Fly With Me // Bradley Bradshaw

Chapter Nineteen

It took another twenty-four hours before the carrier arrived back in Miramar, but once it did, the aviators took about an hour to drop their things off at their apartments and clean up. Everyone was planning on meeting back up at the Hard Deck to properly celebrate the successful mission.

Of course, Sophie and Bradley had taken a little bit longer than the rest of the team and were just now arriving at the busy beach bar; they were celebrating their own victories, so to speak. Rooster's arm was draped over her shoulder and they were giggling uncontrollably at something that he just said. They made their way over to where everyone else was playing nine ball and cheering loudly. Most everybody already had a few drinks in them and were acting a little more rambunctious than normal. They were all extremely happy to be alive.

Hangman is the first to notice the two. He stands in front of them with his arms crossed and a smirk planted on his face. "You lovebirds really couldn't control yourselves for a couple of hours."

"We might regret pushing them together," Rebound chimes in from the pool table, "They were already nauseating enough when they were just friends."

Sophie unwraps herself from Bradley's arm and takes the pool stick out of Rebound's grasp right as he's about to take a shot, causing him to squirm around like an idiot. She then takes the stick and hits Jake in the arm. "Ow! What the fuck."

She smiles a sweetly sarcastic smile at the two men before turning to Rooster. "Mind getting us a drink?"

He nods his head in confirmation before walking away with the two boys. Hangman and Rebound were clapping his back and giving him shit about always being the last ones to show up to these things.

Sophie takes Rebound's place in the game of nine ball against Bob. He'd gotten a lot better since the first night he arrived and was currently beating her WSO. She was sure she could fix that though. She felt like she was on top of the world right now and nothing could bring her down from her high.

Phoenix walks up behind the female pilot. "So, it's official then," she asks, giving her a knowing look.

Sophie looks at the woman in her peripheral vision; she looks relaxed for the first time in three weeks. "Yeah, it is. Long time coming, huh?" She hits the cue ball making two of her striped balls go into the pockets. Bob's smile drops. "Sorry Bob, Rebound isn't as good as me."

Phoenix laughs at her. "I'd say so. Been wondering when the two of you would finally come to your senses. Gotta say, didn't think it would take all of these years. How long has it actually been?"

"Six years since we started all of this up," she admits, slightly embarrassed that it took her so long to get to this place with Bradley. She wished she hadn't been so headstrong about denying her feelings and realized that she'd always been in love with the man who was right in front of her. Bradley was a saint for dealing with her shit and sticking by her side for all this time.

That was the past though and she couldn't change it, so it was no use in dwelling on it. She was happy with where they were now and where they were headed. She didn't know what the future held for the two, but she wasn't worried. Whatever life threw at them, Rooster would be by her side. That she had no doubt of. He was it for her.

An arm wrapping around her interrupted her thoughts. Since they had made things official, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. She looked up to see the wavy-haired brunette that had been fogging her mind more and more lately. Sophie smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek before grabbing one of the beers from his hand and taking a sip. She finished the game after two more beers, beating Bob, to his dismay. She bowed down to all the cheering aviators around her. She hadn't lost a game of nine ball since she arrived in San Diego.

She handed the pool stick over to Payback to let him have a go. Bradley took her hand and dragged her over to unplug the jukebox, a sense of deja vu overtaking her body. Sophie couldn't help but let out a fit of laughter. Rooster didn't think the celebration would be complete without playing something on the piano.

He and Sophie took their designated seats on the piano bench. Rooster warmed up playing some keys while all the aviators surrounded them, ready to sing along to whatever he played. Sophie slid Rooster's aviator sunglasses down on his face to cover his eyes. She knew he had a thing for wearing them while he played.

Rooster starts playing the keys to a familiar tune that everyone in the bar knows right away. Everyone bursts out the lyrics as he gets to the chorus of the song.

Hands

Touching hands

Reaching out

Touching me

Touching you

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

I've been inclined

To believe they never would

Sophie yells the words beside Rooster's face as he continues to play the rest of the song. She is having the time of her life and is starting to feel a little tipsy. She downs the rest of her third beer before stealing Rooster's sitting on the piano. She hadn't eaten anything since the morning, so the effects of alcohol were getting to her a lot quicker than they normally would. She stands up on the bench and sings the song with everyone in the bar.

Bradley looks over at her with wide eyes a little worried that she's going to fall off the bench. Once Jake and Mark step behind her to make sure that doesn't happen, his muscles loosen up as he gazes at her carefree self.  He beams up at the woman, happy that she was finally his.  Everyone was laughing as the chorus came back around and they started singing at the top of their lungs. The pilots were relieved to be surrounded by one another and have a fun night after the past couple of weeks.

***

After the show Rooster had put on, he ordered two more beers and led Sophie to the beach right outside the bar. They sat in the sand looking over the ocean. The waves crash against the shoreline, going in and out, relaxing both of them. They were more than content just being in one another's presence.

Bradley looked down at the woman who lay against his chest and smiled. He was the first to break the silence, "So, we're really doing this?"

"Hell yeah, we are," she enthusiastically speaks.

"You're not having second thoughts are you," he asks half joking, half scared to death that she'd change her mind. If there was anything he'd learned about Sophie in their years of friendship, it was that she is a wildcard.

She sits up and looks into his chocolate-brown eyes, putting both hands on his face. "I'm not going anywhere. You and me, we're in this for the long haul."

He gives her a genuine smile. Rooster didn't think it was possible to feel as happy as he did, but here he was. "It's not going to be easy," he says honestly.

"I know that," she nods her head, "But I love you and I don't wanna be with anyone else."

"Good," he pulls her back into his chest, "Because I love you too and this is only the beginning for us

Sophie relaxes into his chest, going back to listening to the waves breaking against each other on this breezy night. Rooster wraps both arms around her body, loving her closeness to him. At this moment, Sophie knew that she was right where she belonged.

The End

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A/N: I have had a blast diving into this world and the characters of Bradley and Sophie!  Thank you to everyone who has read and continues to read!  I am currently working on a sequel but it won't be up until at least the beginning of the year.  I'm planning on giving updates on my profile, so give me a follow if you want to stay up to date on that.