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)
My family is supportive of me and my choice to join the navy, but my siblings are what I’d call out of my league. I’m a lowly sailor wanting to serve my country. One brother is a doctor in the Doctors Without Borders program, my other brother is a lawyer, and my sister is some high-up manager in corporate business. They moved from Hawaii to the mainland for college and never looked back. They’re on six-figure salaries and live in penthouses. I live in an apartment the size of a shoebox that I’m struggling to make rent on now that Kit has moved out. I’m waiting for a one-bedroom to open up in the building so I can move into it.
It doesn’t matter how supportive my family is when it feels too hard to measure up. I love my life, and I’m not ashamed of it, and my parents never make me feel like I’m the disappointing child, but on paper, I look like I don’t measure up to my siblings. So I get where Brady is coming from.
“Your brother has got nothing on you,” I say.
“Do you mean it?”
“Kit and I don’t like football that much anyway.” A tiny lie but well worth it.
Brady smiles, and I’ll never get over how much I love putting that look on his face, but this is usually Kit’s job, so I do what I do best. Deflect with comedy.
“Besides, your brother’s taken, isn’t he?”
Brady pushes up and slaps my chest with a thump. “Asshole.”
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I’m not interested in your brother. Or your dads, for that matter.”
“Why? They’re closer to your age than I am.”
I jab him in the ribs. “You little shit. It’s only nine years. Nine.”
“Serves you right. Don’t piss me off, Pres. You have no idea what I could do.”
“You’re so cute when you try to be threatening.”
He crosses his arms and pouts.
“That whole innocent pretend-upset look might work on Kit but not on me. Sorry.” But it does work. A little bit. “Okay, you gave me something real. What if I do the same?”
“It better be worth it,” he warns.
I sit up and wrap my arms around his waist. His pout slowly dissolves as I move in closer. “I’ve missed you.”
“Y-you have?” His brown eyes meet mine.
“More than I thought I would.”
“Why? Can’t you find another toy to play with in Coronado?”
“You’re so much more to me than that. You’re fun. You’re hot as fuck. You’re hilarious, and I love watching the way you have Kit wrapped around your little finger. I know this only on leave thing isn’t ideal, but I’d like to think that outside of that, we’re at least friends.”
He averts his gaze now, looking guilty.
“What is it?” I ask. “What’s wrong?”
“A few months ago, I was back in California for a few days for work, and I thought about contacting you to catch up—if you were even home—but then I thought that might be weird? A-are you saying if that happens again, I can come see you? And if I did, would it be like …” He waves a finger between us. “This? Or friends?”
That’s a heavy question for which I don’t have an answer. If he had contacted me during this past year, I wouldn’t have hesitated to catch up with him if my schedule allowed it. But without Kit? Maybe it would have been awkward. “We never discussed that possibility last year, so maybe we should have that conversation with Kit.”
Then again, Kit and Brady are only six hours apart. If anyone is going to meet up while we’re not together, it would be those two. Would I feel left out if that happened? I can’t really tell. I don’t think I would, but I wouldn’t know until I was in that position.
The truth is, outside of these meetups that I hope will continue, we haven’t promised anything to each other. We’re free to do whatever we want. And if I think about it deeply enough, no, I wouldn’t mind if Kit and Brady found comfort in each other while we’re apart.
It’s only the thoughts of them being together and deciding they don’t need me that fill me with insecurities. Which is stupid because I’ve never been an insecure guy before.
But Kit means the world to me, and Brady is … Brady. The thought of never seeing one of them again hurts more than I can bear. Even though we’ve been apart, there’s always been that promise of seeing each other again. Having both of them shut me out completely? I don’t think I could survive it.
I’m so lost in my thoughts of what-ifs that I don’t see Kit until he’s upon us.
“You two look cozy.” He’s dripping wet from head to toe, his rippling muscles on full display, and it makes my mouth water.