Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Cade
I never thought taking a woman fishing would be so damn fun.
Sure, I’ve been fishing with women before, but not one-on-one like this and never enjoying it as much as I am.
We’ve been sitting here for almost an hour and have caught three fish.
Each time one is reeled in, I see the internal struggle in Oaklee’s eyes.
Just when I think she’s about to agree to take the fish off the hook, she chickens out and backs away.
It's so fucking adorable.
“So, tell me about the military. I mean, you might not want to talk about it, and I’d totally respect that, but I was just curious about it. A few people I went to high school with went in after graduation, but no one I was close with.”
“I don’t mind,” I tell her, glancing down at my pole to make sure all is still.
“I chose to enlist in the Marines, even though Collin had already settled on the Air Force. He knew he wanted to be in their firefighting program, which is the best in the world. I wasn’t as into that as he was and after talking to a recruiter, was drawn toward combat engineer. ”
“What is that?” she asks, turning slightly in her seat to face me.
“Well, it’s a boots on the ground group who work ahead of the troops to clear the path. It can include moving obstacles, like cars or rubble, and even buildings.”
Her eyes widen. “You took down buildings?”
I nod. “At times, yes.”
“That’s kinda cool, actually.”
“It was a very interesting job, that’s for sure, and I enjoyed it.
I was enlisted for six years. When I got back home and was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life, I knew I was good with heavy equipment and machinery, so I checked into joining the union.
I started as an apprentice and quickly moved through the program, landing at the company I still work for to this day. ”
“I know I said this before but thank you for your service. I’m sure it wasn’t always fun and not always easy. It takes the right individuals to do what members of our armed services do on a daily basis.”
“What about you? You went to nursing school. What was that like?”
I notice her fidget a little, but she jumps right in to telling me about her past, so I’m not sure why the little uneasiness.
“Well, I was living with my grandparents, working as much as I could as a server at a little restaurant a few miles from their place. I was able to get some scholarships to help cover the cost, but with their limited means, I was kind of on my own for college. So, I worked as much as I could, usually five or six nights a week, depending on when they needed me.”
“While you went to school during the day?”
She shrugs and nods in confirmation. “I knew it was temporary, so I did what I had to do to be able to pay for my education and help them as much as possible.”
“RN is two or four years?” I ask, wishing I knew more about the profession.
“I went through the four-year program. They do offer two-year RN degrees, but I…uh, felt the four-year option was best for my future.”
There it is again. The fidget. Something about this conversation makes her a little anxious.
“Anyway, right before the start of my third year, I was able to move into a little apartment with a friend. She was working full time, having just completed an associate’s degree in radiology and was working at the local hospital.
She also knew Allison, who was in school with me, so we all hung out when we could, which for me, wasn’t that much.
I still worked as much as possible at the restaurant.
I basically went to school, worked, and ate and slept when I could. ”
“I bet that was tough.”
She lifts her shoulders, as if it was no big deal. “Like I said, I knew it was temporary and was willing to put in the work.”
“Working toward the dream. I get it.”
“Anyway, after school, I got a job at a clinic, working with a few GP doctors. That’s where I met Lance.”
Just the mention of his name makes me want to throw something. That guy’s the biggest douche I’ve ever heard about, and I don’t even know him personally. And considering I was in the military with some of the biggest egos on the planet, that’s saying something.
“He worked there?” I find myself asking, needing to hear the whole story.
“No, he did an internship through there. He was in med school, and we just sort of hit it off. Started hanging out after work when he wasn’t busy, and before I knew it, we were in a relationship.
” She looks out at the water. “It wasn’t always bad, but it wasn’t always great either.
He was always busy, as anyone going through a program like that is, so we didn’t spend as much time together as we both would have liked. Or at least, as much as I wanted.
“So, we’d break up and then get back together a while later. It was an exhausting cycle, but I felt like it would be worth it in the end. But the cycle just kept repeating and repeating.
“He got his residency at North Ridge, and I was going to break up with him. His schedule was insane, as we knew it would be, but then, he asked me to move here. Not with him, mind you, but near him.”
I sit up in my seat and give her my full attention. “What? After, what, six years?”
She nods. “He said he wanted me here, but he was in one of those tiny studio apartments used by the hospital, and he couldn’t add anyone to the agreement.
At first, I thought…this was it. He’s actually taking the steps to move our relationship forward.
I came here for an interview, thanks to a tip from Allison, and well, you know the rest.”
“That was the weekend we first met,” I say, unable to hide my smile.
She chuckles. “Yeah. The night some guy hit on me in a bar.”
“But you turned him down.”
“I did. I was seeing someone.”
I reach over and take her hand, threading her fingers with mine. It’s the first time we’ve done that, and I can’t help but notice the warmth spreading through my veins. “But you’re not now.”
She looks over and meets my gaze. “Nope. I’m not now.”
The air is charged around us as we continue to watch each other. I’m not certain what she’s thinking, but if it’s anywhere close to what’s going through my mind, it’s positive. Hopeful. And maybe with a touch of naughty mixed in.
“I didn’t mean to word-vomit all our relationship details to you.”
“I’m glad you did,” I reply honestly, glad to know the details.
“Can I ask you something?” One of the things she mentioned jumps out at me, and I can’t help but circle back around to it.
“When you said you wanted to do the four-year program instead of the two, what did you mean by that? Was there something more you wanted to do?”
Her entire body goes rigid, and her eyes take on a flash of panic, even though she covers it up quickly by glancing away. I hit the nail on the head with my observation, and even though I won’t push her, I hope she feels comfortable enough with me to share whatever it was.
She clears her throat and continues to watch the fishing line slowly move in the water.
That’s when it hits me.
Getting up, I retrieve the bag containing my mom’s sweet treats and pull the baggy of cookies and the container of brownies from within. I pop open the brownies and hand them toward her.
She grins, taking one of the brownies and enjoying a small bite. “Wow, these are as good as the cookies.”
“You mean, the chocolate chip cookie you stole?” I tease, hoping to make her smile again.
“I did no such thing,” she counters before enjoying a second bite. “And if memory serves correctly, you did a little stealing yourself.”
I gape at her, grabbing both a cookie and a brownie. “I thought we were sharing. I just took my half.”
“You almost ate my fingers,” she counters.
Taking my seat, I enjoy a big bite of my cookie first before glancing her way. “It’s not your fingers I enjoy eating, beautiful.”
There.
My comment triggers the blush, which makes my balls heavy and achy.
God, I love it when I say something dirty and she blushes.
“Anyway, we don’t have to talk about your schooling if you don’t want to. I wasn’t trying to pry.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her take another bite of her brownie before slowly getting up from her seat.
When she stops in front of me, I look up and meet her gaze.
She moves, straddling my legs and sitting on my lap.
My cock is already hard in my jeans, and I’m certain she can already tell, considering she’s sitting on it.
Slowly, she grabs my left hand and takes a bite of my cookie.
My cock jumps, making her wiggle against me.
If I had a free hand, I’d place it on her hip to try to halt her movements.
Unfortunately, since both of my hands are occupied, she has free rein to wiggle and move, gyrating against me and driving me absolutely wild.
Holding my gaze, she says, “I wanted to continue schooling.”
My heart is pounding in my chest as I wait for whatever else she wants to say.
“I wanted to be a midwife.”
“Yeah? That’s awesome, Oaklee,” I say, a sense of pride in this woman adding extra pressure to my chest.
She nods solemnly. “I thought so too, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
I’m a little confused by her statement. I mean, we haven’t talked specifically about age, but she can’t be thirty yet. There’s still plenty of time for her to achieve the degree and credentials she’s always dreamed of.
“When I was dating Lance, he was in med school. It was expensive and time-consuming. When I told him of my dream, he suggested I wait. It would be too hard on us if we were both in the midst of high-demand, high-stress schooling.”
“He asked you not to continue your schooling?” I ask, feeling the venom of my words seep through my veins and burn my soul. It fucking hurts to think about.
She shrugs, as if if’s no big deal, but to me, it’s a huge fucking deal.
Douche isn’t even the right term for that asshole.