Now as they coasted along the city skyline, she kept both hands firmly gripping the steering wheel, or yoke as it was called in small plane terminology, as they passed through wispy strands of white clouds. When Pesh had first offered to give her flying lessons, Megan didn’t know if she should believe him or not. Looking back, she wasn’t sure why she ever doubted him considering he was always a man of his word. And now, just two weeks after their first date in Savannah, they were back up in the air flying around Atlanta on a Thursday afternoon.

It had been quite a week together of having dinner after work or them picking up something on the way to her house. Although, the first day back at work proved both difficult and awkward as they tried to appear as though nothing had changed. But the fact was everything had changed, and it wasn’t just because they had become physical. As much as Megan tried to fight her growing feelings for Pesh, it was virtually impossible. A man like him made it too hard for any woman not to fall in love with him, and as much as she didn’t want to acknowledge it, she could see herself falling for him.

Of course, he was also full of surprises. Like on Monday when he had asked her to see if there was an extra heart monitor in one of the empty patient rooms on the first floor. She had obediently gone to check. While she found the heart monitor, she also found him. The gentleman she had once known became somewhat of a sex fiend when he locked the door and disappeared with her behind the curtain. A mid-day sex session in an empty hospital bed made for quite an experience, especially when the brake on the bed released, and they literally banged into the walls.

But besides the naughty sexcapade, he’d wanted to spend down time with her and Mason. Earlier in the week, Pesh brought Mason to see his plane. Megan had to smile at the image in her mind of Mason on Pesh’s lap in the pilot’s seat as he explained the ins and outs of the buttons and knobs. Pesh had shown such patience with Mason by constantly fielding his questions and letting him wear one of the headsets. He’d even gotten the ATC to send a message over the headset so Mason could hear. While it was supposed to be a pre-flying lesson for her, it turned educational for Mason as well. And to make it a day that neither Mason, nor Pesh would forget, they’d gone by McDonald’s afterwards so Mason could play on the playground. The fact that Pesh was so willing to do anything to make Mason happy was slowly starting to crack Megan’s tough resolve against dating him.

It wasn’t just the fact that Pesh was so wonderful with Mason that had her reeling. When they talked, she shared more with him than she ever had with a man. He made it easy to open up to and speak of both the good and the bad in her life. He was such a good listener that she never felt like she was just rattling on and boring him. He truly seemed interested in everything she said. It was an amazing feeling.

“Still doing okay over there?” Pesh asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

She grinned. “Fine.”

“I wish you could see your face,” he mused.

“Do I have some dopey expression?” she asked.

“It isn’t dopey. It’s wide-eyed wonderment like a kid on Christmas morning.”

“Oh, I would totally believe it since this certainly feels like a very big and very dangerous toy.”

“It’s a wonderful sight to see. I’m so glad I get to share this with you.” He took one of her hands from the yoke and brought it to his mouth. As his lips kissed over her knuckles, she tensed.

“I need my hand back. I don’t feel like I have a good grip on the steering wheel like you said I should,” she protested.

Pesh sighed and released her hand. “How I regret telling you that tip now,” he lamented.

She smiled. “That’s not fair to try and distract me. I need to focus, so we don’t crash.”

“All right. I’ll keep my hands to myself…for now.”

A shudder went through her at his words. At that moment if there was any way possible to actually fly the plane and bang him, she would have tried. Shaking her head, she tried ridding herself of her inappropriate thoughts.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing at a dark blip far down on the horizon.

Pesh leaned forward in his seat, peering out the windshield. “Looks like a storm cloud moving in.”

“We should head back then.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think it’s going to affect us.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like the thought of trying to fly in a storm.”

“Then we’ll head back.”

“Which way should I turn the plane?”

“Let’s take a right,” Pesh replied.

Megan bobbed her head and then turned the yoke at the same time she pressed on the right rudder pedal with her foot.

“Good. Keep it coming. We’re almost turned around.” Once they were facing the opposite direction, Pesh said, “Now let’s bring up the speed.”

She did as she was told and waited for him to give her any further instructions. “We’re good to go now. When we’re about ten minutes out from McCollum, you need to let the ATC know we’re coming in.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

“Do you have plans for this evening?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Would you like to have dinner with me?”

She nibbled on her bottom lip to keep from laughing at his formalness. “I suppose so. Do I get dessert afterwards?”

His body tensed beside her. “Are you implying that I’m dessert, or that after we finish dinner I should get you dessert?”

Megan laughed. “No, I want you for dessert.”

“Then you can have me. Always.”

Glancing over at him, she said, “I might have to ask for a to-go box since I’m assuming we’ll have Mason with us.”

“I don’t mind. I enjoy spending time with him.”

Megan couldn’t keep the smile off her face at Pesh’s words. “He really likes being with you, too. I’ve never seen him warm up to a stranger as much as he has to you.”

“I’m a likeable guy,” he teased.

“Yeah, you are,” she murmured, trying not to let the out-of-control fluttering of her heart make her think more than she should about him.

Pesh interrupted her thoughts by motioning to the controls. “Go ahead and start doing your landing checks.”

Megan vaguely remembered what knobs and meters she had looked at before they took off. Once she got through the landing checks with Pesh’s help, they were getting closer to McCollum. “Now radio ATC.”

“Um, okay,” Megan replied, nibbling on her lip. After clearing his throat, Megan glanced over at Pesh. He motioned to the yoke. “Oh, duh,” she replied. With her thumb, she pressed the push-to-talk button. “This is Cessna 172 coming in for landing.”

Before she could ask Pesh if she had done it right, he relayed a different message over his push-to-talk. The ATC’s response crackled over her headset. “Cessna 172, this is ground control confirming you are clear to land.”

“Now push on the yoke to start the descent,” Pesh instructed.

After she did what she was told, her eyes locked on the speedometer. “Should we be picking up this much speed?”

“Yes and no,” Pesh replied.

“What the hell does that mean?” she asked, jerking her wild gaze to his.

He chuckled. “See the black knob there labeled ‘throttle’?”

“Yeah.”

“Look at it this way. You know when you’re in a car and you’re going downhill, you pick up speed?” Megan nodded. “It’s the same thing in a plane. But if you pull on the throttle knob, it reduces the engine power so there won’t be an increase in speed.”

With her fingers grasping the black knob, Megan asked, “How hard do I need to pull on it?”

“Try pulling back half-way.”

After pulling on the knob, Megan eyed the speed. “We’re slowing down.”

“Good.”

“Are we at ninety knots?”

Megan glanced down. “Yeah.”

“Okay, then lower the nose just a little bit. That will give us a glide-path or a controlled descent.”

Megan eased on the steering wheel until the nose of the plane dipped below the horizon.

“Now put the landing gear in the down position,” Pesh instructed.

“Is that the button with the little tire on it?”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

Megan pressed it. “Got it.”

“Using the steering wheel, roll the wings a little to the right, so we’re lined back up with the runway.”

Megan turned the steering wheel to the right a little too abruptly. “Oops,” she replied.

“It’s okay. Just level it out. You always want your runway target spot to stay in the same fixed spot on the windshield.”

As Megan stared ahead, she realized how close they were getting to the runway, and in turn, the ground. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure if she could land the plane. It was one thing taking off, but it seemed like there was so much more that could go wrong when landing. “U-Uh, P-Pesh,” she stammered.

“Yeah?” he asked casually.

“I don’t think I can do this.” She cut her eyes over to him. “I can’t land the plane. It’s too scary.”

“Yes, you can.”

Megan shook her head furiously back and forth. “No really. You need to take back the controls. I could cause us to crash.”

“But I have faith in you.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t let you do this if I didn’t think you could.”

She stole a glance at him, taking in his earnest expression. God, he really and truly believed in her. And it wasn’t just about the fact they were banging each other every chance they got alone. No, he saw through to the real her.

After taking a deep breath, she felt herself slowly calming down. “Fine. I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.”

“That’s my girl,” Pesh replied.

“What should I do now?”

“All right, now you need to pull the throttle all the way out as well as pulling back on the wheel to keep the nose from dipping.”

Clearing her throat that felt as dry as sandpaper, Megan jerked on the throttle button before pulling on the steering wheel. It was a little harder considering how sweaty her hands were.

“Keep it steady. You’re doing great.”

As they came closer and closer to the runway, Megan fought the urge to close her eyes, but she realized that would not be the right thing to do. Instead, she braced herself for the impact. The moment the wheels hit the asphalt she shrieked and clutched at the steering wheel.

“Don’t fight the bounce. We’re fine. You’re fine.”

They skidded along the pavement. “Okay, now ease up on the wheel and push on the tops of both pedals to apply the brakes.”

Without thinking, Megan stomped her feet, causing the plane to screech. “Easy,” Pesh said.

She let her feet off the brakes, and they began to coast. “Now you’re going to bring it back into the hanger.”

“Oh, hell no! I would end up mowing out the side of the building or another plane!” Megan cried.

Pesh’s amused chuckle died quickly at the death glare she shot him. “Megan, you’ll do fine. You just landed a plane. I think you can handle pulling into a hanger.”

She scowled at him. “Fine. But when you have to file a huge insurance claim, I’m going to say ‘I told you so.’”

“We’ll see,” he replied. She could tell he was fighting back a smile the way he kept biting down on his lip. “All right, take a right here,” he said, pointing to where the runaway split.

She turned the wheel to the right and began easing her foot down on the brake when she saw the hangers come into view. “Which one is yours?”

“I share the third one. Luckily for you, it’s pretty much a straight shot in. Just watch out for my dad’s plane.”

Megan jerked her horrified gaze over to his. “I could be taking out your dad’s plane?”

Pesh shook his head. “You’re not going to take out anyone’s plane, Megan. I have faith in you.”

She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. After taking a deep breath and giving herself a mental pep talk, she started slowly easing the plane inside the hanger. Even though she was far away from the back wall, she hit the brakes. “Is this okay?”

“Looks good to me. Now you want to pull on the red knob.”

“The one that says mixture?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. It will kill the engine.”

When Megan pulled on the knob, the plane shuddered into silence. She couldn’t help sitting absolutely frozen for a few moments, processing everything that had happened.

Pesh’s hand reached out to rub her shoulder. “You okay over there?” he asked.