“I am.”
“Ghana, . . . how long have you been flying?”
“For about twelve years.”
“Stop fibbing, sir.”
“I’m not.”
“Let me see your license.”
I reached inside my pocket, retrieved my license from my wallet, and handed it over to her. Her eyes scanned it, then came to me before she handed the card back.
I chuckled. “You don’t trust me?”
“I do, . . . to an extent, though.”
We both laughed as I took her hand.
“I want you to trust that you’re always safe with me. I’d jump in front of a moving train if it meant that you would live. You got baby girl, and while I know my sister will grieve my absence, she has Ruger to take care of her.”
Her cheeks turned a light shade of red as she pecked my lips. “You’re so sweet. It’s hard to believe anything bad about you.”
“Don’t. I only want to show you the good parts of me.”
She smiled. “Lead the way.”
I took her hand and led her to the helicopter's passenger side. After making sure she was secure, I hurried around and hopped in.
“You ready to be a beautiful bird in the sky?”
She laughed. “I don’t have much of a choice. As long as you’re flying alongside me, I’m ready for anything.”
I winked. “As long as you know. You can talk to me through here.” I grabbed the headset and helped her put it on without disturbing her hair too much. I put mine on, started the engine, set the controls, made sure everything worked properly, then pulled out of the hangar. Once we made it out of the hangar, I lifted the Eurocopter off the ground, and I could see her bracing herself.
I smiled and lifted us into the sky. She had her face covered for the ten minutes it took for us to get fully in the air. Since the top was made of glass, we could see everything below.
It was a beautiful sight.
“Open your eyes, beautiful.”
“Oh my God.” She laughed. “I can’t look!”
“You’re missing out on the beauty of our city, baby.”
“Okay, okay, okay. Whew. Okay.”
I laughed and looked over at her peeking through her fingers. I took one of her hands and brought it to my lips. She finally opened her eyes and looked around.
“Oh my God. You were right. It is beautiful.”
“I told you.”
“How did you get a helicopter? Did you rent this?”
“Nah. I guess it’s story time since we got thirty minutes before we get to our destination.”
She giggled. “Yes, distract me.”