Anything but Minor - Kate Stewart Page 0,73
Byron.
“She’s gassed up. You’ll be speaking to tower four.”
“Thanks, Byron.”
Byron nodded and turned to me. “You’re lit up this year. I’m a fan,” he said as I offered my hand.
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“I don’t think you’ll make it another month.”
Alice looked offended as I winked at her in assurance. “Let’s hope so.”
Realization struck as she realized he was complimenting me, and then I saw the slight amount of fear cross over her features at the thought of me leaving. It vanished just as quickly as it came, but I caught it.
“So, what do you think about Columbia this year? That—”
“Sir,” I said as I interrupted.
“Call me Byron.”
“Byron, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to spend the morning with my girl and not think about anything else.”
He looked over to Alice, who snapped her attention to me with shock. A smile graced his face as he winked at me. “Understood.”
“I’ll have Alice send you some seats.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It’s no problem,” I said as I wrapped my hand around her waist. “Ready, baby?”
She nodded as she said a few parting words to Byron and then we made our way to the small plane.
“Rafe, you didn’t have to do that,” she scolded as we boarded and buckled our seatbelts. She handed me a headset. “I didn’t mind you talking about ball, Rafe. It’s your thing.”
“I haven’t thought about ball all morning, Alice.”
Seeming satisfied, she looked over at me with pride and excitement. “Ready?”
“Hell yes.”
She started the plane and adjusted various controls. I watched her completely relaxed and in her element. She spoke a few sentences over the headset as she taxied easily to a large runway. I sat back, slightly dazed and completely impressed as she looked over and said, “You look a little nervous.”
“I’m good.”
“Do you trust me?”
It all came down to that. And though I was sure it was in regards to her skill as a pilot, I gave no pause as I answered with a quick “yes.” The question had me reeling.
Alice seemed satisfied as she pulled back on the throttle. We began the race between speed and the runway, and as I felt every single crack in the pavement, my thoughts raced along with the adrenaline rush. As soon as the plane hit air, I heard my exaggerated breath through the speaker.
“Rafe, you okay?” she asked tentatively with a quick glance in my direction.
“I’m fine, baby,” I assured as we gained some height.
“You’re a little green.” She chuckled, her voice a mix of silk and humor.
I realized I was white knuckling the slack in my shorts and let go as I began to scan the ground beneath us. I looked over to the beautiful woman to my left as she spoke to me calmly. “I think it’s time you saw Charleston the way I do.” In complete control, she flew us over the barrier islands with ease as she pointed out the window and told me a few things even as a local I wasn’t aware of. I looked down on my city with a bird’s eye view and a new appreciation. It didn’t take long at all for me to figure out what she meant. I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and snapped a few shots of the marshland and the harbor. I took a shot of the mid-morning sun nestled behind the two-mile-long Ravenel Bridge.
“This is fucking incredible,” I noted as she kept the plane low, giving me a broad range of things to focus on. The peninsula seemed smaller and the land below felt more like a mystery than a place I knew I could travel by foot and never get lost.
“Alice...wow.” I kept my eyes fixed on the city as she traveled a little further inland and pointed out Dutch’s house, which looked like nothing more than a blip on the radar. I could hear the excitement in her voice as I remained glued to the window. Alice opened up about her fascination with planes, and that she loved the idea that something that seemed so impossible at one time actually became so incredibly useful and a part of everyday life. She loved the idea of being in one place and climate at the beginning of the day and landing somewhere completely different at the end of it. It was her fascination with the world and culture that fueled her as much as the plane itself as a tool to gain a taste of it. She felt that all things