Chapter 2 #2
“Nice meeting you too...” He waited, expecting Mateo to give him something else, maybe his phone number. When he didn’t, Noah sighed. “Well, I took a shot. Got rejected.”
The book closed again, and this time, Mateo shifted his position on the couch, turning slightly toward him. “That was you shooting your shot? Tapping the cover of my book and telling me you’re from the base?”
Didn’t people like the military and the uniform? “Well...”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re clueless, Noah Hanover.”
“Well, I have time tonight,” he replied, egging Mateo on. “Why don’t you tell me what you think I’m so clueless about?”
“Have you ever hit on a guy before? Or did you think being part of the military would have me throwing my clothes at you and begging you to fuck me?”
The exasperated tone of his voice tied Noah in knots.
He didn’t know whether he was pissed that Mateo misread the whole situation or if Noah was excited by his snappish attitude.
Mateo’s words crackled over his skin like a caustic whip, flaying Noah open.
And, like the sick fuck he was, Noah wanting more.
“Can’t say I’ve hit on a lot of people,” Noah said, honestly. “I’ve spent more of my adult life in the sandbox than on US soil, trying to get laid.”
Mateo blinked twice, then deflated. Here Noah was, wanting more of Mateo’s haughty demeanor, and he appeared remorseful. “I’m sorry. That was a dick move on my part.”
Noah shook his head. “Not even an issue.” He leaned in and cocked a brow. “Can we try again? I’m Noah Hanover. I’ve just graduated from SEAL BUD/s training. I came here tonight because the guys said I needed to relax a little and have fun.”
Mateo’s expression went from dismissive to shocked in less than a second. “Aren’t you a little young to be a SEALs team member?”
“Aren’t you a little old to be squirreled away in a room reading a book while a party rages beyond these four walls?” Noah tilted his head, motioning to the room while grinning like a fool.
Mateo chuckled softly and held up his hand. “Touché.”
The lightness of Mateo’s laughter settled something within Noah. “Would you like to get coffee with me or some food? I know you’re into your book, but...” He shrugged. “I’d really like to get to know you.”
“You’re serious,” Mateo murmured. “Of all the people here, you’re picking me?”
“Why wouldn’t I pick you?” He was perfection wrapped up in a nerdy little conservative ball. Whatever he was studying as his major, he took the course seriously, especially if he was reading while a party happened around him.
“Have you seen yourself?”
Noah had. Obviously. What that meant in the long run, he couldn’t say. “Are you saying I’m hot?”
Pink tinged Mateo’s cheeks as he fidgeted in his seat. “Well...”
Noan laughed. “You do think I’m hot. Interesting.
” He touched Mateo’s free hand, curling his index finger around Mateo’s ring finger.
“Look, Mateo, I don’t know if you know this, but you’re dangerous.
You’re so fucking gorgeous in a teacher kind of way.
You’ve got me in knots over here. Will you put me out of my misery and join me for coffee or food or even just something away from all this?
” He motioned to the house. “This really isn’t my thing or idea of fun. ”
Mateo stared at Noah. He thought the guy might say no. Noah worried he’d laugh at him. Rather, he took Noah’s hand in his and said, “Are you asking me on an impromptu first date?”
Yeah... Noah guessed he was. “Yes?”
“You don’t sound so sure of yourself,” he stated, laughter coloring his tone.
Noah cleared his throat, straightening his shoulders. “Yes. I am asking you on a date.”
“Then yes. I’d like that.” Mateo placed the bookmark in his book, then gathered up his things. “I probably read the same paragraph ten times, anyway.”
“Looked like you were focused from where I was standing,” Noah replied, as they exited the room.
“Yeah, well, I had an audience.”
He chuckled. “Touché.”
Noah rode with Drew, so he didn’t have a vehicle.
Walking was the second-best thing they could have done.
For the lateness of the night, the streets were almost empty.
A stillness had settled over the area, and if he listened hard enough, he could hear the waves crashing against the shore. There was nothing like San Diego.
Nothing like home.
“So, tell me something about yourself,” Mateo said, drawing Noah out of his thoughts. “What made you choose the SEALs?”
“I’m really good at my job,” Noah said. “I wanted to challenge myself to do better. To be better.”
“And your job is?” he hedged.
“Are you sure you want to know?” The thing about being a sniper was the misconceptions about the job.
Some people thought Noah killed indiscriminately.
Or that he enjoyed the idea of taking a life.
Others thought his kill ratio must have outweighed the hours he spent trekking into a location to get set up.
What they didn’t see or didn’t care about was the hours he’d spent at the range, the days he went out alone with all his shit just to find a spot to cover the guys of his unit.
Only to turn back around and double time it to base because the intel was old.
Being a sniper wasn’t a glamorous job. Not by a long shot.
“Yes.” Mateo held the door of an all-night diner, allowing Noah to enter first.
“Such a gentleman,” he teased, finding a table away from the door. Noah sat with his back to the wall, a subconscious habit he’d picked up over the years. Once they were settled, he exhaled. “I am a 19D B4 SSI.”
“That’s a lot of letters and numbers.” Mateo canted his head to the side. “In layman’s terms, what does that mean?”
“Calvery Scout with a special skills identifier,” he answered.
“I’m a sniper, Mateo.” Noah held his breath, waiting for the questions or disgust that usually came with the truth.
“I spend a lot of time alone or with a spotter. Mostly, it’s long, grueling hours hiking to the right spot so I’m able to cover my team. ”
“Solitary...” he murmured, frowning. “I can see why you didn’t stick with your friends at the party. Don’t you get, I don’t know, lonely out there? Or afraid?”
Not the question Noah thought he’d ask. In fact, it’d thrown Noah off balance.
Was Mateo really upset that Noah was alone and not about what he did for a living?
“I’m never alone in the way you’re thinking.
I always have my unit with me.” Noah shrugged.
“My job does scare the shit out of me. But, if I wasn’t afraid or nervous when I hiked in, I’d know it was time to hang it up. ”
The waitress picked the perfect time to take their order.
He got coffee while Mateo ordered food and a drink.
After returning with their drinks, Mateo relaxed into the booth.
Noah couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be sitting across from him.
If his job title didn’t have Mateo running out of the diner, screaming as though Noah had told Mateo he was a serial killer, maybe he still had a shot with the guy.
“What about you? What do you want to be when you graduate?”
“Oh!” Mateo’s cheeks turned the gorgeous shade of cognac again, which got his dick hard and ready. A lustful groan built in Noah’s chest, and he squashed that shit. One step at a time. Can’t seem too eager. “I’m already a teacher. I take afternoon and night classes at USD for my Master’s Degree.”
“Oh yeah? What do you teach?”
“World History and Social Studies,” Mateo said. “I enjoy it.”
Noah nodded, giving him a once-over. “That fits you.”
He gave Noah an incredulous look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nerdy and hot,” Noah replied. “Like you can stimulate my brain while, if I’m being quite frank,” he leaned in, lowering his voice, “you’re riding my dick.”
“What if I want you to ride my dick?” he lobbed back at Noah. “What if I top? What if I’m not even gay?”
Nah, he was gay or bi. Noah clocked Mateo the minute he saw him. “You wouldn’t be here with me if you were straight.”
“You didn’t answer my other question.” Mirth glittered in his gaze.
“Do you want to top me, Mattie?” Noah growled, getting worked up just by sitting across from him.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”