“When you taking off?” Aaron asked. He turned away from the plane and wiped his grease coated hands on his coveralls.
“Tonight. I thought we could go out to dinner before I go.” I’d decided to go back to the base earlier than I needed to by a few days—but I didn’t want Aaron to think it was because I didn’t want to spend time with him. After our argument the week before, we’d patched things up and spent some time together. Still, he had less downtime than I’d expected and left me with too much time on my hands to sit around and wonder what might have been.
Back at the base, there would be activity galore, and I knew I’d be able to keep my mind occupied.
“Yeah, man. Let me get washed up, and we’ll go.”
An hour later, we were seated at a table out on Joe’s patio, eating fish and chips until we couldn’t take another bite. Aaron finally gave up, pushing his plate away, and leaned back in his seat. He threw back the last chug of beer and then gave a satisfied sigh when he set the empty bottle to the side of his plate. “Damn, it’s been too long since I’ve gotten out here,” he said, looking up the beach.
Joe had been happy to see Aaron and insisted our dinner was on the house.
“So, what happened to Holly?” Aaron asked, bringing his eyes full circle, landing them on me just as I’d taken the last pull from my own beer.
I choked back the mouthful. “That’s over,” I answered once I got a gulp of water. “It was never going to be a long-term thing.”
I’d said it—out loud—but there wasn’t one ounce of me that believed it. Since I’d met her, there had been something different about Holly that had left me imagining a future that extended well beyond the normal drop off point that all of my other relationships had turned into.
Aaron nodded. “Probably smart. It’d be rough for you over there, knowing she was back here, missing you.”
“Yeah, been there, done that, I guess.”
“Then again…” he started.
“What?” I asked, sitting up a little straighter in my chair.
He shook his head. “Never mind. What do I know about it, right? I think my longest relationship was three weeks, and even that was pushin’ it. If not for that tongue ring of hers.”
“Don’t!” I barked, not wanting to hear about it.
“Just sayin’.” He chuckled. “As for you, you’re the relationship type, and that girl was good for you. I could tell.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. In all the years I’d known Player, he was constantly trying to talk me out of relationships. For him to all of a sudden be supportive, well…it was shitty timing at best.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Her ex was a Marine and she doesn’t want to deal with it again.”
Aaron nodded thoughtfully. “Sorry, man.”
I forced my shoulders to shrug it off like it wasn’t killing me—even though it was.
Possibly the hardest goodbye came when we got back to Rosen’s. Princess came bounding off the porch as soon as I pulled into the drive, and my heart sank. Six months was going to be hell without her. She followed me around as I got my bags packed and reloaded, and it damn near broke my heart to have to shoo her from the passenger seat once I loaded everything into the car.
“Sorry, girl, but you can’t come with me this time,” I said, sinking down onto my heels beside her. “You’re gonna stay here and I’ll come get you in a few months, all right?”
I wrapped my arms around her neck and buried my fingers into her thick coat. When I let her go, she licked my face. I cleared my throat as I rose to my feet, choking back the tight ball that had formed.
Aaron was standing a few feet away and came in for a hug. “Stay safe over there, man. I’m so damn sick of funerals.”
I thought back to his old man’s funeral and grabbed his shoulders a little tighter, hating that I hadn’t been there beside him. “I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
When we parted, I gave Princess one last scratch behind the ears before forcing myself into the driver’s seat. I pulled around in the wide drive and watched both of my best friends in the rearview mirror as long as I could.
19
Jack
“You all ready, Lieutenant?” Ricardo, one of the enlisted guys, asked, poking his head into my office.
I looked up from the stack of paperwork on my desk and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.”
As anticipated, I’d been able to throw myself back into work and life on the base, even though a few had heckled me about being addicted to work. Which was why I’d agreed to go out with some of the other guys in the squad that would be shipping out the following week. A date that was looming very soon.