Rafael Patino has a great life in Rain Valley. He’s a teacher at the high school, has a great group of friends, and enjoys the occasional baseball game. Other than the sporadic call from his drunken mother, he’s pretty content. He’s also been in love with his best friend Dustin for nearly a decade. Years of keeping those feelings under control are put to the test when they begin a summer project together. Dustin Vance builds furniture for a living, has just earned his pilot’s license, and has an amazing best friend. When he buys a 1976 Cessna Skyhawk, he asks Rafael to help restore it, then travel with him to Wisconsin for the largest aviation convention in the world. As they spend their days working on the plane, they begin to spend their nights together. Will they find love in the clouds, or will they stall out before they even take off?

Love in the Clouds

“Flaps coming up. More power. We’re airborne.”


The plane climbed quickly, until they began leveling out.


Dustin turned to smile, tilting his head as if to ask Rafael if he was doing okay.


Rafael smiled back and nodded. “This is amazing,” he admitted, finally allowing himself to fully relax. They’d completed two take-offs and a landing and Dustin had done a remarkable job.


As they flew, Rafael lost track of the hour, splitting his time between staring at Dustin in awe and admiring the scenery. He grew used to hearing the tower on the radio, amazed that Dustin could weed out what was and wasn’t meant for him, but could interpret what sounded like gibberish.


Chapter 56