Body Shot (Last Shot)(51)
“Yes. Is that okay? I won’t get in the way; I know he’s working.”
Marco laughed. “Not worried about that, belleza. There are many of us here to look after customers tonight.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“He said you two went paddleboarding last night.”
“Yes! That was so cool!”
Marco’s face softened and the corners of his mouth lifted. “Yeah?”
“It was really beautiful. Serene. Until I fell in.” She made a face. “Luckily we were just leaving.”
“Luckily you were with the Lead Diver of SEAL Team One.”
She tipped her head. “Beck?”
“You were with someone else last night?”
She shook her head, her cheeks warming. “No. I just…Beck hasn’t told me a lot about his SEAL days.”
Marco eyed her. “You want to hear?”
“I do!” Er, maybe she should tone down the interest she was showing, and play things more casual. Beck had been pretty clear he wasn’t into relationships and she didn’t want people getting the wrong idea about them. But the truth was, he fascinated her and she was eager to know…well, everything about him.
“I’m your man. And Cade, here.” He slapped a hand on the shoulder of the guy passing behind him. “Cade, this is Hayden.”
Cade paused, carrying a big tray of glasses. “Hi, Hayden. Oh, hey, you were here for the tequila tasting, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s your friend?” Cade asked.
“The hot blonde,” Marco added helpfully.
Hayden laughed. “She’s doing a shoot in L.A. this weekend.”
“A shoot?”
“She’s a model.”
Marco closed his eyes. “Fuck. Of course she is. I knew she looked familiar. Where do I know her from?”
“She recently did a bunch of ads for bebe. And for Fashion Valley Mall.”
“Yeah! That’s it. Those were smokin’ hot.”
Hayden smiled. “They were.”
“You should bring her here again sometime.”
“Dude.” Cade nudged Marco. “That’s kinda rude when you’re talking to a pretty lady, drooling about her friend.”
Marco’s jaw dropped and Hayden laughed. “No!” Marco said, “She’s with Beck. Not me.”
“Ah.” Cade grinned. “Sorry.”
“Also, I’m used to guys drooling over Carrie,” Hayden added. “But I’ve known her since the days she had buckteeth and braces and was embarrassed to wear a bathing suit because she was so skinny.”
“She looks good in a bathing suit now,” Marco said with heartfelt enthusiasm. “I mean, in pictures. Not that I’ve seen her in person. Although I wouldn’t mind.”
Hayden laughed again. She couldn’t wait to tell Carrie about this conversation. And yeah, maybe bring her back here to meet these fun guys.
“So tell me more about Beck’s SEAL days.”
“Oh no, no, no.” Beck returned, slinging a bar towel over his shoulder. “No talking about me behind my back.”
“It’s not behind your back when you’re right here, man.” Marco elbowed him. “Your girl wants to know more. And we have stories to tell.”
“Fuck that,” Beck said mildly. “I know what kind of stories you assholes will tell her.”
“Ah, we won’t embarrass you too much,” Marco said.
“Then what are we going to tell her?” Cade asked, eyebrows raised. That earned him a punch from Beck and he laughed.
“How about the time you failed the four-mile timed run on the beach by one second.”
Beck groaned. “Christ. That was so fucking hard. We were running on the beach in long pants and jungle boots. When I failed, I got sent with four other guys to form a goon squad. We had to run sprints up and down the sand, jump into the cold water, then roll in the sand. I had fucking sand in my eyes, my nose, my ears—even my dick and balls were sandy.” He winced. “The sand was rubbing my wet skin raw and nearly every muscle in my body broke down. It was my first and last goon squad—I was determined that would never happen again. Failed by one second.” He shook his head.
Hayden couldn’t even imagine that kind of torture and determination.
“How about the Hell Week where I pissed on your hands?” Marco asked.
Hayden’s eyes bugged out, but she still laughed. “What?”
Beck laughed too. He looked at Hayden to explain. “It was Hell Week—that’s the third week of BUD/S training.”
“It’s five and a half days of cold, wet hell,” Marco added.
“You get about four hours of sleep,” Beck continued. “While they test your physical endurance, mental toughness, your tolerance to pain and cold, your teamwork, attitude, and your ability to work under stress.”