“Sure.” He unlocks his phone and hands to me.
I scroll through and send a few to myself, hoping the quality is good enough to upload. I freeze when I come across one of Bryce and the girl from the ceremony. He has his usual grin, but she’s smiling brightly, her face glowing. Her head is tilted and leaning on his shoulder in a more than platonic way. My heartbeat speeds and thumps against my chest.
I glance over and see Nate’s eyes are still closed, so I scroll through his text messages to see if it was forwarded or if he took it. Because if he did, I’m going to have a whole lot of questions.
The text was sent the night after graduation, when Bryce and I were already back in Virginia. The name is saved under Liza, and the caption reads “Love this picture of the two of us. We make a great pair.” She sent it to Bryce, too. I lose my breath momentarily then grow slightly dizzy at the implication. Does she know about me? And what does she mean by ‘we make a great pair’?
“You about done?” Nate startles me, and I click out of his messages.
“If you’re tired, we can stay here.”
“I’m fine.” He gets up and pats me on the head. “Let’s get your ass to Randolph. He’s about to crawl out of his skin.”
His words do little to reassure me, but I decide not to put him on the spot. I’ll ask Bryce about this girl later. For now, I try to play it off. “It has been almost a month since we’ve seen each other.”
He cuts his eyes to me and shakes his head.
My excitement builds when we get onto the Navy base, the unease from earlier lifting. As we drive, he points out the main buildings. When the ships come into sight, my eyes almost pop out of my head. It’s beyond incredible. Nothing could prepare me for the sheer size and magnitude of these vessels.
“Pretty amazing, huh?”
“I can’t believe it. Can we go on one?”
“I think Bryce is working on getting you a tour, but for now, we’re meeting him at the commissary.”
We pass the area where their base housing is located, and Nate points out their place. Bryce explained their furnished two bedroom, two bath was clean and well kept, but it was a complete bachelor pad. They were hardly ever there, so they had only the basics. It was a quick decision to live on base for a while, getting used to their new roles, but they had their name on a wait list for a townhome nearby.
“Why didn’t we meet him at your place?”
“I needed to pick up a few things, so it was my idea.”
Bryce isn’t here yet, so we sit at a table outside and wait. Nate explains his job. He and Bryce have similar roles, but with different teams and areas of the ship. I bring up the latest version of the diving article on my phone and show him all the pictures I chose. He’s making fun of me about my dive when I’m hoisted from behind and swung around.
I squeal loudly as strong arms squeeze me, shaking me lightly. “Hey, superstar!” To
mmy Betts booms. “We finally got you here!”
“Hey, Tommy,” I hug him back. “Good to see you.”
“You ugly prick, you want to let my girl down?” Bryce runs up, out of breath and his face beet red.
Tommy lowers me slowly, his body vibrating with laughter.
I turn and jump into Bryce’s arms, not caring about the sweat pouring down his cheeks. His lips seal over mine, and I almost groan when our tongues touch. The taste of spearmint fills my mouth. He pulls back too quickly, nibbling on my lower lip. His eyes dance with happiness.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hey, yourself.”
“Shit, you should have seen your face!” Tommy yells, still cracking up. “Priceless.”
“Payback is a fucking bitch, Betts. Remember that,” Bryce snarls.
I step back and notice we’ve been joined by a small group. I recognize Tommy and Rick from graduation, but there’s another man and woman watching us with amusement. My gut coils when I recognize her not only from the ceremony, but also the recent picture on Nate’s phone. Bryce introduces them as John and Liza. The minute I touch Liza’s hand, my blood runs cold.
When our eyes meet, her gaze is no longer amused but indifferent. There’s no warmth or kindness at all. Her stare alone makes me uncomfortable.
Bryce kisses my neck gently, and her face turns to stone.