Page 61 of For the Record
He nodded and one lip curled slightly, his foot tapping against the rug as the music played next to him. “I miss that some days. The bond with your brothers out there and all.”
I knew what he meant. People that went through what we had together always came out stronger. I wasn’t a SEAL. That was an entirely different ball game. But I knew what it was like to be dropped into battle with only a few guys around you, not knowing if you’re going to save a life or cost you your own. There’s this bond that ties you together in a way that can’t evolve in your day-to-day friendships.
And yet, whatever I felt for Rachel was different from that too. Not necessarily stronger, but different.
“Yeah, I get that.” I nodded.
The song ended, and Jack picked up the needle, moved it back, and set it down to replay. “Rach loves this one.” He smiled to himself, and I took note to make any attempt possible to find a record like it, or at least to see if she already owned it.
At her name, I craned my head to the window. Rachel stood there, nodding along to what the nurse was saying and wiping occasional tears from her eyes but never letting them fall.
“So, when are you gonna propose to her?” Jack asked from his chair across the room.
The question rang around in my head for a moment as I watched Rachel cradling her face in her hands, chest heaving quickly.
I took a deep breath and replied.
“As soon as she lets me, sir.”
Currently playing: Burning for you by Blue Oyster Cult
***
Adam: No run tonight. I’ve got other plans for us.
I’ll bring the candles, you bring the whipped cream?
Adam: Not those kinds of plans.
Go on…
Adam: Meet me at the house when your shift is over. I want to check off another bucket list item.
Are we going to get a chinchilla?
Adam: No.
Adam: They carry diseases.
So do most men.
Adam: Touché.
“A tattoo shop?” I gasped a laugh at Adam’s smug grin as we hopped off his bike. “You’re getting another tattoo?”
He shrugged a single shoulder. “Me and you both, honey.”
I think he knew how well the whole honey thing was working on me because he’d throw it into a sentence when he didn’t want me to say no. Can you make me more of those sourdough bagels, honey? I said yes every time.
“Wha—” I laughed with my head thrown back, looking up at the bright neon flashing sign. “I am not.” My smile couldn’t go away, no matter how hard I tried to pull it down.
“Come on, Steve. You’ve been wanting one for years. Now’s the time to do it.”
I glared at his nickname for me. That one and honey definitely had the opposite effects on me. My teeth bit down on my lip, and it curled immediately. I had wanted one for a long time. I’d told Adam years ago, and he had apparently kept it locked in that everlasting vault that he called a brain.
He leaned in closer to me, whispering low. “Think about the list.”
A snort left me. “Easy for you to say. You have like twenty tattoos. I’m an ink virgin.”