Pulling into a parking slot just outside the building I had been assigned. I shoved the envelope into the center console. I’ll deal with that shit later. Looking around the area, I watched a few people out for a run; there was a small group sitting around a picnic table, conversing with one another. My mind continued to race through all of the new information I’d received today, combining that with all the memories from ten years ago. I tried to clear my mind by shaking my head in an attempt. What the fuck am I gonna do if it’s really her? She’s supposed to be my damn roommate. I know I am going to be on the receiving end of every joke from the guys here on in until the next deployment.
After taking a few deep breaths, I figured, to hell with it. It was only Kenny, after all. It’s not like we were ever in a real relationship; this was gonna be like two childhood friends coming together. Right? Get it together, Moody; you’ve known the woman since you were seven. Only she was just that now: a woman. With everything a woman had to offer. Offer? Where the fuck did that come from? I tried not to think about her in that way. Not to think about how she looked when I followed her down that hallway at the bar. How her barely-there, form-fitting dress clung to every curve. Christ! Stop, stop. After a few more mental reprimands, I finally sucked up the courage to grab my seabag and head off towards my temporary living quarters.
Midway up the steps to the second floor, I ran into Hawk. “Moody, you are one lucky bastard; you know that?” Failing to maintain his poker face, he was grinning from ear to ear.
“How do you figure that one, Hawk?” I knew I needed to tell my direct line about the situation.
“The split-tail, man.” Smacking the back of my head, “She is hot, from head to toe. Shit, those wings she’s got tattooed flowing right down to her... I don’t know how any of us are going to maintain any kind of focus with her around.”
“Yeah, about Decker; there’s a problem.” Now or never, Moody. I looked at Hawk. “She and I kinda have history.”
“History? You mean, you two had a thing?”
“I wouldn’t quite call it a thing.”
“Then what do you call it? Damn it, Moody. If you fucked her. This is going to cause issues within the squad, better yet the entire platoon...”
“We grew up together. I haven’t seen her in ten years.” I bowed my head then mumbled, “And we may be married.”
“Wait, what was that? Did you just say you’re married to her?” Hawk’s face was turning a dark shade of red. “This has to be the biggest of Charlie Foxtrots, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know. It happened before I left for Great Lakes; she was only sixteen. Her Mother was dying of cancer; it was the poor woman’s final request. I never knew it was real until today. By the way, Joker and Bear know all about it. They’re behind her being here. I mean it, Hawk; this will not affect my performance.”
“It better not. Shit! Better keep this between us; need-to-know basis only.” He rubbed his face. “Married? Never figured you'd be the one.” He chuckled.
“Need to know, definitely. Quit laughing at me, asshole; this is serious. I have to go up there and face a woman who I’ve been married to and not seen in ten years.”
“Could swap rooms with Lucky or Ash.”
“Hell, no. The way those two are around women? She may kill ‘em in their sleep. I found out she’d been spending her off time in Denver with my Dad, helping the business out.”
“Hell, I suggest you sleep armed with one eye open, then.”
“Thanks a lot.” We laughed together heading up the steps to the second floor.
Walking down the hall towards my assigned room, I noticed a large group was formed near an open door. There had to have been at least ten or fifteen of them staring at whatever it was within that room. Ash was the first to see us coming; “Dude, I will happily trade places with you. That ass is hot.” I punched him in the chest. “What the hell, man?”
“Manners, asshole,” Hawk informed him. Then, swinging an arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go meet your new roomie.” Now who’s the asshole?
The next thing I knew, I was being pushed through the crowd, then through the door into the room. Knowing everyone was just a few inches behind me, I tried to keep control of my emotions as I stepped off to the side near my rack. Ten years had treated Kenny very well. Her hair was the same sandy blonde color, cut just above her shoulders, exposing a nasty scar that looked to have been as recent as several months ago; her build was... Dammit, Ash, yeah, that is a hot ass. I could see her muscles were well defined on her lithe frame. She has always been a runner, playing all kinds of sports; football had been her favorite. I remembered that she even swam on the High School team. But now, she was all woman. Everything had filled out in all the right places. She was standing next to her rack, wearing nothing but a sports bra and boy shorts. Oh, God! Please don’t let me be sporting a boner right now. Those wings suddenly caught my full attention; starting at the top of each shoulder, they flowed down her back with the tips tucking into her waistband. The intricate detail of each feather was amazing.
I was lost in the images racing through my mind when a feminine voice said, “If ya’ll are gonna stand there starin’ and droolin’, perhaps you should just go ahead and take a fucking picture. I don’t need to hear any of you jerking off in the hall.”
With my eyes still glued to her lower half, it was when she slowly turned around that I saw the other tattoo. The one she’d gotten ten years ago. The same one that matched mine in every detail down to the location above the right hip. I suddenly found myself wanting to do things to her that was until the next voice broke through.
“Sorry, most of us haven’t seen anything so lovely in a while.” Ash flirted. Back off, asshole!
She walked over to the crowd, not attempting to make eye contact with me. What the hell, Ken? Since when are you so stuck up? Perhaps she hadn’t noticed me off to the side. Extending her hand out, Hawk was the first to take hold for a brief shake. “Nice to meet you guys finally. I’m Kendall, but you can call me Kenny. My last team just called me Angel.”
“Bradley. Dipshit with the mouth here is Damien; you can call him Ash.”
“You must be from Texas.” She stated.
“How’d you guess?” Hawk was impressed.
“Just a wild guess. Too polite to be otherwise. So, why Ash?” She glanced at Damien.
Lucky jumped in, “Because the moron has a tendency to set his own ass on fire.” Taking her hand from Hawk, “Lucas, you can call me Lucky. That there is his Greg and Mike, or Shark and Rebel. Of course you already met Hawk.” He smiled.
“And that brooding fucker,” Shark pointed, turning her attention my way, “is Moody. You can call him...”
She focused on me as I looked up to meet her eyes. “Jase?” She asked.
“Hey, Ken.” Greeting her softly.
“I take it you two know each other?” Rebel interjected.
Kenny turned to head to answer, “Yeah, you could say that, I guess. His Dad and Uncle raised me. How are Papa and Shooter doing?”
I tried to paste on a smile. “Fine, I only talked to them briefly last night.”
Hawk interrupted, giving me a sly grin. Prick. “We’ll leave you two to get reacquainted. Don’t forget the party; it’s at 1900. Angel, do you need a lift to the Admiral’s shindig?”
************
Kenny:
I stared at Jase, not believing it was really him. He looked as good now as he did last night, well, except for that redhead with the bad dye job, rubbing around on his lap. I damn near jumped when Hawk spoke, “We’ll leave you two to get reacquainted. Don’t forget the party; it’s at 1900. Angel, do you need a lift to the Admiral’s shindig?”
“What?” Shit, Dad’s party. “No, I’m good. I was asked to help make sure the setup goes as planned. I’m riding in with my boyfriend.” Hating to, but I needed an excuse.
“Boyfriend?” Jase sputtered. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he sounded jealous.
“Yeah, Dec is my plus one. He’s a Lieutenant at NMCSD, an orthopedic surgeon. I’ll be happy to introduce you all to him. But I have to warn you, SEALs make him a bit skittish; can’t imagine why.” I giggled.
“Well, then I guess we’ll see you there.” Hawk pulled the door closed.
I hadn’t even had the chance to make a full turn before Jase’s strong arms wrapped around me. Pulling me into a tight hug against his chest. Oh man, he smells good. “God, Baby girl, I’ve missed you. Where the hell have you been?”
“Uh, hello to you too, Jase.” Returning his gesture by embracing him. “I’ve missed you, too. When Dad told me I was being assigned to Team 3. I had no idea you would be here.”
“Bear told me a little while ago. He said you refused to go to the Academy?”
“Yeah, since when did I do what others expected? I wanted to make my own way.”
“That's why you changed your name?”
“Had to; you know how it is when you have a parent like that. I couldn’t have gotten this far if I hadn’t. BUD/S was hard enough with adding the name Lang into the mix.”
“Okay, I get it. Have you been operational for almost four years? What action have you seen?”
“Well, Moody, for your information. I’ve been through Bosnia twice; then about three tours of the Mediterranean with my last crew. Then just before I got transferred here, I was temporarily assigned to assist a team from DEVGRU. Happy?”
Jase said with a laugh, “Not really, no.” He kept staring at my chest. “Please, would you put something on?”
“Why? I wear less than this when I swim. You afraid of a little skin?” I pushed my chest out at him.
Ash and Hawk took that moment to return, “I forgot...” Hawk was interrupted by Jase’s response.
“Maybe, but you could at least do something about those damn nipples? Please, put a shirt on. They look like they want to stab me in the eye.”
“Get a handle on yourself first, then we can discuss who should take charge of their pointy body parts.” I shot back.
“Sorry, is this a bad time?” Hawk asked.
“I know I could hear more about nipples.” Ash chuckled.
“Fuck off, Damien!” Jase whipped around. “What did you forget? Hawk, what did you forget?”
Hawk was staring while I was pulling my Denver Broncos shirt over my head. “What? Yeah, the guys wanted to go for the first swim tomorrow morning. We should carpool to the beach...” His head cocked to the side when I bent over to pick up my bag. “Beach! Carpool to the beach.”
“Which beach?” I asked him.
“Uh, Solana. Everyone has to pull a five-mile every day the first week before we can hit the shooting range and the gym.”
“Why Solana? There are reports of a typhoon off the Hawaiian coast. Currents and swells will be stronger at Silver Strand; that should give everyone a better workout.” I pulled on a pair of jean shorts.
“Even better,” Ash said. “I would so be on board to get some early surfing in while we are at it.”
“You surf?” Jase asked, “Since when?”
“Since I dated that hot brunette I met last year. She was an excellent teacher.” Ash smugly answered.
Hawk laughed, “Dude, you dated her for like an hour before you nailed her and she took off.”
I laughed at their bantering. “If you want, I have a few boards in storage. I can grab them after the party tonight.”
Jase turned to me. “When did you learn to surf?”
“Uh, like ten years ago. Like when I was like living with my father and had nothing better to do with my time, until I joined the Navy.” Hawk and Ash burst out laughing at my response to Jase. “I better finish up here; I have to be at the Country Club for the Admiral in an hour. See you, boys, there.” As I headed out of the door, I heard Ash snap at Jase.
“Dude, you are so screwed with that one.”
************
Jase:
Shifting uncomfortably in my uniform, while trying to blend into the already very large sea of white uniforms and fancy cocktail dresses. The squad had gathered near the open bar. With a bottle of beer in hand, I searched the crowd, trying to locate Kenny. Shark and Rebel were flirting with a couple of the female servers, while Ash managed to get the bartender’s number with plans to meet her later in the evening for her break. Lucky was telling a few dirty, tasteless jokes to Hawk, laughing at the sorry excuse for a punchline. My body stiffened when I caught sight of the Admiral, who was heading our way. Hawk must have noticed too. “Admiral on deck, fellas.”
“Enjoying the party, gentlemen?” Lang asked as he approached. “I must have missed you at the gate; never saw you boys pass through the receiving line.”
“Apologies, Sir. We were running a bit behind schedule. Had a new teammate to get settled.” Hawk answered.
“Understandable, Ensign. Where is Decker? I figured you all would have at least offered the lady the chance to hang out with you.”
“Uh, yes, Sir. However, Petty Officer Decker had mentioned she’d be helping with the initial setup of the party. I saw her about ten minutes ago, told her where we’d be for a drink.” Hawk stammered his answer. I chuckled to myself at the normally cool exterior of Hawk that was now reduced to a stuttering mess at the presence of the Admiral.
But when the attention turned my direction, I began to shake on the inside. “Chief, how are things going with your new billet mate? All good, I hope.”
“Aye, Sir.” Maintaining eye contact, “She seems to have a stubborn streak; one could only wonder where she got it from. Whether it was her mother or her father, Sir.”
“One does wonder.” Lang winked. “Enjoy the rest of the evening, boys.”
In unison we all answered, “Aye, aye, Sir!”
It was an hour later when I finally caught sight of her. Standing near a group that consisted of several members from Third and Fifth Platoons. Three of them were standing closer to her than the others. Then I remembered Hawk mentioning there had been several others from her old Platoon that had transferred to Team 3. Taking in everything about her, from the way her hair was done up, tucked beneath her cap. On my scan, I noticed something very odd. Stilettos? Now those are definitely not regulation. I suddenly had an image flash of those propped up on my shoulders. Shaking the naughty image from my dirty mind, I heard Ash tell Lucky.
“Wonder how those would look dangling off my ears.” Hawk and I both whipped around to glare at Ash, with hostility brewing in our expressions.
“Damien, that is your teammate.” Hawk began, “You will keep that trap of yours silent, and you will show her all the respect she deserves. If I ever hear another comment out of you or any of you that has nothing to do with working with this squad, I will personally take the matter to the JAG. Am. I. Clear?”
“Aye, aye.” Was their solemn response.
All of us watched her for a while longer until she seemed to notice our presence. She turned, smiling just before another man in uniform caught her attention. I focused on the intruder. He was the guy from Rowdy’s. His light ginger colored hair was sporting a tight cut; his dress whites were professionally pressed to perfection. His frame was lithe like Kenny’s. But where hers was from many activities to keep in shape, he appeared to be a simple runner. Bet he is barely able to pass his endurance physical. He suddenly grabbed a tight hold on Kenny’s arm, escorting her away from the crowd. She began protesting as he dragged her around the main building.
“What the hell is ROD doing with our SurvTech?” Shark asked.
“Better go check on your girl, Moody.” Lucky popped.
I stiffened. “Hawk?” Waiting for permission.
“Go make sure he ain’t some prick,” Hawk ordered.
I didn’t waste a moment; I took off after Kenny and her escort. My eyes kept searching the crowd for them; it wasn’t until I rounded the fence that bordered a small garden that had a tall row of hedges that gave the couple privacy. Watching the two of them having a heated conversation near a small fountain. Then, to my shock, the man got down on one knee. Pulling a small box from his pocket, he softly spoke to her.
When I heard the words, time began to catch up. “Kendall, will you marry me?” Oh, hell no! That’s my wife, asshat. Not waiting for her response, I decided to bust into the obviously private moment to introduce myself.
“Kenny! There you are. Hawk was wondering if you were ready for that drink.”
************
Kenny:
After finishing my talk with the head caterer, my father entered the room. I turned after he let out a small cough to gain my attention. Studying him, he looked very handsome in his dress whites; given is fifty plus years. His body was still fit, with a little bit of extra around the edges. He stood tall with his chest full of every award and service medal he had earned over the years. When he was dressed up like this, I could see why Mom had fallen so head over heels in love with him. Then the memory of her caused my smile to fade.
“Thinking about her again, Ken?” He asked, walking closer.
“Yeah, catches me off guard when it happens,” I said, wiping back my tears. “So, this is it. Your last Hoorah.”
“I suppose. I’m really gonna miss the job.” He sighed.
“But you’re going to Denver, help with the expansion still, right? I’m sure with the new contracts that we’ve been negotiating, you’ll get your chance at some field work; back to getting your hands dirty once in a while. Not just stuck behind some desk like you were here.”
He sighed, “I guess that is something to look forward to. What about you? You still thinking about joining us after this last deployment?”
“I’ve already decided; I will turn my paperwork in to Joker before we are due to ship out. By the time my rotation is up, I will be in the clear. Oh, I need a favor.”
“Anything, Ken.”
“I changed my mind about living with Dec. I really don’t feel things are progressing as they should. I plan to break things off with him soon. If it’s alright with you, can I move into the beach house until I make the move to join you, Papa and Shooter?”
“Of course, I’ve been after you since you got back. You really didn’t need to billet with the team.” He then reached into his pocket. “I almost forgot. Happy early Birthday.” He handed me an envelope.
“My Birthday isn’t for another month.” I peeked at the contents and screamed, “Really! Broncos’ tickets! Against San Diego; that game is the Sunday before. Thank you, Daddy, thank you.” Hugging him tight.
“Visitor side, on the field at the fifty-yard line. I had to buy a package, so you get ten tickets. Maybe you can invite your squad to join you. If I remember right, Moody is a huge Broncos fan.”
“Daddy? I can ask Cutter, Sharp, and Edge. They transferred to Third Platoon; they’re fans also. I will think about inviting my squad.” Slipping the tickets into my purse. “You ready for this?”
“I was born ready. Declan was looking for you, said something about wanting to make sure you were dressed appropriately.”
“He is always trying to control how I dress. Even to the point that he has me wearing these damn ridiculous shoes that are not regulation.” Looking down at my footwear.
“It’s just for tonight. Are things really that bad with him?” He said in a fatherly tone.
“He keeps on about me quitting the teams, moving in with him, and the BIG one. When am I ever going to sleep with him? Dad, I know I am not the person he should be with anymore. Yeah, you introduced us and all, but he is so much older and doesn’t understand what I want out of life. My career comes first; I don’t want to settle for being an officer’s wife. My spirit is too wild to be contained like that.”
“That’s the same way I had always felt. Don’t end up like me, Ken. Don’t regret giving up the chance at having a family; I never understood what a gift it was until it was gone. You are better than me in so many ways. If you feel your path is away from Declan, then I will support you on that; I wouldn’t push you into a loveless life.”
Hugging him tight, “Thank you, Dad.”
The night droned on; I was in the middle of offering the extra game tickets to my former teammates: Brian ‘Cutter’ Cooper, Edward ‘Sharp’ Anderson, and Lamar ‘Edge’ Jackson. I spotted Jase and the rest of the squad huddled together near the bar. Several of the female servers were doing everything they could to hold their attention. Jase looked like he was scanning the crowd for someone; I managed to catch his eye. I had barely flashed him a smile; before I knew what was happening, I was being pulled away from my conversation by Declan.
Keeping a firm grip on my arm, he led me through the crowd before rounding the main building of the Country Club. Coming on to a small path that led to the private garden. I found myself surrounded by five-foot hedges with a small fountain in the middle. He offered me a seat next to the fountain. I refused to sit; he had just yanked me away from my father’s party, away from my friends.
“Declan, I was talking to someone. Why did you just do that?” I fumed at his behavior.
“I’ve been looking for you all night. I figured I would have been the one to escort you tonight. What happened to me picking you up and riding here together?”
“I told you, I had to help get the caterers going and make sure everything was running smoothly for Dad’s big night.”
Running his hand through his hair, “Look, I planned this way better in my head, so I am just gonna go for broke.” He knelt onto one knee; I was breathless. “Kendall, we’ve been together for eight years now. I’ve been doing a ton of thinking about where our lives have taken us and where we are still going. I decided that I can’t be without you.” He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket. Slowly, he opened the lid, exposing a princess-cut two-carat diamond set in a platinum band. “Kendall, will you marry me?”
Unable to form the words from the shock, thankfully we were interrupted by someone at the entrance: “Kenny! There you are. Hawk was wondering if you were ready for that drink.” Thank God!
Jase was standing there, dressed to the nines in his uniform. My heart began to race with panic at these two being in such proximity to one another. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until the tightness in my chest became painful. “Jason!” I called to him.
Walking closer, he spoke, “Hawk and the guys were wondering if you were avoiding us; you said to meet you at the bar.”
“Yeah, sorry. I got caught up with...” Motioning to Declan, who was now standing upright with his chest puffed out. He still held the open ring box firmly in his hand. I noticed Jase look at the ring, then back up to Dec. With a sigh, I made the introductions: “Jason, this is Declan; Declan, meet Jason.”
Declan extended his hand. “And Jason is?”
Jason didn’t skip a beat, gripping his hand tight. “I’m Kenny’s husband.”
My jaw dropped, wanting nothing more than for a hole to open up and swallow me. Did he really just say that? I caught the smug expression Jason shot to the very well shocked Declan. Quicker than a blink, Declan snapped the lid and slid the box back into his pocket.
“Husband? Kendall never said anything about having a husband. We’ve been together since her senior year.”
“You look a lot older to have only just met in High School,” Jase grumbled.
“I said her senior year. I’m thirty-seven, working at NMCSD in the orthopedic surgery department.” He looked at me. “The two of you have been married, how long?”
Jase’s smile grew even more. “Ten years, five months. Our anniversary was this last May.”
I couldn’t believe he even remembered. I had always believed that he would have forgotten, just like he had everything else about our life before I left to come live with my father. When my eyes met Jase’s, I tried to look for any indication that he felt anything like I always had for him. I knew when I was seven that I could never love anyone like I did Jase. That no other man would ever come close in my book.
“That is a while; why the sudden urge to show up now? Realize you were losing her?” Declan huffed. Just whip em out, you two; I’ll go find a ruler.
“Not at all. Kenny just transferred to my squad.” Jase smirked. I was now feeling a full-blown panic attack setting in.
“Your squad? Kendall never mentioned her having a hubby, much less that he would be a SEAL.”
“It runs in the family. She’s also my billet mate.” With that, I had reached my breaking point. Running as fast as I could away from the cockfight, straight towards the coat check to retrieve my purse. I will have to call Dad in the morning and apologize for taking off. While I waited for the valet to bring my truck, Declan caught up. Yanking my arm to the point that a sharp pain shot through my shoulder.
“In all this fucking time, you never once mentioned him. What the hell, Kendall? I put everything out in the open for you; you’re married? To him?”
“Dec, I’m sorry; really; I just found out earlier this week. Dad was supposed to give him divorce papers this morning. I don’t know why he said all that. I haven’t seen him in ten years; not since my Mom died. I will get it taken care of; just be patient. Just give me time to work it all out.”
“Really? You deploy again in a few months, Kendall. You’ll be gone for another nine, maybe more. How much longer am I supposed to wait? You said more times than I can count that you would only have sex with someone who was your husband. Now I completely understand who that was.” He dug his finger deeper into my arm, not even attempting to rein in his emotions. “You better fix this. I mean it, Kendall, I can’t and won’t wait forever for you.”
“I never asked you to,” I mumbled, twisting to get out of his grasp. “Dec, just give me the time to get my shit sorted out.” Just then the valet showed up. “I’ll talk to you later in the week. You’re still off on Thursday?”
Releasing my arm, “Yeah, swing by around 1800; I’ll have some takeout ready. This discussion isn’t over, Kendall. Not by a long shot; you’re mine.” He leaned in to kiss me; quickly, I turned so his lips made contact with my cheek.
“Goodnight, Dec,” Softly saying. I felt him watching as I got behind the wheel and pulled down the drive.
Making it back to base without getting pulled over for speeding. I made my way up to my room. After laying out what I was going to need for the morning, I quickly showered and changed for bed. I’d barely slipped a leg under the blanket when I felt it. Cold, smooth, moving along my bare leg, causing me to yank it back. Whipping the cover away, coiled up in the center was a live garden snake. What the fuck is this, summer camp? Assholes. Grabbing the snake, I took care of the issue to make sure they all got the message.
Nailed to the wall in the common room was the snake’s skin; attached was a note:
Here, I figured ya’ll wouldn’t like me. Thanks for the snack, Fellas. It was delicious. Angel