25. Hayden
25
HAYDEN
I ’d lain awake most of the night, staring up at the photos Declan sent of himself and also the couple he sent of the two of us. I’d taped them to the roof of my rack, above my head, with the tape he’d included in the box. A silent chuckle escaped. The man thought of everything when he put together that box.
It blew me away that he sent anything at all, but it was like he’d known just what I would want or need and stuffed it all in the box. I couldn’t believe… well, several things… one being that he’d managed to track down photos of our wedding. I didn’t remember posing for photos, but that wasn’t surprising. I didn’t remember getting married either, but if I had any doubts, they’d been wiped clean when I pulled the photocopy of our marriage license out of the box.
That got taped next to the pictures. We were well and truly legally bound. At night, when I lay twisted up in my rack, I traced my fingers over his name and signature as I looked at his beautiful smiling face. Most of the pictures were pretty much headshots, but there was one of him lounging by a pool, a drink in hand, flipping off the photographer with the other. His sunglasses sat on top of his head. His tanned chest bared to the waist. The light smattering of hair that started on his pecs narrowed before disappearing into swim trunks much like the ones he wore in Vegas. Those damn things had me sporting a semi that whole damn day. It wasn’t much different now. In the privacy of my bunk with the curtains pulled closed, that photo and the memories of us together fed the spank bank regularly.
This brought me to another thing I couldn’t believe. The vast difference he had made in my life in such a short amount of time. BD, previously known as Big Dick, but recently reclaimed to mean Before Declan…
Hmm. Maybe BD should stay Big Dick, and Declan should be named BDBD.
Ugh. No.
BD squared.
Before Declan’s Big Dick.
Yeah. That’s it.
The float was getting to me if I was talking to myself. Maybe I should blame that on Declan, too, because he swept through me like a platoon of Marines seizing control of a building. He left no stone unturned. He flipped everything on its head and left me changed. Vastly changed. I was the same person on the outside, but inside, everything was different, but yet not. I recognized myself still; all the pieces that made me me were still there, only they’d been rearranged into a different version of me.
A better version.
The thought flitted through my head, and I couldn’t help but agree. Yet, I couldn’t put my finger on what was different. I just knew something was, and it wasn’t a blatant lack of cock and ass I’d gotten this cruise. There were several guys onboard who liked dick, but unlike times past, I hadn’t indulged.
My alarm buzzed, and I sighed. Time to get up, and get shit packed. We were going home. I’d contemplated whether or not to tell Declan when we would be getting back to port but decided against it, despite how good it would be to have someone waiting as we came into port, manning the rails. I wanted to show him I’d chase him the way he had me.
I still can’t believe he did that. No one had ever put forth the effort he had, not only with tracking me down but with the box and everything inside. Then, there was the letter and the photos, not to mention our marriage license. He worked hard to show me he was in this, and that feeling was beyond description.
I rolled to my belly, swinging my legs free of the metal bunk, and dropped to the floor. Soon, the floor was filled with Marines preparing to disembark the ship.
“Time to go home, boys,” Priest said as he and Cameron came to stand with me.
I nodded but kept silent.
Cameron patted my back and said, “Well, we know what Marin is getting up to when his feet hit dry land, but what about the rest of you? Wanna hit up the clubs? Maybe we can get lucky and find ourselves someone who’ll send us care packages like Mr. Sergeant Marin?”
“Fuck off. Your Mom and sisters flood the ship with shit for you.”
“Yeah, but the cookies they send don’t taste like the ones you got.”
“And I told you, he says Heidi made those.”
“I’d like to hide some dee. She’s a fucking knockout.”
I rolled my eyes but still clocked the look Cameron gave Priest. Those two were always attached at the hip, but that look made me believe there was something more going on there.
I kept my eye on them throughout the day. I watched them under the guise of packing the last of my shit and taking down the photos and license I’d taped up. The more I saw, I realized how right my suspicion was. Sly glances and brushing touches passed between them. Then, there were whispered words too low for any of us to hear, with glances around the compartment to see if anyone was close enough to hear what they said.
They were together. I was sure of it. In what capacity, official or just hooking up regularly, I didn’t know, but there was something going on there. Cameron outranked Priest, but Priest wasn’t in Cameron’s line of command, so as long as their shit didn’t mess with the unit’s vibe, I didn’t give a fuck.
When the time came, we grabbed our gear and headed toward the chopper, taking those of us who’d been sent out on the recon op before the training cruise. We stopped to salute the Officer of the Day and then the National Ensign before continuing.
Looking out at the docks where the families were gathered, kids waved signs and carried balloons, jumping up and down with excitement as they looked for their loved ones. I hitched my seabag over my shoulder, walking past all the happy families, regretting not asking Declan to meet me.
I climbed onto the bird, setting my seabag between my feet. Scott, Cameron, Priest, and Lucia slid in the chopper next to me as I buckled myself in.
“Is Declan meeting you?” Priest asked.
“No. I didn’t tell him. I wanna surprise him.”
“What’ve you got planned?”
“Not a damn thing.”
“You married the man, left him with no way to contact you, and you haven’t planned anything for the surprise reunion you got cooking in that tiny brain of yours?” Lucia asked, incredulity written on her face like words on a chalkboard.
“I’ll figure something out.”
She and the guys cracked up, and Lucia said, “You are freaking clueless.”
“Yes, I believe you’ve said that before,” I retorted with a glare.
Now that we were here, the realization I fucked up hit me like a ton of bricks. I should’ve told him when we were coming back, and I hadn’t. If the situation was reversed, I’d be pissed and hurt.
I pulled my cover off and swiped my hand over my face and head before settling the cover back on my head.
We lifted off the deck, the kids on the ground pointed and waved, and I waved back. Even from this distance, you could see the excitement on their faces at the sight of the chopper taking off and their moms and dads coming home to them before the nose tilted down, and we flew toward home.
When we landed, I grabbed my gear and waved to Lucia and the guys before jumping in my car. I didn’t even bother to turn my phone on or plug it in. I was a man on a mission. And not the one I usually was when I got home from a cruise or a deployment. Typically, all I wanted was to get home and sleep in my own bed for a few hours before hitting the clubs, and then, the only thought was DRINK ON/ROCKS OFF. And that’s what I did. I drank and fucked.
Not this time.
Well, I wouldn’t mind a drink, and I definitely wanted to fuck, but I wanted that with Declan, not the nameless, easily forgotten faces I usually lost myself in when we came home. I wanted to hold him in my arms. I wanted to hear him call me Papi, and I really needed to see if my memory was playing tricks on me or if our connection was as magnetic as I remembered.
As soon as I made it through the front gates on base, I floored it. The engine roared under me, eating up the miles between base and the address on the return label. Dollar signs floated over the houses the closer I got to my destination.
When I pulled to a stop, my mouth fell open, and I deflated, my eyes closing to block out the sight screaming at me. This couldn’t be where he lived. I just couldn’t be. But I knew I was in the right place. The return address was burned into my psyche.
I stepped out of the car, grabbed my cover, slipping it on my head before straightening my uniform. Thankfully, the uniform of the day was the Blue Dress D, khaki shirt, and navy pants with the blood stripe and not my cammies. I doubted this area saw much camouflage.
At the door, sounds of a gathering floated toward me from the rear of the house, and I sighed, turning to leave. Yeah, not happening. I knew the crowd invited to gatherings like this and I had no desire to rub elbows with the likes of them again. I spun around and headed for my car.
“Hayden? Is that you?”
Fuck!
My lungs expanded as I sucked in a deep breath before turning to greet whoever blocked my retreat. “Heidi, right?”
“Yeah! It’s great to see you, but…” Her brow furrowed as she glanced around. “Where’s Declan?”
I huffed a laugh and said, “I was hoping he’d be here.”
“But how did you get here before him?”
I wiped my hand over my cheek and mouth, then swiped my lips with my thumb. “I’m not following.”
“Declan, he went to the dock to meet the boat.”
Exasperation flooded my system, and I swallowed the scream of frustration that bubbled up within me. “How did he know?”
“Oh, look! There he is. I’ll leave y’all alone to reconnect without an audience. Everyone’s so excited to meet you.”
Meet me?