A Fortunate Accident – Chapter 17

Rain pummels the roof of my suite, and the door opens as a peal of thunder cracks the sky.

“Woo. It’s really coming down out there.” Kalvin shucks off his wet coat in the vestibule. “I got Saif a room two buildings down from here. He should be fine.”

Rummaging through my bag, my hand grazes the box of cards before I grab them and hold them up triumphantly.

“Gin? Let’s enjoy the evening before I make you find your own place, too.”

He raises his eyebrows. “You mean I get to sleep on an actual bed instead of the couch? How novel.”

I move some of the snacks Saif left and place the deck of cards on the table. “If you can beat me at Gin, then you can sleep with me tonight.” I raise my finger to his wide eyes. “Be warned now. I am very good at cards.”

“Sleep with you. You mean, close my eyes and lose consciousness in the same bed with you? Or tear your clothes off and make sweet love to you all night long?”

I cringe. “Never use the phrase ‘make sweet love’ ever again. And yes, both.”

Who the hell is this guy, anyway? Who says ‘make sweet love’ sincerely and still manages to capture my attention? He must be possessed by a god or something.

He nods slowly. “I’ll accept your challenge despite you disliking my choice of words.” He cracks his knuckles and sits down opposite me. “Soda?”

“Yes, please. I’m sure it’ll go great in my stomach with all the gin I put there an hour ago.”

He hands over an orange soda, and we lean across the table and knock the glass bottles.

“Cheers,” he says, making eye contact with me while sipping.

I can’t help but smile. I remember when this man made me so furious that I would avoid him between classes and sit far away from him at the flight school cafeteria. Now I’m considering sleeping with him and adding him to my network.

I shuffle the cards as I consider this turn of events. I’ve never discussed this with Kalvin. He may not want to be a part of a network, come to think of it. He may just want to sleep with whomever he wants and keep on flying.

There’s no time like the present to find out.

I deal the cards, ten to each of us, and then create the discard pile.

“Best two of three because I’d like to go to sleep eventually.” I arrange my cards into like suits and then from highest to lowest value. Committing the cards to memory, I set my hand down and watch Kalvin.

“So…” I drum my fingers on the table. “What do you have planned next?”

“Next? Like tomorrow? Next week?” He finishes rearranging his cards, looks at the top card, picks it up, and discards it from his hand.

“Like, after this little Rio adventure.” I flip over the top card, and it’s one I don’t need. I add it to the discard pile.

“You’re not even going to look at your hand?” he asks, peeved.

“Nope. I don’t need to.”

He sighs. “You’re too smart for your own good.” He chooses a new card and lays it in the discard pile.

“I’ve heard that a lot in my life.” My turn. This is a card I need to round out a three-of-a-kind. I discard.

“Uh, I don’t know what I’m doing after this Rio adventure. I need to check on my mom, but…” He shrugs while looking at his cards again. “I suppose it all depends on where you’re going.” He draws and sets the card down.

I lean back in the chair and watch him sip his soda.

“Where I’m going?”

“Yeah, Ms. Obvious. I said I wasn’t leaving. I am a man of my word. Are you going to draw a card, or what?”

I sigh as I draw a card. Oh good, another one I need. I discard.

“How do you feel about relationship networks?” I ask, and he tries to stop a smile. “You didn’t come to me via Marcelo, so I have no idea. Maybe you hate them.”

“Maybe I love them.” He draws another card and discards from his hand. I suspect he’s close to Gin. So am I.

“Maybe you do. What’s wrong with your mother?” I ask, my tone of voice soft.

He sighs, sets his cards down for a moment, and rubs his face.

“She has a wasting disease. Seen a million doctors.” He waves his hand and sighs again. “There’s nothing that can be done. I’ve rushed home several times in the last few years to be with her, thinking that was it, the end, you know? She just keeps holding on.”

I pull a card, and it’s not one I need. Damn.

“Marcelo thought you or your mom had money problems, and that’s why you left.”

“I kept it vague on purpose. My mom is a private woman.” He draws another card, smiles, and lays his cards down. “Gin. Must be my lucky day.”

I flip my cards over. “Must be. I was one card away.” I gather up all the cards and pass them to him to shuffle.

“So, you have a birthday coming up?” he asks, shuffling the cards.

I tip my wristlet over and check the date. “Yep. It’s in a few days.” I keep it vague on purpose.

“How old?” He cuts the cards and stops to take a sip of soda. He shuffles the deck like someone who plays frequently, so sometime soon, we’ll have to discuss cards.

I laugh. “Usually, that’s a loaded question, but I’ll allow it. I’ll be twenty-nine. You?”

“Thirty-one in four months. We can always celebrate my birthday. I love a good party.” He lifts his eyebrows and begins to deal.

Looking at Kalvin’s face as it falls back to neutral, I can read the deep concern for his mother and the family stress he’s been under. We’re both facing family stress of different varieties. But he’s here with me, instead of at home.

I decide to lose the next hand.

I want him. I want him for good. Does he want that too? When I think of how my mother built her network, it makes me want to do things differently. I want to be sure my mates are happy, not like Mom’s men. How can I make that happen?

Once the cards are on the table, I rearrange my hand like I’m playing to win.

“Does your mother have a network?” I ask, picking up the first card and replacing it with something in my hand. I’m not paying attention.

“She has two husbands.” He moves the card he picked up to the discard pile. “One of them is estranged. The other is a constant worrier. He’s there with her, but he’s terrible at this sickness stuff.”

We continue playing.

“It’s not easy to watch someone you love get sick and waste away.” I observe him over the top of my cards.

“That’s very true. It’s tough on my brothers too. My mom never had a girl.” He laughs as he rearranges his cards. “She absolutely doted on my older brother’s wife. Not a mean bone in that woman’s body.”

I stop and stare out the small horizontal window near the ceiling. The rain is really coming down now.

I wonder what it’s like to have kind and loving parents. It must be… fulfilling. Yeah, that’s the right word. I’ve always felt like there was a part of my life that was missing, empty. I tried to fill it with booze, and flying, and sex, but that never worked.

“Sorry,” Kalvin says, exchanging cards. “You know I talk too much.”

“Oh,” I say, pulling myself back to the game. I flip over the next card and discard it. “No, it’s fine. I asked. I’m just sitting here wondering what that must be like, having a loving family.”

“And then to lose it,” Kalvin says.

“Yes, well, I lost my family ages ago. I just have my cousin now. Even my siblings are lost to me.” I look up at him. “You have Gin. You had it two cards ago.”

He lays his cards down, and I was right. Gin. Best two out of three.

“I want my own family, Kalvin. I want to break the cycle. I want men I love, children to dote on and laugh and cry with. I want to give my children all the stuff that was denied to me as a kid. I want to fly the Duo Systems and learn everything. Absolutely everything. What about you?”

His smile is slight, warm, kind. “I want those same things.”

“And you can share?” My stomach is tied in knots. If he’s going to cause problems with his pilot ego, then I should cut him loose now. I don’t want to.

“My mama taught me to share my toys,” he says. His eyes crinkle with humor.

I sigh with relief. Kalvin is game, and he’s here with me. Saif has come around, and he’s not far. Hell, even Takemo has mellowed out some, though he is far from being in my network or a desirable mate.

I stand up and round the table. Kalvin angles his chair away from the table, and I straddle him to sit in his lap. He smiles as his hands slide up my thighs to my hips. Taking his face in my hands, I look him in the eyes.

“Don’t play me,” I say, my voice gentle. I stroke my thumb over his cheek, and the sandpaper stubble soothes an anxious part of me. “I won’t be manipulated.”

“Not me,” he whispers. “I know I play the high-flying pilot, but with you, you get just Kalvin.” He squeezes my hips. “I don’t want to play games anymore. You’re the only one for me. I knew it right away, as soon as I opened my eyes and stopped listening to rumors. I won’t fuck it up. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way.” His eyes are dead serious. Ah, there was a woman he tried to charm, and it didn’t work out. I wonder what happened there.

I lean in and kiss him, inhaling through my nose and wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands clutch my hips, pulling me towards him. His pants bulge between my legs, and my head swims with lust. Yes. This is what I’ve been waiting for. A meaningful connection with Kalvin. We had a spark in the desert, and now that spark has grown to a roaring flame. If I can trust him to be gentle with me and my heart, I can trust him with other things as well — the Amagi, my eventual other network consorts, my business, my life choices.

His hands travel up my back, and I draw a sharp breath and pull away. “Ow. Oh no.” I rest my forehead against his. “My back is still messed up.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Then you’ll have to be on top.” His fingers pull at the hem of my shirt and lift it up over my head. I lift my arms and let the shirt go.

With a slow, gentle pressure, he drags his hands up my sides and pulls my chest to his lips. I let my head drop back as he kisses along the top of my bra, and his fingers skirt my bra straps to release the hooks in the back. He sighs as he drops my bra to the floor.

“I’ve dreamt of this for weeks,” he says. I inhale as all the blood in my body pools low in my abdomen. I’m desperate to relieve the pressure growing between my legs.

“We need to move,” I say, my voice light and breathy. I can’t take this anymore. I have had the most stressful few weeks, and with this lawsuit hanging over my head, my brief fallout with Saif, and everything that’s happened in the jungle, I just need a release. I won’t treat Kalvin like a sexbot, but for fuck’s sake, if we do not do the deed right now, I will explode.

He pushes my hips off his lap. “To the bed, gorgeous.”

I back up, but he’s right on top of me. He takes my face in his hands and pulls me to him. Our lips crash into each other, and I open up to let him in. His tongue slides over mine as I pull his shirt from his pants and struggle with his belt. Why have we invented nothing better to keep our pants from falling down?

I pull my lips from his. “Gah, your pants are trying to kill me. Take them off right now,” I demand.

“Yes, Captain,” he says, humor touching his voice. He unbuckles and pulls his pants and underwear off, and… I can’t see straight. I rush to him and take his shirt off. There. He’s naked, and I’m so aroused. I’m going to burst.

“Come here.” He unclasps my pants and slips his hands in the back, cupping my ass. “I remember that bruise you got right here from falling off the life pod. I saw you in your underwear that day, and I knew I wanted you.” He dips down and pulls everything off.

Oh yes. Yes, yes. I inhale, close my eyes, and reach out for him. “I wanted you too. I just didn’t know it yet.”

We stand there for a long time, our lips moving together, my hand stroking him, his hand migrating to between my legs. I don’t think I can orgasm and stay on my feet, though. I’m sure I’ll collapse. So I push him to the bed and let go so I can press on his shoulder and get him to sit. Wasting no time, I straddle him. I gasp as he rocks and hits me right at the most tender spot.

That’s it. I won’t last long. I drop my head down to his.

“I’m going to come quickly. I can’t hold back. Keep going to the end.”

He leans forward and nips at my collarbone. Our hips find a rhythm, and I let go. I just let it all happen. I let him hold me. I let him guide me. He finds the spot swiftly, and I’m tipped over to the other side.

“Keep going,” he growls, holding the rhythm strong.

I orgasm again, twice more in succession before he comes too. I’m panting heavy breaths, in and out, in and out.

“Sky.” Kalvin pushes back my hair, so I look down at him. “I don’t know what you see in me.” His eyes are scared, worried, vulnerable. My heart aches. “But I will never leave your side again. If this is our life together, then I want it.”

With a deep kiss, he lifts me off of him, holds my hand, and guides me into the bed. I lay down on my side with my back to him, and he snuggles up, close enough to feel his heat. He kisses my neck as his hand comes around to cup my breast and then head to between my legs again.

Yes, yes. Again.

I will not sleep tonight, and that’s fine with me.