Flight of Fancy
By Maryse
Copyright © 2010
Note: This is not a complete story. For the entire story, please join our website here.
“Hey, Pete. You coming for a drink tonight?”
Pete looked up to see Tom Parsons, a fellow trainee at the RAF base, flashing him one of his winning smiles. “You know you want to!” Tom coaxed.
Pete laughed and buried his head in his locker, searching for the books he would need for tomorrow’s flight lessons. He emerged to find Tom patiently waiting, his arms folded, and one eyebrow raised expectantly.
“Well?”
“Okay, you’ve twisted my arm. But, I won’t stay long... not like last time! Geez, my head was numb the next day! I ain’t ever doing that again!”
“Pete, you’re such a loser!”
“Loser! Come here and say that!” Pete shoved his books in his rucksack, slammed his locker door and made a lunge for Tom, but he was already running out of the door. Pete gave chase, running past the lockers, hot on his trail.
“Don’t run!” A deep voice boomed out.
Pete immediately slowed down to a walk. No one argued with Flight Sergeant Wetherby, not unless they were insane! The man was harder than a bag of nails, and no one wanted to get on the wrong side of him.
Once outside, however, and out of sight of Wetherby, Pete darted over to the barracks where he knew Tom would be waiting for him. As he entered, Tom dove on him and wrestled him to the ground.
“Loser! Loser!” Tom chanted, trying to hold him down and grind his knuckles into his head at the same time. Even though he was only nineteen, Pete was built on the big side, and Tom had a hard time keeping him down.
“Get off, you nutcase!” Pete laughed and shoved Tom off him. “You nearly got me in trouble with Wetherby, you complete and utter plank!”
“Ah, good old Wetherby. Always there to put a dampener on things!”
“Ain’t that the truth! I’m going to take a shower. What time were you thinking of going out?”
“In about an hour?”
“Yeah... suits me. I’ll grab some food in the mess hall, and then we can take off.”
The local pub was in full swing by the time Tom and Pete arrived. Several heads turned as they entered; they were both handsome and often caught the eyes of the local girls.
Stacey, the landlord’s daughter, eyed them appreciatively. “What’s it to be, boys? The usual?”
“Heineken for me and apple juice for him!” said Pete, tongue in cheek.
“Apple juice!” Tom elbowed Pete out of the way. “Ignore him. He’s a cretin. I’ll have a lager and light, Stace.” He leaned forward, so he could get a better view of her ample cleavage. “Don’t fancy a quickie tonight, do you, Stace? You and me, round the back?”
Stacey replied, not raising an eyebrow. “You ask every time, and every time I give you the same answer! No!” She smiled at his crestfallen look.
“A bloke’s got to ask, Stace. I mean, if he don’t ask, he don’t get... ain’t that right, Pete?”
Pete nodded sagely in support of his friend.
Stacey shook her head with exasperation and handed him the drinks. “That’ll be a fiver!”
“Five pounds! That’s daylight robbery!” Tom grumbled, reaching for his wallet.
“You say that every time, n’all!” Stacey commented, taking the money. She gave him his change, and he handed one of the drinks to Pete. They moved away from the bar and searched for somewhere to sit amongst the crowd of people.
“Busy in ‘ere tonight, innit,” Tom remarked, taking a sip of his lager.
“Yep. You can’t swing a cat!” muttered Pete. He looked down to find himself staring into a pair of impish green eyes.
He raised his eyes to the heavens and then looked back down, saying in a resigned voice, “Evening, Hayley.”
A slow smile spread over Hayley’s face. “Hello, Pete.”
Hayley was Tom’s younger cousin, and as far back as he could remember, she’d had a ‘thing’ for him. Depending on what mood he was in, he found it either irritating or mildly entertaining.
“Tom said you’d be here!” she cooed. At this, Pete turned to give his friend an accusatory stare.
Hayley tugged on his arm. “Come and meet a friend of mine. She’s only here for a few days, and then she has to go back to Uni.”
Pete resisted. “No, Hayley, honestly. We’re here to – ”
“Have fun!” Hayley interrupted. “I know you are! So, come and have fun with us!” She thrust out her bottom lip.
Pete looked at Tom again, and he shrugged back, replying, “S’all right by me!”
Pete looked back to see Hayley giving him a smug look. This was the last thing he wanted to do tonight... spend time with Hayley. What if her friend turned out to be the same! Geez – two of them!
He rubbed his temples, trying to hide the pained expression he knew he must be exhibiting. “Okay, Hayley, lead the way!”
Hayley still had hold of his arm and quickly led him through the crowd to the other side of the pub. At the table sat one of the prettiest girls Pete had ever clapped eyes on, and he was hard put to stop his jaw from hitting the ground as he was introduced.
“Pete, this is Sadie.” Sadie stared back at him with a slight arch to one of her eyebrows as she waited for him to speak. He could tell by her eyes that she was used to this reaction.
Pete cleared his throat and offered her his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Sadie.”
“Likewise, I’m sure.” He detected a note of sarcasm in her voice as she limply shook his hand, and his eyes narrowed. What was her problem?
“You didn’t tell me your friend was such a babe, Hayley,” said Tom, pushing Pete aside in his haste to say hello to her friend. “Watcha, I’m Tom.”
Sadie smiled and shook his proferred hand, but said nothing.
“Here, budge over, and we’ll join ya!” he said eagerly.
Sadie rolled her eyes, a fact that Tom failed to notice as he slid onto the padded seat next to her. Pete sat down opposite in a vacant chair, sipping his pint and regarding her steadily. Why didn’t she like him? He was used to women staring at him with appreciation, not with barely concealed contempt!
“So, what’re ya studying at Uni, Sadie?” Tom asked.
“Something you wouldn’t know anything about!” she replied with a tight-lipped smile.
Tom laughed good-naturedly. “Nah, come on, Sadie, tell me. I might know more than ya think!”
Pete allowed a smile to cross his face as he noticed the look Sadie was giving Tom. It was totally lost on him – he was too thick skinned or thick headed, depending on which way you looked at it!
“If you must know, I’m studying psychology.”
“Yeah, and she’s top of her class n’all!” Hayley interjected.
“Ain’t that studying the mind and all that jazz?” asked Tom. “If so, you can use me as a guinea pig whenever you like, Sadie. I’m all yours!” Tom grinned eagerly.
“Oh, lucky me,” Sadie mumbled, taking a sip of her drink.
Pete chuckled under his breath while Tom tried to engage Sadie in further conversation. It was obvious she wasn’t interested in him, but knowing Tom as he did, he would use every trick in the book to win her over.
Taking the last sip of his beer, Pete stood up and announced he’d get the next round of drinks in. Sadie stood up as well. “I’ll give you a hand with those.”
“No need. I can manage.” he said amiably.
“No, really. I want to!” She seemed almost desperate to get away from Tom. Pete shrugged and led the way to the bar.
As they waited to be served, he glanced down at her. “You don’t like Tom, do you?”
She arched an eyebrow. “I don’t dislike him. He’s just not my type.”
“And what is your type?”
Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by the arrival of Stacey, the barmaid. Pete gave her his order, and she quickly put the drinks on the bar. Sadie picked up hers and Hayley’s, leaving Pete to pay. He caught up to her, admiring the curve of her petite bottom clad in skin-tight jeans.
She really was the cutest thing to look at... just a shame about her attitude.
As he sat down, Pete realised Hayley was staring at him. “What?”
“Tom tells me that this weekend is the annual dinner dance.”
Pete nodded, knowing full well where the conversation was going and wondering how the hell he was going to get out of hurting her feelings. “Yessss, it is.”
Hayley looked down at the table and began drawing invisible circles with her forefinger. “And Tom mentioned that you need a date.”
Pete groaned inwardly. Oh, boy! Just what he didn’t need! Sure, he liked Hayley – but only as a friend. He didn’t want to raise her hopes in any other direction.
“Look, Hayley, I can’t take you.”
“Why not?”
Pete squirmed uncomfortably. What could he say without hurting her feelings? He didn’t have a date, but if he did, he didn’t want it to be her! He opened his mouth to speak but was beaten to it.
“He’s already taking me!” Sadie blurted.
All eyes turned to Sadie, and she blushed a little. Hayley looked suddenly crestfallen. “He can’t be taking you. He’s only just met you!”
“He is. He asked me just now at the bar, and I said yes!” she added, moving her eyes to Pete and daring him to challenge her.
Pete immediately fell into the lie, seeing it as the perfect way of shielding Hayley’s feelings. He had no idea why Sadie had decided to say that, but at this precise moment in time, he wasn’t going to argue!
He nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sorry, Hayley. I thought you already had a date.”
Hayley looked ready to burst into tears. “Well, I haven’t.”
Pete nudged her playfully with his arm. “Chin up, Hayley. If I’d have known, of course, I’d have taken you. Anyway, I bet there’s loads of blokes who’d be pleased to take you.”
Tom was staring at him oddly. “Ya kept that one quiet, mate!” he berated him. “I was gonna ask Sadie myself!”
A look of horror spread over Sadie’s face, which she quickly covered, but not before Pete noticed. He hid a smirk.
Tom shrugged his shoulders at Hayley and drank the last of his pint. As he slammed the glass down, emitting a satisfying belch in the process, a puzzled look crossed his face. He looked at his cousin and then across the room at one of his friends. “You know what, Hayley? Simon hasn’t got a date for the dance, and I know he’s sweet on ya. Do you want me to ask him?”
Hayley looked across the room to where Tom was pointing, to see a tall, sandy-haired man leaning at the bar. He grinned and raised his drink to her. Hayley blushed demurely and quickly looked back to Tom.
“Go on, then. If Pete won’t take me, then he’ll have to do!” This last remark was more for Pete’s benefit than Tom’s. She stood up and pushed in her chair. “I’m just off to the ladies’.”
While Tom wandered over to see Simon and Hayley disappeared to the rest room, Sadie leaned across the table to Pete.
“Right, now they’ve gone, let’s get one thing straight. I don’t want Hayley’s feelings hurt, and I could see you were about to do that. That’s the only reason I said I’d go with you!” she hissed. “We’ll just agree to be civil to one another for appearance’s sake. Then, when I go back to University and you go... well, wherever it is you go... we’ll never see each other again!”
“My, aren’t you the sweet little thing!” Pete said dryly. “Anyone would think I had two heads or something!”
“Let’s just say, you’re not my type and leave it at that!”
But Pete couldn’t just ‘leave it at that.’ “So, I fall into the same category as Tom. You never did say what your type is, Sadie...”
Sadie stood up and stared at him, her hands on her hips. “If you really must know – I dislike pilots intensely!”
Pete watched as she stomped off, wondering what her problem was. More likely, pilots would dislike her, for her sassy attitude. The girl needed a good bottom warming; that would soon get her under control. The thought of having her backside draped over his lap made him smile into his pint as he drank the last mouthful.
Sadie looked at herself in the long bedroom mirror. Dressed in a figure-hugging black dress with matching heels, she looked the perfect lady. She made a moue with her lips. God, she really didn’t want to go tonight. She could think of a million other places she’d rather be. The RAF pilots all thought they were God’s gift and every woman should bow before them! Well, she had news for them!
She sat down heavily on the bed. Who was she kidding. Most of them were gorgeous. Especially in uniform. Oh, yeah. She closed her eyes as she pictured Matt Williams. He was an RAF pilot and had been for three years. He was one of the most handsome men she’d ever met, and when he’d asked her to go out on a date she’d been in seventh heaven. That heaven hadn’t lasted long. Three months, in fact. That was the day she found out he’d been two-timing her with Martha Tilly from the local village! God! She’d felt such a fool.
What did Martha Tilly have that she didn’t? She stood up again and looked more closely at herself in the mirror. She had long, dark hair and a small, heart-shaped face with piercing blue eyes. Her lips weren’t too big or too small.
Damn pilots! Cheating, hormone-driven hotheads, the lot of them!
She raised her chin and decided that after tonight, she would never see another RAF pilot again! She was, after all, only going on this date to keep Hayley’s feeling from getting hurt.
Sadie glanced out of the cab window as it pulled up outside the RAF base, only to have her breath catch in her throat when she saw Pete. He was talking to the sentry guards, dressed in his full uniform, laughing at something one of the men had said. Her heart started beating loudly in her chest as he crossed over to meet her. Her resolve to not get involved with an RAF pilot was already beginning to wane.
He opened the door and held out his hand to her. “Good evening, Sadie.”
She stepped out of the cab and felt his eyes consume her, as he assessed her from top to bottom. He said nothing, and she bristled immediately.
She’d paid a lot of attention to detail tonight. He could at least appreciate that fact! Instead, he linked her arm through his, and they made their way to the main barracks where the dance was being held.
Hayley was already there with her new date, Simon, who was hanging on her every word. She greeted Sadie warmly and introduced everyone as they sat down at their table.
One of the staff walked past with a tray of champagne, and Pete took one for him and one for Sadie. She took it off him without a word of thanks and was pleased to note that it seemed to irk him somewhat. There was a notable frown on his forehead.
She smiled into her glass. Perhaps tonight could be more fun than she’d anticipated.
“Are you two coming to dance?” asked Hayley, as Simon pulled her towards the dance floor.
“Maybe later.” Sadie replied. “We’ve only just arrived.”
“So?” Pete said, “There’s no time like the present.” He grabbed her hand, and before she knew it, he had her on the dance floor, his strong arms leading her in time to the music.
“Are you always this... this... demanding?” she breathed, as he spun her around.
“Most of the time. Depends who I’m with. For instance, if I were with Haley, then I wouldn’t have the need to command. But you,” he paused for effect, “you need leadership.”
Sadie gasped. “I do not!”
“Oh, you do!” His dark eyes bored into hers.
Irritated by his knowing smile, Sadie slapped his arms off and moved back to their table. Pete joined her.
“You didn’t fancy carrying on the dance, then?” he asked.
“Not with you, no!” She gulped a mouthful of champagne down and then coughed as the bubbles hit the back of her throat.
“Steady on.” Pete warned. “If you drink that quickly, you’ll be drunk before you know it.”
Sadie glared at him and then knocked the rest of the glass back. “If I want to get drunk, I shall!”
She caught the eye of a nearby waiter and took another glass, throwing Pete a look of contempt as she sipped the cool liquid.
Pete watched Sadie throughout the evening as she drank several glasses of champagne. She seemed to take great delight in angering him. Some of the things she’d said were downright rude, and it had taken great patience on his part not to reply in kind. However, his patience was wearing thin and what he really wanted was to blister her behind.
The only thing stopping him from walking away was the fact that she intrigued him. Why did she hate RAF pilots so much? What had happened to make her feel so strongly against him and his colleagues?
He narrowed his eyes as he watched her knock back her fourth glass.
When she beckoned the waiter over, Pete intervened. “Can you make that an orange juice, please?”
The waiter nodded and moved off to get the drink. Sadie stared at Pete, puzzled. “Who’s the orange juice for?”
“You!”
“Me? But I want another glass of champagne.” She hiccoughed and quickly placed a hand over her mouth.
“Oh, no. You’ve had quite enough!”
“I haven’t!” she fumed. “And who are you to tell me I’ve had enough!”
“Your date. Or had you forgotten?”
Sadie snorted. “Date! Ha! That’s a laugh. I wouldn’t go anywhere near you. It was only so Hayley’s – ”
To Be Continued...
