Stars - Iceman (Top Gun)

Fourteen

They got out of the car and met Pete outside the bar. Two more women joined them. One was Charlie, who Sarah hadn't seen since the last lesson they had, and the other was someone she didn't know.

"Sarah, this is my wife, Carole. Carole, this is Sarah Woods, she is one of my friends at TOPGUN." Nick introduced the two. Carole held a baby in her arms. He was dressed nicely and had a cowboy hat.

"Who is this little guy?" Sarah asked.

"This is our little Bradley," Carole said sweetly.

The group found themselves in a corner booth in the back of the bar. Carole and Sarah hit it off right away, sharing stories and talking about one thing or another. Nick got up and went to the piano. Sarah didn't know that he played the piano, and she was curious what he would play.

"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain..." he started.

Sarah suddenly got a sense of Deja Vu. She heard this earlier today, but not from Nick. She got up and stood beside Nick, singing the next line with him.

"Too much love drives a man insane!"

They looked at each other and laughed, then continued the song.

"You broke my will, oh what a thrill. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!" Even little Bradley joined in at the end. Sarah melted hearing him sing. She walked back over to the booth.

"Nice singing!" Carole said. "But Maverick, why don't you go fetch Goose? Doesn't he ever embarrass you?"

"Goose? Hell no!" Pete said in mock offense. "Well, there was the-"

"Admiral's daughter!" Carole interrupted him. Both Charlie and Sarah giggled.

"What?" Pete acted shocked.

"He told me all about the time he went ballistic with Penny Benjamin." Carole said, teasing him. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Did he?" Pete asked. "Great."

"He tells me about all of them Maverick, how my little angel Goose goes home early for church, and you! You always go home with the hot women." Carole continued. Sarah and Charlie giggled again.

"Alright, thank you Carole. I'm going to go embarrass myself with Goose for a while." Pete left the booth, making eye contact with Charlie as he walked away. Sarah slipped into Pete's old spot.

"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain! That type of love drives a man insane! You broke my will! Oh what a thrill! GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!" They sang collectively. Sarah couldn't hide her laughter anymore.

"I would love to be able to warn you off about Maverick, but I just love him to death." Carole told Charlie. "Now, I've known Pete for a lot of years now, and one thing's for CERTAIN. There are hearts breaking wide open all over the world tonight."

"Why?" Charlie asked.

"Because unless you are a fool, that boy is off the market! He is one hundred percent, prime time in love with you!" Carole finished. Charlie smiled wide and Sarah was happy for her.

"Hey Goose, ya big STUD!" Carole yelled across the bar.

"That's me, honey!" Nick answered, still playing the piano.

"Take me to bed or lose me forever!" Carole said.

"Show me the way home, honey!" He said, looking at her.

She got up and joined Goose. Charlie and Sarah followed.

"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain! Too much love drives a man insane! You broke my will, oh what a thrill! GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!" The six of them sung. They all cheered afterwards and had a few drinks, then Pete left with Charlie. Goose dropped Sarah off at the base, and she fell asleep instantly.

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The next day, all the pilots got ready for their advanced hop. Nobody knew what was going to happen that day until it happened. Let's just say, it was a day to be remembered.

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Kind of an outlier chapter, the action returns in the next one!