“Had to get going.”
“Oh.” I heard the disappointment in her voice. “Well, okay.”
“Maybe this is crazy, but in my line of work, you can’t afford not to just go for what you want.”
“Okay,” she said, sounding a little surprised. “What do you want to say?”
“I want to see you again.”
“I’d like that.”
“But I can’t,” I went on. “I’m shipping out to Syria in a few days. I’ll be gone for a while, probably.”
“I see.” She sounded disappointed. “I understand, I guess.”
“I don’t know why I felt like I needed to tell you that, but there it is.”
“Can I write to you?”
“You can,” I said. “I might not be able to write back.”
“That’s okay.”
“Good. Write to me if you want. Otherwise, good luck with life, Pipes.”
“Yeah. Okay. You too, Gates.”
I paused, wanting to tell her how I couldn’t get her out of my head, but instead I hung up.
Closure. That was what I needed. I couldn’t say why, but I needed closure from that one-night stand. I knew that if I let it, that night could become much more. Piper could become much more.
I wouldn’t let it. Not while I was about to deploy.
I had to focus now. This thing with Piper is finished. I allowed myself one second of weakness, but no more.
I was a soldier, a SEAL. I was a trained killer shipping out to fight.
No more distractions. I couldn’t afford it.
Chapter 7
Piper
Two Years Later
I stretched up toward the top of the cabinet, up on my tippy-toes, fingers straining to grab the jar. I managed to slide it inches, inches, but I couldn’t get my hand around it. I made a quick hop, knocked the jar, set it wobbling, and watched as it slowly dropped from the shelf.
And then he was there, another pair of hands. He grabbed the jar before it hit the ground.
“Tony,” I said, surprised.
He looked at me and smiled. “Careful.”
“Sorry.”
He handed me the jar of organic peanut butter. “This stuff is gross, you know. I hate that you have to stir it.”
“It’s better for you.” I took it from him and gave him a quick kiss. “Now go get dressed.”
He nodded and grumbled. “Yeah, okay.”
“We’re leaving in a half hour.”
“I know, I know.”
“We can’t be late. Lauren and Greg have been good to me over the years.”
“Yeah, babe. I get it.”
I sighed. Tony was a decent guy. He owned a night club downtown, and we met through the TV station that I worked for. He was promoting his place and I was reading the weather, and it was love at first sight.
Well, not really. Frankly, I didn’t like Tony the first time we met, but he eventually grew on me. We started dating about six months ago, and only just moved in together recently.
Tony wasn’t the man of my dreams, but he was nice enough. Lauren didn’t approve of him, but she could be so picky sometimes. It was hard to live up to her standards, and besides, she didn’t have to approve. Tony was my boyfriend, not hers.
I finished making the peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread and put everything back before sitting at the kitchen table and eating. I looked at my phone and Tony was still in the bedroom although we had to leave in ten minutes.
“Tony,” I called. “Are you almost ready?”
“Yeah, babe. Whatever.”
I sighed. “We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
“I know, okay? I get it.”
Tony had a temper and was always late. I had to constantly be on his ass, or else we never would get anywhere on time. That was a big stress in our relationship. I tried to work around him, but sometimes he was just impossible.
I finished eating and put on my strappy sandals. I walked back into the bedroom and found Tony standing near the dresser in his underwear.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“What about these pants?” He held up some chinos.
“Tony, they’re great. Put them on. Come on, we’re going to be late.”
“Don’t nag,” he said. “We’ll get there. Relax.”
“You know there’s always traffic.”
“Sure, babe. Sure. I’m going.”
I sighed and left the room. I sat down in front of the television and stared at it absently. There was a commercial for the Navy on, and I frowned.
It reminded me of Gates. I hadn’t thought about him in almost a year, but suddenly that night came rushing back to me. The intense attraction, the amazing feelings. I remembered it all so vividly.