High Flyght – Chapter 17

If I could sink into the bed and stay there forever, I would. I hum as I drag my foot up the length of Ken’s leg and back down again. The time on the bedside clock reads 02:04. I should go to sleep, but I want to delay those moments when I sleep and dream. Ken and I haven’t slept in the same bed together in a while, and he won’t take my night terrors well.

“We skipped dinner,” Ken whispers. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me to his chest.

“My stomach notices.” I turn my head and press my forehead into his side. Yes, right there. I sigh and wiggle my hips into the dip in the mattress. That’s better.

“Did you know I own a restaurant?” he asks, sleep clawing at his voice.

“You do?”

“Yep. It’s pretty good, and I go there for dinner a lot. It’s Old Earth Italian style, so pizza, pasta, lots of breads.”

I can almost smell the tomatoes and garlic, and my stomach growls. “Oh God, a big bowl of pasta sounds amazing right now.” My mouth waters, too, just for good measure. “All the Italian places on Ossun are crap.”

Ken shifts so he’s down on my eye level, and we’re facing each other.

“Remember how we’d always go to that little hole in the wall after a test or a project was done?”

My thoughts light up with memories of that place. Its red brick walls, ancient firewood stove, and the endless bottles of red wine. “Bella something.” I grasp for its name, but it’s lost somewhere back in time, back when things were simpler, when we celebrated by putting on our clothes that didn’t have holes in them and ate cheap but tasty food from the neighborhood trattoria.

“Right. Bella something. I went back and looked for it after we moved from Rio, and it was gone. Just like our relationship.”

My muscles contract and try to pull me into a little ball, but I resist them. Ken is talking through something, and I need to listen, no matter how hard or hurtful it may seem.

“They had the best handmade pizza I’d ever had.” He sighs as he rests his hand on my bare hip. “So when I found a place in Concord City that was good, almost as good as that place, I bought it. Like, I couldn’t stomach the thought of having to go years without excellent pizza.” He closes his eyes and presses his head into his pillow. “It wasn’t long after we had broken up, and somehow, owning that pizza place meant I hadn’t fucked up. That there was something I could salvage from our time together. Something I could nurture.”

“You made something of Flyght,” I point out.

His smile is lopsided and sleepy. “Do you like Flyght? What do you think of it?”

What do I think of it… I can’t admit to him how jealous I am. That would ruin everything.

“You don’t need to be jealous,” he says, and I blow out a frustrated breath. “Sorry.” He sits up and grabs a blanket from the foot of the bed to layer on top of us. “Your thoughts are so clear in my head. I shouldn’t just repeat them out loud.”

“That would be nice because this is strange bordering on creepy again.” I tuck the blanket around me. “Yes, I’m jealous. You went from having no ideas, no clue what you wanted to do, to building one of the most successful companies in the Duo Systems in the span of three years. And then me, Ms. Reliability, I end up completely fucking up my family fortune. I had said no to a proposal from a man I loved so I could concentrate on the farm and then poof! It all got taken away from me.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

I glower at him. Of course, it’s my fault.

“Of course, it’s not your fault,” he insists. He scoffs, reading my thoughts again. “Tomu made those bad decisions, not you.” He pauses and looks down into my eyes. “And there was nothing you could’ve done to change the trajectory of his actions. Look at everything we already know. He was angry for years. I mean, he barely said two words to me the entire time you and I were together. I hated him because he always blamed you for his own shortcomings.”

Ken grabs my hips and pulls me close, wrapping his legs around me. Hello. Someone is feeling frisky again.

“He’s been working for Athens Industries secretly. So, he made those connections long before he screwed you guys over.” He kisses my neck for a moment, and I close my eyes to accept the love. “He planned this betrayal for years, Vivi. And you can’t be faulted for trusting your own brother, your own flesh and blood.”

I let out a long breath and relax into his embrace.

“So, what do you think of Flyght? You didn’t answer my question.”

We rest our heads on the pillows and talk directly to each other. He’s eager to hear what I think.

“Flyght’s amazing. When I heard about it the first time, I thought it was a great idea. Aunt Fusako always said the market was missing something to help independent ships. I remember her telling me about Ampla.” The memory brings up a laugh. “I have to think now that she only talked about Ampla because she knew you were the founder of Flyght, and she didn’t want to open old wounds.”

Ken chuckles.

“But seriously, how did you come up with the idea?”

His smile fades. “I booked a flight from Rio to Palo Alto after we moved out of our apartment, and the ship I was on was robbed by, well, space pirates.”

“No! Aunt Fusako has talked about space pirates. I always thought she was kidding.” I grip his shoulder, so glad he’s here with me now.

“She wasn’t kidding. They took most of my furniture. Remember our couch?”

Oh! I loved that couch. We watched movies on that couch. Slept on that couch. Made love on that couch.

“Yeah, some pirate is enjoying it now. Or maybe it’s space junk. I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “But that one incident was enough fuel for me to start Flyght. I overhauled the whole system with insurance and more security. And now robberies are even less frequent than they were before. I…” He pushes the hair from my face. “I’m glad the company is in place for you now.”

The energy of our connection is electric, and though I can’t read his mind like he can read mine, I can tell he’s holding something back. The unspoken words are just beyond my reach.

“I’m happy it is too. I’m also happy you’re here.” I lean in for a kiss, and his lips meet mine softly.

Ken is quiet for a moment. His arms are tight around me and our breathing syncs. “I told myself I’d give it five years to either get you back or get over you.”

My heart aches and soars at the same time.

“I suppose it could’ve been worse.” He lays his lips on my forehead. “I’m glad it was only three years.”

It could’ve been better, too.