Avalanche

| the ball|

6 months later...

Our mission at Top Gun had been put to rest for a while now.

Hangman and I's relationship had gone by pretty smoothly, I had been stationed in Georgia, and he had been in Florida.

We were really lucky we had been so close, let alone in the same time zone, and we have made our dating work even being a state apart. (I feel as though Maverick must have had something to do with it.)

And another thing to be grateful about, was the official announcement of my promotion to Lieutenant Commander.

In the future, I'd move onto Commander, Captain, and then I'd be done with flying. If I kept pursuing a career in the navy like my father had, I'd go through both Lower and Upper Rear Admirals, then Vice Admiral, Admiral, and then a Fleet Admiral. This promotion was a stepping stone, and it was stressful situation. At least, it felt like that to me.

But tonight was supposed to be a fun night, where I would get to see Jake all dress up, all our friends from Top Gun, my promotion... and I guess with being the daughter of a former Fleet Admiral, and receiving a promotion was a large event, so they had given me the honor of giving a small speech.

I had postponed getting ready for tonight, because I couldn't think of anything to say.

Come on, think. Zoe, think. What was I supposed to say?

"Talk to me Dad," I said, as I fell back against the hotel bed. I looked to the right, watching the afternoon sun beat upon the waves.

On the opposite side of the room, is the closet. In it, it holds my dress for the night.

I don't know why I had let Phoenix pick out my dress for tonight.

Don't get me wrong, it was pretty, but it was not my style. I would've picked out something more covering for the Navy Ball. I mean, I would be surrounded by superior officers and accepting my new promotion in this dress.

The dress—it was daring. Tasha chose a pale blue slip dress, which held onto my shoulders by spaghetti straps. It wasn't skin tight, but it was tight enough to make me self conscious, and uncomfortable to walk. I'd be wearing heels all night, which would make it even worse.

The one thing I was looking forward to tonight was seeing my boyfriend. We hadn't seen each other in a month, he'd been called off on a temporary mission overseas, and I was busy with paperwork.

I looked up on the little stand near the bed to look at the clock.

4:36 PM

Shoot.

Hangman was picking me up at 5.

I jumped off the bed, grabbing my dress and heading towards the bathroom. It would take a miracle for me to get ready in under a half an hour.

I did my hair, my makeup, I got dressed carefully so I wouldn't wrinkle or stain the dress. I struggled putting on my heels when I heard a few knocks on the door of my hotel room.

"Just a second!" I yelled, just barely getting started with my second one.

I gave up, and opened the door, ushering Hangman into the room.

He looked good in his formal navy suit, and he was holding a bouquet of white flowers. My favorite.

And even though I looked ridiculous with the way I was standing with one heel on.

Hangman held them out for me, "You look gorgeous tonight Zoe."

I tried to fight the blush that was threatening to overpower my cheeks. "Thank you Jake." I grab the flowers, and carefully lay them on the bed.