Page 72 of Mr. Charming

“Yeah, and I took care of it,” I said. “We were on our way to eat.”

“We were?” Jade asked.

“Yeah, we were.” I held my hand out. “You ready?”

“I’ll come with you,” Max said.

“No, that’s okay.”

I stared into his eyes. He didn’t flinch.

“Now, boys,” Jade said. “No fighting over me.”

She stepped in between us and walked toward the chow building.

“Hold on a minute,” Max mumbled, grabbing my arm.

I looked down at his hand then up to his face.

“What?”

“About the secret operation.”

“Yeah? What about it? I said I’m getting out.”

He laughed, his bulky body shaking.

“There’s no getting out once you’re in, stupid.”

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

“You gonna hit that?”

He nodded at Jade as she walked away.

“A gentleman never tells.”

“You ain’t no fucking gentleman, Cooper. We both know that.”

“Whatever, man. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I jogged toward Jade before he went on about our illicit activities in Afghanistan.

“Hey,” I called out. “Hold up.”

“You can’t keep up with a wounded woman? How the hell are we going to win this war?”

“Funny,” I said, not laughing as I slowed down beside her. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Did your CO send you to babysit me?” she asked.

“No, of course not. Although if he did, I would never tell.”

She kept up her pace. Outside the mess hall, she stopped and turned to face me.

“What?” I asked when she said nothing.

“Exactly. What do you want?”