“You also make me feel all tingly inside.”
“Very.” She leaned down and kissed me. “Hmm, that’s kinda fun. I think I like being taller than you.”
“Lots of other possibilities with you up there and me down here.” I darted a glance at her small breasts, which were right at eye level. “But later. Right now we have a plane to catch.”
I opened the Comanche’s door and warned her not to step off the nonskid strip. Then I slid past her and climbed into the left seat. Once she lowered herself into the right seat, I reached over her to latch the door. Then I gave her a quick rundown of what to touch, what not to, and what to do in case of an emergency.
“It’s more complicated than I remember,” she said.
“It isn’t if you know what you’re doing.”
“You make it look so easy.”
“Well, I cheat,” I said. I showed her the laminated checklist card and then offered it to her. “You wanna be my copilot?”
“Okay, you read the first part of each item and make sure I say the second part exactly like it’s printed. Ready?”
“Yes, sir, captain, sir!” She even saluted. Then she read from the card,
“Preflight inspection?”
“Passenger briefing?”
I grinned a question at her.
“Complete,” she said with a nod. “Seats and belts?”
I checked both hers and mine. “Secure.”
I touched the handle. “Set.”
We went through the rest of the checklist until everything was complete.
“Ready?” I said at last. She smiled ear-to-ear and nodded. I scanned the
immediate area and then called, “Clear prop!”
The engine whined, coughed twice, and turned over. It caught and settled into a steady thrum as the plane vibrated with power. We put on our headsets and adjusted the microphone booms.
“Check, check,” I said over the intercom. “Hear me okay?”
“Loud and clear, captain.”
The rest of taxi and takeoff was thoroughly routine as far as I was concerned. But Christy found something new to enjoy at every stage, whether I was talking on the radio or simply setting the throttle and mixture once we reached our requested cruising altitude. At that point I set the autopilot and gave the instruments and airspace another quick scan.
We settled in for the ride and chatted for about thirty minutes, and I told her what it was like to spend summers at camp. I skipped over the sex, but she could tell I was leaving out plenty of details.
“That’s where you met Gina?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said cautiously. I wasn’t sure where she was going, but I didn’t want it to blow up in my face.
