17. Ace
17
ACE
I watch Sheri leave, my heart cracking wide open because I know we’ve reached a fork in the road. Either we go all-in and declare our love to the world. Or we call it a day and attempt to go back to being just friends. Something way easier said than done.
Too much has come to pass between us for things to ever go back to how they were when we were nothing more than friends. I feel so much more for her now, and it will be torture to have to watch from the sidelines as she moves on with her life. Because, sadly, that’s exactly where it seems we’re headed.
A gentle touch on my arm brings my eyes back from the now closed door. Leila’s soft gaze searches my face, but for the moment she holds her peace. Merlin chooses that moment to announce that they have to get back to base – Admiral North only gave them ninety minutes to come say hi and check in on me.
He comes around to where Leila’s standing and gives my shoulder a light squeeze. “See you later, bud. Anything we can bring you when we come back?”
“Yeah, actually I could do with some Rocky Road ice cream.”
“I’m sure we can organize some for you. All right then, we’re outta here. Take care.” He drops a lingering kiss on Leila’s head, and, with a chorus of goodbyes, the room empties out. Leaving just the two of us standing in silence. But I know that won’t last.
It doesn’t take long for Leila to home in, right to the crux of the matter.
“How long?”
“Excuse me?”
“How long have you been in love with Sheri?”
And there it is.
No beating around the bush, no shying away from the difficult conversation. Just pure Leila – straight to it.
I study her for a long moment, contemplating how to answer her. But then I decide, fuck it, I’m done hiding. This brush with death has made me more conscious than ever about how fragile and short life can be.
“I can’t give you specifics, but it’s been a while. Maybe a year. Eighteen months. Longer maybe.” I shrug, but then regret the action immediately. “It was a slow, quiet process. It wasn’t like those ‘big bang theory’ kinda things. One day I looked at her and realized I loved her.
“There’s no one specific incident that I can clearly define as the catalyst, you know? It was, like, I looked over at her and the thought popped into my mind with the impact of a sledgehammer to the brain. Or a bullet to the torso.” I give a half-hearted laugh at my own weak joke.
Leila nods but doesn’t share in my humor. “And how long has she returned your feelings?”
“I don’t know. It took me a good long while to gather my courage together to tell her. But when I finally did, she told me the same day that she felt the same.”
“And you’ve been running around keeping it a secret since. Because when I first cottoned on to what’s going on, I thought maybe you’d tried seducing Sheri, and that’s why she’s been looking so sour. But then I realized there was more to it. I just couldn’t figure out why all the secrecy.”
Not a question, but I nod anyways.
“I’m guessing, with how edgy she’s been, that things are not looking good?”
“Yeah, I’m guessing the same thing.”
“I have to know. Why have you guys hidden it all this time? Did you think we would judge you? Or disapprove?”
“To be honest, we didn’t know how you guys would react. Well, that’s not strictly true. We knew you’d be happy for us, but we didn’t want to jam you in the middle if Merlin and the guys weren’t so into it.
“On top of that, she saw how we all treated you after you and Merlin split. Stupidly, in the throws of young ignorance and misguided loyalty, we cut you out of our lives. And Sher’s terrified the guys will do the same if our relationship fizzles out.”
“Oh, my sweet friend. We’d all be thrilled for you,” Leila says. “Besides, seeing how deep you guys are into each other, I sincerely doubt it will fizzle out. I can only imagine how cute the two of you are together.”
Laughing and shaking my head at her, I say, “We’re too old to be cute.”
Leila snorts out a laugh of her own. “Never. There’s just one more thing I want to ask before I leave you in peace. How do her boys feel about the two of you?”
My lingering smile disappears, and before I can answer her, she gasps. “Oh my God, they don’t even know.”
“Literally nobody knows. Well, except for you now. Sheri hasn’t wanted to tell anyone. For differing reasons, but it all comes down to one result. Nobody knew. Until now.”
“You know I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to, though, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” I reply, giving her a nod.
Before either of us can say anything else, the door to my room opens, and my doctor enters, a nurse close on her heels.
“Mr. Colins, how are you feeling?” Dr. Weaver asks.
“Considering I didn’t think I was going to make it home, pretty good, thanks.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she replies. “Everything’s looking good, your wound was looking nice and clean, healthy last I checked. Whoever your team medic is did an outstanding job under such challenging circumstances.”
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to tell him you said so. He’ll probably be insufferable for a while after though, and most likely will never let us live it down,” I reply with a chuckle.
The doctor gives me an amused looked. “Let’s get you checked over, shall we?”
“I’ll wait outside while you’re busy,” Leila says before exiting the room.
I watch the doctor read over the notes on her tablet. Nodding to herself, she turns back to me to examine my wound.
“Hmm, I’m happy with that,” the doctor says to no one in particular. She hits a tender spot, and I wince, unable to prevent the reaction. “Yeah, you’ll be sore for a while, but I’m guessing this isn’t your first rodeo.”
“No, ma’am. I just wasn’t quick enough this time,” I reply.
“Might want to work on that response time then. Next time might not work out for you,” she jokes. Standing back up, Dr. Weaver makes some notes on her tablet.
“Your vitals are good under the circumstances, wounds look as good as can be expected, so, all in all, I’m happy. If there are no complications that unexpectedly present themselves and you have someone at home to help you, I’d be comfortable releasing you in a few days.”
“Yeah, I could probably ask my mom or sister-in-law.”
“Excellent. Well then, let’s see how things go and re-evaluate in a couple of days.”
“Great, thanks, Doc.”
She and her nurse leave, and Leila returns to the room, a thoughtful look on her face. The look doesn’t bode well for me, but I choose to leave well enough alone. I’m not interested in picking up the conversation where it left off when Dr. Weaver appeared.
“What did the doctor have to say? All good?”
“Yep, she’s happy with how things are looking, and if I continue to improve at the rate I’m going, then I can probably go home in a few days.”
“That’s excellent news.” She leans down to kiss my cheek. “I best be on my way. I’ve got some errands I need to run before I head home. Kyle and I will pop in to see you later again.” With a wave and a smile, she’s gone.
As I lay there, staring at the door, I can’t help but wonder what that look was all about. And if I should be concerned. I love that woman like she were my own blood, but damn she can be scary. Once she gets a wild hair, she’s single-minded and focused on achieving her objective. The question is, what is the objective?