm a bit early. Wasn't sure what traffic would be like at this time of day." She nodded.  "Taking your sweetheart out for a spin?"

He chuckled.  "Yeah. I needed to clear my head, and my head feels clearest up there. I'll just get her back in the hangar and then I'll wash up and get cooking."

She watched him guide the plane back into its place in the hangar and park it, all done with precision and confidence. He was in control of the situation and he knew it. She didn't always feel that way with her job. Most of the time, yes, but sometimes, when a group of students was being particularly rowdy and/or disruptive, she felt so out of control it was frightening.