Second Chance: A Military Football Romance

"I'll go if you promise not to repay me for earlier." Daniel followed me into the house, carrying his plate and a few beer bottles.

"Why did you mention it again?" Clay asked. "He wouldn't have remembered if you'd have kept your trap shut."

"You think that, and then we get out there and he dumps my ass on Deker's Island with no way back." Daniel opened the fridge and pulled out a six pack, lifting it up to me with a smile. "I come with a peace offering."

"Yeah, that'll do." I took the beers and looked back at Clay, who was wiping down cabinets. "You coming, bitch?"

"Nope. Go have fun. I'm with Derek. I'm taking a nap." He yawned loudly and moved past us. "We're on our own for dinner. There's nothing left here to cook."

"We'll get groceries tomorrow." I walked back to the front, pausing to slip on my sandals. "I promise not to maroon you on the island, Dan. Come on, buddy. I'll teach you a few things about how to make a girl come."

"Oh, Lord." Clay's comment caused my lip to lift in a smirk. Daniel was our resident virgin, and where I knew he was good with my teasing, I tried not to do it too much. He was good guy—the best.

"Sounds riveting." Daniel adjusted his glasses and walked out of the house in front of me.

Derek was snoring softly as we walked by, and I had to force myself not to stop and pour a beer on his chest or something dickish. We were all teenage boys in our heads, and yet the time for growing up was coming far too fast.

"I wanna drive the boat." Daniel pulled the keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of me as we walked across the street. We paused for a long line of people riding bikes, and I glanced over at him, shrugging.

"Yeah, sure. I don't care. Let's go out to the island for a little while. It's a beautiful day. I want to get some sun." I pulled my t-shirt over my head and jogged down the dock toward the boat. I needed to find the gym on the property and soon. My six pack was getting less and less visible, and the unfortunate fact was that women almost expected one on a guy like me.

"And, we're not going out there so you can leave me, right?" He got into the boat behind me and moved to the driver's seat.

"Dude, I just play an ass on TV." I dropped down on the bench near the back of the boat and stretched out. "You know I'm just teasing you about girls and shit."

"I know. I'll find one this summer and hopefully take her to bed. I just want it to be the right one, you know?" He looked back at me as I pulled my sunglasses onto my face.

"I guess. It's all good, though. We're all different. You respect women, and I've had enough of them not respect me to be over the idea of a fairytale ending." I shrugged and crossed my arms over my chest as he pulled out onto the lake.

"A fairytale ending? Have you really ever considered something like that?" He snorted and hit the gas.

The wind felt good in my hair, and the steady rocking of the boat left me surrounded with a sense of peace that I honestly couldn't find anywhere else in the world.

"I used to think I would find a good girl who would take care of me." I moved closer, yelling above the roar of the wind and waves. "I guess I just gave up."

"And now, you only sleep with them once and that's it? No second chances, no additional glances?"

"That's right." I let my head drop back as I watched the clouds race across the sky.

"And, if you found a girl that made you want to have a second date?" He kicked at my shin softly.

"I don't know," I said as I sat up and turned to watch the island grow larger and larger. "I've not met her yet, and I'm hoping I don't until I'm settled into my career and bored with life."

"Bored with life?" Daniel slowed the boat a little as we approached the other boats tied up around the island.

"Yeah." I grabbed the anchor and stood up. "You know...you get a job and start contributing to society. Start dating a little here and there, and after a while, you find yourself in a pattern. A rut. Bored as fuck."

"That's depressing." He moved over to grab the other anchor. "It doesn't have to work like that, you know?"

"Very true." I dropped the anchor and moved back, kicking off my sandals and adjusting my bathing suit. "We could all be doctors like you. That sounds riveting."

"I'm excited about it. Maybe that's why I'm not in a hurry to find a woman." He slathered a thick layer of sunscreen on his arms and legs as I watched him.

"You'll be married to your career. It's what will turn you on, make you come alive. Not me, though; I'm going to do my job and take my ass home. I want life to be centered on a family, on a woman. The right woman." I stretched, being more open than I had in forever. My friends were excited about their next steps after graduation, but I wasn't in the slightest.

No matter how much I balked at romance, I wanted it with a desperation that left me in another girl's bed every night. The part that no one seemed to understand was that they used me as much as I used them.

"You not taking your shirt off?" I chuckled and glanced back at him. "You're not a ginger, dude."