𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐎 | 𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘎𝘶𝘯

𝟢𝟢𝟣| ᶠᵃᵐⁱˡᵃʳ ᶠᵃᶜᵉˢ

CHAPTER ONE

Familiar Faces

[₀₀₁]

song: Great Balls of Fire - 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴

⟵⌖⟶

"𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦"

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 outside the Hard Deck. She was in dire need of a Lemon Lime and Bitters, as well as a good talk with Penny. She always went to the Hard Deck to talk to Penny when she was having an unsuccessful day at work. Colette wiped her palms against her jeans before opening the door.

The bar was still calm, with little activity, but this would soon change. Colette strolled past the pool table while removing her sunglasses, oblivious to the small group of aviators gathered around the pool table near the door.

She sat on a stool near the bar, sighing and slipping her light-brown leather jacket off her arms and onto the vacant stool next to her. "Colette, what is it that brings you back here?" Penny inquired, a pleasant smile on her face.

Colette reciprocated the smile. "I'm at the breaking point, Penny." "I'm completely stumped." She complains to the older lady. Penny grins warmly and rests her hand on her shoulder. "You always figure things out." "Do you want the usual?" Penny inquires.

"Yes, please." Colette expresses gratitude for the woman. She inhaled deeply, her gaze moving around the scene before her as it fell on one familiar face. Maverick.

The man was oblivious to the fact Colette had spotted him as his gaze fixed on his phone in his hand. Colette smiled at the man with curiosity. Why would he be back in town? She was knocked from her thought by Penny placing the drink in front of her.

"Want to open a tab?" Penny inquires. Colette shakes her head before pulling her card from her pocket. She went back to focusing on Maverick before taking a sip of her drink. She watched as he placed his phone down on the dark oak bench. That was a mistake.

Colette enjoyed walking into the hard deck and witnessing another victim to the 'no phone on the bar' rule. She had only wished he would have done it before she ordered and paid.

Penny cut their chat by ringing the bell above her head and pointing to the sign. Colette laughed as she saw the expression of realisation on his face. She continued to sip her drink, oblivious to the stream of aviators entering the bar.

She took her phone from her jeans pocket and read the messages she had received from her father and Iceman. Iceman's message read, 'I need to meet you tomorrow.' She pulled her light brown hair out of her face with a faint pout. Before opening her father's message, she responded with a thumbs up emoji.

'Don't work too hard,' it read. Her father was concerned about how hard she worked, but he was the one who inspired her well-built career. She felt it was best not to respond and to call him later. She returned her phone to her back pocket.

She was struck by how quickly the pub had filled with aviators. Looking towards the door, she saw the last thing she wanted to see. Bradley Bradshaw. In shock, she returned to her drink and downed some of it.

"Bradshaw is that you?" A woman questioned from the group gathered by the pool table. She was worried about this happening, someone from her past making their way back into her life. Colette downed the rest of her drink before grabbing her jacket and making her way to the bathroom.

She splashed cold water on her face, hoping to jolt herself awake from her nightmare. She examined herself in the mirror, pulling her long hair behind her ears and applying extra lip balm to her lips. She layered her brown leather jacket over her black shirt, bracing herself for the worst.

She had been down this road before. She knew where it lead.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, she began to return to her seat, hoping to avoid the dreadful scenario that awaited her. "But that's just you, isn't it?" Jake said getting in Bradley's face. Colette's eyes widened with shock and anxiety.

This was a nightmare. They were both there. "Shit." She muttered under her breath. Penny noticed the woman's anxiety and offered her a shot of alcohol with a comforting smile. Colette drank the vodka quickly, feeling the burn at the back of her throat.

Colette was reminded of her past when the sounds of a slow ride travelled through the bar. The days at Top Gun when she fell in love with two guys, both pilots and her love life spiralled. The music abruptly stopped, and the sounds of the piano chords echoed throughout the bar. Colette was all too familiar with the chords.

She froze, her gaze fixed on Bradley sat at the piano, a smile on his face, and began to play the chords to great balls of fire. The same tune she heard the first time she met the man. She gazed at her empty shot glass, wishing it was topped up.

She had always regretted the choices she made back in those days. They were all young, dumb, and stupid. Love had those side effects. It was history, at least she hoped it was.

Penny smiled before pausing to glance out the doors at the ocean outside. Her face was pained as she saw Maverick gazing at Bradley through tears in his eyes. In the midst of the drink, music, and signing, Colette felt stuffy. She went outdoors to find Maverick using the same strategy.

She nodded to him in acknowledgement sensing right now was not a good time to talk. He made his way on his vintage motorcycle as Colette leant against her car looking towards the beach nearby. She was lucky they hadn't seen her, but she was cursing herself that they would soon know.

She knew going to work the next day would haunt her with the ghosts of her past. But she had no choice. She could only hope history would not repeat itself for a second time. She was still wounded from the first time and knew she wouldn't be able to handle a second.

Colette wrapped her jacket around her tighter feeling the cool breeze off the ocean. She fiddled with the simple silver bracelet on her wrist, the last thing she wanted was her already complicated life to get even harder.

She shifted her gaze away from the view and got inside her car. Part of her wanted to storm back into the bar and make her presence known. The other half of her understood it was best to just go home. She reluctantly started her car and drove out of the parking lot.

Tomorrow was going to be a disaster.

⟵⌖⟶

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ

Hello everyone! Welcome back if you are from my other TGM story 'In the cards'. If you have not checked that out you can find that on my page. I am super excited to be releasing another fic. I put a lot of work into the storyline, planning, and visuals. I decided this time around I was going to have a face claim, I do hope you love Colette as much as I do. This is a love triangle and I have not yet decided who is endgame.

On that note as the story progresses I will be listening to the comments and when we get towards the end, and I will make a decision. I'm not totally sold with the idea of alternate endings; I like a clean finish more. But I hope you enjoy this fic. I welcome you all to '𝙆𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤.'

See you all next upload 😊.