FlyAway *25*

-25-

    The rain was pouring down by the time he got to Kyle and Natalie’s house. He was lucky; Kyle was still there with his wife, and he could hear playful conversation from the kitchen. He hoped he wasn’t interrupting anything, and rapped on the door. Aaron glanced down at Kye, who sucked on the hand of her teddy and looked scared. He smiled at her, and she smiled brightly back.
    “Ye-Aaron!” Kyle pulled the lieutenant inside quickly and slammed the door.
    “Kyle, I know this is really sudden, but I need to ask you a favor.”
    “Aaron, why would you come to the front door? Someone might have seen…” Kyle rubbed his temple. “Nat, babe, could you get us some coffee?” He saw Kye, and sighed heavily. “And one hot chocolate, with marshmallows?”
    “Alright…” Natalie was wiping her hands on a dishrag, and a bright smile spread across her face at the sight of shy little Kye. “Oh, she’s such a cute little girl!”
    “Thank you. Her name is Kye.” Aaron picked his daughter up and she giggled. “I’m Aaron Dawson, by the way.”
    Natalie’s face fell slightly, but she compensated by turning toward the kitchen. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Aaron. Kyle and Chris have mentioned you before. I’m glad to finally be able to put a face to the name.”
    “Yes, same here. Chris says you’re quite a cook.”
    “I try, dear.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
    “Aaron, could we talk in the study? That might be better.” Kyle took Aaron by the elbow and led him into the other room.
    It was a pleasant, earthy room full of simple shades of green and brown. The walls not covered with bookshelves were dark-stained wood paneling around the bottom for about three feet up, and then dark green paint over close, pebbly texturing, inlayed with thin whorls of off-white. Dark couches sat atop the matching green carpet, and a glass-topped coffee table sat on black, spindly legs in the center of the room. A glowing flat-screen computer monitor rested atop an equally-decorative desk off to the side, on a raised section of floor.
    Kyle gestured for Aaron to sit wherever he pleased, and the lieutenant--lead by his overzealous daughter--settled in a comfortable position on one of the neatly arranged couches. His host opted to sit across from him on a loveseat sofa, thoughtfully tapping his chin. Finally, a little unnerved by the ticking grandfather clock and lack of any other sound, Aaron spoke.
    “So, Kyle… I know this is really sudden and… completely out of nowhere, but I’m having a bit of a… a family emergency. I know you’re a good guy, and I know you and your wife are very loving people. I have to go to Iraq-”
    “When?”
    “T-tomorrow. And I need someone to look after… After Kye for me, while I’m gone. I have to leave later tonight, and I… I have the temporary custody paperwork here.” He pulled a manila envelope out of his coat and dropped it on the table. Kye scrambled onto his lap and leaned against his chest, biting on her teddy bear’s ear. She looked over at Kyle shyly, and waggled her fingers at him. “Please, Kyle. I have no one, and neither does she. Her mother can’t take her. You’re the only person I would trust with my daughter.”
    Kyle sighed heavily and reached for the papers. “Let me look at these.”
    “Thank you so much, Kyle! You have no idea-”
    “Aaron… I won’t do this for you, but I will for your daughter, and for Chris.”
    “It doesn’t matter who you do it for, just… Thank you, Kyle. So much.”
    Kyle looked over the papers closely, and then pulled a pen from his pocket. “You’ve already signed it?”
    “No… I still need to. You have no idea what this means to me. I can have all of her things brought here from my hotel tonight, before I leave.”
    “You’re lucky that my sister loves you so much, Dawson. And that your daughter is such an adorable little girl. Kye, right?”
    “Yes, sir…” she said, quietly.
    Natalie came in with a tray of drinks and smiled broadly at Kye. “Hey there, sweetie. Do you like hot cocoa and marshmallows?”
    “Oh, yes! Gramma always made me cocoa in wintertime, but never else… I like it a whole lot!” Kye scurried over to the table and sat by the tray, peering excitedly up at Natalie.
    “Nat, honey… Kye is going to be staying with us for awhile,” Kyle announced, taking a cup of coffee and smiling winningly at his wife. She merely raised an eyebrow and took a cup to herself, sitting beside him.
    “Well, then we’ll have to fix up one of the bedrooms for her. Get her some new clothes… How long, do you think, dear? It’ll be nice to have another lady in the house.” Natalie winked at Kye and the little girl giggled behind her cup.
    “I’m not sure, exactly. How long do these forays last, Aaron?”
    “I may be gone for… up to a year.” He winced and glanced to Kye. “Her birthday is next April. I don’t want to miss it, but I may have to…”
    “Well, don’t worry, hon,” Nat chirped. “We’ll take good care of her. We’ll go school shopping and get her enrolled in the nicest elementary school we can. Third grade, right? Or second?”
    “Second, ma’am,” Kye said, licking bits of marshmallow off of her mouth.
    “How about dancing, do you like to dance? I did ballet when I was a little girl.”
    “Gramma wanted me to do ballet, but I like jazz dance instead.” Kye blushed shyly.
    “That’s great, hon. Why don’t you and I go on upstairs so you can pick out a room?”
    “Okay!” Kye shot up and grabbed Natalie’s hand. “Did your house always look so pretty? I never been in a house this big before. Is it big upstairs too? I saw this house once that was-” She was still babbling when the study door closed behind them.
    “I’ll send for her things right away,” Aaron said, sliding the papers toward himself and signing them on the dotted lines. “And I’ll submit these to my caseworker, too. Please understand, if I had had any more notice, I would have-”
    “Aaron. I understand, alright? Don’t worry about Kye, or Chris. I’ll make sure they’re both okay. What time do you leave today?”
    The lieutenant checked his watch. “I have about two more hours.”
    “Chris and my parents will be back in about one… I can send her to your hotel as soon as she gets back. Maybe I can call her to see if they could be back any sooner?”
    “I couldn’t ask you to do that, I’ve already asked enough…”
    “Aaron, please. My sister is head over heels for you. If she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, she’d murder me.”
    “She doesn’t say goodbye, anyway, Kyle-”
    “-only see you later. Right. I know.” Kyle shook his head. “It’s silly, anyway.”
    “But it’s very Crystal, don’t you think?” Aaron laughed softly as Kyle pulled out his cell phone.
---
    “Aaron? Aaron, I got here as fast as I could,” Chris called, knocking on the hotel room door.
    It swung open. The lights were dim. She could see a figure silhouetted by the window. He turned, and his brilliant blue eyes met hers. He smiled; she flew across the room and into his arms.
    “Crystal… you’re early,” he said, his voice muffled by her hair.
    “I know… I got away from my parents, and from Zach. I sort of left them all outside the restaurant… I just said I had urgent business elsewhere. Kyle told me you were leaving, and I couldn’t think of anything else but getting here.”
    “As soon as I got the news, all I could think about was giving you a proper salutation,” he whispered, his voice smooth and eloquent.
    He turned her face upward toward his and gently kissed her, their love flowing through the slight motion of his lips against hers. She found her fingers twining through his hair; trailing across his chest; caressing his face; exploring his body. She could feel his hands against the small of her back and drifting down to her thighs, lifting her up. Chris wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, forcefully continuing their passionate kiss.
    She pulled away from him and knew that the glint in his eye was more than just for mischief. Crystal kissed his cheek and his jaw line. She lightly grazed her teeth over his earlobe and whispered huskily, “I want you, right now.”
    His lips found the side of her neck, and she could feel his tongue making little circles across her flesh. He carried her to the king-sized bed, laid her down below him, and drew away. Aaron moved the hair out of her face and a brilliant, beautiful grin spread across his face. He pulled his shirt off and she sat up to leave a trail of kisses across his smooth, chiseled chest.
    Her fingers found the button on his jeans, and his found the hem of her tee. She allowed him to remove it and bit her lower lip before kissing him again, hard. She pulled him down and rolled so that she straddled his waist, smirking. He reached up to grasp the back of her neck and his mouth soon covered hers as he worked to unsnap her bra. His deft hand had it undone in a matter of seconds, and it graced the floor not too far from where their shoes, socks, and shirts lay.
    “I didn’t know you had a tattoo,” Aaron observed, flipping her so that she was on her back. She had a small pair of lips on her left breast that he found quite enthralling.
    “Mm. I got it about a year ago.”
    “I’m not sure whether or not I approve yet,” he told her, sternly.
    “I think you’re more convincing with your pants still on, Lieutenant. But, while we’re off topic… Promise me something?”
    “Anything, love.”
    “Promise me you won’t giggle right in the middle?”
    “I think,” he said, kissing her collarbone, “I can do that.”
---
    Chris returned home an hour and a half later, feeling both wonderful and terrible at the same time. She had seen Aaron, who had a seemingly-permanent grin plastered to his face, to the airport and taken a taxi back to Kyle and Natalie’s. She opened the door to find Kyle sitting on the stairs, waiting for her.