Summary: you love your personal space. Unfortunately, Bradley also loves your personal space.
Pt. 2
You never understood why Bradley stuck around. Since the academy you’d preferred to stick to yourself; get your head down and get the job done. Especially with a surname like Mitchell. You didn’t want your father and grandfather’s reputation to negatively proceed you, and by the time people had put two and two together as to whom loins you came from: you’d made your own reputation so Maverick never made much of a difference to it.
But still, having dinner in the mess you’d sat down, when someone came and thudded down next to you and began eating themselves. “I’m Bradley” he said when you finally looked up at him. You raised a brow “Bradshaw?” You ask and he nods: you recognise him from the photos your dad pinned up in your two’s hanger. You hum “and you are?” He asks “not important.” You reply, deciding you’d lost your appetite and stood to clear your plate “good talk!” Bradley said, but you were already walking away.
He’d next encountered you when you were running around the academy, early morning; before any naval training would take place. He hummed and decided it was perfectly acceptable to interrupt your jaunt with his presence. “Hey! Up so early?” He asks as he tries to match your pace from a standstill “could ask you the same.” You reply bluntly “well I wanted to get a run in before-” “well there’s your answer.” You reply, cutting him off. “You run really quick.” He says as you try to keep your pace increasing to shake him off “goodbye, Bradshaw.” You say, pulling your sunglasses over your eyes and taking off at a pace he couldn’t sustain. He just stops and shakes his head smiling, you were funny.
Eventually, you’d both gotten up in the air and were quick to earn your callsigns “Rooster” and “Hen”. Bradley earned his because he was up before the chickens, you’d earned yours because the chicken kept fucking following you around like you were his mother. You were sat on the aircraft carrier, your trainee group learning how to land on a ship deck and you’d finally gotten a moment of peace that evening. You sat on the edge of the deck, feet dangling over the edge as you watched the sunset, not moving when you hear someone slip into the space between the barriers beside you.
“Oh look my chick is back.” You mumble sarcastically and Bradley laughs loudly at you. “You love me really” he says, looking at you as if he wanted to you agree with him “you seem to keep telling yourself that, don’t you?” You hum, turning to watch the sea lap against the grey metal. You can feel him fidgeting beside you, as if antsy to say something. “What?” You ask, finally turning to look at him. “What?” He repeats, looking at you with raised brows “you want to ask me something. You’re fidgeting.” You point out “so ask me or fuck off” you say, turning away again. “Your last name is Mitchell” he says and you roll your eyes “you can read and hear. Two things I’ve learnt today.” You huff, again, with sarcasm. “Are you related to Pete Mitchell?” He asks, looking at you and nearly holding his breath “you finally put two and two together?” You ask and he lets out the breath.
“Yeah, he’s my dad.” You say after a while “I was a whoopsie baby my mother didn’t want anything to do with” you tell him. “He used to fly with my dad.” Bradley almost whispers, voice just a few octaves above. “I know” you nod “he’s practically wallpapered all over our hanger.” You say “so are you” you eye him. “He pulled my papers” he says, again after a few moments of silence “I know” you say “do you know why?” He asks “yes.” You reply, and he could tell you weren’t going to elaborate. “Y’know I’m not a fan of your dad, but I really like you.” He says and you just look at him with a blank face. “Yup” you hum to yourself and he raises a brow “just as Mother Goose was described” you say, and Bradley’s face immediately lights up with a huge grin, stretching and arm around you and pulling you into his side.
“Get off me.” “Yup, yep, sorry.”
For your first deployment, the academy set it up that you’d at least be with one person from your training squadron, and today the list of names were coming out; they were scribbled on the back of a napkin and pinned to a notice board.
“1. Haywood & Solomons, 2. Hughes & Shelley & Omaha, 3. Cooper & Parker & Cromwell & Smith, 4. Bradshaw,” you crossed your fingers as someone read out the names, then yours was read alongside Bradley’s “oh for god’s sake” you grumble, turning to see Bradley practically jumping for joy. “This is great! Me and you, Hen!” Rooster cheers and you just stare at him “should’ve called you leech cause you’re acting like one. Calm down.” You instruct and he tries to chill out, but the cheeky smile on his face was indiminishagble.
He only became more unbearable then, with you every working hour, your wingman on the missions you’d fly, inseparable despite your complaints. “Where’s your boyfriend?” Hawk asked you, as he came to sit with you for lunch. You shush him loudly. “Woah woah I only asked where he was.” “Speak his name and he shows up. I’m trying to hide.” you say in a hushed voice “plus he isn’t my boyfriend” “sure” he scoffs but the daggers being shot into his head silenced him easily.
“Hey Hen! Hawk” Bradley greets as he sits down. You grunt and point an accusatory finger at Hawk “this is your fault, jackass” you say and he laughs at you, him and Bradley engage in conversation as you just eat, having learnt the skill of drowning him out. “What about you, Hen?” Hawk asked, drawing your attention away from your plate and up to the two men alongside you, you raise an eyebrow - letting them know you were insinuating that you weren’t listening to their conversation.
“Do you want a family?” He ask and you just nod “really?” Hawk asks “that’s cute, didn’t take you for a family gal” he jokes and you harshly kick his leg under the table “kids and everything?” He asks after the pain subsides. “Yup.” You say and Bradley hums “I didn’t know that” he says and you just look at him “you never asked.” You reply simply, and that was true: he hadn’t. He was quite prepared to spend the rest of existence chasing after you, whether that meant giving you your first kiss on your deathbeds.
The two of you even went to Top Gun together, training to be the finest naval aviators of them all. And boy, you two fought to be the best; tongue and teeth, blood sweat and tears, everything. The decision came down to one final dogfight. “May the best aviator win” Rooster jokes, sticking out a hand to you. You eye it and internally question if you were insane, before leaning up to peck his cheek. “Prepare to loose, chicken.” You say, leaving him frozen in his place while you head to your plane. That day, Bradley was seriously off his A-game, and you came out on top.
A Mitchell finally Top Gun.
“Congratulations!” Bradley says excitedly on graduation day when you victoriously lifted the trophy above your head. You turned to him and he leant down slightly - you weren’t stupid, you knew what he was intending to do. “Thank you, Brad.” You say, turning to walk over to where your father was stood - knowing that was probably the only time Bradley wouldn’t follow you. That was the first time you’d ever called him anything short of Bradley Bradshaw.
“I’m so proud of you honey” your dad says, hugging you tightly and you embrace him back, smiling widely “thank you, dad” you respond and he looks behind you where Bradley was stood a while back, watching the ordeal. “Is that-” “yes” you tell him and your dad just looks at you “I wouldn’t get all teary he follows me like a lost puppy” you grumble but he just grins “he’s a good kid, hon.” He says and you shake your head “he’s definitely something”
“So how does their relationship work?” Bob asks Hangman, watching Bradley talk your ear off and you just staring ahead into space, blankly. “You see Bobby my boy,” Jake begins “Hen loves her personal space” Bob nods “Rooster also loves Hen’s personal space.” Bob nods again, now understanding. “Haven’t they done everything together though?” He asks “I think it’s more the fact that Hen does something and Rooster just kinda goes with it” Phoenix said and Bob hums, as Bradley continues to converse one-sidedly with you.
“He means well” you hear from beside you as you stare out from the hanger, turning to see your honorary uncle Tom walking towards you, you run towards him as he embraces you tightly “hey Ice” you smile, sweetly. “Hey sweetheart” he croaks. “I mean what I said.” He states and you raise a brow “he means well” he nods towards the man doing his required push ups on the ground with Hondo. “I know, Ice.” You tell him. “No, I don’t think you do” he hums and you raise your eyebrows at him. “The kids in love with you. You’ve either got to let him in or tell him to get out.” He says, “you’re living together for goodness sake”. “It was cheaper” you argue “we both know the accommodation is subsidised.” He states, matter-of-factly, patting your shoulder as he turns to go talk to your dad when he walks into the room.
It was true, you and Bradley were sharing accommodation. “Hey Hen, they’ve offered us shared accommodation back in Miramar” Bradley says, coming over with a pamphlet. “Why?” You ask, taking it out of his hands. ‘Married couple accommodation’ it states and you raise your brows “you getting ahead of yourself, Bradshaw?” You ask and he shakes his head “the guy assumed our callsigns were cause we’re a couple” he tells you and you just hum. “Well I’d rather stay there than in an apartment.” You say simply, giving him back the leaflet and refocusing on the plane you were working on repairing. “Seriously?” He asks, voice overly hopeful. You look at him and shrug “just go get the damn house, Bradshaw. Before I change my mind!” You say and he grins, turning and breaking out into almost a jog to head to confirm your living situation.
You take a moment of hesitation, before loudly groaning and heading out onto the tarmac, getting down and doing push ups alongside Rooster. He turns his head and looks at you and you just raise your brows at him. “Hey honey” he grins “hello Bradley” he nudges your hip with his own. “I’ll drive us home.” You tell him, and he raises his eyebrows “Home?” He asks and you huff “okay, Bradley I will drive the two of us back to our shared accommodation that we accidentally got given.” You say and he laughs loudly “home sounded better.”
Then after the mission, the whole Dagger squad got permanently stationed in San Diego, other than deployment, so they urged the new additions to the base to buy their own properties closer to base rather than on it. You and Bradley were sat in the Hard Deck, a long time before it was open, the rest of the Daggers spending time on the beach while the two of you were scouring Bradley’s laptop for a property. Well, Bradley was.
How about this one? He turns his screen to you. You shake your head “I want grass in the garden. I want to plant flowers” you say as you point at the paved back of the house, explaining that it’s a waste of money to have it ripped out. Bradley nods “Mkay, garden” he says, moving back to look again.
“How about this one? Beach front, close to the running track for you. Only a walk from the Hard Deck. White picket fence, really” he hums, turning the laptop again “garden?” You ask and he nods “garden.” He nods with a grin. “Shall we go look?” You ask and he raises a brow at you. “You said it’s a walk from the hard deck. Let’s go.” You say, putting the address into your phone and immediately recognising the street name, Bradley quickly falling into step with you as you walk towards the property.
You look at it and place your hands on your hips. Bradley was right. Pretty damn perfect. “Can I help you?” A lady asks, walking outside of the house, clipboard in hand. “Oh no, we’d just seen this property online and wanted to take a look.” Bradley tells her. “Well I’ve had a no-show on a viewing. How’d you like to take a look?” She suggests, motioning to the open door. “Okay” you nod, following her into the house.
“Obviously the kitchen, living room, even a deck out back with a huge garden and high fences” she says nodding out the window and you hum. “Out the side there’s an entrance straight to the beach” she motions, then starts heading up the stairs “three bedrooms, attic space, bathroom” she says “I’m guessing it’s just you two at the moment?” She asks “oh we’re not-” Bradley begins “yes, just us.” You confirm, shutting him up. “Okay, so there’s a large room for your bed and then if any new additions are to join, you have the space for them” she smiles and leads you back out front.
“It’s not cheap, it’s California. So I understand if you’re not prepared to pay that much money, do you mind me asking what you do?” She asks “we’re naval aviators.” Bradley says “stationed here?” She asks and you both nod “ah! I get why you’re looking for a property here!” She says and Bradley looks at you. “I really like it, Roo.” You say, and Bradley has to stop his jaw hitting the floor at your nickname. “It’s your call, honey” he says and you look at the lady and smile as she offers her hand “we’ll take it.”
“How shall we split the payment?” You ask Bradley as you walk back to the Hard Deck after organising a meeting with the realtor to actually finalise all the kinks and bumps. “I don’t mind doing the down payment then we’ll take it in turn paying the loan” he suggests “we can get a joint bank account and do it that way” you say and he agrees as you settle back into your seats at the Hard Deck. “Where’ve you two been?” Hangman asks “we bought a house.”
One evening, after you were all moved in and were hanging out at the Hard Deck after a long day or routine flying, you were sat outside with Rooster; watching the sunset. “When are we getting married then?” You ask and he spits out his beer “what?” He asks, eyes wide and getting progressively more giddy. “Well we live together, we have a joint bank account, and Jake keeps telling me we’re practically married. So when are we getting married?” You ask as he hugs you tightly “whenever you want, baby” he says, kissing the top of your head and pulling a ring out of his pocket to get on his knee. “Will you marry me?” He asks and you raise a brow “didn’t I just say that?” You ask bluntly “just say yes, please” he begs and you nod “yes. Yes I will marry you, Bradley Bradshaw.” You confirm as he kisses your lips gently.
Dude my icemav edit blew up on tiktok and now theres military propaganda bros in my comments asking me why i captioned them as lovers… whole house mad.. 🥹✌🏻
Disclaimer: This is a rewrite of a fic I posted a few years ago! I'm rewriting all of the parts, this is the fourth!
Authors Note: Here's part four! Writing this one took the LIFE out of me! It's about 2k words longer than the original...which is insane. But the original was so bad, so this was absolutely necessary. ALSO!!! Blurb requests for THD are still open! I want to write what you guys want to see about these two!
Synopsis: In which Charley really can't stop thinking about Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw after seeing him play dogfight football on the beach.
Warnings: Mentions of an age gap, mentions of domestic violence, swearing, SMUT 18+ MDNI, adult themes, and sexy aviators. Bradley is 35, and O.C. is 25.
Word Count: 10.4k 🙂
Masterlist THD Masterlist
“Wanna go to the beach?”
Charley shot up from her bed when that question was yelled at her, rudely stirring her from her blissful sleep. She quickly rubbed her eyes and looked to see who the sleep interruptor was, and she was a little surprised when she saw both Penny and her dad there. They were both dressed ready for a day at the beach, and Charley furrowed her brows at them. Didn’t Mav have to be at base?
“What?” She asked, checking the time on her phone. Surely, it was about nine in the morning.
“I said,” her dad grinned. “Do you want to go to the beach?”
“Do you not have training today?” She yawned.
“This is training,” he answered.
“For…?” She gave her dad a confused look.
“The team isn’t really a team,” he answered. “So today is all about building teamwork. We’re spending the day at the beach playing beach football to fix that.”
The beach. With sexy aviators. With Bradley. Shirtless.
“Um,” she blinked. “I mean if I don’t have to participate in this football I’ll go.”
“Alright, kid, then let’s go,” her dad motioned at her. “You’ve got ten minutes to be ready.”
“Ten minutes?” She really shot out of bed at that.
She quickly brushed through her hair and threw on a swimsuit, it was a basic green bikini with a triangle top and matching bottoms. The bottoms weren’t too cheeky, which she figured was good to wear around her dad and the Navy. She wore denim shorts overtop, complete with a white button up, and quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face. She threw her hair in a bun, grabbed a bag and tossed sunscreen, a book, a towel, and her water bottle in it, and then made her way out to where her dad and Penny were waiting. She slipped on a pair of pink flip flops.
Charley met them both out by Penny’s car, and they all hopped in, Charley taking the seat in the back. Amelia was at school, but she wished she wasn’t. It would be so fun to go with her.
“Are we ready?” Maverick asked, throwing a smile back at Charley.
“I guess so,” Charley shrugged, laughing.
She was so not ready.
~~
Charley isn’t quite sure what she was expecting.
She knew she’d be at the beach, and she knew she’d be at the beach with her father’s pilots, which meant they’d all be dressed for the beach too. She had tried to prepare herself to see Bradley shirtless the entire car ride there, but when they pulled in and she saw him leaned against his Bronco talking to Phoenix, she lost it a little bit.
She knew he was fit, and she knew he was tan, but God did it hit different to really see it. Penny flashed her a knowing grin from the rearview mirror and Charley blushed. He was wearing those damn aviators and nothing else aside from a pair of loose denim shorts and slides. Her mouth watered. He looked so perfect. Like a wet dream come to life.
She swallowed hard as she stepped out of the car, her sunglasses thankfully hiding her lust filled eyes. She didn’t need anyone on the beach to see that. They had decided to have a beach day at The Hard Deck since it was practically right on the water. Perks of being associated with the owner.
Once she was fully out of the car and she shut her door, she could feel Bradley's eyes on her. She shivered despite the harsh heat that was the weather, and looked back at him. She saw a ghost of a smirk tug at his lips.
“Who’s ready for some dogfight football?” Mav asked. The pilots cheered and began sprinting down towards the water.
Penny and Charley walked down to the beach together, setting up their towels and spraying on some sunscreen. Charley kept her shorts on but she took off her white button up. There was absolutely no need for it on the beach.
“Awful hot out here, wouldn’t you agree?” Penny smirked, laying down on her towel.
“Yeah, the sun’s brutal,” Charley quipped, ignoring the double meaning of her statement.
Charley watched as the football got tossed in the air from pilot to pilot, the air filled with the sounds of their laughter. The bonding activity that her dad had concocted seemed to be working. People were even laughing with Hangman. Her eyes were really only stuck on Rooster, though. That was to be expected. At one point, Bradley’s team made a really good play, and he and one of his teammates chest-bumped each other, cheering. Once he hit the ground again he did this shimmy thing, and Charley about lost it. Or, she did lose it, she wasn’t really sure. He had a bright smile on his face, and it made her smile to watch, shaking her head and forcing herself to look away. Penny decided to go make herself a drink, so she had gotten up and headed inside for the time being.
“Havin fun, kid?” Her dad asked, suddenly coming to sit in his beach chair beside her.
“Yep,” she replied, grinning at him. “Looks like you are too.”
“Oh yeah,” he agreed, nodding. “I think this is what everyone needed.”
“Looks like it,” she replied. “They’re even having fun with Hangman, it seems.”
Her father laughed, but then got all serious on her - she hated it when he did that - and lowered his voice so only she could hear what he was saying. “I think that after we drop you back home I’m going to take Penny for dinner. If that’s okay with you.”
“Why would that not be okay with me?” She asked, raising a brow.
“Because I know you love her.”
“Dad,” she turned to face him better. “I love you too. I want you both to be happy. Just don’t break her heart again.”
“I don’t plan to,” he smiled. She watched as he stared off into the distance, clear that something else was on his mind. “I think I might move here.”
“What?” Her mouth dropped open. Her father? Living in Miramar? She never thought she’d see the day. He must really be serious about Penny.
“Yeah, I think I really see myself here,” he nodded. “It’s still something I’m thinking about and I haven’t even talked to Penny yet, but you’re here, and she’s here…and I’m so much happier when I’m with you both.”
Charley smiled. “But what about your program back home?”
“Eh, they’ll be fine,” he waved her off. “I did my job proving mach ten to Admiral Cain. They can manage the rest. Besides, I want to be with Penny. I owe it to her.”
Charley was speechless. She didn’t know what this meant for her father and his career in the sky because everything he had ever dreamed of was back home with him and in that program. But to choose Penny over it? Charley couldn’t believe it. He had never shown that kind of commitment to anyone. Charley didn’t know if he was capable, if she’s being honest. The only person Maverick had ever put before his planes was Charley, so this only showed her how much he cared for Penny. She smiled.
“Enough about my love life, though,” he said. “Any romance coming your way?”
Charley’s heart skipped a beat at his question. She hated lying to her father. They were all each other had for so long, so she never lied to him because she respected him so much, but she couldn’t be honest about this one. He wouldn’t approve of her budding relationship with Bradley for reasons she doesn’t think she needs to disclose – again.
“Nope,” she lied, immediately feeling guilty. “Nothing.”
Before her dad could even reply, however, the shadow of a tall figure appeared, covering the both of them, but especially her father. She looked up to see who it was that had come over to them and she was met with the face of Admiral ‘Cyclone’ Simpson – a man she had not seen in a while and a man who did not like her father. He looked anything but happy, and Charley made the connection at that moment that her father had not informed his superior officer of his change in training plans for the day.
“Maverick,” he stated, his arms crossed over his chest. “Hello, Charley.”
“Hello, Admiral,” she greeted, sheepishly smiling at him.
She tried not to eavesdrop as she heard the Admiral scold her father for his training choices, but it was hard not to when it was making her snicker under her breath. Her father had a knack for pissing most people in the Navy off. Cyclone didn’t stay long, he ended up walking off and grumbling something under his breath in annoyance, and Charley giggled when her dad cringed. Not long after he left, Phoenix came running up to the two of them, a big grin on her face.
“Charley!” She shouted, waving her hands at her. “You should come play!”
“Oh,” she said, pursing her lips. “I’m okay, but thank you. I don’t know anything about football.”
“We’re hardly even playing anymore,” she grinned. “Just kind of throwing the ball around. It’s fun!”
“Uhh-”
“You should go, Char,” her dad nudged her with his elbow. “Go make some friends.”
She looked between her dad and Phoenix a few times before reluctantly agreeing to play with them. Phoenix offered her her hand, and she took it, hauling herself up to her feet and running over to the rest of the group of pilots. Her eyes immediately found Bradley’s, and she blushed when he grinned at her. He wasn’t subtle about the look he raked up and down her.
“Well, if it isn’t Mav’s kid,” one of the pilots stepped forward. He looked nice, he had kind eyes and a buzzcut. “I’m Fanboy.”
“Payback.”
“Coyote.”
“...Bob.”
They all took turns introducing themselves by their callsigns, and Charley waved at each of them, offering her name up as well. They all seemed like a really nice bunch of pilots, especially Bob, who she could tell was super shy. He had that sweet, nerdy look about him.
“You two not going to introduce yourselves?” Coyote asks both Hangman and Rooster. “It’s not like you at all to not introduce yourself to a lady, Hangman.”
“Oh, Charley and I are well acquainted,” Hangman smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Aren’t we?”
“You wish,” she spat, shaking his arm off of herself and moving away from him. The other aviators laughed, Phoenix high fived her.
“What about you, Bradshaw?” Coyote pries.
“Charley and I know each other,” Bradley replied, his hands on his hips. “We grew up together, basically.”
The aviators nodded, and Charley sheepishly smiled at all of them. She would definitely need a reminder on several of their names.
“Well,” Hangman clapped. “Since everyone now knows each other, let’s play!”
~~
Charley was having a blast playing with all of the pilots.
They had easily made her feel welcome, and even Hangman had kept his flirting to a minimum. At one point, Charley had caught the ball and apparently scored a point for her team – she doesn’t really know what she did to do that – and Bradley had slung her up on his shoulders like he had done to Bob earlier in celebration. She had squealed when he hauled her up, but they all surrounded them and cheered her on, and it brought a big smile to her face. Eventually, everyone started to leave because the beach began getting busier and the weather a lot hotter.
The game had at one point switched to tag, and the few that were left – her, Bob, Phoenix, and Bradley – were still playing. Bradley was currently it, and he was chasing a laughing Charley around the beach with Phoenix and Bob cackling somewhere behind them. She thought she’d be able to get away, but all of her hope left her when a strong arm wrapped around her waist, and Bradley was throwing her over his shoulder.
She yelped when he moved her, and began pounding at his back when she realized that he was walking closer to the ocean.
“Bradley, I swear to God, put me down,” she demanded.
He just laughed in response, his feet hitting the water. She began shrieking and beating his back harder as he walked further into the ocean.
“Bradley…,” she warned. “Bradley. Bradley!”
One minute, Charley was over Bradley’s shoulder, and the next, she was being tossed in the water, shrieking as she made contact with the waves. When she came sputtering back up for air, she was met with a cackling Bradley, and a laughing Bob and Phoenix looking at her. She glared at all three of them, and in retaliation, she grabbed Bradley’s arm and pulled him into the water with her.
He just laughed at her as she began splashing him, and he splashed her in return. The two were a mess of water, shrieks, and laughs, and some of their splashes made their way to Phoenix and Bob, who quickly got their revenge by joining in. All four of them were laughing and splashing each other in the water, and they didn’t even notice Maverick walk up to them, several feet away to avoid getting splashed himself.
“Charley!” He yelled, squinting at her.
All of the splashing ceased, and she turned her attention to her dad. “Yeah?” She hollered back.
“Are you ready to head back?”
“Oh!” She had forgotten that she had rode with Penny and her dad. “Uh-”
“I can take Charley home!” Phoenix shouted back. “We want the girl time,” she shot Charley a wink.
“You sure?” Maverick called back, looking at Charley. She nodded. “Alright, I’ll see you later.”
“Bye dad!”
Once her dad left, the four of them resumed playing in the water. Phoenix and Bob resembled siblings with the way they were splashing each other – it made Charley laugh. Bradley picked her up again and threw her back in the water. Charley came back up to begin throwing more playful punches at him, but she forgot that’s what she wanted to do when she came back up and saw the way he was looking at her. There was a glint in his eyes, and suddenly, she didn’t want to splash him, she wanted to…
She wanted to kiss him.
The tension between the two of them was thick, but it didn’t seem to be bothering Bradley. If anything, he was thriving in it. He had that stupidly attractive smirk plastered on his lips, and she wanted to kiss it off. He seemed as if he could read her mind because it only grew wider as he watched her eyes flick down to his lips.
“Charley,” Phoenix coughed. Her face heated up as she looked away from Rooster. “Are you ready to head out soon?”
She needed to get a grip.
~~
Instead of bringing her home, Phoenix brought her to a coffee shop. She insisted on paying.
Charley was trying to be as normal as possible, but it was hard to not appear nervous, considering this was her first time hanging out with Phoenix one on one. The two weren’t super close, they had only spent time together a couple of times in a group setting. But Charley hoped they did get closer. Phoenix seemed like the type of friend she’d want to keep around.
“So,” Phoenix said, sliding a coffee across their table towards her, sitting in the seat across from her. “You and Bradshaw, huh?”
Charley sputtered. “What?”
“Oh come on,” Phoenix begged. “I see the way you two look at each other. It’s no secret.”
“I don’t – I mean, Bradley and I are just friends,” she nervously laughed, taking a sip from her latte.
“Look,” Phoenix lowered her gaze at her. “I haven’t seen Bradley look at anyone like that. Ever. And I’ve known him in his flirtiest, sleaziest days. He’s never looked at anyone like that.”
“He doesn’t look at me,” Charley groaned. “We’re just-”
“Avoiding the truth? Lying? Denying your immense attraction towards each other?"
Charley sighed, placing her head in her hands. Penny and Phoenix would get along well. With their knack of sniffing things out.
“Okay, fine,” Charley mumbled. “I like him.”
“I knew it!” Phoenix cheered. “I so knew it. I can’t wait to tease him about it at base tomorrow.”
“Phoenix you can’t tell anyone anything,” Charley whispered. “If my dad finds out it will not go well.”
“I won’t tell a soul,” she rolled her eyes. “Bradley’s like a brother to me, I’m just happy to see him happy.”
“It’s only been like, two days.”
“Happiest two days of his life I’ve ever seen,” she took a sip of her coffee. “I’m serious. He’s got a pep in his step. Hasn’t even gone ballistic on Hangman yet.”
Charley laughed, and the two finished their coffee. Phoenix stopped nagging her about Bradley, and she was able to learn more about the aviator. She discovered that she was once a part of a squadron called the ‘Black Aces,’ before she came back to Top Gun. Her and Bradley had been in the same Top Gun class, and in their time there, they had become close friends. Nat was cool, and Charley definitely wanted to hang out with her more before their mission was over.
After they finished their coffee, Nat brought her home as promised. She waved her goodbye and thanked her – for the millionth time – for her coffee. Once she got inside, she was greeted by Amelia, sitting in the kitchen working on her homework. Her dedication to her schoolwork was going to take her places, Charley knew it.
“Hey, Char,” Amelia smiled.
“Hi, Meils,” she ruffled her hair as she set down her bag. “What are you up to?”
“Homework, as always,” Amelia sighed.
“Homework is good,” Charley grinned. “You gotta do it!”
“I hate it,” Amelia rolled her eyes. “And you got to go to the beach.”
“Hey,” Charley raised her hands in defense. “I paid my due time in homework. Don’t worry.”
Amelia just rolled her eyes again and laughed. “Whatever,” she scoffed. “Can we go get shakes tonight? After dinner?”
Charley’s face heated up and guilt crept up her spine. She didn’t want to say no to Amelia, but she was getting dinner with Bradley. And who knows what they’d be doing after that. She made a mental note to take Amelia for shakes sometime this week.
“I can’t tonight,” Charley pouted, walking up to Amelia and wrapping her arms around her. “But some other time this week, I promise.”
“Why?” Amelia frowned. “It’s not like you have any friends.”
“Hey,” Charley scoffed. “I do have friends, thank you. And I’m…going on a date.”
Amelia spun around to look at Charley, her eyes wide. “A date?”
“I don’t like your surprise at the knowledge that I’m going on a date,” she frowned.
“With who? You’ve not dated since you moved here!”
“A friend,” Charley blushed.
“What friend,” Amelia pressed. “I want to know.”
It was at that moment that Penny and Maverick walked in, a few shopping bags in their hands. She had wondered why she had beat them home. Penny gave them both a smile, walking over to Amelia to press a kiss to her forehead while Mav walked to Charley and gave her a hug. They were both visibly happier, making Charley smile.
“How are my two favorite girls?” Penny asked.
“Good, I just got home too,” Charley answered. “Where were you guys?”
“We did some shopping,” Penny replied. “A new boutique opened downtown and I wanted to check it out.”
“Without me?” Amelia pouted.
“We’ll go back,” Penny assured her.
“What have you guys been up to?” Maverick asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I just got back, Phoenix and I got coffee,” Charley smiled.
“That’s good, Char,” her dad smiled. “She’ll make a good friend.”
“I was doing homework, but then Charley came and told me about the date she’s going on,” Amelia remarked. Charley whipped her head to her younger ‘sister’ and glared. “But you guys interrupted her before I could learn more.”
“Amelia,” Charley snapped.
“A date?” Maverick asked, his brows pulling together. “Who are you going on a date with?”
“A friend,” Amelia mocked. “That’s all she told me.”
“A friend – Wait, that’s not what coffee with Phoenix was, right?” Her dad panicked. “You’re not going out with Phoenix, right? She’s wonderful and would make a great friend, Char, but you know what I’ve said about pilots–”
“It’s not Phoenix,” Charley sighed. “It’s a guy who came into the bar a few nights ago. He works in marketing. His name is Evan.”
Again, she hated lying to her dad, but it’s not like she could say, ‘I’m going on a date with Bradley! Yes, that Bradley! The one that you do not get along with! The son of your late best friend! Pilot Bradley Bradshaw!’ So she had to lie. She caught Penny’s smug grin out of her peripheral.
“Evan, huh?” Her dad grinned. “Well, good for you, Char. This is a big step. But I’ll kill him if he does anything out of line, understand?” He pointed a finger at her.
“Aye aye, Captain,” she saluted, smiling at him.
“Well, I have a meeting with the Admiral soon,” her father rolled his eyes. “So I need to head back to base.”
He bid his farewells, giving Charley and Amelia both hugs, and then he walked over to Penny and gave her a peck on the lips. Charley and Amelia both raised their brows in surprise, to which Penny just waved them off, blushing. As soon as the door closed behind her father, signaling his departure, Charley and Amelia started attacking Penny with laughs and quips.
“Will you girls stop?” Penny laughed. “I am not going to accept the mockery of my love life!”
“Aw, no one’s mocking, Pen,” Charley pouted. “It’s just nice to finally get to tease the teaser.”
“Exactly,” Amelia agreed, grinning as she resumed her homework.
“And you,” Penny shot daggers at Charley. “Evan? I’m shocked your father bought that with the scene that happened on the beach today.”
“What scene?” Amelia and Charley both asked in unison. Charley wasn’t aware of any scene that had happened on the beach today.
Penny rolled her eyes. “I don’t know,” her hand flew to rest on her hip as she gave Charley an incredulous look. “Maybe when Bradley was carrying you around and tossing you in the water?”
Charley gawked. “What-,” she put her hands up in defense. “That was friendly.”
“Please,” Penny rolled her eyes. “We both know that was not “friendly.””
“Wait,” Amelia chimed in, amusement plastered across her face. “Bradley? Bradley as in…Bradley Bradshaw? Is that who you’re really going on a date with?”
Charley wanted to plant her hand square on her face. She groaned.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Amelia beamed.
~~
After dealing with the Benjamin women and their keen infatuation with making sure Charley never had a moment of peace, Charley sauntered into her room to get ready for her date.
She shot Bradley a text asking him what the attire was, considering he had not let her know where they were going. She was extremely relieved when he informed her that denim shorts and a casual top were completely acceptable.
She was nervous. Bradley was a man. A real man. A man who would treat her right and take care of her. She had a strong sense of urgency to not lose him. Whatever the two of them were was progressing relatively quickly, and she surely didn’t want to risk ruining it. She hadn’t been with anyone outside of a casual hookup since Dylan. It frightened her – to open herself up to feeling for someone, and to let someone feel for her. The last time she had feelings for someone they got in the way of her common sense and she ended up abused and uncared for.
But Bradley was not like that. Bradley wouldn’t hurt a fly outside of his job – unless they deserved it. In the past couple of days that they had gotten to know each other, he had made her laugh, smile, and feel like she was worthy of being cared for in a relationship.
For her outfit, she had settled for denim shorts, obviously, and a nice, but relaxed black camisole. She put on a pair of strappy sandals to match, did her hair half up half down, kept her gold jewelry minimum, and swiped some mascara over her eyes.
She looked herself over multiple times in the mirror before she was satisfied, and spritzed herself with her favorite perfume before grabbing her bag and heading out into the living room. When Bradley sent her a text letting her know he was on the way, the butterflies in her stomach immediately started swirling.
Penny looked up from whatever magazine she was reading on the couch and tilted her glasses down on the bridge of her nose, smirking at Charley. “Ready for your date?”
Charley blushed and looked down at her hands, smiling to herself. “I am.”
“Well, look at you being bashful,” Penny smiled. “I’m excited for you.”
Charley just laughed a little. She needed to allow herself to be happy and excited to go out with this extremely sexy, extremely tall, and extremely kind aviator. But she also remembered that she wasn’t the only woman in Penny’s house with dinner plans. “Don’t you also have a date tonight?” She cheekily raised her brow and grinned.
Penny’s face immediately reddened and she stiffened up, giving Charley a cautious look. “...How do you know about that?”
Charley beamed with victory, knowing that her father had in fact asked Penny to dinner, and she had in fact accepted his offer. “He asked for my blessing earlier,” she shrugged with a smile.
“He asked for your blessing?” Penny looked at Charley like she had two heads. “To take me to dinner?”
Charley nodded.
Penny’s mouth hung open and then twisted into a disbelieving smile.
“I told him not to break your heart again,” Charley added. “I’m afraid I’ll kill him myself if he does.”
“You Mitchell’s,” Penny laughed, shaking her head.
The two women’s laughter was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Penny leaned back into the couch, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Charley a wicked grin. Her stomach was in knots, knowing that Bradley had arrived.
“You gonna go let your hot date in?” Penny quipped.
Charley rolled her eyes and gave the woman a playful scoff as she made her way to the front door.
When she opened it, it took everything in her willpower to not jump up and down and start giggling like a child. Before her, was the dashing Bradley Bradshaw, in a resemblance of his usual attire, but instead of a Hawaiian shirt, he was donning a blue collared shirt, neatly tucked into his jeans. His hair was lightly slicked back, and she could smell the amber and pine wafting off of him. It was dreamy, she could get lost in him. In his hands was a bouquet of lovely flowers, and he held them out to her with a light smile.
“For you, m’lady,” he greeted.
She replied with a giggle that was more embarrassing than she cared to admit, but she took the flowers from his hands and blushed up at him. “Thank you, Bradley,” her voice was bashful and light.
She led him into the kitchen so she could retrieve a vase for her flowers, grabbing scissors to cut the stems before placing them in the vase and filling it with water. He watched her with a fond intensity as she worked, and he smiled at her determination to get the flowers squared away.
“You look beautiful,” he said, breaking their silence.
Her hands stilled on the flowers and she looked up to meet his eyes, giving him a timid smile and brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you,” she blushed. “You look really good too.”
“Really good?” He smirked. She gave him a flat glare and he laughed.
Amelia then strolled into the kitchen, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Bradley in there with Charley. Just like her mother, her surprised gaze shifted into one of keen amusement as she looked in between the two of them.
“Hello, Bradley,” she said sweetly, winking at Charley.
“Amelia,” he greeted her back with a smile of his own.
“Does your dad know about this?” Amelia inquired.
Charley and Bradley shared a look of concern at her mention of their relationship and Maverick’s knowledge of it. “No,” Charley answered, clearing her throat.
Amelia just giggled as she bounded out of the kitchen, going to get ready to go to her own friend's house. Charley sighed up at Bradley, giving him an exasperated look, which he laughed at. The two headed out of the kitchen themselves, and Penny made sure she wished them their best on their way out the door.
Charley blushed as Bradley opened the door to his Bronco for her and helped her up into it. She could hear him whistling a tune of some sort as he made his way over to the drivers side. When he got in and got the car started, he started playing music, and Charley whipped her head to him so fast when Harry Styles started playing through the speakers.
“What-,” she gawked at his music choice and he raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are you playing this?”
“Didn’t want you to miss your boyfriend while I take you on a wonderful date,” he shrugged, smirking at her.
“Oh, whatever, Bradshaw,” she swatted at his arm and he laughed. “Just drive.”
~~
Bradley brought her to a retro diner about fifteen minutes away from The Hard Deck, and it looked like it was straight out of the fifties. The outside was decorated pink and teal, and the sign was clearly dated. She felt like she needed to don a poodle skirt with her hair in a short ponytail.
In the midst of her gawking, she hadn’t even realized that Bradley had opened her door and was waiting for her to get out of the car. He was grinning at her in clear amusement.
“Oh,” she said, blushing. “Sorry, just hard to believe I’ve never seen this place.”
“You’ve never been here?” He asked her incredulously as he grabbed her hand and helped her out of the car.
“Nope,” she replied. “But it’s adorable.”
The two walked inside, and it was even more fifties-esq on the inside. Old records from artists like Elvis Presley were hung up on the walls, and the tiles on the floor were black and white. In the far right corner was a jukebox, and playing out of it was ‘Hound Dog.’ She smiled as the waitress escorted them to a booth.
“I can’t believe you’ve never been here,” Bradley shook his head at her as he passed a menu to her. “You’ll love it. They have the best food in town.”
“I’m excited,” Charley beamed, picking up her menu to look at it.
They seemed to have absolutely everything, and Charley suddenly didn’t know if she wanted a burger, a salad, a sandwich, or mashed potatoes. It all sounded mouth watering, and then her eyes landed on the section titled ‘Shakes’ on the back, and she just about groaned out loud. Of course they’d have shakes. Any reputable retro diner would.
“What are you going to get?” She asked him, looking up from her menu and being taken aback by his profound level of attractiveness. No way she was on a date with this man.
“I always get the same burger with fries,” he answered. “They have the best burgers. If you’re struggling to pick, get one of those.”
“Yeah…I think I’ll get one of those and a shake.”
“Good choice,” he winked.
The waitress came back several minutes later and took their orders. When she asked for drinks, she gave Bradley a very amused look when he ordered himself a lemonade. When he caught her grinning at him for his drink of choice, his cheeks slightly tinged pink.
“Lemonade?” She laughed, raising a brow at him.
“What’s wrong with lemonade?” He asked, giving her a defensive look.
“Nothing,” she shrugged, laughing. “Just didn’t take you for a lemonade kind of guy.”
Their food was out relatively quickly, and Charley’s stomach growled as soon as her burger was placed in front of her. Bradley immediately started digging in, and Charley followed. The two settled into a nice flow of conversation, and Charley found herself wanting to know everything about him. Every minute detail. She wanted to know it all.
“So, what made you want to fly?” She asked, slurping on her milkshake.
“I wanted to follow what my dad did,” he smiled. Bradley deeply admired his father, even though he had missed so much time to get to know him. “Not just to make him proud. Being in the sky and doing what he loved, and now it’s what I love, it makes me feel connected to him.”
“Your dad would be so proud of you,” she smiled. “Lieutenant,” she winked.
He laughed at her before he continued. “What about you? Why not fly with the Navy?”
“Not really into putting my life on the line like that,” she grinned. “I was a flight attendant for a while. That was fun.” Until it wasn’t.
“Yeah you mentioned that,” he nodded. “You make so much sense as a flight attendant.”
She glared at his smug grin. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It just makes sense,” he shrugged. “Besides, I bet you look so good in that uniform.”
“It’s just a blazer and a pencil skirt,” she scrunched her nose.
“Exactly,” he winked.
It was then she realized that Bradley knew bits and pieces of her love life, but she didn’t know much about his. She had known of his previous girlfriends when they were still growing up, but she hadn’t heard any news of Bradley’s dating status in several years. He was not the type of man she’d ever suspect of being single. Good looks, good job, good morals. He’s a complete package, it was a wonder he wasn’t tied down to someone.
“Please tell me if this oversteps,” she cautioned, timidly looking at him. “But, how come you aren’t married? Or engaged? Or taken at all? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, you’re just like…every girl's dream guy so it’s hard for me to understand how you’re single.”
He laughed lightly at her question before he answered. “That doesn’t overstep, I’m happy to answer,” he grinned, shifting in his seat. “I guess…I don’t really want anyone to have to mourn me if things go south on a mission or something. My mom…what happened with my dad…I don’t want to put anyone in that position. It’s my greatest fear,” he sighed. “But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how lonely it is, and how I shouldn’t live my life in fear.”
Charley just listened to him and let him talk. She wasn’t around when Goose died, but she’d known Bradley her entire life, and she knows how hard his death was for him. Then his mother died, Charley remembers that clear as day. The way Maverick had treated Bradley as his own son was the way Carole treated Charley. Carole had succumbed to an aggressive form of cancer when Bradley was in college. It was hard on everyone, especially Bradley.
“I guess I just don’t want to have to worry about leaving anyone behind,” he continued. “I mean, when- if- I have kids, what if something happens to me in the air? I just– the possibility of it is so scary to me, and so I’ve just let myself be alone because of it. But it’s made me miserable, honestly, because I want that. I want it so fucking bad. I want to get married, I want to have kids. I’m just scared.”
“That makes complete sense, Bradley,” Charley replied. “I know my dad grappled with what to do about flying when I was born. Nevertheless, he kept doing it because Penny gave him the confidence to. But it was so hard for him.”
“What about you, though?” He asked. “Do you want to get married? Have kids?”
“Eventually to both,” she shrugged. “If you would’ve asked me that two years ago my answer would have been ‘hell no,’ and that I’d be living the rest of my romantic life at home with my several pets.”
“That still sounds like a lovely life, though,” he smiled.
“Yes,” she agreed. “Minus the part where I wanted to live that life because my ex boyfriend was a piece of shit, but I digress.”
“The guy sounds like a real asshole,” Bradley remarked.
“Oh, he is,” Charley laughed.
~~
Once the check came, Bradley quickly handed his card to the waitress and gave Charley a wink as she huffed, putting her own card away. They walked back out to his car – which he helped her into, again – and sat there, looking at each other for a good few seconds before Bradley broke their silence.
“Where to now?” He asked, grinning at her.
“Well, I don’t think I can go back to my place” she winced, recalling the text Penny had sent her during dinner; ‘Your father and I are at the house! We are alone! Definitely knock when you come home! If you come home…’ To make it even worse, she added the winking face emoji at the end.
“Why is that?” Bradley asked, raising his brow at her. He had noticed her visceral reaction at the mention of Penny’s house.
“Um, well…my dad and Penny are there,” he blinked at her. “Alone.” As if her dad being there wasn’t an indication enough that they couldn’t go to her place.
Bradley laughed a loud, amused laugh. “That’s fair,” he smirked. “Wanna go back to mine, have a drink?”
“Sounds great to me.”
~~
Bradley’s place was located at the Navy Lodge on base. He was given a suite with one bedroom, one bathroom, a small living room, and a full kitchen. They lended that out to him and the other pilots while they were on base for the mission. She noticed how un-lived in it looked, which made her giggle. That was so Bradley. To keep it so clean that it looked like he hadn’t even been staying there. She took a seat on one of the barstools at the island, and he threw his keys down, walking over to his fridge.
“Well,” he started, opening the fridge. “What do you fancy?”
“Hmmm,” she hummed in contemplation, sliding off the stool and standing next to him. “What do you have, Lieutenant?”
He gave her a cheeky look at the use of his title. “Beers, seltzers, ciders…but I feel like you’re more of a seltzer kind of girl.”
“You know me so well,” she giggled, giving him a wink. He smiled back as he handed her a Truly.
He grabbed a beer of his own and led them out into the living room, taking a seat on the couch. It was a typical hotel couch. Uncomfortable, but good enough.
For the next hour or so, the two had been talking and laughing together. At some point – Charley isn’t really sure when – they started boldly flirting with each other, thus landing them in their current position.
Charley is on Bradley’s lap, and he’s got his hands on her hips, holding her to him as they aggressively make out. Their position is the same as the night prior, but this time, their movements are more urgent. She had begun lightly grinding on top of him, and he had yet to stop her. When his lips trailed down her neck and started sucking on the sweet spot under her ear, she couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t keep her noises in, or the movements of her hips under control. It was maddening, and if they didn’t stop now, she’s not sure if they ever would.
“Bradley,” she breathes, her voice coming out way more uneven and pitchy than she would have liked. “Bradley,” she says a second time with more urgency, placing her hands on his chest.
“Huh?” He asks, reluctantly pulling his lips from her neck to look up at her. His eyes are glazed over and his lips are parted, swollen and wet, and she has to stop a whine from crawling up her throat at the sight.
“Shouldn’t–,” she starts, licking her lips because her mouth had suddenly become very dry. “Shouldn’t we stop?”
“Probably,” he drawls. “Do you want to?”
Something in Charley’s chest sparks at his question. No, no she does not want to stop. But after their conversation last night, she figured he would stop her.
“No,” she breathes her reply. She tries to rub her thighs together without him noticing. It doesn’t work.
“Neither do I,” he responds, his hands tightening on her hips.
“But–,” she’s hardly able to finish her sentence because he goes right back to kissing her neck. “But what about what you said last night?”
“I still mean what I said,” he says, looking back up at her. “I’m not going to fuck you.” Charley shivers at the bluntness of his words. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do other things.”
Charley’s breath hitched in her throat as she absorbed what he had just said. His offer was making her feel all kinds of things, nervous, excited, antsy…but mostly nervous. What if she wasn’t good enough? What if she disappointed him? What if she-
“If you don’t want to do anything, we won’t,” he assured her, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. “But I would really like to make you feel good.”
She groaned at his words, shifting on his lap. His hands slid down to her ass. “I want to,” she confirmed, very breathlessly. “So bad, Bradley. I’m just nervous.”
“That’s okay, baby,” he whispered, going back to kissing on her neck. He slid his hands further down her ass and under her thighs, his hands lightly tracing the area around where she needed him most. “I’m just going to make you feel really good.” She moaned when one of his hands placed himself on her over her denim shorts. Her head fell into the crook of his neck. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, nodding into the side of his neck. She was lost in the feeling of his lips on her neck and his hands on her body. It was sending her into overdrive.
“Yes…?” He pulled away from her and pinched her chin, forcing her to look at him.
She gave him a confused look, and he just nodded at her expectantly. “Yes…Bradley?” She questioned, not sure if that was what he was after.
“Good girl,” he praised, kissing along her jaw.
She moaned and melted into his arms, sighing dreamily as one hand slid along her back and the other groped at her chest. She had foregone a bra, and Bradley smirked as he came to this realization, running his thumb over her pebbled nipple. She bit her lip and ground down into his lap. Her head was spinning as his lips made their way back to her own, and her kisses back were lazy. She felt like she couldn’t coordinate herself properly with his hands all over her.
“Please,” she whispered. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was asking for, but she knew she needed more.
“Please what?” Bradley asked, squeezing her breast between his hands. The grin on his face was way too smug for her liking, but she couldn’t find herself to care in the current moment.
“Touch me,” she demanded, arching her back on his lap and grinding down into him.
“I am touching you, Char,” he smirked.
She had to hold herself back from slapping him across the face. Pilots and their damn egos. “You know what I mean, Bradley,” she huffed.
He just laughed and planted a kiss on her lips. “Can I take this off?” He asked, his hands finding the hem of her tank top.
“Please do,” she answered, raising her arms in the air as he slid the tank top off.
With her chest exposed to the cool air now, her nipples immediately hardened – more than they already had. Her hands fell back to Bradley’s shoulders as his went up to cup her newly exposed chest. He was in no hurry, and took his sweet time admiring them. He ran his thumbs over her nipples, grinning at her when she shuddered and breathed heavier.
“Get on with it,” she whined.
“Don’t be a brat,” he tsked, pinching a nipple between his fingers. She squeaked. “So sensitive.”
“Been a while,” she breathed, moaning when his mouth wrapped around the nipple he had just pinched.
Her grinding got even more desperate at the new stimulation of his mouth on her chest. He bit, licked, and sucked on both of her breasts until they were red and wet, even more sensitive than before. Bradley was a man with a great deal of self control, but Charley was making it very hard for him to contain that self control. The small noises she was making in his ear while he kissed her everywhere was making his head spin.
She frantically grasped at his own shirt, tugging at it to try and get it over his head. He laughed against her skin, his lips once more finding her own and pressing a soft kiss to them before pulling back to throw his shirt off of himself. Her hands immediately explored his now bare chest, and she ogled at the muscle that rippled under her touch.
It was her turn, then, to lean down and kiss over his neck and down his chest, leaving her own marks on his skin. He panted under her touch, and harshly grabbed her hair when she bit down on the firm muscle under her lips. After letting her do her own exploring, he yanked at her hair, tugging her head back up and clashing their lips together. She yelped and laughed when his hands slid under her ass, scooping her up with him as he stood and carried them into his bedroom.
The bedroom was also very much hotel style, but it was a king size, and Charley smirked when she saw it. He gently laid her on it and climbed over top of her, kissing her passionately as he did. She squirmed over the sheets, fisting them between her fingers as his lips moved down her neck and to her chest. No one had ever paid as much attention to her chest as he had in that moment, and it felt good. Charley was embarrassed by how much noise she was making, and he wasn’t even touching her where she needed him to touch her.
While she loved the attention he was giving her chest, she needed him to take care of the issue that was aching her the most. She had become a squirming mess, unable to keep her hips still and doing her best to grind them up into his own as he bit at her nipples. His hands put pressure on her hips, stilling her movements, and he looked up at her with a smug grin on his face.
“Something wrong?” He drawled, rubbing his thumb along her hip.
She glared at him as her face flared red. “I need you to touch me.”
“I told you earlier,” he grinned down at her. “I am touching you.”
She huffed at him, her glare only deepening and her hips fighting against his hold. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid I don’t,” he frowned, but he moved his hands to start wiggling her shorts off of her. “But maybe taking these off will give me a better idea.”
She happily lifted her hips for him, helping him slide her shorts off. Now, only left in her underwear, Charley was mortified as he looked at her through her panties, clearly soaked through. His eyes flicked back to hers, and it took everything in her to not stick her tongue out at his sadistic grin.
“Quite the mess down here,” he clicked his tongue.
“Bradley,” she whined, breathing hard as his fingers played with the strap of her underwear. “Please.”
He finally gave her a smidge of what she wanted, his hand sliding to cup her over her panties. She moaned at the contact, immediately shifting her hips to grind up into his hand. His fingers rubbed right over her slit, and then moved to slide her underwear out of the way. He groaned when he got a look at her, glistening and wet, and his fingers immediately found her clit. She gasped out into the room, and he swallowed the noise with his mouth.
“Are you sure this is okay?” He asked, pressing a chaste kiss to her swollen lips.
“More than okay,” she confirmed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him back down to kiss her.
His fingers left her clit and went down to her entrance, circling and teasing it. He collected the wetness that had pooled there and rubbed it along her slit, grinning against her lips as she moaned. He threw her panties off of her, immediately returning his fingers to where she ached for him.
“You know,” he husked, prodding her entrance with one finger. “I’ve been thinking about touching you all damn day,” he slid his finger into her and she moaned. His fingers were so much longer and thicker than her own. “Seeing you in that bikini on the beach today,” he tsked at her. “It was hard for me to control myself and not have my way with you right there in the sand.”
She arched her back and moaned, his finger curling inside her and brushing up against a spot she didn’t know she had. She tried to close her legs around his hand, but his other one that wasn’t inside her wouldn’t let her, and he gripped the inside of her knee and folded it back, leaving her spread open for him.
“Wanted,” she panted, her eyes rolling back in her head when he added a second finger. “Wanted you too.”
“Yeah?” He smirked, plunging his fingers in and out of her.
It should be absolutely mortifying that she could hear how wet she was as his fingers moved inside of her. But she didn’t care. All she cared about was Bradley and how good he was making her feel.
“So bad,” she admitted, writhing below him. “You look so good.”
He leaned down and kissed her as a reply, his fingers not ceasing their movements. He used his thumb to swipe over her clit, and the added sensation made the coil in her stomach tighten. No one had ever paid attention to her like this. Her pleasure had never been at the forefront with anyone she had been with. The only person to have ever made her finish was herself. She faked it every time. But Bradley knew exactly what he was doing, and he seemed completely determined to be the first to make her finish.
“I’m close,” she whined.
He grinned down at her, speeding up the pace of his fingers and reveling in the way her back arched under his minstrations. “Come for me, Char.”
With his words and wicked grin, she was coming all over his hand. Her jaw fell slack and her eyes rolled up into her head, the pleasure completely earth shattering. Sure, it always felt good when she made herself finish. But this…this was something far greater. He helped her ride it out, whispering sweet nothings in her ear and kissing down her jaw. He removed his hand when she finished, settling onto the bed and panting, her legs shaking.
She hadn’t realized that she had shut her eyes, but when she reopened them, she saw him put the same fingers that had just been inside of her into his mouth, licking them clean of her. That alone made her want to squeeze her thighs shut.
He grinned down at her and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. “How do you feel?”
She huffed out a laugh, wiping at the sweat on her forehead. “That,” she panted. “Was incredible.”
He laughed, rolling to lay on the bed next to her. “I’m glad.”
“Do you want me to return the favor?” She knew her question wasn’t seductive, but from previous experiences, her partners had expected her to do something for them in return.
“Absolutely not,” he said, looking at her like she was crazy for asking. “That was about you.”
She reeled back in shock. A man turning down a blowjob? There’s no way! “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Charley,” he smiled, pulling her to his chest. “I don’t want anything in return.”
She snuggled up against him, laying her head on his chest. He kissed at her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair as they laid there. She could completely get used to this.
~~
“Char. Char. Charley.”
Charley awoke from her dreamy slumber to Bradley lightly shaking her. She was still naked, but at some point he must have draped a sheet over her, because she clung it to herself as she sat up to look at him. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and smiled when he brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
“What time is it?” She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, truly.
“About eleven or so,” he answered, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Do you want to stay the night?”
“Of course I do, but I can’t,” she frowned. “My dad will get too suspicious and Penny will worry, so I should probably head back.”
He nodded at her, and she noticed that he was still shirtless. “We can go whenever you’re ready.”
She slowly rose from the bed, very reluctantly, and reached for Bradley. He happily grabbed her and pulled her against him, the sheet falling onto the floor. They both laughed as they kissed. It took them longer than either one anticipated to pull away, but once they did, Charley could see a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“You sure you don’t want to stay the night?” He asked, looking her naked form up and down.
She blushed and rolled her eyes at him. “Another time, Bradshaw.”
~~
Charley had gotten re-dressed, and then Bradley had taken her back to Penny’s house. The whole way back, Bradley had let Charley be on aux, and she played all of her favorite pop tunes. She had laughed when Bradley had known a suspicious amount of them. He had also given her one of his navy blue Navy sweatshirts, and it had his last name plastered across the front. She knew she couldn’t wear it out too much, but she would definitely sleep in it. It smelled just like him.
When they pulled up to Penny’s house, she smiled as Bradley helped her out of the car and then walked her to the front door. She didn’t want him to leave, but they both needed to get to bed. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up to give him a kiss. He welcomed her in, his arms falling around her waist and eagerly returning her kiss.
She smiled contentedly. “I had a great time, Bradley. Thank you for taking me out.”
“Me too, Char,” he smiled. “I hope you’re up for a second.”
“Absolutely, Bradshaw,” she giggled. “I’d be upset if we didn’t go out again.”
“You sure Harry won’t mind?” He smirked at her as she rolled her eyes.
“Oh hush,” she laughed.
The pair kissed a couple more times before Charley let go and headed inside. She told Bradley to text her when he got home, and he blew her a kiss as he started his car and drove off. She walked inside on cloud nine, a grin on her face and her cheeks pink as ever. She felt like a teenager who needed to break out in song. Once she headed into the kitchen, she found Amelia in there, getting a glass of water.
“Hey,” she greeted, that smitten grin still plastered on her face. “I thought you were staying with a friend?”
“I was,” Amelia replied. “But I have homework.” When she turned to face Charley, she gave her a once over before a satisfied smirk made it’s way onto her face. “Looks like you had a successful night.”
Charley blushed furiously. “It was pretty good.”
Amelia started to say something else witty, but they both whipped their heads to the window over the sink when they heard a massive thud outside on the gravel. They gave each other a confused look, but before they could investigate, a disheveled looking Maverick popped up from the ground. Charley had to contain her laughter.
He jumped when he saw the two of them standing there, and Amelia gave him the blankest look Charley had ever seen. “Just don’t break her heart again.”
Amelia walked off, grabbing her glass of water and heading into the living room. Charley looked back at her dad with a pained expression, and he looked embarrassed as ever. She hadn’t even known that he had been there. She walked back outside of the house to greet him as he was walking to his bike, and she couldn’t contain her laughter anymore.
“May I ask why you were jumping out of Penny’s window?” She giggled.
He rolled his eyes. “She didn’t want Amelia to know I was here, but that backfired.” She watched as he looked at her, his eyes flicking down to what she was wearing, and she suddenly remembered that she had Bradley’s sweatshirt on. Her face turned bright red and her heart started pounding. “May I ask why you’re wearing Bradshaw’s sweatshirt?” The look he gave her was not one that she liked.
Shit.
“Uh…um,” she panicked, trying her best to come up with a believable lie on the spot. “I got cold after the…beach and he…offered it to me,” she winced, hoping he believed her. “It was nice of him.”
“Just as long as it was a friendly gesture,” he gave her a look of caution. “How was your date with Evan?”
“Evan..?” Then she remembered, she had told him she had a date with some random guy named Evan. “Oh! Yes, Evan,” he gave her a puzzled look. “It was good! I think we’ll go on a second!”
“That’s good,” he nodded. “You deserve someone who’s good to you, Charley.”
“I know I do,” she smiled. She just wished she could be honest about who was treating her right.
“Alright kid,” he mounted his bike. “Go get some sleep.”
“I will, dad,” she smiled. “Get home safe.”
She watched as he sped off on his bike, a guilty feeling in her gut. She hated lying to him. But she didn’t know what else she was supposed to do. He wouldn’t approve of Bradley, and she hated it. He was such a good guy, and in the few days they’ve been seeing one another, he had treated her better than anyone ever had. She didn’t want to let that go. She wanted to boast about it. Talk about it. But she couldn’t.
When she got back inside, she made her way into the living room, where she could hear Amelia and Penny talking. She saw Amelia sitting down, a smug grin on her face, and Penny was standing, looking embarrassed. Charley smirked as she leaned in the doorframe.
“Charley saw it too,” Amelia grinned, looking at Charley as she entered. “It was hilarious.”
“I’m glad you both found it funny,” Penny winced. “I was just trying to set an example.”
“Well….that kind of backfired,” Amelia giggled.
Charley laughed. “That was beautiful – watching my dad fall from a window. I’ll never unsee that.”
“Well, I – for one – find it amusing that you’re wearing Rooster’s sweatshirt,” Penny smirked. Of course she had to divert the attention off of herself. “I’m guessing the date went well?”
“Yeah,” Charley sighed, a smile finding it’s way onto her face. “I can’t wait to see him again.”
Penny whistled and Amelia grinned. “Well I’ll be damned,” Penny said to Charley. “It looks like Charley’s smitten!”
“Whatever,” Charley laughed and rolled her eyes.
~~
Once Charley had gotten ready for bed, she happily snuggled under her covers. She was happy. Truly happy. Bradley made her feel things she ahd never felt before. He cared for her on a level that she had never experienced. And he was so attractive. She couldn’t think about the way his skin felt under her fingertips, or she’d never get to sleep. She had worn his sweatshirt to bed as promised, and she loved how big it was on her. It was perfectly cozy and perfectly Bradley.
He had texted her back, letting her know that he had made it home safe. She had hearted the message and exchanged goodnights with him, sighing happily as she set her phone down and rolled onto her back to go to sleep. Her heart was fluttering and she couldn’t wait to see him again.
Charley was falling for him so hard, and so fast, and she wished she cared enough to slow herself down.
But she didn’t.
A/N: There it is! I hope you enjoyed! As always, liked, reblogs, and comments are always appreciated! Part 5 is in the works, so keep an eye out! A new semester of school is starting, so I probably won't be able to write as much, but I definitely plan to. Much love! <3
If you were on the original taglist for THD, I have put you on this one too. If you'd like to be added, just let me know!
CLEM ITS BEEN 1 YEAR I MISS YOU AND YOUR TOP GUN STUFF
Hi, it’s Wolfman - Leonard ‘Wolfman’ Wolfe.
Prompt: You and Leonard didn’t end your relationship in the best of terms but a surprise phone call from him three years later might change everything
Words ~1500
Warning: none
Notes: Hello back folks! Not back full time but I managed to finish this small fic that had been in my drafts for a year so enjoy! And not gonna lie publishing a new fic after so long did put a smile on my face. If you have any prompt ideas let me know so I can get my inspiration back flowing. Do not copy, translate or repost my work without my consent ! Highly unedited but it’s 2am you’ll excuse me.
———————-————————————————————————————-
« Hey, it’s y/n I'm not home right now but leave a message and I’ll call you back. »
Of course he would end up on your machine. It was the middle of the day so you were most certainly at work. He sighed and put his back against the wall. “Hi, it’s wolfman…” he said on the other end of the phone.
The fact that your ex-boyfriend of three years could call you out of the blue after so much time shocked you.
It didn’t really end well between you two actually. It ended in screams and cries for the both of you over stupid pointless things.
“I am just saying you’re never home anymore. I know you have a job with responsibilities and everything but whenever you’re not on deployment you spend your days and night with your friends or at the bar but never with me anymore. I can’t stay with someone that doesn’t want to be with me anymore Leonard. You’re exhausting to be around, emotionally and mentally.” You cried. He didn’t reply. He looked at you for a minutes with tears in his eyes. Instead he just left again and actually this time, he never came back. You couldn’t even cry anymore because you had cried too much already. You just accepted the fact that he would probably never come back home.
And he never did. It’s been 3 years since he left. You had no idea what he was up to now and to be honest you didn’t care anymore.
« I don’t even know if you’re home right now, you’re probably at work or whatever. Or maybe you’ve changed your number or I don’t know. But if this is you please call me back ´cause »
His voice stopped for a minute, you were waiting, wanting to know what he will tell you next. How is it that after so much time you cared so much ?
Hearing his voice brought back memories you didn’t know you had anymore.
« For god’s sake Leonard talk! » you said to yourself.
« We’ll ´cause I miss you. » he said and your heart dropped. You didn’t know hearing him say this would hurt so much but it does and you hate him for saying this.
« Leonard wait ! » you shout as you pick up the phone.
There is a deafening silence as you wait for him to speak.
« H-hi, I uh… I didn’t know if you would be at home or not. I uh… I just called because hum well I uh… » You wait, hopeful as Leonard keeps bumping on his words.
« I miss you. » He finally says. You bite your lip, trying to find your words. After all, you went no contact for three years. « It’s a little late for this don’t you think ? » You reply. « I know. » He replies with a sigh. « Why now ? » « You were right. That day when you told me I was never there for you. You were right. I spent all my time back then with my friends and at work and I didn’t put you first and I regretted it and the fact that you made me face the truth scared me because I didn’t want you to be able to read me the way you did so I just- I left. And I have regretted this every second of every day ever since but I can’t face the truth anymore. I am not scared to admit that you were right and I’m not scared to admit that I miss the way you used to know every single thing about me and the way you knew what I thought and what I felt and I miss you. I miss us. I have changed Y/N, I’m not scared of this anymore and I want all of this back. I need all of this back. » You stay silent for a minute as you process his words as a single tear pearls in your eye. « Why should I trust you ? You left me when it got real so what tells me you won’t do it again ? » You reply. « I know it’s hard to regain trust in somebody and I know I broke that trust when I left and I know it’s going to be hard for you to trust me again but I want to put in the work that’s needed. I still love you Y/N and I know you might not love me back anymore but please Y/N, give me another chance. »
You ponder the pros and cons of this decision silently and the line goes silent for a while before you reply. « I still love you too. »
Leonard let’s out a sigh of relief and it makes you smile. “I’m uh- I’m in Miramar right now. It’s hard I can’t lie.” Hearing this makes you smile. “Wow TopGun. You made it Leonard. I’m so happy for you.” “Thanks.” He replies with a chuckle. “I don’t think I would’ve made it without you.” “How so ? We haven’t seen each other in three years.” “I never forgot about us. And I told myself I needed to do this, to be a better man, for you to be proud of me. I fucked us up but I was willing to not let myself down. I did this for myself but I did this for us too.” “I really am proud of you Leonard. You can be proud of yourself.” “Thank you Y/N.”
Well now that I know how you feel I’m for sure not going to let you go again Y/N.” He replies as you smile to yourself. “I think I really need to see you and tell you face to face that I’m unable to forget you and that I still love you Y/N.” His words made your heart miss a beat. “You do?” You ask. “Yeah.”
There is a silence between you two. But it’s not at all uncomfortable. You’re simply trying to take it all in. What he said, what you’re thinking, what’s next. “So what next?” You ask.
Another silence filled the room. “I really need to see you Y/N.” “I’m actually not too far believe it or not. I moved to San Diego a few months ago.” You reply. “You did?” “Yeah I needed a change of scenery so I picked a city and moved. After all there was nothing holding me back anymore. I really like it here, it’s peaceful and I got a new job in a new school after I finished college and here I am.” “Wow Y/N I’m really happy for you really.” “Thanks Leonard, that means a lot to me.” “So when can I see you?” “When do you finish Top Gun?” “In a few weeks” “Well I can come up to Miramar when you’re finished and we can start over.” “I’d love that Y/N” “Alright then. Call me when you’re finished.” “My graduation is on the 27th.” “Is this an invitation? You know I don’t actually need to tap you out anymore right? This isn’t flight school Leonard.” “I know yeah. But I’d still like it if you came.” “I’ll see what I can do then.”
A few weeks later you’ve decided to surprise Leonard for his TopGun graduation. He had called you a couple days ago but you were unable to get back to him and confirm you were going to be there on the day. You were sitting in the back trying to find Leonard in the crowd of his peers. For once he wasn’t able to wear his famous Stetson so you had a hard time discerning him in the crowd of dress whites. When you finally spotted him you couldn’t help but grin. He seemed restless in his seat, trying to see if you had actually come but wasn’t able to spot you.
He turned around, surprised, and when he saw you his faced changed for the biggest smile you’ve seen on him and he engulfed you into the tightest hug ever. His faced nestled itself in your neck and the knot in your stomach loosened instantly.
“You’re here.” He said quietly without letting go of you. “I always keep my word you know that.” “I know. I adore you for this.” He said after finally loosening his grip. “And I love you.” Hearing the words come out of his mouth after three years made your heart skip a beat. “Shit, Y/N you remember Hollywood.” He said while turning around to face his fellow airman. “Oh my god, I didn’t recognise you there Rick. How are you?” “I’m great Y/N, long time no see, how are you?” “Doing great now. Decided to surprise this one today.” You reply looking at Wolfman as he turns his face to you with a tender smile on his face. “Are you back together?” Hollywood ask, grinning. “I’m going to do everything for it to happen.” Leonard replies, looking gently into your eyes as you give him a gentle smile.
Phoenix: Did you two sleep together?
Rooster: No
Hangman: No
Phoenix: Well, two negatives do make a positive.
Phoenix: And I'm not blind. I can see ya'll limping.
