Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Instead, I’m stuck here, doing what I’ve been doing for months on end.
One good thing to come of it is that I’ve dealt with my anger over Kit leaving. If dealing with it means burying it deep and pretending he never existed. But while I miss him like crazy, I didn’t realize how much I would miss Brady on this deployment. I’ve gone over it and over it in my head and have come to the conclusion that I can’t get him out of my mind because I knew the last time was the end of what we had. Sure, we’ve agreed to meet up occasionally, but it’s changed between all three of us. If I’d been deployed knowing both of them would be in the San Diego area when I got back, it wouldn’t be as hard. Maybe.
Shanahan, the newbie on the team who I may or may not hold a tiny bit of undeserved resentment toward for replacing my best friend, approaches me while I’m having downtime on my bunk after a workout.
“Did you hear?” he asks. He’s all bright eyes and puppylike, and it’s hard to hate him, but I growl anyway.
“Hear what?”
“We’re going home early.”
I sit up and hit my head on the top bunk. “We’re what?”
He shrugs. “They didn’t say why.”
“They never do.”
“But who cares why? We’re going home.” He dances out of the room, and as much as I try to suppress it, I laugh.
We’re going home. I might be able to make it to Brady’s graduation.
I stand. I need to get to the communications room so I can contact Kit. Maybe he’ll be able to make it too.
Another fun fact about military life is that when they tell you you’re going home, it’s not an immediate pack your things and go, which is why it takes me way too long to get back Stateside that I worry I’m actually going to miss the graduation after all.
After what feels like an eternity of boats, planes, and layovers, I finally arrive back in California. And if I don’t go home and change, I might be able to make it with only seconds to spare.
After getting back to port, I immediately head home and jump in my car, racing the clock to get to Franklin U. And of course, traffic and parking is a bitch because Brady isn’t the only one graduating today.
I’m still in my camo uniform, and I probably have that sweaty scent that you only get from traveling for days straight, but I’m here. About a mile from campus.
Guess I’m not done sweating.
I am, however, late. Damn it.
I make it to the football stadium, where the commencement speech is underway, and there’s a sea of purple graduation gowns taking up half of the damn field. The guests are positioned behind them, a packed house by the look of it, and some leftovers are standing at the back. I spot Kit almost immediately, his tall frame standing toward the very back with his arms folded, sunglasses covering his face, and his resting bitch face in place. He always looks so serious and stoic, and one of my favorite things used to be making him lose his composure.
Damn, he looks amazing. My heart gives a nostalgic little twinge at seeing him again. And when he spots me, he gives me exactly what I want—that smile I love dragging out of him. He lifts his hand to wave, and I jog over to him.
He immediately pulls me into a hug, and if we weren’t in such a public place, I’d be tempted to kiss the fuck out of him because this time apart has done nothing but make me miss him on that level.
When we were living together, he was always there. We trained together, deployed together, went out together. Going from that to nothing has been so hard.
“You actually made it,” he murmurs. “You stink, but you made it.”
“I did. They told us days ago we get to go home early, and then—”
“Then they screwed you around. Why am I not surprised?”
“Is that why you took the liaison job? Sick of all the disorganization that is the navy?”
“The sad part is it’s actually very organized. They just like to make things complicated. And no. I took the job to advance my experience and career.”
He says that, but all it will do is advance him to desk jobs. How is that advancement?
Okay, so yeah, all that not actually dealing with my resentment is bubbling to the surface, so I change topics. “Brady seen you yet?”
“Don’t think so. I snuck in the back—”
“Like you always like to do.”
Kit snorts. “I thought maybe these six months without me might have made you mature a little, but I can see it’s gone backward.”
“Yep. What are you gonna do about it?”