“Eh. It’s okay.” Cash’s rugged face turned dusky from the praise, and he tugged his hat lower. “You like anything with melted cheese.”
“I like you.” Danny gave him another kiss, a longer one that made me cough.
Harley added a snort. “The food’s decent, man, but don’t expect a kiss from me.”
“As if I’d let you try.” Danny gave Harley a withering look, and Cash put an arm around him like he might need to hold Danny back from biting Harley.
“You guys are so cute.” I stopped short of a Danny-level wistful sigh, taking a deep breath instead.
“I think you pronounced irritating wrong.” Harley guffawed and slapped me on the back.
Even Cash was peering at me strangely. “Aren’t you the one who complained about us being too happy?”
“I didn’t…”
“You did.” Danny nodded firmly.
“Well, I was wrong. You’re cute.” I matched his stern tone, which made everyone laugh and resume eating their pizza.
“Maybe you were swapped with an alien after all,” Harley mused quietly to me as Cash and Danny continued to trade flirty pizza compliments.
“Screw you.” I took a long sip of the soda Harley had brought. Too sweet. Too cloying. My tastebuds rebelled. All damn day I’d been craving something tart like lemon pie. Maybe I’d permanently warped my appetite.
“We’re among the last single people we know, LT.” Harley bumped my shoulder before taking another slice of pizza. “We gotta stick together. Run the other direction from the ol’ ball and chain.”
I’d talked exactly like him for years. Tied down. Ball and Chain. Shackled. On a leash. I’d made all the same stupid jokes. I’d laughed at even worse ones on deployment, the way young personnel could make relationships sound like a fate worse than a loose grenade. God, I’d been so lonely. So, so lonely.
My eyes fluttered shut. I could picture being handcuffed to Ezra. I wouldn’t complain. Hell, it might even be fun. And if he wanted to tie me down…
I swallowed and opened my eyes. Couldn’t be having those thoughts here. But the want still lingered. I glanced over at Cash and Danny. They were so happy. Contentedness rolled off them in waves, like the way the scent of the ocean permeated everything at the coast, a permanent feature, not a temporary whiff of perfume. They were going to make it. I wasn’t sure where that certainty came from, but the more I stared at them, the more I knew they were the real deal.
Danny whispered something which made Cash blush and duck his head, expression so tender it made my own heart stutter. Ezra looks at you like that. Fuck. He did. And I wanted more of that. Right freaking now.
“Maybe a relationship wouldn’t be that bad…”
“LT? You okay?” Harley leaned in, looking genuinely concerned, not teasing now. “Maybe Money was right. You look like you’re gonna pass out.”
“Nah. I’m fine.” I pushed my plate away. “Just remembered something I need to do.”
Head churning, I made the world’s fastest goodbyes as I hightailed it back to my car. And on some weird autopilot, I drove to Ezra’s prior rental. But the place was alight with a party filled with hulking pro-athlete types spilling out on the various balconies. Not remotely Ezra’s scene.
Fuck. I needed to see him. Right then. Staying parked on that street for a moment, I fished my phone out, dialed Kate, continuing to not let myself slow down and think about what I was doing. I didn’t even know what I wanted to say to Ezra, just that I needed him. Now.
“Duncan. Is everything okay?” Kate picked up on like the eighth ring, sounding decidedly sleepy and cranky. “Something you couldn’t text for?”
“I need to find Ezra.”
That got a full-bodied laugh. “Well, good luck with that.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded. Maybe she did know more than her earlier text had let on, or maybe the mere act of me calling had given me away. Too bad. I was in this thing now. “Kate, I need to talk to the guy.”
“You and me both.” She was starting to sound more awake and vaguely pissed off. “He didn’t fly back with the group. Said he needed some time off. Said he needed to go think.”
“Ah.” That would probably explain her mood and also her powers of deduction. Go think. Something pinged in my brain, some fragment of a memory that hung just out of reach as Kate continued.
“I’m really hoping he’s okay, but I didn’t want to worry anyone else by admitting he’d ghosted me. That would raise a bunch of rumors or bad press by everyone trying to find him. I made him text me back, at least. That’s something, I guess.”
“Yeah, it is.” Ezra texting Kate gave me hope he was safe. But where? My brain continued to spin. I needed him, press and rumors be damned. I was going to find him.