Nope. He stood above me, looking the same, but so different. He had a bruise under his left eye—a stark remind of last night. The sexy smirk and quiet confidence were gone, replaced by thinly drawn lips and dark cold eyes.
“Take her to Major Rex’s office,” Flight Lieutenant Sinclair commanded. He dropped his hands to his hips and sighed loudly without a glance in my direction. “The flight doc is on his way. The jackasses that tied the boot can join her.”
The way he looked past me hurt worse than the damn crack to the head. I knew he couldn’t show any outright affection because of his position. Sleeping with a student was definitely taboo, but was it really necessary to have me removed like yesterday’s trash?
“I’m sure as hell not letting these dumbasses take her alone,” Stitch said as large hands gripped my elbows and helped me to stand. The two guys who were sitting in front of me joined him. They were shadowed next to his burly frame.
“I’m fine. I don’t need to see the doctor,” I replied and pulled my arm away. No weakness.
“It wasn’t a request,” my knight-turned-asshole said. He turned and walked to the front of the room without a look in my direction. “All right, Yanks. Get your heads out of your arses and back into the game.”
I had been dismissed.
With my pride trampled, I stormed out of the room. I saw stars, first from what was probably a mild concussion, and second from my anger. I wanted to faint and throw up. Simultaneously. And that would have looked even more fantastic then my head banging, ass-crash I performed. This circus act was ready for the road.
“Tink, stop. Just wait. You look like you’re going to faint. Let me help you,” Stitch pleaded.
He was visibly upset. I didn’t want to look into his overprotective eyes or have him show me any kindness because I feared I would cry. I needed to stay angry and driven. I needed my poker face.
There was no way in hell that I would cry on my first day and definitely not in man’s town.
I swallowed back my emotions and shot him a look, and thankfully he got it. He stayed close, but didn’t touch me. Two sets of footsteps echoed behind us. If the jokesters thought their stunt was funny earlier, they were no longer laughing.
T-Rex’s neck was beet red and his nose flared like a bull as I entered his office. He ignored me and waved to a guy who had just walked in. He was a bronze-skinned guy whose hair was definitely not regulation.
“Hey Doc. Check her out and keep me posted, let me know if she needs to go off flying status,” he said and snapped his fingers, pointing to the two knuckleheads. “You two assholes follow me. Stitch, back to academics,” he ordered jutting out his thumb.
Stitch looked like he might argue, but his lips pressed together. He nodded and disappeared.
“Off flying status? You can’t keep me from flying,” I argued as my eyes widened in panic. “I’m fine.”
“Shut the hell up Pinkerton, the doc will decide that, not you.” T-Rex left the room before I could argue.
Fully pissed, I swallowed back a growl. He would have told anyone else to grow a pair and get back to class.
“Dude, you’re off to a great first day.” The doc patted me on the shoulder as he closed the door halfway. He was a little taller than me with deeply set dimples and shaggy blond hair. He needed a surfboard instead of a stethoscope.
If I wasn’t so enraged, I may have actually smiled when he called me dude. For once, I was just another pilot, just another dude. His nametag read Captain Fisher and his sandy hair waved with unruly curls.
“I’m Bodhi,” he said as he reached out his hand to me.
I accepted the gesture. “Hey, Bodhi.”
“All right, dude. Squeeze my hand.”
I fought a grin.
“Did you think I was going to say pull my finger?”
“Something like that.” I struggled to stifle a smile.
“It’s okay to laugh. It’s good for you. Releases endorphins and all that good stuff,” he answered and glanced at my nametag. His lips twisted into a smile, not one that was laughing, but one that was genuine. “Tinklee Pinkerton. Cool name. Are you related to that lobbyist from Virginia? The one that’s always around the squadron?” He reached for my other hand, and I squeezed harder than I intended.
“You’re crushing my hand,” he said with wide eyes.
“Sorry,” I apologized in nearly a whisper. I lessened my grip.
It wasn’t his fault that I thought my dad was an asshole. Most people liked him. Hell, I liked him at one time, before a fleet of F-35’s replaced Colin and me as his children.
Bodhi clicked on a penlight and shined it into my eyes. I followed the beam as he moved it around. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“The lobbyist? Is he your dad?” He pressed and moved closer to me and stared into my eyes. The distinct scent of salt water confirmed my suspicion that he held a surfboard as often as he did a stethoscope. Probably more.
“Yes.”
“So you’re Thor’s lil’ sis?”
I dug my nails into my leg and gave a sharp nod. Bodhi moved around behind me and parted my hair where I hit my head. Not once, but twice, in the same damn spot.
“Sorry for your loss. Thor was an awesome dude. It crushes me to even think about it.”
I swallowed what felt like a dry cotton ball that scratched all the way down my throat. I couldn’t answer even if I had wanted to.
Bodhi patted my shoulder as he stepped away. I appreciated his sincerity, but my dead brother was not something I was going to discuss.
“You’re not going to take me off flight status are you?” I questioned. I held my breath and waited for him to answer. I couldn’t be grounded on my first day.
“You just cracked the heck out of your noggin, I need to make sure you’re okay to fly,” he responded and turned his back to me. He pulled open the door and hollered down the hallway. “Dude, grab me an icepack from the bar.”
A second later, he was back standing beside me.
Normally, I would shut my mouth and figure another way around the situation, but I trusted him for some reason and I thought he would understand.
“Please,” I said trying to keep my voice even and unemotional. “I don’t want to draw any more attention to myself.”
“Yeah, I get it,” he replied with a shoulder shrug. “Stand up. Let me see you walk.” He propped himself on the edge of on the desk and folded his arms.
I stood. The blood rushed toward the bump on my head and it pulsed. Fighting back a wince, I limped toward the other end of the office. My foot ached as much as my head and as a reminder of last night, my heart joined in on the pain.
“Did you hit your foot, too?” he asked when I turned around.
“I got pinched by a crab. It’s fine.”
“Dude, you’re totally axed. Sit and take off your boot. We better make sure it’s not infected.”
I sighed as I followed his orders and sat on the chair. I hated people fussing over me. Bodhi sat down on the desk in front of me. I lifted my foot and he undid the laces, pulling off the sage green boot followed by my sock.
“It has a bandage on it. Did you use antibiotic cream?” he asked as he loosened the wrap. Heat seared my cheeks