Page 19 of Blue Moon

Chapter 7

Sawyer

Ileft Sol standing at the coffee bar with a sad look on her face. Fuck—I’d totally been a dick to her. I needed to do more than just apologize. I headed over to a flower stand across the street.

I’d been an asshole to plenty of women before and never once wasted a second thinking about how I’d hurt their feelings. Why did I care what this girl thought? Sure, she was beautiful, but I’d had my pick of gorgeous women once I became an Angel.

Was it because Beck would murder me if I fucked this up? Or was it because Sol was getting inside my head?

Why, why, why?

It had to be because Beck had given me such a hard time about not hitting on her. It was the full forbidden fruit thing—that was why I wanted her so badly.

I could tell by the way her pupils dilated when she looked at me that she wanted me too.

I could still turn this night around.

Maybe we could blow off the gala. And then, I could ask her out on a date to The 500 Club, a historic dive bar in the Mission District. I loved that place. No Instagrammable drinks that changed color or were served in eggshells. Just good hard liquor. Afterward, I’d take her back to my hotel room and fuck her on the balcony until all of San Francisco could hear her moan in pleasure.

And then, I would never see her again.

Yup. That sounded like the perfect plan.

Fuck Beck and his bullshit relationship talk. That life was right for him, but it wasn’t for everyone, and most certainly not for me. I knew who I was. I liked who I was, and nobody was going to change me. Not even this gorgeous pageant queen.

I picked up the phone and called Beck to check in since we would be missing the gala. He answered on the first ring.

“Hello? Am I your one call?”

“Funny. No, I didn’t get arrested.”

“What’s up, man? Did you piss Solana off? Is she not coming to the gala tonight?”

How did he know? “Fuck, man. Is that what you think of me? A total fuck- up?”

“Yup. You’re an ace in the air, but sometimes I wonder how you graduated from Annapolis. You know, I fought for you to get on this squad—the other guys didn’t want another cocky pilot, but I swore you’d come through for me. I believed in you and was impressed by everything you overcame to get here. I still am. Don’t make me regret my decision.”

I paused. I never knew Beck had been the one to endorse me through the audition process. It was so hard to become an Angel. Only six pilots were on the squadron, and only three new pilots were chosen each year. The audition process was brutal. I hoped we found some cool dudes this year—in fact, I’d make sure of it.

I needed to clean up my act. Getting kicked off the squad would be the worst thing that had ever happened to me, which said a lot, considering the fucked-up childhood I’d had. I would never forgive myself if I ended up being replaced due to my behavior on land. I needed to be a better man.

“Well, I’m going to come through for you. Though we won’t be going to the gala.”

“Why are you calling me? The gala isn’t required, though you should attend, so the brass sees you’re making an effort to behave. Do you want to ask me something? Advice maybe? Or do you need to get a confession off your chest?”

I swear that dude could see right through me. “I guess. When I picked her up, I was pretty fucking annoyed by her. She was recording our every second for her Instagram and didn’t even bother talking to me at first. So, I kind of lost it. Went off on her for her lifestyle and living in this city. I was a jerk.”

Beck let out a long sigh. “Huck, you didn’t. I told you—”

“Yup, I know you did. After I said those things, I knew I had completely blown it with her. She seemed genuinely hurt, and I felt awful. Shit, I still feel awful, I do. But instead of yelling at me, she calmly put me in my place. She pretty much told me that I was an asshole. But then, she said she respected my job. I know this sounds stupid, but I feel like she really understands me.”

“Dude, you need a therapist, but I’ve told you that before. Do you want my advice?”

“Nope,” I lied.

“Too bad—I’m going to give it to you anyway. Instead of trying to get Sol into bed, just get to know her as a human being, not as a sex object to be used for your pleasure. Feel what it’s like to spend some time with a woman without your typical end game. You could surprise yourself.”

That sounded like hell. Why would I spend time with a woman if I wasn’t going to get laid? If I wanted to hang out with a friend, I’d chill with Declan. I knew him, I trusted him, and he always had my back. He was my legit wingman.

But Beck’s idea latched onto my brain like a leech. “I’ll think about it.”

“Where is she now? Where are you?”

I grabbed a bouquet of flowers from the stand and handed the lady two twenties. “Buying her flowers.”

The lady smiled and tried to hand me my change, but I waved her off as I turned to look back at the coffee bar. Sol was sitting by herself at a table with our drinks, and I didn’t want to keep her waiting any longer.

“Nice save. Seriously, be good to Sol. That’s an order.”

“Yes, sir. Got it. I’ll text you later.”

“Later, bro.”

I walked back to the coffeehouse. Sol gave me a big smile when she saw the flowers in my hand. My chest swelled with pride—I was glad I could make her feel better after the crappy way I’d treated her.

I just hoped I hadn’t already fucked up this night beyond repair.