Chapter 5 #2
Regan laughed as she joined him on the sofa. They sat side-by-side, using the coffee table as a dining table. “I wish they would deliver to my apartment. I bet you have someone who can pick it up for you.” She took another bite of her cheeseburger.
“You’re right, I do.” He took another bite, chewed, and swallowed. Then he chuckled. “I could always send Mason, but he’s liable to eat it before it got to the apartment.”
Regan blurted out a laugh and covered her mouth because she’d just taken a bite of burger. She quickly chewed and swallowed. Then she pointed at Cole. “You shouldn’t say things like that when I have my mouth full. You could end up with a face covered in partially chewed food.” Then she laughed.
He laughed, too. “I’ll try to remember for the future.”
The rest of the meal was eaten in companionable silence.
When Regan had swallowed her last bite of burger and her last gulp of Coke, she leaned back on the arm of the couch and patted her stomach.
“That was nice. I haven’t had a meal in recent memory that wasn’t alone or with dozens of other people.
Even when I got back, Mom had a party instead of just having dinner with my family. ”
“I understand. I haven’t had a meal that wasn’t work related except for breakfast and even then, many of them were business meetings.”
“Looks like we were both due a reprieve.”
He reached over and took her left hand in his right. He pulled her to a sitting position. Then he turned her palm up and kissed the inside of her wrist. “Thank you. For being my bodyguard and, hopefully, my friend.”
She looked down at her wrist and then up into his eyes.
She felt like she was swimming in the deepest ocean, they were so dark a blue.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I’m your bodyguard, too.
” She stood, gathered their plates and empty bottles, and carried them to the kitchen, where she tossed the bottles into the recycle bin.
Then she placed the plates into the dishwasher before returning to the sofa.
“What do you want to do now? I’m not used to entertaining in my home. Would you like to watch TV or a movie or something. I don’t watch TV much so I haven’t any idea what there is on.”
“Or maybe we could talk.”
“Okay. Would you like some coffee? I have decaf or regular.”
“Decaf. I want to sleep tonight. Your couch seems fairly comfortable.”
“It is. I’ve slept there plenty of times, and I’ll be sleeping there tonight.
It’s a bodyguard thing. You are the one who sleeps closest to the door, not the client.
I know that you are trying to be a gentleman, but that isn’t how it works.
I’ll be back with that coffee in a few minutes.
” She turned toward the kitchen. “Why don’t you think up some things you’d like to know about me?
” she called over her shoulder as she retreated.
She prepared them each a cup of coffee from the Keurig. Then she grabbed a tray from a cupboard and placed the coffee, along with a small pitcher of milk and a spoon, for Cole. She carried the tray to the living room and set it on the coffee table.
“I remember you had a splash of milk last time, so that’s all I brought.”
“That’s perfect. Thank you.”
“Most of the time I take mine black unless there are flavored creamers on the table. Then, I can’t resist the French vanilla.
” She sat on the sofa, prepared her coffee with the French vanilla creamer, and then turned toward Cole.
Bending one leg under her, she leaned back on the couch.
“So, what do you want to know about me?”
“What made you go into the Army in the first place, and in the second place, why did you become a Ranger?”
She thought about the question for a moment.
“My boyfriend at the time was going into the Army and I knew I didn’t want to go to college, at least not yet, and more than anything, I wanted to be with Danny.
So we joined together. We signed up for the same things and thought we’d be together that way.
Actually, the recruiter assured us we would be.
But we weren’t. We were sent to different posts for basic training and then stationed at different ones after that.
Heck, we weren’t even on the same continent.
” She leaned back against the sofa. “He went to Korea, and I was sent to Germany. After a couple of years, I decided I wanted something more exciting and applied to join the Rangers.” She sipped her coffee, the smooth dark brew, slid easily down her throat, warming her all over.
“Long story short, I worked my butt off to make it as a Ranger. It’s hard and very few women make it.
Heck, most men don’t make it. Fifty percent of the candidates who enter Ranger Training School wash out in the assessment phase. ”
He whistled. “Wow, I’d heard it was tough. I didn’t realize how tough. You must be pretty special…to have made it as a Ranger.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m special, but I was determined. And now I’m tired.” She sipped the last of her coffee and set the empty mug on the coffee table.
Cole followed suit with his empty mug.
Regan laughed. “I can’t believe you’re afraid of that little elf.”
Cole cocked an eyebrow. “He’s right to be afraid. Wendy’s like a wolverine if someone comes after anyone she cares about. Or if they’re late to dinner.” He laughed.
She shook her head. “She’s a lovely woman and one of my best friends.
Actually, she is my best female friend. I don’t have anyone other than her.
I have lots of male friends, though.” Regan didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her for not having girlfriends.
She didn’t mind. The friends she had were great.
Powerful men she’d met as a Ranger. They were part of her team and she knew they had her back should she ever need them, just like she had theirs.
Regan turned to Cole and placed her hands on her hips. “You get the bedroom, but I need to change first.”
He stared, while he appeared to chew the inside of his cheek. “I’m not taking the bed unless you’re in it with me.”
Eyes wide, she stared. “You want to sleep with me?” I don’t know if I can keep my hands off my employer. I’ve never been so attracted to a man before.
“I’m a red-blooded American male. Of course, I want to sleep with you, but…
” He held up an index finger. “That’s not what I mean tonight.
I simply mean rest in the same bed. Because neither of us will allow the other to sleep on the sofa, we have to come to a compromise.
I’ll sleep on top of the sheet and you’ll sleep under it.
You’ll be safe and we’ll both have blankets. ”
Yes, I’ll be safe, but will you?