Survivor (First to Fight #2)(63)
“I’m not the only one.” I nod toward Sofie. If Olivia and I had shit timing, Jack and Sofie have it ten times worse. Even now, they could barely stand to talk to each other. They only gave each other cow eyes when they were certain the other wasn’t looking. Otherwise they spent every interaction sparring.
“When do you leave, exactly?”
I clear my throat and shake my head a little to dispel the image. “Ah, next Monday.”
“Well, I’m glad you could make it out here before you had to ship out.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
Jack slaps me on the shoulder as he heads toward the group. “Keep eyeing my sister like that and I’m going to start regretting it.”
“Fuck you,” I reply.
After dumping my now empty beer in the trash, I grab another and reluctantly follow Jack down to the beach. Night has fallen completely, and the only light comes from the small flickering bonfire and the few rooms still lit up. Memories of hundreds of similar nights gone by wash over me.
Our history is made up of a series of nights like this, and there is a gnawing feeling in my gut that this is going to be the last one. She isn’t a starry-eyed teen anymore, and I’m not some pissant private. Soon, a man would see what I am seeing and take it. And I would have to resist the urge to break his f*cking jaw as I could only watch the distance between us become greater.
I chug the beer to soothe the sudden burn in my throat. Pre-deployment leave always makes me nostalgic.
A few more days and I can put Olivia behind me. For another year, at least.
I just have to get through tonight.
Sand shifts beneath my feet as I sit on one of the creaky old lawn chairs we’d drug to form a circle around the fire pit. I nod to Jack and our mutual friend Logan Blackwell. The three of us had gone to boot camp together. Jack and I joined because we couldn’t imagine doing anything else, Logan because of the extended family he had to support. Though we had different jobs, we always seemed to find our way back to hang out on our time off. And it was always nice to touch base with my guys when we had the chance.
Logan had recently separated from the Marines. In addition to serving as my going-away party, we’d also gathered to take his mind off his troubled marriage. On the positive side, he had only just started working as a cop. At least he had that to look forward to.
Yet another reason why it wouldn’t be smart for me to get involved with Olivia. Not that I expected her to cheat or give up on me, but who was I kidding? Most women could barely handle normal separation, let alone that of the military life. Our dangerous lifestyle had a notorious burnout rate—both for the men and their families.
I drown that sorrow with a healthy tug on my rapidly emptying bottle. If I kept up this pace, it would be one of those times where I wound up on the beach the next morning without my clothes…or my dignity, if the guys had anything to do with it.
My mind begins to wander to the possibility of Livvie joining me, and it doesn’t take long for that fantasy to spiral abso-f*cking-lutely out of control. Images form of her slick skin against mine, her eyes dark with need. I clear my throat, shifting in my suddenly uncomfortable seat, and refocus my attention to the conversation between the others, steadfastly ignoring the intense look Jack is shooting my way.
Livvie sips delicately from her cup, likewise ignoring her best friend Sofie.
“C’mon, Liv. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If there were any reason to give it a rest and live a little, this is it. It’s not every day the stars align and our favorite band, since we were tweens, is playing a reunion show an hour away.”
Livvie shrugs, smiling guiltily. “I don’t know. You know school starts in a few weeks, and I have so much to do with the classroom and lesson plans. I just don’t want to screw it up my first day and be caught unprepared.”
“If I can handle my crazy-ass roommates 24/7, you can manage one day off from your group of artsy types. Besides, we haven’t gone out in forever. Where did my crazy sidekick go?”
Jack scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Give it a rest, Sofie.”
Sofie cuts a glare toward Jack. “No one asked you.”
“What are you even doing here, anyway? I thought you were living it up at UNF with all the other brainiacs.” He takes a heavy swig from his drink. “You wanted to go so bad, maybe you just should have stayed there.”
Sofie stands and swaggers to Jack’s side as he watches with hooded eyes. Olivia gasps beside me as Sofie upends her drink over Jack’s head.
“Thought you could use something to cool off your hot head,” Sofie quips.
Jack lunges to follow as Sofie prances away, but changes his mind, slumping back into his seat instead. “You gotta stop inviting that f*cking girl,” he says.
“She’s my best friend, you *. The least you could do is keep from insulting her. This is the first time she’s been able to visit since she started grad school. You keep this shit up and I’ll never get to see her at all.”
Olivia tails after Sofie, leaving me, Jack and Logan staring sullenly at the fire. We’re a sad sight, that’s for sure. Women.
I smirk. “Don’t go there, Jack. Not a good idea.”
He scowls at hearing his own advice to me from a few moments ago, using the tail of his shirt to mop the beer dripping from his hair. “Fucking women. Not worth the f*cking trouble.”