Staying on Course (Finding our Way 2)

I tap my phone repeatedly, waiting for Facetime to pop up. Bryce has a small window tonight when we can finally talk with no one around. The three weeks I’ve been back at school, our schedules have completely collided with very little time to talk. We text often, but it’s not the same as hearing his voice before going to bed.

When his face comes up on the screen, I squeal in delight. Seeing him sends a shiver down my spine. His dark hair is cut shorter than I remember, but it looks sexy. He’s been so exhausted, so I expected to see circles around his eyes, but instead, they sparkle bright. The second our eyes lock, his smile spreads.

“Jesus, you’re a sight.” His deep, rich, voice spreads warmth through me.

“You too. I miss you so much.”

“You look beautiful. Not seeing you has been brutal. Forget the training and courses.”

“Why haven’t we been able to Facetime until now? Is it against the rules?”

“I wouldn’t say that, but I needed to keep my head in the game. It’s also an image thing. How could I prove myself as a badass if I was constantly on this phone? It’s a different story to have it to my ear.”

“Badass, huh? How’d that go? Are you a part of an elite brotherhood?”

“Of course.” He laughs. “Always was, but now we’re even more respected.”

“So it would ruin your badass street cred? Do you have secret grunts and groans to communicate, like the Morse Code? Instead, it’s called OCS- code? Wait until Quinn hears about thi

s!” I giggle at the thought.

“You think this is funny, huh?”

“Yes! All I can imagine is a bunch of grown men walking around talking like cavemen!”

“I’ll show you caveman in about eight days. Besides the obligations with our parents and your football game, plan to be naked the whole time.” His eyes shine with lust, scorching me though the screen.

“I can’t wait,” I say breathlessly.

His face softens, giving me a small grin. “Me neither. You have no idea. But instead of talking about things that are going to make me fucking hard as steel, tell me the schedule.”

The OCS graduation is next Thursday morning, which leads into Labor Day weekend. Bryce is flying back with me to spend the long weekend. Predictably, Nate was also assigned to Norfolk, which thrilled me. After their graduation, they have ten days until they have to report to base, so Bryce will fly to Nashville from here and drive his truck up to the base. Then, we will be less than three hours away from each other, finally.

“My flight gets in Wednesday night, within an hour of our parents. The hotel reservations are taken care of. I made sure we’re on a different floor. Our flight back is at two on Friday. Then, I reserved you a flight home on the following Wednesday afternoon.”

“Did you have any trouble with my credit card?”

“None. I did everything online.”

“When I get settled in Norfolk, I’ll open an account with the Navy Credit Union. You’ll be on it, so there should never be any questions.”

I smile at him again.

“You like that?” he jokes.

“It sounds stupid, but I feel warm and fuzzy when we talk about this stuff.”

He chuckles lightly. “So easy to please.”

“Only with you.”

The heat in his gaze returns. “Stop.”

I throw a hand up in defeat. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Your eyes went warm, your face started to glow, and your voice got soft. Maybe the Facetime wasn’t a good idea. It was easier not being able to see you.”

“No way! This is great.”