With an annoyed huff, Geo sank down onto the stool and pinched the bridge of his nose. Fuck, the pounding music was already giving him a headache, and he really didn’t feel like shouting his way through a breakup, especially not tonight.
He glanced over to meet Ash’s shrewd gaze.
“How’re you holding up?”
Shrugging, he said, “I’m dealing. I knew tonight would be rough, but I got through it.”
He smiled. With a little help from a new friend.
“What’re you thinking about?” Ash asked curiously.
Stretching, Geo linked his fingers behind his head. “Just this bartender I met earlier tonight. Lady had some serious knife skills.” He smirked at the memory of Lani and her angry lemon chopping.
“Yeah?” Ash lifted an interested brow. “What’d you do, piss her off?”
“Strangely enough, no. I think I made a friend.”
“Mm-hmm. It won’t last.”
“Hey, now.” Geo kicked him lightly on the shin. “I am capable of friendships, asshole. It’s the other I have trouble with.”
“Time to tell Drew that, I guess.” Ash lifted his chin toward a blond man who’d just walked into their line of sight. He nudged Geo’s ankle with his foot. “Go on, now. Be sure to thoroughly break his heart.”
A wave of sadness and regret swept over Geo as he looked at Drew. He was a good guy and they’d had a lot of fun together, and goddammit, there’d been way too many of these scenes over the years. Aware of Ash’s sympathetic gaze, Geo stood, crammed his hands in his pockets and ambled over to where Drew was talking and laughing with some friends.
Geo studied him as he approached. Tall and slender, with soulful blue eyes and a smattering of freckles on his nose, Drew was a third-year engineering student at UCSD. He also had a wicked sense of humor and an enthusiasm for sex that many a night had left Geo gasping for mercy.
The dude was a catch, for sure, and now Geo was about to toss him back into the sea.
Drew caught sight of him just then, and with a pleased exclamation, flung himself into Geo’s arms. Geo hugged him briefly before pushing him gently away. “Can we go outside and talk for a minute?”
The smile faded from Drew’s lips. “Yeah, sure,” he said, his voice flat. “Be back in a sec, guys.”
The gazes of his friends turned hostile, and fighting the urge to squirm, Geo followed as Drew silently led the way outside.
Right outside the door, he whirled around. “Are you breaking up with me, Geo?”
“Yes.”
At the sound of the one quiet word, Drew’s animated face crumpled, his lower lip starting a heartbreaking quiver. He blinked rapidly before turning to brace his palms on the wall, his head drooping.
“You knew this was temporary going into it,” Geo said softly, and he rested his hand on Drew’s shoulder and squeezed. “I never meant to hurt you.”
He could’ve kicked himself when Drew lifted his head, renewed hope flaring in his expressive eyes. “Is it just because you’re leaving?” He attempted to move into Geo’s arms again. “Because I don’t mind waiting. I want to wait.” Sucking in a deep, shaky breath, he blurted, “I love you.”
Oh, damn. Dammit, kid. He didn’t want to do it like this.
Geo firmed his lips. Better to rip the Band-Aid off all at once. “But I don’t love you,” he said roughly, his gut churning. “This was never about falling in love, or being boyfriends, or you waiting for me. You’re cute, and I like you, but believe me, once I ride away from here, I seriously doubt you’ll ever cross my mind again.”
An awful beat of silence, and then with a cry, Drew tore himself away and turned to run back into the club. Geo watched until he was safely inside before collapsing back against the wall to wait. Sure enough, it was only a few minutes until Ash pushed through the door, caught sight of him, and came to prop his shoulder nearby.
“So. Really good job at breaking his heart,” he said almost conversationally. “Dude is bawling. What’d you say to him?”
“He thinks sex is love. What do you think I said?”
Ash winced. “Ouch.”
Despite his outward calm, Geo’s throat felt tight. “I had to be brutal, you know? Otherwise he was gonna wait.”
“Ah, babe.” Ash heaved a sigh. “You need to stay away from these young guys with stars in their eyes. They’re a lot different than we were at twenty-two or twenty-three.”
Wasn’t that the truth. At that age, Geo had already been through BUD/S, and SQT, and had earned his Trident. After two years of training, war was on his mind, and a relationship with a man wasn’t even a possibility unless he wanted his career to go down in flames.
Tilting his head back, Geo stared up at the night sky. “I never promised him anything, you know that.”
“Yeah, I know. You never do.” Ash studied him for a moment. “You gonna be okay?”
Other than the fact I’m a colossal asshole who manages to let everybody down?
“Yeah,” he croaked, shoving away the toxic mixture of guilt and regret that seemed to have taken up permanent root in his chest. “I just needed to get through tonight.” Attempting a smile, Geo pulled Ash to him for a hug. “Give Nick a kiss for me, okay?”
“Now that I can do.” Ash waggled his eyebrows. “Or you can come kiss him yourself. Up to you.”
For a moment Geo was seriously tempted. Ash and his husband Nick were open, and Geo had spent many a hot night in their bed. After debating with himself for a minute, he reluctantly let him go. “Can’t. Gotta go check on Bosch.”
Ash huffed. “Geez, cockblocked by a dog. So great for the ego.” Walking backward away from Geo, he called out, “I think I’ll see if that luscious Drew wants some, er, comforting. You mind?”
“Comfort away.” Geo pulled his phone from his pocket and, with a few swipes of his finger, deleted Drew from both his contacts and his life.
It was over. Time to move on.
As he rode toward the base, he couldn’t help but wonder how Lani was feeling, if she’d managed to keep her snack down. Geo winced at the memory of the violent heaves shaking her body, her breathless mortification as he’d held her hair out of the way.
Yet, despite her obvious physical misery and emotional turmoil, her determination and sense of humor shone through it all. She’d made him laugh, and listened to his story about Cade, and she’d lost someone, too...
The sudden, fervent hope that she’d call took him by surprise.