Dakota twirled her pen around her fingers, sighing heavily. The tightness of her bun pulling at her scalp, the uncomfortable feeling of her jumpsuit itching at her skin each time she shifted in her seat.

She had arrived at Top Gun early that morning, after her quite serene off day, her brain was swarmed with thoughts; most of the consisting of one Bradley Bradshaw.

Could he possibly feel the same way? Or was she just overthinking, the lingering kisses he placed along her bare shoulder that morning, trailing his fingers along the dip of her waist, as he muttered a sweet-sounding 'Good morning' into her ear, a smile evident in his voice. She swore to herself in her mind when she felt her stomach flip at the small yet semi-different gestures of the man next to her.

The feeling of someone sitting down in the seat next to her made her cut off her thoughts, the smell of vanilla flooding her nostrils as Phoenix turned and sent her a smile, "Good morning Dakota." Her voice spoke at a higher octave than usual. Dakota rose an eyebrow, "Good morning?" She tilted her head slightly, as she shifted in her seat, her attention now fully on her friend.

She watched as a light pink dashed across the apples of her cheeks, the sound of boots entering the room, making her move her gaze to the sight of Halo and Yale walking in, deep in conversation. Dakota darted her eyes between the two pilots sat in the last row of seats, to her blushing best friend who seemingly couldn't lift her head to look at her.

Her jaw went slack as she ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek, a smirk tugging at her lips, "Holy shit!" She whisper yelled, her notebook slipping off her thighs and onto the floor in front of her as she shifted in excitement. "What did you guys do?" Phoenix's cheeks flooded with a rush of red, shooting a quick glance at the woman sitting behind her over her left shoulder, before turning to an excited Dakota.

"Nothing too bad happened," her voice spoke lowly, finally pulling her gaze up to hers. "We just kissed 'n stuff." Dakota scoffed with a roll of her eyes, "'n stuff' my ass." The freckled woman lifted her head slightly about the seat, "I don't see any marks on her neck, and I know you like to leave ma-" "That's because they aren't visible, Dakota." A soft smirk tugging at the corners of her lips, fiddling with her fingers that laid on the cover of her notebook.

Her jaw dropped slightly, "Natasha Trace!" Her voice still hushed, as she punched her shoulder playfully. "Who knew my little Phoenix had it in her." The quiet female rolled her eyes as she punched her back, "You should." She said as she threw her head back against the seat of the chair, a bashful smile on her lips, teeth glinting in the early morning sun shining through the large windows.

Dakota say back properly in her seat as more aviators strolled in, clad in their army green flight suits. She leaned her head against the seat of the chair like her friend, "You are so telling me more when we get to Penny's tonight." She muttered, a smirk on her lips as she sighed. Phoenix chuckled lightly at this, her gaze settled on her lap once more.

Her eyes fluttered down to her notebook that still laid on the floor in front of her, she sighed, reaching down to grab it. Her fingers brushed the top of a large hand, a small gasp just barely escaping her lips as she looked up to the person.

Rooster's large figured covered the incoming sunlight through the window, casting a shadow on her. A cocky smirk present on his lips as their eyes connected. His gaze glued on her face, every once and a while glancing down at her lips. He squatted down, grabbing the notebook and placing it on her lap, the pads of his fingers lingering up her thigh in the process. Her heart fluttered at the feeling.

"Did you drop this sweetheart?" He questioned lowly in her ear as he stood back up to his full height. She pressed her lips in a thin line, her mind swarming with thoughts. His smirk deepened due to her silence, trailing his eyes down her figure before walking past her seat, only to sit down in the row right in front of her; his mahogany cologne wafting in her direction in the process.

Phoenix's jaw was dropped ever so slightly, "Okay what did you guys do?" She questioned, using her friend's words against her. Dakota was hesitant, turning her head to her, eyes still lingering on the man in front of them, "How about we just wait until we're at Penny's yeah?" A small nod of her head, still trying to control her racing heartrate, caused by just his touch alone. Phoenix thinned her eyes, "Yeah okay, but please," she waved her hand for exaggeration, "Spare us the in depth details. I'm sure Amelia will be there too, and I don't think she wants to hear about how good Rooster is in bed."

Dakota rolled her eyes, a playful scoff falling from her lips as she crossed her legs, desperate to get rid of the dim warmth between her thighs, as she opened her notebook and turned her attention towards the front of the room where Maverick stood, hands behind his back as the previous course simulations played behind him.

"Good morning," he started, a curt nod of his head as his eyes travelled between the seated pilots. His gaze settling on Dakota, sending a soft smile her way. "Hope you all enjoyed your day off." He cleared his throat, motioning to the screen behind him, "As you can see, this sim needs a lot more improvement, more speed, less altitude." His lips pressed into a thin line, "Now, considering only two of you made it to the target our first go-around, I'll be reassigning teams for today's training."

The monitor behind the captain changed, showing the names of the pilots that are paired together. "Mustang and Hangman, I put you two together, given you are the only ones who made it to the target," She furrowed her eyebrows, "What the f-" "I understand both of you are solos," Maverick's eyes darted between the two distraught pilots, "But I expect both of you to do exceptionally well, despite to circumstances." He finished sternly.

Her jaw was set, her fists clenching and unclenching. She wasn't at all mad at Maverick for this, frankly, she understood why he did it; putting the fastest pilots together, somehow making this impossible simulation possible. It made sense. But it was the fact that it was Hangman she was paired with. Yes, she had calmed down since she decked him a few days ago, but still doesn't help the fact that it's Hangman.

"Behind me you will see your pairings for today's flight sequences. You are dismissed."

Dakota walked out of the room, Phoenix by her side. "God I swear if that square faced mother fucker leaves me hanging I'm gonna rip something off that's awfully valuable to him." She seethed as the two made their way to the locker rooms. Phoenix stifled a laughed at her words, "I mean can ya blame Mav for putting you guys together? You're the only ones who made it to the target," she leaned against the locker next to Dakota's, as she opened it and grabbed her helmet, placing her notebook on the bottom in the process. "He prolly just wants to see how you two fly together." She shrugged.

A loud sigh through her lips as she closed her locker, leaning her forehead against the cool metal, causing dim goosebumps to travel up her spine at the contact. She closed her eyes, the fluorescent lights buzzing, the slightly foggy area filled with steam.

She turned to her friend, a small smile on her face, "Yeah probably, just hate that it has to be Hangman. I mean out of all people." Dakota made her way out of the locker room, Phoenix by her side once more. "Just go out there and drop his ego down a few notches. Yeah?" The two stopped at the doors that led out to the hangar, the sound of jet engines roaring to life outside. She nodded, "Yes ma'am," a two fingered salute, a bright smile taking over. "Just wish me luck, baby."

Mustang flew aside Hangman, both of their masks off as they scanned the sky, approaching the valley where their simulation would start. "So I just have to know Mustang," His obnoxious voice rang through her ear. She rolled her eyes as she glanced over at his smirking face. "Does your hand still hurt? From, ya know, punching my oh so sharp jawline?"  She scoffed loudly at this, a small chuckle, "Yeah okay, Hangman. Just don't make me do it again."

He smiled at her, "But don't you know dear, my specialty is pissing you off. And boy have I missed doing it." She nodded her head sarcastically, pressing her lips in a small line, "What ever floats your boat Seresin." She muttered, clipping her mask to her helmet as the two of the approached the valley.

She inhaled loudly, "Alright you got the clock Hangman?" She questioned, speeding ahead in front of him and taking their positions. "Got it. In three, two, one. Mark."

-

Dakota jumped down from her jet, grunting softly as her feet made contact with the ground. She clasped her helmet to her suit before walking away from her plane.

Surprisingly, Hangman didn't pull any stunts during their flight sequence, which made the female breathe out of relief when the two of them reached the altitude needed for the sharp incline at the end of the simulation. She was the last to land out of them, having needed to do a slight victory fly by near air control, something that Mav had told her he did in his Top Gun days.

She made her way into the hangar, the bustling noises of maintenance, the roaring sounds of jet engines, echoing through the building. She walked through the door into the base, the cool air conditioning hitting the her sweaty face, a sigh leaving her lips at the feeling. She walked through the halls, making her way to the lounge room where all the pilots were gathered around a radio, listening to the current flight sequence taking place.

Dakota approached the door, but before she could set her hand on the knob, it turned, opening to reveal a jumpsuit clad Bradley. His honey curls set perfectly on his head, small, barley visible freckles lining his cheeks, his tanned skin peaking out from underneath the unzipped portion of his jumpsuit, his aviators weighing the fabric down.

She watched as his face lit up ever so slightly at the sight of her, "Hey," his baritone voice spoke, as he closed the door behind him, casting a quick glance over his shoulder, making sure no other pilots were following him out. His hand came up to her cheek, his other at her hip, rubbing soothing circles into her hipbone as he backed her up against the wall next to the door.

"Hey," her sweet, sweet, voice spoke shyly. Blood rushing to her cheeks at the feeling of his rough palm against it. How cute. "I listened to your sequence on the radio," he started, watching as she brought her fingers to play with the dog tags that dangled around his neck. "Yeah?" A small smile tugging at her lips, her eyes shifting up to meet his, full of admiration. Rooster nodded slightly, feeling his chest flutter at the smile on her lips. "Yeah," He leaned in slowly, his breath fanning over her mouth as a smile made its way on his face as well. "Thought you did amazing baby."

She could've sworn that if they were anywhere but where they were, her knees would've buckled from underneath her. Just hearing him say that he thought she was amazing, her stomach flipped, her heart rate accelerating in her chest, hoping that the man in front of her couldn't hear the loud pounding of her heart. "You think so?" She said quietly, scared that if she spoke too loud, she would simply break this moment. Her fingers still mindlessly played with his dog tags, yet every now and then tugging on them, pulling him closer to her.

A grin on his beautiful features, "Yeah I do." He tucked a rogue curl behind her ear, his hand going back to her cheek as his eyes trailed over her face, the grip on her hip moving up to her waist. "You were amazing." His lips brushed over hers as he spoke the words, making her mind go fuzzy.

Her hands left his dog tags to rest along his torso, so desperate to connect their lips, possibly, in a way that meant more.

Dakota lifted her head up, closing the small gap that restrained their mouths from meeting. She sighed at the sheer feeling of his lips meshing against hers, the delectable feeling of his mustache scratching her top lip, how the hand on her waist pulled her body flush against his. Her heart swooned.

She pulled away, a smile on her face as she rested her head on the wall behind her. She brought her hand up to his face, her thumb tracing over his lips, small pants fanning over her digit. Her gaze was settled on his mouth, "Thank you Bradley," she whispered, her eyes fluttering up to meet his.

A small smile tugged at his lips, "Not a problem Dakota." He said before leaning in a placing a final peck on her lips, a small smack on her ass as he made his way back into the room with their fellow pilots.

PAIGE SPEAKS

i'm sorry this was long time waiting😟😟NOT i'm having fun

SOOOO this was sort of a filler but like a cute filler??? we got some dakota and phoenix bonding (more of that to come!) and then A CUTE FUCKIN MOMENT BETWEEN ROOSTER AND MUSTANG HELLO I WAS IN LOVEEEEEE WRITING THAT🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

also i hope that this book is a decent split between smut and plot like DAMN i'm low key tryin here.🫣🫣

also the comments about HANGMAN AND DAKOTA??? HELL NO 😈😈😈

wonder how many chapters you guys think this is gonna be🤭🤭

do we got any stranger things fans reading? if so what are your guys thoughts on volume 2🤫🤫

love you guys <33 my horny bitches