Authors: Tracy Cottingham
Cassie lifted her hips higher, taking in every inch of him, reveling in the
involuntary tremors pulsating within her, building as the tempo
increased. She caught his low, guttural moan in her mouth, and together
they breathed into each other in uneven, sudden gasps. Urgently she
cupped his buttocks, holding him tightly inside her, and stopping him from
moving altogether. “Your turn to say it,” She hissed through clenched
teeth, feeling the vibrations growing inside her. She manipulated his
entry, letting him in and out at an excruciatingly slow pace.”
“Cassandra, please.” He tried to move faster, but she insisted on small,
little strokes.
“Are you all mine?” She breathed, pulling him out as her body began
tingling uncontrollably. “Answer me,” she rotated her hips under and
arched her back, dropping her head well beneath her shoulders.
“Oh yes,” his kisses found her neck as he was allowed back inside.
“Say it,” she kissed him hungrily, knowing they were right there together,
ready, needing to share their release.
“I’m,” he plunged deeply inside and backed up. “All,” he thrust again,
“Yours,” his lips found hers and he plunged mindlessly, recklessly till wave
after wave of heady spasms filled Cassie’s mind, heart, and body. She
felt him tense, and shudder violently, until he breathlessly fell against her,
completely spent and exhausted.
Cassie would have been content to
lay entwined forever, but each time she lifted her head off the pillow, she
kept getting a gimps of the fresh chocolate covered strawberries resting on the
end table, calling out to her. “Gunnar?”
“Yes,” his lazy drawl filled the cabin.
“I have to get up.”
He complied immediately. “What’s the matter? Is it Abby, do you
have to leave or something?”
His note of concern was touching. “I don’t have to leave yet, but I do
have to go over there.”
He followed the direction she pointed in. “Good plan,” he applauded her
thinking. “Bring the champagne while you’re at it.”
Cassie streaked to the other side of the plane, grabbing everything she could
think of, and then jumping back into Gunnar’s warm arms to snuggle.
“Give,” Gunnar poked and tickled at her when she pretended to hog the
strawberries all to herself.
“Okay, okay,” Cassie handed him the plate, and tried to pull one off, but he
snatched it away.
“Have a little patients,” he teased.
“Impossible, it’s not in my nature.” She held her mouth open and let him
fill it with a bite of the most delectable treat she’d ever tasted. “God,
I’d forgotten how wonderful fresh California fruit really is.”
Gunnar finished the rest of her bite,
moaning in agreement. “Mmm, those are so good.” He filled the two
glasses with the champagne and handed her one. “Cassandra,” he held his
glass up to her, “here’s to one Hell of an idea.”
She laughed at his sudden approval. “So you like my idea now, eh?”
“Most definitely,” he sipped on his drink and filled her mouth with another
delicious strawberry.
“I think you’re bias,” she spoke through a full mouth.
“You could be right,” he leaned forward to steel a kiss. “You could
be right. In fact, I think I like this so much, I might just have to book
time on a permanent basis, with you of course.”
“Excuse me?” Cassie looked back at him over her shoulder.
“Well, you know. We could work on different package deals, maybe even to
offer up some new suggestions for customers.”
“I think the customers can figure out what to do on their own, without any help
from us.”
“Well that settles it. We’ll just have to do it for the fun of it then.”
Something about his flippant manner bothered Cassie. She’d thought for
sure she’d felt something different when they’d made love this time, like it
wasn’t just about sex. It had made her hopeful that they could find some
sort of middle ground between their differences, but the way he was acting so
non chalant about continuing to just get together and book time, made her
suddenly very aware of issues that hadn’t really been resolved at all.
“So that’s what would make you happy then?” She took off the nighty and
started to get dressed.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, unless I’m misunderstanding you, you’re saying that meeting occasionally
for sex would be just fine for you.”
“It would be better than fine,” he followed her lead and began to get dressed
himself. “Although, when you say it sounds cheap and meaningless, which
isn’t at all how I’m imagining it.”
“Okay,” Cassie finished putting on the rest of her clothes and turned to face
him. “Why don’t you tell me just what kind of future you do imagine for
us then? I mean, shouldn’t you be traveling to this stunt show you keep
talking about? That is tomorrow isn’t it?”
“Don’t do this Cassandra,” he tried to reach out and touch her but she moved
away. “We just shared one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever
had. Can’t we just enjoy it for a little while before we ruin it with
this topic?”
“Well I’m sorry if my timing bothers you, but just meeting for sex every once
in a while isn’t really my style, and unless we can work through some of these
other, topics, as you put it, I don’t think we should ever bother to get
together in more than a business capacity again.”
Gunnar sat down and ran his hands through his hair. “What do you want to
hear from me Cassandra? That I’m not flying tomorrow? That I’ve
finally realized the legitimacy of your fears, and I’m quitting for good?
Is that what I’m going to have to do if I want to be with you?”
Y
es, yes, yes!
Cassie’s heart screamed, but her mind knew
better. “Are you going through with it?”
“Yes, dammit!” He yelled. “I’m going to fly the Pitts tomorrow,
like I always do, like I have done for the past eight years!”
“And the new stunt?”
Gunnar snapped his head up to look at her. “How did you know-?”
“Wes,” Cassie admitted freely.
“Aw, screw Wes, he doesn’t know everything about flying.”
“And the fact that no other pilot will even consider it because it’s so
dangerous.”
“I’m not just any pilot.” He stood up and started pacing. “When are
you going to believe in me?”
“Maybe when I see some method in your madness, some purpose behind this
disregard for your safety.” Cassie began to clean up. “Okay, so you
stunt fly. I think in time I can get passed that. But can’t you go
and just perform a normal set of stunts, and come back home to me and this
business so we can really build something together, here? Can’t you leave
all of the dare devil, envelope pushing stunts out, and change your priorities
just a little?”
“Why Cassandra? So you can skillfully manipulate all of my time like
before, so by the time I’m done all of my goals are your goals, so I
don’t even have anything of my own anymore?”
“Is that what you want, then? Just to be left alone and stunt fly for the
rest of your life/”
“I don’t know what I want! Two months ago there was no you.
Everything was simple, and clear. Now you come in to my life demanding
this change and that change and quite frankly, I don’t like it!” He
pulled the rest of his things together and made ready to leave.
“Gunnar, I’m not trying to demand radical changes, I’m just asking for some
compromises, that’s all.” She tossed the red negligee at him.
“Don’t you see, I can’t be with someone who puts risking his life before me, or
my daughter, or our livelihood. It’s just that simple.”
Gunnar took the red nighty and shoved it back into his pack. “Look.
I may not be the perfect man for you, but I know one thing. I want you,
and you want me,” his voice was hard, determined. “And it is that
simple.” He started to leave and then came back in. “All of the
rest of this crap is just an excuse for you to suffocate yourself and anyone
else that gets close to you with your own debilitating fears, and that’s no way
to live your life.” He shot at her, and disappeared.
“It’s not enough to want me,” she called after him, and then said more quietly
to herself. “You have to want to love me forever, debilitating fears and
all.”
Gunnar stood outside, straining to hear the last of her comment. He shook
his head and stared down at the crumpled remains of the red nighty stuffed into
his bag. “I’ve never stopped loving you, Cassandra,” he whispered.
“You just don’t ever seem to love me enough to accept me for who I am, dare
devil stunts and all.”
********
That’s it! I’ve had it.
He can rot in there for all I care,” Wes eyed Rhonda angrily.
“But sir,” she looked down at the yellow post it pad he’d just thrust back at
her. “You can’t just leave him there. We were his one phone call.”
“Maybe he should have thought about that before placing himself in the
situation to begin with.”
Cassie was trying to break her newfound eavesdropping habit, but this
conversation was proving to be way too juicy to let pass. “Um, excuse
me,” she interrupted them. “I just happened to overhear you back over
there in my office,” she pointed to her office door. “You know, over
there, and I just couldn’t help but wonder who you were talking about and
what’s going on?”
“Well I’m out of it, you hear Cassie, out- of - it!” He shouted, and
stormed out.
Rhonda and Cassie still didn’t get along very well, but Cassie must have been
the last resort, ‘cause Rhonda handed the note over to her.
Gunnar is in Jail. Assaulted FAA Representative. Grounded till
Hearing.
“Where is he?” Cassie’s heart
was pounding.
Rhonda picked up another post it. “Says here he’s up in Portland.
“Portland? What’s he doing in…Of course! Cassie bumped her hand
against her head and silently chastised herself for being so stupid.
“I’ve been so busy caught up in my work and Abby I completely forgot about the
Festival of Roses.” She started to head for the door and froze.
“There’s more than one precinct up there, did he give you an-”
Rhonda handed her a yet another post it with the address and amount of bail
needed to release him below it. “What the heck could have happened up
there?” Cassie didn’t realize she’d spoken out loud. Her mind was
filled with all of the things she’d need to get done before she could even
leave to go get him.
“Well, he said on the machine that he was given notice that he was grounded the
minute he landed his plane.
Cassie looked confused. “Well they can’t very well throw him in jail for
that now can they?”
“No. But they can for beating the crap out of the FAA representative that
served him the citation, and then for resisting arrest. Hello?” She
rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed with Cassie’s constant questioning?
“I see,” Cassie began to chew on her thumbnail. Just the mere mention of
the FAA sent a chill down her spine. What if John’s poking around had
somehow caused all of this? Her mind raced. “What was the FAA doing
at the Rose Festival anyway?”
“Well let’s see,” Rhonda was through being helpful. “You can either
continue to stand here, asking me questions that I don’t know the answer to, or
you can use the ticket I purchased that’s waiting at LAX, get yourself up to
Portland to bail Gunnar out, and ask him yourself.” She was smiling, but
her eyes were giving Cassie other directions as to where to go.
“You know, they make these in larger sizes,” Cassie pointed to the dozen post
its Rhonda had used just on this message alone. “In fact, they even make big
pads, with lots of room to write things down,” Cassie felt a cat fight coming
on, but decided against too much hissing and scratching. “All I need now
are my keys,” She looked around. “Oh yes, here they are, on a hook with
my name on it under a big yellow sign that says, keys. You know these
come in other color-” Cassie stopped herself mid- bitch, realizing for the
first time just what had been said. “Did you say a ticket? Like, on
an air plane?” Cassie gulped.
“Well yes, silly. Any other mode of transportation would take way too
long to get up there. Hello?”
Cassie narrowed her eyes, imagining a gigantic boot, retracting behind Rhonda’s
chair and... “Right,” Cassie’s palms began to sweat, and the pit in her
stomach tightened a few more notches. “A plane’s the fastest way,” she
reasoned. “Makes the most sense. Why not?” She took her keys
off the hook, and headed out to find Lonnie and Abby.
********
“Took you long
enough to get-” Gunnar stopped when he looked up and saw who it was. “Oh,
it’s you,” he breathed a heavy sigh and got up to follow her. “What the
hell happened to you?” He spoke as he walked behind her. “You look like
crap.”
“Well gee, Gunnar. It’s good to see you too.” Cassie pulled the
cashier’s check from her purse and handed it to him. “With a welcome like
that it’s a true wonder why no one else stepped forward to get your sorry butt
out of here sooner.” She puffed at the sides of her hair and tried to
straighten her wrinkled skirt out. “And another thing, you’re not looking
too spiffy yourself there chief.”
“Cassandra,” he voice was strained, lethal. “I am soo not in the mood for
your mouth right now,” he stepped up alongside her as they headed for the car.
“You honestly have no idea how much trouble you’re going to be in if you don’t
stop yacking at me.”
“Far be it from me to yack,” Cassie unlocked the door for him, and ignored the
look she was getting.
“So I suppose this happy little episode just makes your year, doesn’t
it?” He sneered, and took to watching the other cars go by like petulant
child who didn’t get any ice cream for dessert.
Cassie just kept her eyes on the road and continued to drive.
“Go on, give me your worst. I can take it,” he urged, and mimicked what
he thought she’d sound like if she took the bait. “Serves me right for
trying to stunt fly, right? I got what was coming for me. I
deserved to have my license suspended, eh?”
Cassie continued to drive.
“Say something dammit!”
“I’m not
yacking
a word.”
“You really don’t value your life at all, do you?” The hard edge to his
voice and the death stare had returned.
“For one thing. I have done nothing more than come up here and get you
out of jail. In turn, you have insulted me, told me to shut up under
penalty of serious injury, and now are threatening my life once again because I
listened to you, and stopped trying to make conversation all together.”
That seemed to shut him up, and get him staring back out the window
again. “Would you like to talk about it?” Cassie tried to start
over.
“No.”
“Okay,” Cassie went back to focusing on the road. “Suit yourself.”
Gunnar ran a hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper is
what happened.” He began slowly. “Of course, he shouldn’t have
cited me in the first place.”
“Was it the new stunt?”
“Do you want to hear what happened or not?” He snapped.
“Well, I- yes,” Cassie stuttered, and held back the urge to ask another
question.
“I was going to do the new stunt, but I know for a fact that no one, and I mean
no one in the flying community knew about it besides Wes,” Gunnar’s hand tapped
agitatedly against his leg. “There was absolutely no reason that anyone
from the FAA should have been there. I was the only pilot there that had
ever been cited before, and even that was over six months ago now. I have
been playing it relatively safe, believe it or not, so as not to draw any more
attention to myself. I may be stubborn where my flying is concerned, but
I’m not stupid.”
The more Cassie heard, the more she was sure something must have gone wrong
when John started asking questions. She’d tried three times to get in
touch with him before she’d left, and ended up leaving every number possible
for him to get back to her on.
“I’d have never hit him anyway if he hadn’t been so nasty and pompous, acting
as if he’d been out to get me this whole time, and just finally got his big
break to nail me to the wall.”
“Did he act in any way that was unprofessional or provoking?” Cassie was
scrambling for anything that they could use to get him out of this mess.
“Nothing that I could prove by myself,” Gunnar sighed. “I guess I just
couldn’t handle the fact that the punishment was so extreme. I mean, I
had a good friend that had more on his record than I do, even with yesterday’s
stunt, and they never did ground him. They issued a written warning I
heard about, and never did yank his license. Of course, he stopped any
and all reckless flying once he knew they were serious, and gave it up
completely when he got married.”
“Oh,” Cassie replied, not really paying that much attention to the last things
he’d told her. She was too busy agonizing over the fact that the more she
learned, the more she was sure she’d caused the whole thing. She’d ruined
the one thing that gave his life meaning. How was he ever going to
forgive her if he found out?
“Don’t get any ideas Cassandra. He and I are nothing alike.”
His last comment made her focus in on just what he’d said. “Oh get over
yourself Gunnar. No one would ever mistake you for anything but the
crotchety old grouch you’ve become since we’ve gotten older.”
He laughed at that, then frowned when he realized which road they were
taking. “Where are we going?”
Cassie began to feel ill just thinking about it. “The airport.”
“You flew up here? For me?” Gunnar was surprised and touched.
“Lonnie has to leave in a couple of days, and I won’t have anyone to help with
Abby then. So really, it was the only way.”
“Well that explains it then.”
“What?”
“Why you look the way you do today. All pale and rigid and stuff.”
Cassie’s mouth flew open as she made a fist, and got ready to sock him one.
Gunnar caught her hand mid-flight and held it tenderly. “I know how
terrified you are of flying,” he clarified. “It was a really nice
gesture. Thank you,” He brought her still fisted hand to his lips and
kissed it.
“Yeah well, don’t thank me yet,” Cassie warned him. “When the
stewardesses see me coming, they’re liable to throw us both off.”
“I remember that time we were both supposed to go to St. Louis for the track
and field finals and
you freaked out and ran off the plane.”
“Oh God, don’t remind me.”
He started snickering. “Mr. Fletcher damn near had a heart attack.”
His laughter was contagious. “He was just pissed his star runner
wouldn’t be there.”
“And his star pole vaulter,” Gunner reminded her.
“Well,” she smacked at his leg. “You didn’t have to get off too.”
“Your right. I should have just let you run off the plane, screaming
through the terminal like a wild maniac that we were all going to die, and then
the airport police could have taken you away to a little safe place where you
couldn’t scare all of the nice passengers anymore.”
“Okay, so you were a big help,” Cassie admitted reluctantly. “Hey,”
things were starting to come back to her. “You slapped me.”
“I did no-” He stopped, scratching his face for a second and then started to
smile. “Oh yeah, I guess I did.”
“What a loser,” Cassie scoffed. “Hitting a poor, defenseless young girl.”
“You were hysterical,” he corrected. “And as long as that mouth of yours
is working, no one that knew you well would ever say you were in danger of
being defenseless.”
“Ha-ha,” Cassie snorted, and grew more serious as she followed the last of the
signs that headed for the airport. She returned the rental car in a daze,
and had to force herself not to throw up as they walked up to the ticketing
counter to get their final boarding passes.
“Cassandra,” Gunnar had been eyeing her, making sure she wasn’t getting out of
control.
“What!” Cassie snapped, getting more wound up as she stared at the
boarding pass.
“Do I get to slap you again if you freak out?”
She chuckled at his attempt to get her to relax a little. “If you so much
as lay a finger on me, with how much adrenaline I have pumping through my body
right now, I’m liable to kill you by accident.”
He reached out to caress her cheek. “Really Cassandra, you could never
hurt me, could you?”
Cassie nuzzled against his hand. “No,” she looked into his eyes, and then
looked guiltily away.
At least not on purpose
. “Come on,”
she sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”