Chapter 14
The last three weeks had been amazing. Stupendous. Better than Elodie could’ve ever imagined.
She’d kinda thought things between her and Scott would’ve gotten less intense as the weeks passed, as the newness of their relationship faded, but that hadn’t been the case. She still got butterflies when she saw him after work, and they hadn’t run out of things to talk about to each other.
Every day, she learned something new about Scott.
How he absolutely hated spiders, but had no problem with picking up snakes.
How he had a soft spot for the turtles on the island and even volunteered once a month to stand on Laniakea Beach on the North Shore to protect the giant green turtles that frequently crawled up on the sand to sun themselves there.
Without volunteers like himself, the tourists would get way too close to the turtles and most likely act stupid—like put their children on their backs for pictures and other nonsense.
She’d gone with him one Sunday, and she’d happily spent three hours sitting in the shade, watching her man educate the tourists and protect the turtles.
He’d come on two charter fishing trips with her, as well.
Both on the weekends. He’d been funny and charming, and both sets of tourists had left feeling as if they’d gotten their money’s worth and happy with how attentive everyone had been.
Kai loved Scott, and he’d asked a million questions about the Navy, including whether he ever regretted joining.
Kahoni had been on the boat both times when Scott had joined them, and he’d pulled her aside after the second trip and told her that she’d caught herself a good one, and advised her to not throw him back. The corny fishing analogy aside, she was relieved to know her boss approved of Scott.
She was even more relieved to find she loved cooking with him.
He took directions well, and was so pleased when something he’d made turned out perfectly.
Despite knowing she was a chef, he never insisted she cook for them.
Many nights, he’d planted her on his couch and told her to relax as he took care of fixing them something to eat.
He was thoughtful and caring, and he had a very definite sense of right and wrong.
They were watching the news one night—something Elodie hated doing, but tolerated because Scott needed to keep abreast of what was happening in the world—and a clip came on about a five-year-old kid who’d stolen his parents’ car.
He’d been stopped on the interstate going twenty miles an hour below the speed limit.
Instead of getting in trouble, the kid was a momentary celebrity, everyone laughing and thinking his stunt was hilarious, even if incredulous.
When the newscaster said a big-time football star heard about what happened, that the kid was trying to drive to California to meet him, he’d flown to his house with a car full of free shirts and goodies.
Scott had lost his shit, insisting it was ridiculous that the kid was being rewarded for doing something so wrong.
He ranted and raved about how lucky he’d been that he hadn’t killed anyone, that the parents should’ve grounded him for three years instead of allowing all the publicity and positive attention.
Elodie had agreed, but it illustrated how passionate Scott could be about what he believed to be right and wrong.
As the weeks passed, Elodie had also opened up to Scott.
He knew she could get up early if she had to for her job, but she really wasn’t a morning person.
He’d learned the hard way that she cried at those sappy Hallmark Channel movies.
He’d come home from work one day and found her bawling on his couch, and she’d had to work really hard to convince him that nothing was wrong, that she was safe, just crying because of a show on the TV.
She loved to people watch, and he’d spent a hilarious afternoon at the beach with her while she came up with elaborate stories about the tourists who walked by.
He’d learned that she’d much rather save money and stay home than spend twenty bucks to see a movie in the theater (and forget about buying snacks; they were overpriced and such a rip-off).
And their physical connection was just as combustible as it had been that first explosive night together.
They didn’t have sex every day; sometimes neither of them felt like doing anything other than cuddling.
There were nights when Scott was so worked up from his meetings about what was happening in the world that he needed to stay up late watching mindless movies or working out, while she fell asleep alone in his bed.
But she always woke up in his arms, which made her feel cherished and blessed.
While they might’ve only been together for a few weeks, it felt more like months. They were completely in tune, aware of each other’s feelings.
So when Scott came home from work on Friday night, she could tell immediately that something was going on.
“What’s wrong?” she asked when he approached.
“How do you know something’s wrong?” he asked, avoiding the question.
“Because I know you. You have this little line between your eyes that gets deeper when you’re stressing about something.”
Amazingly, he chuckled. “If someone would’ve told me two months ago that I’d be here today, I wouldn’t have believed them.”
“If you were where?” Elodie asked, confused.
“Here. Standing in my apartment with my very serious girlfriend telling me she knew me well enough to know when I was thinking too hard about something, simply by taking one look at my face.” He stepped toward her and almost yanked her into his arms.
Elodie bounced off his chest and looked up at him just as he took her face between his palms and kissed her.
As usual, she gave herself to him. Letting her body relax as his tongue entered her mouth and explored.
He wasn’t aggressive, he took his time, and when he finally lifted his head, Elodie was turned way the hell on… and even more worried.
“Talk to me,” she implored. “Did Pid find something new? Has Paul found me?”
“No,” Scott said, immediately shaking his head. “Nothing like that.”
“Then what?” she asked as she gripped his biceps hard. “You’re freaking me out.”
“We’re being sent out on a mission next week,” Scott said, then paused as if waiting for her reaction.
“And?” Elodie asked.
He blinked. “And what?”
“That’s what you’re stressed about? Why? Is it going to be dangerous?” She shook her head. “No, don’t answer that, of course it is. You’re a SEAL. But is it gonna be more dangerous than usual? Is that why you’re all worked up?”
“I’m all worked up, as you call it, because this will be the first time I’ve been deployed since we’ve been together.”
Elodie still didn’t understand. “I’m sorry, I don’t get it.
I mean, I’ve known you were a SEAL since we first met.
You’ve been working very hard over the last few weeks, and I know it’s because you’ve been getting a lot of intel about something happening somewhere.
It’s not a surprise to me that you’re going to be sent off to save the world… so what aren’t you telling me?”
Scott seemed to relax right in front of her eyes. He sighed and his shoulders fell. She could feel the muscles in his arms get less tense as well. The little line between his eyes—a dead giveaway that he was anxious—got less prominent. “I was worried how you’d take me leaving,” he admitted.
“Scott,” Elodie said, completely exasperated now.
“If you think I’m going to fall apart when you leave, I’m not.
I mean, I’m gonna miss you terribly, and worry about you incessantly, but you’re an adult, and you’ve been a SEAL for a long time.
I’m in my mid-thirties, I think I can survive without you for a while.
Wait…do you know how long you’ll be gone? Are we talking days, weeks, months?”
He was grinning now, and Elodie found herself getting annoyed with him. It didn’t happen a lot, and the feeling usually faded quickly, but he seemed to love to egg her on in situations like this.
“I don’t know, but it won’t be months,” he said, still grinning. “You gonna stay here while I’m gone?”
Elodie blinked in surprise. “Um…no? This is your apartment.”
“Yeah, and you’ve spent every night but three here since we got together,” he retorted.
“You counted?”
“Hell yeah, I’ve counted,” Scott told her. “The first time you said you wanted to go back to your place for the night, I slept like shit. I tossed and turned and wondered what I did or said to piss you off.”
“You know it wasn’t anything like that. I had cramps and didn’t want to bother you with them,” Elodie reminded him.
“I know. And I told you not to do that shit again. That I don’t give a crap about your period.
I mean, I hate that you have bad cramps, but I’m not going to wig out about the fact that you have a period every month.
It’s kind of a part of life. And the second time was when Kalani fell and hurt herself.
You didn’t want to leave her, so you spent the night on her couch until her kids could get there from Maui.
I completely understood, but I still missed holding you as I fell asleep. ”
Elodie stared at him in surprise. She couldn’t believe he remembered every minute detail of the times she hadn’t slept over at his apartment.
“And the third time was when you saw that news story about a fire at that restaurant in New York. I knew it made you start thinking about your own situation, and that you were running scared. I hated that you were running from me instead of to me when shit got real, but I let you do it because you’re a grown-ass adult. ”
“And I called an Uber at one in the morning to bring me back to your place because I couldn’t sleep and knew I’d been a dumbass,” Elodie said softly.