3. Dane
Chapter 3
Dane
“Eagle 2-1, cleared to land runway 2-7, wind calm.”
I pressed the control button to let the tower know I’d heard the message. “Eagle 2-1, cleared for runway 2-7, wind calm.”
I surveyed the late afternoon sky over the Pacific as I brought the jet down onto the runway. My co-pilot, Lieutenant Javier Cruz, sat behind me and kept his eye on the radar. In combat, he’d be the one controlling the weapons while I got to do the fancy flying to keep us from being shot down.
“God, we are two lucky bastards, Sunshine. You know that?” Javy asked after we received our clearance to taxi back to the hangar.
I grunted at the nickname I’d been given because I never smiled. They said I was a fucking ray of sunshine with my sour disposition. I preferred to think of myself as serious or focused. At least they hadn’t called me binoculars.
I smirked at his familiar comment. “I know, Loverboy. I know.”
His nickname had come from his incessant need to hook up. Unlike me, he never bedded the same person twice.
“Let’s go out tonight. Friday night is for getting laid.”
Hooking up was the last thing I needed to do after a day of training. I just wanted to have a beer and maybe shoot a game or two of pool.
“I’ll meet you at the bar later. No hookups for me. I have plans tomorrow.”
Javy chuckled behind me. “Going to see your girl, Sunshine?”
I snorted. “She’s not my girl. We’re just friends.”
“Keep telling yourself that, buddy. But I see the way she looks at you.”
He was ridiculous.
“You’re reading too much into things.”
“If you’re not going there, you mind if I ask her out?”
Growling under my breath, the fucker just laughed at me before he patted my shoulder.
“I’m just yanking your chain. I’ll leave Camile all to you.”
He was out of his fucking mind. Camile and I had been best friends since grad school. We met in a mathematical theory class and bonded instantly. She was the first person I’d allowed into my life since high school. At one point, we’d tried to be more but decided we were better off as friends. She was the only one who knew I was a repressed bisexual.
I pulled to a stop and began the shutdown process. Unhooking myself from the seat, I opened the hatch and removed my helmet. I put on my sunglasses and climbed out of the cockpit.
“I’m going to check in with the CO,” I told him. “I’ll meet you at the Squid about eight.”
“Will do,” Javy said, before heading to the locker room to change.
After wrapping up the day at the base, I climbed into my truck and headed home. I lived alone because I required downtime to myself. The need to decompress was a requirement in a high-pressure job, so I kept my daily routine simple.
Most nights I stopped by the grocery store to pick up something to make dinner, then hit the sofa to watch a game while I ate. Tonight would end with a book.
Swinging into the parking lot at Stater Brothers , I got out and went to do some grocery shopping. Thirty minutes later, I left with four bags filled with more than enough food to get me through the weekend.
When I got home, I headed to the kitchen to unload my groceries. My phone rang just as I emptied the first bag.
Looking down at the display, I smiled at my younger sister’s name on the display. She was away in Europe, so hearing from her was rare unless our schedules matched up.
“Hey, Elle. How’s Spain?”
“Hey, Great Dane. It’s beautiful and I love it. How are you?”
“Good. I just got home and I’m making dinner.”
“What are you cooking? Make me wish I was home.”
I smiled. “Sorry. Just grilling a steak with mushrooms and a Caesar salad.”
She groaned. “That sounds so good. I miss your culinary delights.”
I laughed. “I try. But I know you have some excellent dinner choices in Barcelona. So make me jealous.”
She laughed. “That’s very true. When are you coming to visit?”
“Not any time soon. When are you coming home?”
“Probably Christmas.”
We talked about her job and how happy she was that she’d chosen the live in Europe on a nomad visa. And then we got to what she really wanted to know.
“I haven’t talked to you since the Super Bowl. Just wondered how it went?”
I rolled my eyes to myself. “You’ve talked to Mom.”
“Yes, but I haven’t talked to you. And I know you’re keeping all those emotions shoved down where you think you’re safe.”
My sister Elle was two years younger and knew me well. I’d been waiting for the inquisition to start.
“It was fine.”
She paused. “Fine? The million-dollar suite was just fine?”
I closed my eyes and released a heavy breath. “What do you want me to say, Elle? It was a football game. We grew up in that world. It wasn’t any different.”
“Dane, it wasn’t any football game. Your best friend paid a shit ton of money for you to attend. And you didn’t even go talk to him.”
I frowned. “They weren’t for me. In case you forgot, I was guilted into going.”
A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. “Who’s side are you on anyway?”
My sister released a heavy sigh. She loved Lennox just like my mom did.
“Yours. Always. But it’s been over ten years. He’s reaching out to you.”
“No the fuck he isn’t!” I barked. “Those tickets were for Dad. Lennox wanted our father there to see him play and show him how successful he’s become. It had nothing to do with me. Our friendship is over. Dead and buried.”
Elle laughed. “Calm down, Dane. I was just asking. You don’t have to get so irritable when I mention Lennox.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and hung my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload that on you.”
“I know. It’s okay,” she said quietly. “But hear me out, big brother. Of all the bases you could have been assigned to, and all the teams Lennox could play for, you both ended up in San Diego.”
My gut churned at the thought of the asshole. “It means nothing, Elle. My fleet is assigned here. The Navy cares nothing about Lennox Sanders. And he just happens to play here now. This is not some divine intervention that’s meant to bring us together. That’s hokey bullshit and you know it. Maybe he’ll get traded.”
“You see,” she said. “You’re holding all this anger toward him for something that happened over a decade ago when you were kids. It’s not healthy, Dane. I was really hoping you would have talked to him and gotten past all this. I miss seeing you smile.”
I rolled my eyes. “I smile.”
“Not like you used to when we were kids. I miss that Dane.”
I was getting a headache.
“Well, you know who to blame.”
My sister was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “Just think about it, big brother.”
I pinched my brows together and rubbed my temples. The only way I’d get her off this topic was to give her what she wanted. So I lied to my sister.
“Fine. Now let’s change the subject. How’s Charlie?”
Elle chuckled and started in on her favorite subject. Her boyfriend. We talked while I started the gas grill out on my patio, and didn’t stop until I sat down to eat.
After dinner, I headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready to meet Javy. I didn’t want to go out, but I needed to. Otherwise, I’d spend my evening stewing about Lennox fucking Sanders. So pretending the little white ball was his stupid head was my plan.