“Oh, hell yeah, she is,” Jagger said, looking over my shoulder.
My muscles tensed one by one. This was bad enough without Grace, but a stranger?
“She came a long way, Grayson, so play nice.” Paisley gave me her serious face, and then tilted her chin to motion toward the door behind me.
I turned in my seat slowly to see her walking down the stairs.
My breath rushed from my lungs, and my jaw dropped more than the self-respecting amount. Her hair was up off her neck, and her strapless blue dress hugged every curve, accentuating her tiny waist before it fell to the floor. She was so damn beautiful. My Samantha.
I’d damn-near sprinted to her before I realized I’d even gotten out of my chair. She paused halfway down the staircase with a wide smile but wary eyes. She’s afraid you don’t want her here.
By standing a few steps beneath her, we were almost equal in height. “Samantha.”
“Stop.” She put her hand out. “This is a Cinderella thing.”
One of my eyebrows drifted higher. “As in you came in a pumpkin, or you’ll be losing a shoe? Because either way, I can deal.”
The smile that spread across her face cracked open my chest, and my heart started to pound. “As in I’m only here until tomorrow afternoon. I have to leave after graduation.”
“You’re here for graduation?” Holy shit, I sounded like a five-year-old who just found his Christmas presents.
Her fingers swept down my cheek. “I promised I’d pin you, right?”
My mouth dropped open again. She remembered.
“I mean, if you made other plans, I totally understand—”
Not giving a fuck about her lipstick, I surged forward, took her face in my hands and kissed her. In public. In public. In public. My brain chanted to remind me to keep my tongue in my mouth and my hands on the outside of her incredible dress. “You’re perfect,” I managed to say.
“No sex.”
I froze. “You’re seeing someone?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. I just need you to promise me.”
“Can I kiss you? Was that okay?” She’d been in the same room for less than five minutes, and I’d already mauled her when I had zero rights to her body.
“Hell yes. Kiss me all you want, but that’s as far as it goes.”
Fear streaked across her eyes, and I nodded slowly. “No sex.”
“No matter how loudly I beg,” she whispered.
Holy shit, I was about to embarrass myself in the middle of this ballroom if I didn’t get my dick under control.
“Grayson, swear it. On your honor, or I walk out this door.”
“I want you for more than your body, Sam. I don’t care if we play Scrabble all night. Not having sex is fine.” It fucking sucked, but if that was the price for having her with me, I’d be celibate for the rest of my life.
“I never said I was spending the night with you,” she rebuked, but her grin was back. “I’m staying at Morgan’s house.”
“I will sleep on the damn doorstep if that’s as close as I can get to you.” We both paused, words from an earlier vow running through our heads. “I’d sleep on the floor to get closer to you.” Six months, and nothing had changed.
Everything had changed.
Dinner was signaled, and I led her to our seats. The meal was a blur, and honestly, all I could think about was getting my mouth back on Sam. She kept her hand in mine while we ate, only breaking apart to cut our food. I couldn’t stop touching her.
“If I can have your attention?” Major Davidson called from the podium.
We all turned in our seats to where he spoke from across the empty dance floor. “We’re very lucky to have General Donovan with us tonight. He has some special interest in this class, and he’d like to address you before we announce the distinguished honor graduates.”
Paisley’s father took the podium. His remarks on loyalty, bravery, and accomplishment were short, and I heard next to none of them over the steady pounding in my heart. It didn’t matter. First in my class or not, I’d gotten my duty station. The actual class ranking shouldn’t matter to me.
Except it did.
Major Davidson announced the Chinook class first, and we all clapped. Then the Blackhawk class.
“It’s cool Josh is graduating with you guys,” Sam whispered.
“Yeah, they should have been done a while ago, but they needed the aircraft during the tornado relief and it set them back long enough to coincide with us. I’m not complaining.” There was a sense of poetry to going out together.
“Distinguished honor graduate from Blackhawk class 1509 is Second Lieutenant William Carter.”
I clapped a little harder and toasted my water charger when he smiled over at me. Not second-choice Carter anymore. Maybe Sam had made me soft, but even that ass had grown on me.
Sam took hold of my hand and wove her fingers through mine until they fit in that perfect space of familiarity. Here we go.
“Distinguished honor graduate from Apache class 1506 is Second Lieutenant”—Jagger Bateman—“Grayson Masters.”
My breath stalled.
Sam kissed my cheek as the crowd applauded again. “You did it. I’m so proud of you!”
Jagger clapped me on the back. “Congratulations, man!”
“It should have been you.”
He shook his head. “You kept up with me test for test academically. Trust me, I paid attention. And in the cockpit, you’re a better pilot. Take the fucking accolade, Grayson. You earned it.”