Mmm, that was nice. A pause. Call me?
Her breath caught. She wanted to, but the emotions of the day had left her raw, her vulnerability dangerously close to the surface. In her current state, it’d be so easy to take Geo’s light flirting as more than he intended it to be, and the last thing she wanted to do was risk their as-yet delicate friendship, a friendship she sensed they both needed right now.
Talking to him would be a big mistake.
She was just about to hit Reply and make up some excuse when the phone vibrated again.
You know what? I’m sorry. You’ve had a long day. Another time?
His perception warmed her, even as she sighed in a combination of relief and disappointment. Yes, please.
You got it, beautiful. Until next time.
A couple of heart emojis followed that, and groaning, Lani pressed the phone to her chest.
Fate, you’re such a fucking bitch. I hate you. Why does he have to be a SEAL?
Chapter Twelve
“She likes you better than me.”
Bosch cracked an eye open at Geo’s disgruntled tone, then went right back to sleep.
“No comment? Thanks,” Geo grumbled. “Lazy dog.” On impulse he aimed his phone and snapped another pic of him, anticipating maybe texting it to Lani at some point with the caption, “Exhausted from pile-driving SEALs all day. How about you?”
That led to thoughts of her tackling some dude from behind in order to wrest his beef jerky from his hand, and the visual made him cackle all over again.
He flopped to his back on the bed, and idly scrolled through his photo album to the one of her on the beach. Oh, yeah, those gold-flecked eyes, that sexy half-smile. He traced his finger over her lips, aching with something he couldn’t define.
He sighed. The sharpness of his disappointment over not getting to talk to her surprised him a bit, even as he sensed that what she needed after a difficult day was a little decompression and quiet time.
And maybe a pity-free hug, if I was around.
Sitting up again, he glared at Bosch asleep in his cage. “But I’m not around, am I?” he said aloud. “And you’re getting free nose kisses. I had to ask for mine.”
Just then the lock on the barracks door whirred, startling him, and he glanced up as Matt pushed it open.
“Talking to yourself again?” Matt asked with a grin. “You do that a lot.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Geo growled, though the words were without heat. In the past couple of weeks, through rooming and working with Matt, he’d come to like him a lot. As a no-nonsense SEAL with a strong work ethic, he’d endeared himself to the entire platoon, so much so that Alex had offered him a permanent slot with them.
“You thought any more about that job offer?” Geo asked him now. “Love to see you come aboard.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought about it.” Tossing his sweaty T-shirt aside, Matt skinned off his running shorts and wrapped a towel loosely around his hips. Then he dropped to sitting on the bed next to Geo. “The thing is...”
“What?”
Matt drew in a breath. “I screened positive for Green Team.”
“Development Group?” Geo blinked. “Holy shit, dude! That’s great!” Of course Matt would accept the chance to join the elite SEAL Team Six, the highly mobile unit which specialized in time-sensitive missions. “Sucks to be us, but congrats!”
“I’m also getting married.” Although Matt’s voice sounded rueful, his face glowed with happiness. “Proposed last weekend, got down on one fuckin’ knee and everything.”
“Wow. Congrats again.” Geo eyed him, trying to picture serious, sometimes taciturn Matt ardently asking someone to marry him. Damn. Lucky Shane. “So...?”
“So now I have a decision to make. Stay with a West Coast team, or uproot us both.”
Geo winced. DEVGRU was based out of Dam Neck, Virginia, so accepting the slot definitely meant moving. “What about Shane’s job?”
“That’s the thing.” Matt leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped loosely between them. “His injuries mean going before a medical board, and if they keep him on operational status, he’ll be staying on the West Coast.”
“Why? Why can’t he transfer to an East Coast team?”
“He could, but...” Matt sounded stressed, and frustrated. “He owns a house in Imperial Beach. His sister and brother-in-law are in El Cajon, as well as his niece and nephew. I’d be asking him to give everything up in order to follow my dreams, but I also don’t want to start my marriage off with a long-ass separation.”
“Well, as someone single, footloose and fancy-free, I got nothin’ in the way of advice.” Geo clapped Matt on the shoulder and squeezed. “Kinda regret proposing now, huh?”
“I should, for his sake.” Grinning, Matt stood, his towel slipping perilously low. “But no, no regrets. Shane’s the best thing that could ever or will ever happen to me, and I can’t wait to marry him.” He pointed at Geo. “Just don’t tell him that, okay? I have an image to maintain. Mushy Matt is reserved for special occasions only.”
“Ha. Noted.”
After Matt had disappeared into the bathroom to shower, Geo stared unseeing at the dingy carpet. Screening for DEVGRU had never appealed to him—why, he couldn’t say. Maybe it was the thought of living his life tied to a government cellphone on a one-hour leash. No matter what he was doing, if a DEVGRU guy was called, he had one hour to get his ass on a plane. Missions spun up, and more than half the time, they spun right back down, creating a push-pull that tended to wreak havoc on personal lives.
Nope, Geo didn’t envy Matt the difficult life decisions coming up, not one bit. He sighed and hooked his nearby duffel bag with his foot, intending to drag it over and dig out some clean clothes. As he did, Matt’s phone, tossed negligently on the bed next to Geo’s hip, lit up.
Hey sexy. Where’s that dick pic u promised?
The screen faded, then went off again.
Need it now.
Geo was reaching for the phone when it lit up one last time. J/k miss u baby. Be safe. Love u.
Choking back a laugh, he tossed the phone facedown onto Matt’s bed, something that felt very much like envy coursing through him. He immediately shook it off. No way. He didn’t envy Matt. Uh-uh. Matt should envy him, because he didn’t have to answer to anyone, consult anyone, over the decisions he made, plus he had a contacts list full of people who’d request dick pics from him.
An unwilling pang shot through Geo. The “love u” part, though?