“All you have to do is look inside, remember. I won’t start the engines unless you tell me it’s okay. You’ll see that it’s actually just like a car, only with wings. There’s nothing to it. We’ll be perfectly safe.”
Still unsure, she peered around the corner, poking her head into the opening but not stepping inside. Looking up and down the cabin, she could see tan leather seats, plush carpet, and a small set of blinds over the circular windows.
Cooper bounded up the steps ahead of her, and with a grin, he stretched out his hand. “Do you trust me?”
Reflecting on the topic of trust, she soon realized she had no reason to doubt him. A strange confidence overtook her fear as she again looked deeply into Cooper’s sapphire eyes.
“Yes, I do,” she said, a little surprised at the calm settling inside her. She removed her heels, grabbed his hand, and climbed aboard.
As they began to get situated in the flight deck, Stormy’s dress snagged on the seat. Baffled as to why he’d requested she wear a dress, she couldn’t resist questioning him.
“Tell me again why I wore a dress for a plane ride?”
“Because, beautiful woman, I’m taking you out for a nice dinner when we land,” he replied.
“Dinner? Where?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Knowing Cooper was busy with prepping the plane for flight, Stormy sat quietly and watched him work. He held a checklist with one hand, mumbling a few audible words with the primary ones being checked and set.
As if conducting a symphony he moved or adjusted what seemed like every knob, button, and switch in the plane’s flight deck. Entranced by the show, Stormy continued to sit patiently, letting her imagination run wild. It flip-flopped from dirty to clean and back to dirty again with ease.
“I’m going to start her up,” he said, giving her a minute to tell him no if she wanted.
“Okay.”
She really was a lot more comfortable. It did boil down to her trusting him. And she did.
Cooper finished by tuning the radio to talk with air traffic control and informed them he was ready to start. Opening the small side window, Cooper placed his face close to the opening and yelled, “Clear prop.” With one single motion he engaged the starter and pushed up the throttles to feed fuel to the starving engines.
The plane vibrated with harmonious rhythm as both engines began to stabilize. These vibrations only fueled Stormy’s confused emotions, not knowing if it was anticipation or anxiety of the upcoming flight.
Nonetheless, her heart was beating rapidly and strong enough to be felt at her fingertips. Her right hand clamped tightly around the armrest perched on the outer door and her left was hanging onto Cooper’s inner thigh.
“Whoa, not quite so tight, there.”
Stormy realized her nails were probably drawing blood and released her grip with a faint “Sorry.”
Cooper smiled as he started to taxi the airplane across the tarmac and toward the runway. “It’ll be all right,” he assured her, placing a hand on her exposed leg.
Stormy soon realized that she wasn’t the only one enjoying the moment as she moved her hand a bit farther up his thigh. It seemed her previous assumption about making him bleed might prove impossible, as all his blood seemed to be flowing elsewhere.
The glare of the setting sun over the end of the runway reflected on the slightly dull windshield as Cooper maneuvered the plane in perfect alignment with the runway centerline.
The brakes moaned as Cooper stopped to perform the final checks before takeoff. Once he was sure they were ready, he took Stormy’s hand and placed it on the throttle. With her hands cupped within his, in a single smooth motion he gingerly guided her arm forward, advancing the throttle to takeoff power.
The twin engines responded almost simultaneously to the rush of fuel, bringing them to a deafening roar. Stormy’s heart raced with anxiety over the task she was performing. Unlike the previous vibrations, the plane now shuddered and surged like a creature trying to break free from its bonds.
As if to free it from captivity, Cooper released the brakes. Responding with a leap forward, the rapid acceleration of the Cessna immediately pinned Stormy back into her seat. Trying to calm her nerves, she moved her gaze out the side window, where she watched the hypnotic pattern of the lights that lined the runway as they passed faster and faster under the wing and out of sight.
“All right, here we go,” Cooper said as he gently pulled back on the plane’s yoke.
Like an eagle flying high into the sky, the plane’s nose rose effortlessly above the horizon. The loud spinning of tires on pavement turned into the steady buzz of electric motors as the wheels retracted into their bay. Stormy likened the deafening sound of rushing air to the roar of water over a rocky edge.