confused. “We have time. While the rotor speeds up. Change.”
After issuing his command, the pilot turned back to the control panel, pressing a series of buttons before picking up the handset of a radio. “Pickup confirmation. Skids in sky, approximately four minutes.”
Selene reached down for the bag at her feet, but her hands were trembling so badly, she was struggling to grasp the strap. “I’ve never been this cold in my life.”
Luca pulled off his wet gloves, bending over to grab her bag. He placed it on her lap as she smiled gratefully. Then he got his own.
Oscar was already pulling off his shoes and socks, unfastening his jeans. Luca watched as the other man lifted his ass and fought to peel the wet, frozen denim down.
Oscar caught him watching. He started to say something, then his gaze drifted to the pilot. With the headsets on, everyone in the helicopter could hear what everyone else said. Instead, he shut his mouth and winked.
Luca chuckled, the sound catching Selene’s attention. She watched Oscar strip, then blew a kiss before fighting her way out of the thick coveralls.
With much wiggling, struggling, and, of course, cursing on Oscar’s part, the three of them managed to replace their wet clothing with the sweatpants, soft long-sleeved Henleys, and thick socks in each bag.
“Seat belts.” The pilot’s hands were moving over the levers and buttons.
Selene unfurled a blanket—there was one at the bottom of each bag—and tucked it over her waist after she buckled her seat belt. Oscar and Luca followed suit.
The pilot turned then. “Ready?”
Oscar gave him the thumbs-up and Luca took a deep breath as the sound of the rotor shifted. The world outside went white.
“What’s going on?” Oscar demanded.
“Recirculating snow for a tower takeoff. Gotta take it slow. Snow takeoffs are tricky.”
“Not comforting,” Selene muttered.
The pilot barked out a laugh before focusing all his concentration on getting them off the ground.
The helicopter began rising from the Earth at a snail’s pace.
Luca reached over and grasped Selene’s hand. She smiled and squeezed it, letting him know she appreciated the support.
Luca was surprised when Oscar took his other hand. The three of them sat quietly, Selene with her eyes pressed closed tightly for the first few minutes, as the pilot expertly maneuvered the chopper off the snow.
And then, they were flying.
“We should be in Boston in about two hours,” the pilot said after a few minutes. “So just sit back and relax. We’ll be back on the ground before you know it. By the way,” he said, turning to look at them, “there’s no snow in Boston, but with the wind chill today, you’re going to be disembarking in negative temperatures.”
Luca sighed. “In Dante’s Inferno, hell burns with cold, not fire.”
Selene looked at him. “Are you saying being trapped with us was like being in hell?”
Oscar unsubtly pinched him.
“Ouch. No. Of course not,” Luca stammered.
“Danger,” the pilot said.
They all froze. “What danger?” Oscar demanded.
“The guy with the accent is going to choke on his own foot if he shoves it any farther into his mouth.”
“Fuck, dude. Do not say danger unless there’s something wrong with the fucking helicopter,” Oscar snarled.
“Oh, the helicopter is fine.”
After that demonstration that anything they said would be heard by the pilot—who also apparently had no reservations about joining in—there were no further conversation attempts during the trip.
Instead, Luca sat replaying the past several days in his mind. If he wasn’t in such a sexual haze, he might have used the time preparing himself for what was to come.
But he couldn’t do it. He’d spent too many years of his life worrying about the future. He realized now that was probably because there was nothing in his past worth remembering.
He startled slightly when, after nearly two hours of silence, the pilot said, “We’re ten minutes out if you want to start gathering your stuff. There will be a car waiting at the landing pad for you.”
Selene and Oscar exchanged a look and he could read the concern on their faces. Then Oscar placed his hand on Luca’s knee and gave it a comforting squeeze.
“We got this,” Oscar said, unconcerned if the pilot heard them or not.
Twenty minutes later, they were on the ground, safe and sound. Peering out the window on Oscar’s side, Luca saw that there was indeed a car waiting only fifteen meters away.
“I’m not putting my shoes back on,” Selene said. They were speaking normally now—sans headphones, though the rotor hadn’t completely stopped yet and was humming above