Could he be that man? Could he sit at the table with them, listen to her tell a story, and stop himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her?
Could he watch as Dutch touched her, held her hand, stroked her cheek with his finger? What would he do if she and Dutch kissed? The idea alone made Mantis want to kill him.
He scrubbed his face with his hand and turned his head. Dutch was no longer asleep. His dark, hooded eyes fixated on him, letting him know Dutch knew exactly what he’d been thinking about.
—:—
This was a terrible idea. Why had she agreed to it? It was so much easier when she just avoided Mantis. Intentionally being here to welcome him home felt…awkward. Should she approach Dutch first? If Dutch kissed her, how would Mantis feel?
“Argh,” she growled and continued to pace the floor of the USO lounge.
“Alegria?” she heard someone say, and turned around to see Shiver Whittaker walking in with a woman who looked vaguely familiar.
“Hi,” she said, approaching them.
They kissed one another’s cheeks.
“This is my sister, Darrow. Darrow, meet Alegria. She’s with K19.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Darrow, who then looked at her brother. “Do you ever go anywhere without running into someone you know?”
“Rarely.”
Something was up with Shiver; Alegria could sense it, but with his sister here, she wouldn’t ask.
“Where are you headed?” she asked Darrow instead.
“My brother is dropping me off to stay with friends in DC. Where he’s going is always a mystery.”
“Why are you here?” Shiver asked.
“Dutch and Mantis are flying in from Mogadishu.”
Shiver raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t ask,” she said, looking away and then pulling out her phone when it vibrated. “They’ve landed.”
“Tell them we’re here.”
“Do you have plans? Maybe we could all have dinner?” Darrow suggested.
Shiver scowled but then nodded, making Alegria feel as though she wasn’t the only one in the room out of sorts.
“My friends won’t be back until tomorrow,” Darrow explained, “but my brother couldn’t wait another day to dump me here.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Shiver murmured, but Alegria got the impression that’s exactly how it was.
“Well, hello,” she heard Dutch say, and spun around to see the two men who had been her friends, her lovers, her everything for so many years. On their own, they took her breath away. Side by side, she nearly fainted.
They were close to the same height, over six feet, but Mantis was more muscular. His thick forearms looked tanned, contrasted against his starched, white shirtsleeves that were rolled up to just below his elbows. She thought she saw the hint of a tattoo she wasn’t aware he had just beneath the folds. His deep blue eyes penetrated hers so intensely, she had to look away.
Instead she looked over at Dutch, whose smile was more like a smirk.
“Get over here, girl,” he said in a teasing voice.
She walked into his arms and was relieved when all he did was hug and release her.
“Hi,” she said to Mantis and tentatively stepped closer to him.