Altitude - Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw: A Top Gun Love Story

Chapter 6

Maverick settles his tab at the bar, now and again throwing a sideways glance at Jake Seresin and Bradley Bradshaw as they shower his daughter with attention. He imagines she must feel, at the very least, inconvenienced by their tiresome advances, and – more likely – encumbered by their presence. But she doesn't show it; Sydney Mitchell is all smiles and laughter, as if either Hangman or Rooster have any sense of humor whatsoever. Maverick shakes his head, admiring his daughter's acting skills. She actually looks as though she's enjoying herself. Which is absurd – she couldn't possibly be.

He bids his trainees goodnight and heads for the door. He doesn't need to witness them getting hammered the night before their canyon run-through. He'd end up lecturing them on the effects of alcohol on reaction time and how long it takes for the body to clear it from the system. He doesn't want to be that guy. Besides, he remembers himself at their age, and he wouldn't have paid himself any attention whatsoever. These life lessons are best learned by living. And, hopefully, surviving.

He steps out of the bar, hopping down the steps off the deck, and looks out at the rose-tinted sky. The sun is below the horizon now, and the rippling water is reflecting the red and orange hues of dusk. There are still people in the water, families gathering their belongings on the beach, couples enjoying the warm, evening air.

He slides on his sunglasses, turning toward the parking lot, the gravel of the road crushing under his boots, and starts for his bike. That's when he sees her.

Cast in the golden glow of sunset, hair afloat in the breeze coming off the water, skirt flattened by the wind right against her legs, she's like an apparition. Something out of this world. Something he's been chasing after his entire life. Something surreal and forever just out of reach.

She's walking toward the Hard Deck, tucking her hair behind her ear as it blows into her face. She spots him almost as soon as he sees her, and her step falters slightly. The hesitation is so minute that she clearly means for it to go undetected, but there is nothing about her that has ever escaped his notice.

His pace slows as he stares at her in wonder, half-expecting her to evaporate together with the salty air. He reaches up to remove his aviators, blinking profusely as though the act might somehow correct his vision and erase her from existence or, at any rate, from the parking lot.

She doesn't look pleased to see him, even less so as he comes to a halt before they cross paths. He's staring at her incredulously as she stops before him, sighing impatiently.

"Pete," she says. The name falling from her lips stings. After all, she used to call him Maverick. "Fancy seeing you here."

He nods, his mouth still slightly agape. "No kidding," he responds.

She glances at the bar behind him irritably, as if he's keeping her from much more pressing matters. She lets out a puff of air, folding her arms over her chest, apparently resigned to spending another several minutes in an uncomfortable silence with him.

"What brings you to North Island?" he asks, eyeing her warily, for the first time in his life unsure how to talk to her. Still, there isn't anything in the world he'd rather be doing.

She gives him a pointed look. "Sydney, of course."

Maverick nods. "Of course." He hesitates, wanting, more than anything, to reach out and touch her arm, confirm that she's real.

"Is she here? I've tracked her phone to this location."

Maverick narrows his eyes. "She didn't tell you she was coming?"

Another sigh. "You didn't wonder for a minute why she's suddenly decided to seek you out?"

Maverick shakes his head. "I didn't want to question it." He shrugs. "I was just happy to see her."

She gives him a sympathetic glance, her icy demeanor collapsing around her. Then a small smile appears on her face as she lowers her gaze. "You've been good?" she asks expectantly.

He chuckles. "I have."

She purses her lips, avoiding his gaze. "That's good."

He can't take his eyes off her. "Could have been better," he adds.

She scoffs and shakes her head, although the smile lingers on her face, despite the bitterness of her words. "Yeah, couldn't we all?"

"Amelia," he says quietly, his voice close to breaking.

She meets his gaze briefly and, in that instant, he nearly blacks out. She sighs sharply and looks away, but he's reeling from the fleeting – but earth-shattering – eye contact. He takes an uneven breath, watching her stare at the gravel at his feet as if it were more interesting than his face.

There are about a million things he'd like to say to her, give or take a few, but he can't seem to string two words together, let alone a relevant, coherent sentence. He can only gape at her, admiring her unparalleled beauty, finding comfort in her predictable cynicism. He wipes at his brow uneasily, giving his hand something to do besides clenching into a fist to keep it from shaking. He closes his eyes, breathing out steadily. "She's inside," he says.

Amelia looks up at him with a small smile. "Thanks," she says.

Maverick nods to acknowledge the gratitude, trying to catch her gaze. Her eyes linger for a moment on his and it seems to take a significant amount of effort on her part to finally look away. "Amelia," he calls when she starts to walk away. She turns back wearily. "You staying awhile?"

She lifts her eyebrows and bites on the inside of her cheek. "Not if I can help it," she responds.

Maverick chuckles. "I'm sincerely hoping you can't," he says, to which she rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

He watches her cross the parking lot toward the stairs leading to the front door of the Hard Deck and pull on the door. She glances back at him before entering and, for a moment, he considers following her back inside. He wavers on the spot before sliding his aviator back over his eyes with a smile. He turns unhurriedly, unable to contain his widening grin, and heads for his bike.

.....

A/N: Ahhhh I love writing them together so much <3 They have all the chemistry lol

Hopefully you guys enjoyed this Mav chapter. Whose storyline currently interests you more? Maverick x Amelia or Rooster x Sydney?

Mav's face when he sees Amelia:

And here's something to keep the Rooster fans going:

Where are my Miles fans at? I wanna gush about Miles Teller too <3