Always

Riley stretched and rolled out of the bed, rubbing her eyes against the sun shining in the window. She stood and headed to the bathroom to take care of business and brush her teeth. When she came out she dressed in a pair of shorts and matching top. Picking her phone up she saw she had received a text while she slept. It was from Raph. She read it and smiled before typing a reply.

"I slept like a baby, thank you. Hope you had a good night," she typed and hit send.

She headed toward the kitchen to see what she could scare up for breakfast when her phone chimed.

"I slept well too," Raph responded.

"Are you working today?" she asked.

"I'm prepping the plane right now for a flight to Dallas," he typed.

"Oh, how long will you be away?" she asked.

"I'll be back in Amarillo by 5:00pm. It's only just over an hour there. Passenger has a meeting until 3:00pm, then I'll fly him back. Most of my day will be sitting around the pilot's lounge"

"If you get bored, you can call or text me if you want. I'm not doing anything today."

"I certainly will," he replied.

"Be safe," she typed.

"Always," he responded.

*****

Raph had an uneventful flight to DFW. He'd had a good tailwind on the east-bound flight so it had been easy making his arrival time. Now he was sitting in the pilot's lounge eating beef jerky and drinking a bottled water. He took his phone out and texted Riley.

"Hey you," he typed.

"Hey you," came the almost immediate reply.

"How's your day going?"

"Just being lazy today. Funny how you need a vacation to get over a vacation."

"LOL, yeah, funny how that works out."

"So what are you doing now?"

"Wondering."

"Wondering? What are you wondering?"

"Two things actually -- Are you doing anything tomorrow, and do you like Cajun Food?"

"I don't think I have any plans tomorrow, and yes, I like Cajun Food."

"Good, I have a flight to New Orleans tomorrow morning and I could use a copilot. It's kind of early, leaving at 6:00am, landing at 8:30am, but once there, we will have the whole day to see historic New Orleans, eat some good Cajun food, and then fly back at 5:00pm. You in?"

"You want me to be up and going at 6:00am?"

"No, you'll need to be at the airport at 5:30am so we can leave at 6:00am."

"Oh Lord. You're lucky you're cute Mister. Okay, what shall I wear?"

"Pull over shirt, blue jeans or slacks, shoes you can walk in."

"Okay, I'll be there, but you better have me a cup of coffee ready."

"Yes ma'am."

"Be safe, Raph."

"Always."

*****

Raph was in the pilot's lounge when the desk phone rang. He looked at his watch and saw it was 5:20am.

"This is Raph," he said, picking up the phone.

"There is a young lady out here asking for you," the desk attendant said.

"I'll be right out," Raph said, hanging up the phone.

Raph jumped up poured a cup of coffee and set it on the table and then opened the door.

"Riley," he said, poking his head out. Riley picked her purse up and came toward him.

"Good morning," she said, smiling as she entered the room.

"Good morning yourself," he smiled back, letting the door close behind her. He quickly moved to the table and handed her the steaming cup of coffee.

"Oh, God Bless you," she said, taking the cup in both hands.

"So this is where the magic happens huh?" she said, looking at the desk with weather reports and other paper work scattered about. The computer screen showed weather radar images.

"I guess you could say that. This is where we decide if a flight is going to happen or not based on weather, flight restrictions, and stuff like that. Oh, hey, I have something for you," he said, pulling a plastic bag from his shoulder satchel.

"A gift for me?" she said surprised.

"Well, sort of," he said sheepishly.

Riley opened the plastic bag and pulled out a shirt, matching the one Raph was wearing, complete with the Charter Air logo above the breast pocket.

"I hope I got the right size," he said. "Since you're my copilot today, you need to look the part."

"Should I put it on now?" she asked.

"Sure, there's a washroom right there where you can change."

Riley took the shirt and disappeared into the washroom. She came out a couple minutes later and turned slowly for his inspection. The shirt fit her curves perfectly. It was tucked into her blue jeans which fit her like they were tailor made. She had a pair of Nike running shoes. She looked absolutely gorgeous.

"Well, do I look like a copilot?" she asked, looking down at herself.

"Not like any copilot I've ever seen," Raph said, staring.

"Is that bad?" she asked quietly.

"Not at all," he said smiling. "Not at all."

"Good," she said simply, smiling back at him. She put her other shirt, which she'd folded, in her purse.

"Ready?" Raph asked, gathering his papers and putting them in his satchel.

"Yes sir, Captain," she said, saluting.

"Just Raph will do," he said, laughing.

Riley followed Raph out to the plane and watched as he did his exterior inspection, then climbed in with him as he double checked the passenger compartment, ensuring everything was ready. Again she was impressed by his quiet confidence, his efficiency, and attention to detail. Nothing escaped his keen eye.

"Okay, I think we're ready. Go ahead and climb up in the cockpit and I'll go retrieve our passenger and we'll be ready to go."

"Okay," she said simply, moving up to the cockpit and taking her seat.

Raph went back to the FBO and returned quickly with an older man in a well cut business suit. Raph allowed the business man to enter first, then Raph got in and closed the hatch. She heard him going through the safety brief. Once he had finished, he came up and took his seat in the cockpit and began his startup procedure.

*****

The two and a half hour flight went smoothly and the business man was there with time to spare. After securing the aircraft, Raph and Riley grabbed a cab.

"Anywhere you'd like to visit?" Raph asked as they slid into the cab's rear seat.

"Well, I've always wanted to see the Garden District," she said tentatively.

"Garden District," Raph said to the cab driver.

"Yes sir," the driver replied, pulling away from the curb.

*****

Raph and Riley spent two and a half hours just walking and talking around the Garden District. Raph was reminded of his mother as Riley talked of the beautiful houses in an artistic sense. They made it to Magazine Street and decided to see if they could get a table at Coquette. Luck was with them and there was a two-seat table available.

Raph ordered the three course lunch for both of them. For the first course, they both had the heirloom tomato salad. For the second course, Riley had the pastrami sandwich and Raph had the braised lamb po boy. For the third course, they both had the blueberry buckle.

"That was so good," Riley said, wiping her lips with her napkin.

"Yes ma'am, it was. The food was great, and the company even better," he said, looking into her eyes.

"I couldn't agree more," she said, looking back into his eyes. Her stomach fluttered at the emotion she saw there.

"Thank you for coming today, Riley. I admit, I struggle to think what I could offer you, but damned if I don't want to try," he admitted.

"Believe me, Raph, you have far more to offer than you know. When I'm with you, I just feel like a woman. I kind of lose myself, my identity. I don't feel like I need to defend my social status, or act a certain way. I can just be myself, so I guess I'm not really losing my identity, but rather finding it. It's like I'm discovering who Riley Barrett really is. Not Riley Barrett the heiress, but just Riley Barrett the woman. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, it really does. I can't say I know how you feel because I've never had the burdens you carry, but I can definitely understand wanting to just be yourself without all the pressure of labels and circumstances that you have no control over. You can't help the situation you were born into, and yeah, you could give away all your money and live as a homeless bag-lady, but that's just cutting off your nose to spite your face. Your situation, I'm sure, comes with many expectations and predetermined notions of how you should act, who your friends should be, what clothes you should wear and I can see how it would be easy to lose your sense of self in all those expectations."

"Exactly! That's exactly it. I've been told since I was a little girl how to walk, how to talk, what to learn so that I could speak intelligently in many different circumstances, but those were requirements, expectations. They weren't my dreams, or the things I was passionate about, they were just the things I was expected to know and do because of my social status."

"Well, my only expectation is that I get to know the real Riley Barrett. The woman who likes to draw and paint, ride horses, and read books. I want to know your favorite color, the things you like and don't like. If I want to know about Riley Barrett the heiress, I'll read the write ups in Forbes Magazine."

"So what does Raph Savage do in his spare time?"

"Sleep," he laughed. "I'm not really sure what 'spare' time is. I fly as much as I'm allowed, to accumulate hours, and when I'm not flying I'm usually maintaining the aircraft that I fly. I mostly fly the TBM, but there are three other planes that I fly regularly, depending on the need, so there's always something to do on one plane or another."

"Surely you have some type of hobbies. What did you like to do before you started flying all the time?"

"I did enjoy riding horses when I was younger. My dad had a couple horses and we'd go riding, or even go on weekend trail rides up in the hills. We'd take just what we could carry on horseback, sleep on the ground, catch fish to eat for supper. It's been a long time since I've ridden, though."

"I love to ride too. My mom wanted me to ride English when I was little, with the funny little helmet and all prim and proper. After the divorce, I told my dad I wanted a western saddle like the ranch hands rode so then I started riding in old blue jeans, western shirts, and believe it or not a cowboy hat," she said, laughing.

Raph was looking at her, but his eyes were focused a million miles away.

"What are you thinking right now?" she asked.

"I'm picturing you, as you described, riding a horse," he said, coming back to focus on her face.

"And?"

"And I can't think of any work of art or museum display that would be as beautiful," he said softly.

As if there were a sudden magnetic force, they both began to lean towards each other across the table until finally their lips met. It was a soft, gentle kiss, just a meshing of their lips, but it was if their whole bodies where electrically charged. After what felt like hours and only seconds all at once, they parted, looking deep into each other's eyes.

"Wow," Raph whispered.

"Yeah," Riley said softly in return.

"How was everything?" the waiter, who had appeared out of nowhere as only waiters and waitresses can, asked the blushing couple.

"It was perfect," Raph said, looking directly at Riley.

"I completely agree," she replied.

"Very good," the waiter said, slipping the check onto the end of the table.

Raph never even looked at it, just laid his debit card on top of the bill. The waiter picked up both and left, smiling.

When the check was paid, Raph and Riley walked a little more around the Garden District before catching a cab.

"I guess we'd be remiss if we didn't at least visit the French Quarter," Raph said.

"Mais bien sûr," she replied. Raph just stared at her, a confused look on his face.

"It's French for 'But of course'," she laughed.

"Oh, yeah, that's what I thought, Rich Girl," he scoffed.

She punched him on the arm before sliding over next to him, hugging his arm to her and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Merci d'être toi," she said softly.

*****

In the French Quarter they visited Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo, The Mask Gallery, The Silver Lotus, and several other shops, finally stopping at Clover Grill for an ice cream cone.

"This has been amazing," Riley said as they sat on a sidewalk bench.

"It has indeed," Raph said. "I'd forgotten how much I liked to just walk and talk with someone."

"Yeah, me too. I mean, yeah, we're young adults and we're all trying to find our way, but sometimes we still need to just slow down, enjoy the sights and sounds, and each other."

"Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed today, and especially your company."

"Me too, Raph," she smiled as he leaned over and kissed her again.

*****

After a taxi ride back to the airport, Raph and Riley once again prepared the airplane for the return trip to Amarillo. Raph had already done his paperwork, filed his flight plan, and checked the weather. He patiently explain everything he was doing and Riley was genuinely interested. At 4:30pm the business man returned and was shown to the airplane.

The return flight was smooth and uneventful which was exactly how Raph liked it. Raph and Riley were able to talk the entire flight as the business man sat, without speaking once, in the back with his laptop on the small foldout table. Raph executed a perfect landing and the flying day was done. Once he finished up his post flight paperwork and had the TBM secured in the hanger, he was ready to head out.

"Thanks again for coming out with me today," Raph said as he walked out with Riley. "I know it makes for a long day, getting up so early and getting back late."

"I won't lie," she said, "I am pretty tired, but it's a good tired. I had a great day and I can't thank you enough for inviting me along. I hope we can do it again sometime."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he joked.

"Well, unfortunately I have some of those 'rich girl' duties tomorrow or I'd love to go where ever it is you're going."

"I'm not even sure where I'm going tomorrow yet. Angela will email me my schedule later tonight and I think it's between Shreveport, Louisiana and Kansas City, Kansas."

"Well, either of those sound like fun," she said, stopping. "Well, this is me," she said. Raph was visibly surprised. The vehicle she stopped at was a new model Chevrolet, Z-71, 4x4 pickup with four doors and a large front bumper, complete with winch.

"What, you expected some little sports car?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Honestly, I don't think I had a mental image of what you drove, but if I had, this probably wouldn't have been it."

"You don't think girls should drive trucks?" she asked, her eyebrows arched.

"Quite the opposite I assure you. I think girls in trucks are, uh, incredibly sexy."

"Oh, well, good. Every girl likes to be thought of as sexy."

"Well, you didn't need a truck for that, but it's definitely icing on the cake."

Raph reached and opened the drivers door for her. She stepped up on the nerf bar and pulled herself up until she was sitting sideways in the seat, her legs still sticking out the door. She reached out with both hands, placing them on Raph's shoulders and pulled him toward her. He quickly grasped her intentions and closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to hers. Her arms moved around his neck, pulling him tighter again her lips. He decided to throw caution to the wind and opened his mouth and gently pressed his tongue against her supple lips. Riley immediately responded, opening her mouth, her tongue quickly finding his and swirling around. Raph placed his hands on her waist and pulled her to the edge of the seat with his body now firmly between her thighs. She moaned softly into his mouth as their kiss continued.

"Get a room!" someone yelled from several parking spaces down.

Raph and Riley broke their kiss. Both of their faces flushed from the passion and maybe a little bit of embarrassment from the heckler.

"Um, yeah," Raph said, taking a step back. "Sorry, I got a little carried away there."

"Yeah, me too," she said, suddenly bashful. "I guess I'd better head home before they send out the search party."

"Yeah, okay, buckle up and drive safe," he said, stepping back, hand on the door.

"Always," she smiled at him, starting the truck's engine.

Raph closed the door and watched her back out and leave before heading to his own truck, a 10 year old version of the truck she was driving. He put his bags in the truck and headed home. He didn't even remember the drive home. It was as if that kiss had short-circuited his brain and he was just on autopilot. He got home like a man in a trance, trailing clothes from the front door to the shower. A good cold shower was probably exactly what he needed right now.

After his shower he felt a little more like himself, but the memory of that kiss, the feel of her body pressed against his, was seared into his brain. If he never saw her again after today, he knew that memory would remain bright and vivid for the rest of his days. He was in love. That fact both thrilled and terrified him. What do you offer the girl that has everything?

*****

Riley had finished her day at the offices of Barrett Oil and was headed home when her phone rang. She hit the button on the steering wheel of her truck to answer.

"Hello."

"Girl, where have you been?" she heard Maria's voice coming through the truck's speaker system.

"Hey, Maria. I was at the office, today."

"Where were you yesterday?"

"Uh, New Orleans," she said with a smile Maria couldn't see.

"What were you doing in New Orleans? Was it a work trip?"

"I guess you could say that." Riley teased.

"What does that mean? What aren't you telling me?"

"I flew to New Orleans as Raph's copilot."

"What!? Girl, are you pulling my leg?"

"Nope. He was in Dallas the day before and we were texting and one thing led to another and he asked if I wanted to go to New Orleans with him. I had to get up at like 4:00 in the morning to be at the airport by 5:30. He was so adorable, Maria. He even gave me my own Charter Air shirt to wear since he said I was his 'copilot'. We left Amarillo at 6:00 and got to New Orleans at 8:30. We got a cab and he took me to the Garden District and we just walked and talked. I meant to take a bunch of pictures so I could come home and try to paint some of the beautiful houses, but as we talked, I couldn't even think to take pictures or anything.

"He took me to a restaurant called Coquette. It was so good. After dessert, we were talking and next thing I knew, we were kissing, right there in the restaurant. The waiter came up about that time with the check so we paid the bill and then caught a cab to the French Quarter. We went to several shops and looked at a bunch of different stuff, then we stopped at a little burger place and he bought me an ice cream cone. By that time we had to get back to the airport so we caught a cab back, did all the stuff he has to do before a flight, and flew back to Amarillo. We got back about 7:30 and it was 8:30 before he was done and ready to go. He walked me to my truck and as I got in, I just went for it, grabbed him and kissed him but good."

"Take a breath girl, you're going to hyperventilate," Maria laughed.

"I'm sorry, it's just, I've never felt like this before," Riley said, trying to calm herself.

"I'm so happy for you Riley. You deserve someone who loves you for you."

"Thank you Maria. I'm sorry, I took over the whole conversation and didn't even ask you why you called."

"Oh, nothing really, I just hadn't heard from you for a couple days and I missed you."

"Want to come over tonight for supper and Netflix?"

"You don't have plans with Raph?"

"No, he had a late flight to Kansas City today and he won't be flying back until tomorrow so I'm all yours."

"In that case, I'll see you in an hour."

"Can't wait," Riley said, ending the call as she pulled into her driveway.