Page 10 of Keeping Laryn
“He died when I was nineteen,” Laryn said matter-of-factly.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I mean, it sucks, but he wasalwaysproud of me. I was Daddy’s little girl and could do no wrong.”
“I bet you were two peas in a pod,” he guessed.
“We were.” Laryn smiled at him, before her stomach suddenly let out a loud growl.
Her hand immediately went to her belly, and Casper couldn’thelp but look down at where she was touching herself. He could see the small swell under her hand, and it took every ounce of control he had not to pull her hand away and replace it with his own.
It was almost alarming how much he wanted this woman. Why now? What had changed? He wasn’t sure. Except for the look of concern she’d let slip on that naval ship, after returning with his brother and the others when his chopper had crashed. He’d seen her true emotions for the first time, and he’d been intrigued. And now, here he was, desperately wanting to know everything about Laryn.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted mustard or mayonnaise on your sandwich,” he told her as he turned away, stepping toward the kitchen, more so that she didn’t see the erection in his flight suit than truly wanting to end their conversation.
“Both,” she said, stepping past him.
Once again, her clean, sweet smell wafted up to his nose, making Casper want to lean in and sniff her neck. Truthfully, he wanted to do more than that, but the thoughts he was having about his mechanic were kind of freaking him out with their sudden urgency. So he kept his distance as she squirted a healthy amount of condiments on the top half of her bagel, then picked up the sandwich and took a huge bite right where they stood in the kitchen.
It was something else they had in common. Casper didn’t sit to eat much. He was too used to eating on the go. And when he was by himself in his small apartment, he didn’t bother setting a table. Sometimes he ate on his couch while he watched football, but usually he saved time by eating his meals standing in the kitchen as well.
He also wasn’t surprised by the speed with which Laryn ate. Like him, she had a profession where enjoying a leisurely meal was a luxury. They were both done with their sandwiches in minutes.
“That was delicious,” she told him. Then they stood there a little awkwardly before she asked, “You want to sit down?”
Casper nodded, and they headed over to her couch. She sat on one end and he settled into the other.
“So…you came by to check on me. I’m good. How areyou? How’s your brother and Josie doing? Have you talked to them much?”
Casper shouldn’t have been surprised she remembered his brother’s fiancée’s name, and yet he still kind of was. He didn’t even think the two were introduced to each other when they’d been on the naval ship, but she’d obviously found out Josie’s name somehow.
“They’re good. They got engaged.”
“Really? That’s awesome,” Laryn said, pleasure lighting up her features.
She seemed genuinely excited for them both. Casper felt guilty for all the times he’d thought this woman was a robot, going about her business all emotionless and stoic. It was obvious she had plenty of deep feelings—she’d just kept them locked down aroundhim. Which was a blow for some reason.
Another awkward silence filled the air, and Casper wasn’t sure what to say.
“Sooo…” she said, drawing the word out. “If you aren’t here for your car, and you aren’t here to tell me something’s wrong with the chopper…why are youreallyhere?”
“We’ve worked together for three years or so now, right?” Casper asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“In all those years, we haven’t ever sat down and had lunch together. Or hung out. Or talked about anything other than work. Why is that?”
Laryn looked at him as if he had two heads. “Because. I’m the mechanic and you’re the pilot. You’re, like, a god or something. I’m nothing.”
“Bullshit!” Casper exclaimed, wincing when Laryn flinched. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be so loud. But that’s bullshit,” he repeated. “Everyone knows a pilot is only as good as the mechanic who works on his machines.”
“Nowyou’respouting bullshit,” Laryn said with a small laugh. “No onenotices us. No one cares about the grease monkeys behind the scenes. It’s been that way everywhere I’ve ever worked. With no exceptions. The drivers get all the accolades. All the press attention. All the women…or men. And that’s fine,” she rushed to add. “I’m fully content to stay in the background with my head under the hood, so to speak, keeping the engines purring.”
Casper was getting exasperated with his body. His damn cock wouldn’t stay down. Just hearing her say “engines purring” had him thinking about very different things other than helicopters and cars. “How many job offers have you received since you started working on the MH-60s?” he asked.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“How many?” he insisted.
