SECRET HEARTS

Captain Norris as she was popularly known as leaned against a blue Volkswagen Jetta, a cup of coffee freshly served by her favorite barista in one hand and a magazine in the other. Her only pair of designer sunglasses hung at the top of her head but she pulled them down immediately after leaning against the car to block the morning sunlight from her eyes. Her eyes darted over the front page of the magazine as she sipped slowly.After a moment of reading, she glanced at her wristwatch and frowned. She only had fifteen minutes to get to the small airstrip where she worked and the owner of the car, who happened to be her friend was taking too long. She was supposed to give her a ride to the airstrip and if it were not for the fact that she could cover the distance within half the time it normally took, she would have already taken a cab. She threw the magazine on the roof of the car and looked up. A group of college girls passed by talking excitedly. She figured they were probably headed to the local library or the coffee joint for breakfast judging from the time. She lowered her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose and peeped. A blonde girl gave her a charming but seductive smile as she walked past her and winked. "Hey gorgeous," she greeted with a grin as the group walked past her. "My God, you are a pig!" she shifted her eyes from the group to the direction of the very familiar voice. She took her glasses off completely and widened her grin as her best friend Vivian approached. "You were taking so long, you can't blame me for wanting to have a little fun," she teased. "She's barely twenty. What are you, thirty-four?" "Thirty-five in two weeks," she replied proudly then looked at her body. "You have to admit though, it looks so good on me. I could be twenty-seven to a stranger, don't you think?"Vivian rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Just get in."She retrieved her magazine, shoved the glasses back to her eyes and got in the car through the passenger side door infront. She lowered the window and left her hand hanging out by her elbow as was her habit. Her flannel shirt was left open two buttons down on her chest exposing her white sports bra. She liked keeping it as casual as she could even during her job. The only thing she rectified was the buttons. She happened to be so influential that even her employers had to go with her dress code since she was the best they had. Obnoxious, irritating and not forgetting, a women chaser but she was the best when it came to handling clients and flying planes. That resulted in her being loved by everyone, especially for her ever-present smile and constant banter.Well, almost everyone. Several people hated her more because of her shameless flirting even with married women. One could say that those who hated her were mostly men who thought she would snatch their wives from them. For her, being seen as a threat meant nothing to her. She wouldn't deny that she had slept with a couple of married women but who was to blame, her, the women or their husbands? Wasn't it the husbands who couldn't satisfy their women in bed?Her favorite saying was, 'Give a woman what she needs and she will never want for anything more. Treat her right and she will forever be yours alone.' "Hey Jamie?" her friend's voice brought her back to the present. "Yeah." "Don't you ever think that you would be happier settling with one woman?"She scoffed, "I am happy with my life. Why would I want that?"Vivian shrugged, "I don't know, because you are getting older and one day you will need somebody to take care of you. Or just someone to spend long quiet evenings with or late nights watching the stars under the night sky."She laughed, "You must be seriously kidding. That's some hot Netflix romance sh*t. My life isn't anywhere near half those things, and never will be." She turned to her, "Man you need to differentiate between fantasy and reality."Vivian shook her head, "You know what I mean. It doesn't necessarily have to be that but at least have someone to go back home to in the evening. Someone to remind you to wake up, pay bills, and whatever."Jamie sat there for a while, her gaze seemingly distant as if she was in deep thought. She knew that her friend whom she had met three years before when she came to the town was only concerned about her. Vivian was happily married to a nice husband and together they had three kids despite being four years younger than her but throughout her life, she had neverthought of herself as settled with one person, buying a house and all the things that married couples did. To anyone who cared about why she didn't like the idea, she replied that it was boring and she wasn't the kind to live like a caged bird and all she could do was eat and sing all day long while entertaining people who would later leave and she would be left to her daily miserable routine. The real reason was buried deep inside the folds of her most secret batch of memories, memories that brought tears every time they crossed her mind and tears made her feel weak. That wasn't her. She liked being in control and if it meant being cheerful all through and chasing women one after another, as long as it made her happy and lively, then nothing else mattered. "I'm not that kind of person Vivy, she said in reply. "I am a lone wolf, just hunting whenever hungry then going back to slumber. Anything beyond that is beyond who I am. You wouldn't want to change who you are, would you?" she finished with a question.Vivian shook her head sadly, "I have known you for the last three years but that period is enough for me to know that you are not who you are describing right now not at all. So, tell me," she paused. "Did something happen in your past that made you this way or-" "Nothing happened, okay?" she replied in a slightly raised tone, something she had not done for as long as she could remember. Vivian probing her had brought it about and she knew if it went beyond that point, she would lose control. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge between her eyes. When she opened them, she met her friend's briefly. "Look, I didn't mean to yell at you, I apologize." She then looked ahead in the road and said, "I'm just not the settling type. Doing that would only bring misery to the other person and I wouldn't want that for anyone. I am happy with my life and I believe everyone needs that, right?" "Yeah, totally," Vivian nodded. "I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds." "No, it's okay," she replied then leaned back in her seat and popped a gum in her mouth. Not a single word was said for the rest of the way until they got to the curb near the entrance to the airstrip. She unbuckled her seatbelt, retrieved her duffel bag containing a change of clothes, and stood outside waiting for her friend. Vivian closed the door and walked around the car then leaned against it beside her. She still had five more minutes until her scheduled time of flight arrived. "How is your schedule this week?" "I'm going be out of town for two days. I'll fly back on Wednesday. Apparently, I have been placed in charge of the private helicopter flights to Mason Island for a week. There are special visitors coming in for a retreat, vacation, or something like that," she replied expressing with her hands in disinterest. "Anywhere they need to go for as long as they are there, I am the pilot." "Don't say it as if it is a bad thing. This means more money for you since they will be private flights, right?" "More money or not," she replied in a low voice. "As I said, I don't like being constricted to one area." "Then take pleasure in knowing that it will only be for a few days." Vivian was always so optimistic, seeing the positive side of everything. She sometimes was jealous of her and wished she could be even half of that. Of course, she had never admitted to that and she doubted if she ever would but it was what made her like Vivian most. That and the purest and gentlest heart. "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. I was only concerned about you," she added touching her arm ever so lightly. "I know," she replied. "Well, I should get going. I'll see you when I come back?" "You know you will. Safe travels." "Thank you and take care," she replied then turned and enveloped her in their normal friendly hug. "Say hi to the kids for me and also pretty face."Vivian chuckled, "Let him not hear you calling him pretty. He might smash your head in." "Are you sure your husband isn't gay?" she teased her with a laugh.Vivian slapped her, "Just go, you are so much trouble." "Ow!" "Don't be such a crybaby. And at least button your shirt," she called after her, "I love you."Jamie gave her the peace sign and walked gaily towards the entrance of the airstrip, "I love you too Vivy. See you soon." Then disappeared behind the gates.

Jamie walked up to the reception desk with her ever-present smile lighting up her face. It came without a surprise that the receptionist at the front desk was one of the many women and among the few co-workers she had slept with. Her normal interaction with everyone else was the only thing that had kept the various hookups undetectable. What she hadn't told her friend or even anyone else was that she sometimes sat down to think if the kind of life she was living was healthy. She never went back to the same woman more than two times whereby even those two times were rare. That way she avoided attachments.She dropped her bag on the floor and accepted the form that was being handed to her at the front desk. "Hey Jen," she greeted cheerfully as she readied a pen to sign at the various spaces left for her in the form. She scribbled her disorganized signature then dropped both the pen and form back on the desk and leaned forward to the level of the