40. JAX – LONG LOST BUDDY
JAX – LONG LOST BUDDY
When we get to Bo’s, we go upstairs to our table that we always have reserved and sit down.
“Just the three of you tonight?” the server asks, walking up with our waters.
“Yes. Do you want your usual for drinks and soup for you, Everlee?”
“Yes, please.” She smiles.
“I’ll be back. I’m going to wash my hands,” Knox says, dipping away from the table.
Everlee opens the menu and reads each description like she doesn’t already have it memorized. It’s cute how her eyebrows move when she reads, like it’s something she’s never seen before and it’s a mystery to be solved.
She must feel me looking because her gaze lifts to meet mine, and she smiles. “What?”
“Nothing. I just like watching you.”
“I know.” She pumps her eyebrows and smiles.
Her look causes my cock to twitch, making me shift in my seat. “Not what I meant.”
“Shame. Maybe later?”
“Definitely.” These last couple of weeks she’s been hot for cock, which I mean… none of us are complaining. We haven’t been doing as many group events, because it’s getting more uncomfortable for her and her gag reflex has been extra sensitive.
“Ev?” a voice chirps, pulling our gaze.
“Keeley! Hey, what are you doing here?”
Keeley’s cheeks blush as she looks over her shoulder. “So, I met a guy, kind of.”
Ev looks around her, but doesn’t see him.
“Oh,” Keeley laughs. “He’s in the bathroom. We just finished dinner, and I saw you up here, so I wanted to say hello and apologize for not being able to make it to the shower. Lizzy said it was so sweet and amazing… and twins!” She claps her hands quickly. “I was helping-”
“Look who I found in the bathroom!” Knox says, beaming. “Hudson Locke, himself.”
My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but he looks the exact same. As they approach, I stand from the table and walk around it to give him a hug. “What are you doing state side, and here, no less?”
Locke laughs and looks affectionately at Keeley. “Well, it looks like I’m moving here.”
“So, you and Keeley?” I ask, nodding my head towards the girls. He had talked about Keeley several times when we were overseas, but it was always more like kid sister vibes, not uproot your life and move here with her type vibes.
“Yeah.” He shoves his hands into his pockets.
Knox looks over his shoulder at the girls, who are talking about the shower and the babies and everything else, then hooks his arm around Locke’s shoulder. “So that’s the Keeley?”
“Yeah.”
“And her brother?”
“It was a little rocky at first, but I think we’ve worked it out.”
“I never put two and two together,” Knox says, shaking his head, still shocked.
“How could you? There are so many Keeley’s.”
“So you’re done with the SEALs?” I ask, grabbing the top of the seat nearest to me.
“Yeah. For now. Thinking about getting into some contract work.”
“Have you reached out to Dufrey?” Knox asks, rubbing his hands together. “He started his own company doing contract work for the government.”
“Not yet. I lost his number, well everyone’s pretty much. Same reason I didn’t reach out to you jokers. Was at the beach over the summer and Key got mad at me and threw my phone into the ocean. I probably deserved it, but I lost all of my contacts.”
“Love it! A little spitfire.” Knox bounces, a smile still spread across his face. Locke and Knox became fast friends, even though we only were together for a few months before we left.
“I’ll text it to you. Number still the same?” I offer, knowing that Knox is going to be too excited to remember.
“Yes, sir.”
The server brings our drinks back.
“Oh man, I don’t want to interrupt your dinner. We’re just leaving and Key saw her friend. We’re doing some house hunting this weekend, trying to find a place. Key’s is too small.”
“We have a place beside us we don’t really use. It’s mostly been a place for Ev’s family when they come into town, but I don’t think they will be here before Christmas, so it will give you a couple of months, and even then, if you haven’t found a spot, her parents can stay with us.”
“Oh man! You should totally stay there! You will love it. Plus, it’s right next to us, so we can hang out and catch up. We have a hot tub and bar on our roof and we grill out! Oh, come on!” Knox is a step above dropping to his knees and begging.
Locke thinks about it for a second, then nods his head. “Yeah, that could work. That would give us eight or ten weeks at least to find a place. Just let me know how much rent is.”
“No man. You save the money for the down payment on your house,” Knox says, clapping his hand on Locke’s shoulder.
“I can’t just live in your house for free.”
“We’ll work something out then.” I learned a long time ago that Locke is not one of the guys that will take handouts. He’s worked all his life for what he gets and he has to earn it- same as us, so I can appreciate that. Just like we wouldn’t accept the house, he won’t either.
“Ok.” He nods, satisfied. “You still talk to Brady?”
“Yeah. He lives in our basement. He drives us around when he’s in town. We don’t need him to, but he wants to. Same reason as the rest of us, I guess. We aren’t good at taking things for free.”
“That’s the truth.” His smile drops. “How’s he doing?”
“You know. One day at a time.”
We all nod, but don’t say anything, and then a second later, Keeley is walking over, slipping her hand into Locke’s. “Let’s give them some space so they can eat their dinner, plus we have to go look at some places.”
“They said we can stay in their extra house while we look, to take some of the pressure off and allow us to save for a down payment.”
“We can’t do that.” She smiles.
“You-” Everlee swallows a spoonful of soup. “Sorry, it’s just so good. Totally should! We don’t really use it, plus you’ll be close to Lizzy and me.”
“It would be nice to have a little more time, so we’re not stressing,” Locke coaxes.
“Can we come by tomorrow and look at it?” she asks, tilting her head to the side and flipping her foot behind her.
“Of course! How about you come over in the afternoon? We’ll show you the house, then invite Tony and Lizzy over and grill out some steaks. Emmett and Callum are getting back around lunch so it will be perfect,” Everlee offers.
Keeley and Locke look at one another and smile. “Yes. That sounds like a date!” Keeley chirps.
“Let us know what we can bring.”
“How about a dessert? Just nothing with fruit. Lizzy brings a fruit dish every time,” I laugh.
“Don’t pretend you don’t love it. It’s the first thing you go after when we eat.” Knox playfully jabs me in the shoulder.
“Oh, they are so fun. I’ve had her fruit trays many times. Ok we’ll bring a dessert!”
I create a group chat with Knox, Locke, and me, so Locke gets our numbers, then give him the address of our house. When they leave, Knox and I just look at one another for a second.
“He looks good,” Knox says, taking a sip of his Old Fashioned and breaking the silence.
“Yeah. I never thought he would make it out of there alive. He was always the first one in and the last one out.”
“Good dude though. You could always trust him to have your back, no matter the consequence.”
We both nod in agreement.
Everlee lets out a moan, and we both snap our heads in her direction. She has the soup bowl tilted up to her lips, then looks sheepishly over the rim at us, as she slowly sets it on the table. “Sorry. It’s just…”
“So good. We know.” I lift her hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles.
“I should probably get another bowl. They seem to each want a bowl for themselves,” she says, pointing to her stomach.
“Yeah, that’s probably best.” I toss her a quick wink.
“Hey,” she whispers as she leans forward. “Tonight, after we get home… I’ll be the egg and you two be the chicken and we’ll see who comes first?”
Knox gasps and shoves his fist in his mouth and bites. “I see what you did there. Check, please!” He throws his fingers in the air and pushes away from the table.
“Sit down,” I bark, quietly.
“Did you need something?” the server asks.
“Oh no. I was just teasing.” Knox looks at me and rolls his eyes and mumbles something under his breath.
Everlee orders her other soup, while Knox and I order three sandwiches. One for each of us and then a third to share with Ev, because she will inevitably take one of ours, even though she insists she doesn’t want one. We order the wagyu, because we know it’s her favorite.