Chapter 2 #2
Grabbing the paperwork and a weighted US Navy–engraved pen, I slid Jesse’s future toward him and witnessed him flip through the stack too briefly and make the same choice I’d made almost a decade earlier.
I didn’t have traumatic flashbacks from that time in my life though.
Joining the Navy had changed my life for the better.
It’d made me. Maybe it would make him too. Or break him.
Appearing relieved, Elle took notes as if she were attending a signing meeting of her own design. She occasionally glanced between Jesse and me for the next few minutes in a back-and-forth pattern I didn’t like.
Look at me, I thought.
Only me.
Was the same riptide that had drawn me to her drawing her to me too?
I was also dying to know what in the world she was writing down. Was she studying us? Our differences? After all, Jesse Jenkins and I were very different. I was bigger.
Older.
Wiser.
Better.
At least, I wanted that to be the conclusion she drew in her notebook.
But I’d never know because she slammed it shut the second she caught me trying my damnedest to sneak a peek.
Quickly, I looked away from her private notes like I’d just been caught cheating on a test. The thrill got my blood pumping. She got my blood pumping.
What the hell was in her notebook?
And why couldn’t I stop looking at her?
My job as a recruiter was to read people, and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to read every last page of her.
Unfortunately, my loyalty to the Navy had prevented me from reading books like her in the past—something that would only continue as I prepared for the most significant advancement of my career.
The one that would begin on my seven a.m. flight the next day.
Elle’s face flushed. Several lonely blades of grass remained stuck in her hair.
They lost my attention when her top two teeth centered on her lower lip and sank with a slow concentration that completely broke mine.
She looked into my eyes when she bit down, ignoring the fuckboy beside her.
She knew exactly what she was doing before she turned away.
I wished Jesse weren’t here with us.
I wished the Navy didn’t own me.
I wished things were different and I could ask her out for a coffee like an ordinary civilian could—like Jesse could.
But things weren’t different. And the wants I had for my life, the ones I’d worked so hard to stash away as I continued to put my career first, would forever follow me.
The swirling sound of ink meeting paper was distinct, the promise of a brighter future just beyond the moment of no return. Jesse had signed his agreement. He was one of us now. Funny how I wished I were sitting in his place.
“Well, do we pop a bottle of champagne or something? This seems like too big of a moment for silence,” Elle said sweetly.
Her cheerful interjection was a gift to both Jesse and me. Seeing her playfully nudge his arm was not.
“I agree that we need to celebrate, but sadly, I don’t supply the champagne.” I grinned, breaking the dangerous path my gaze was on before rising to my feet.
Elle and Jesse rose too. Seeing her stand before me stole the usual celebratory statement from my lungs. It was the first time in my career that I hadn’t congratulated someone the moment they signed. Weird. Although I knew exactly why …
“Congratulations, Jesse. It takes determination to make this decision. This is a journey well worth embarking on. I wish you the best.”
I extended my hand to shake his. His delay in returning the gesture told me he didn’t respect the chain of command.
He would.
“Thanks, man. Appreciate you,” Jesse spewed, turning to face the beautiful woman gracing us with her presence.
He would have to alter his language when speaking to his future superiors, but I chose not to comment so Elle didn’t think I was an asshole. I couldn’t let her first and last impression of me be a negative one. But what did it matter?
I’d never see her again.
“And thank you, Elle. I’m glad you were here with me today. I’m sure this wasn’t how you saw your day going, but I think our little run-in was meant to be. Don’t you?” Jesse added.
I cringed, begging my face not to showcase my disappointment.
“I’m just glad you weren’t alone during such a heavy moment,” Elle said softly. Another comforting Jesse shoulder touch followed her words.
I could picture the two of them getting cozy, and the idea seasoned my thoughts with envy. Lucky prick.
“Heavy? Sure, maybe a little. But now that it’s done, I feel free as a bird.”
Jesse’s pupils dilated like a hungry shark’s, water meeting black blood.
The devious grin I had watched grip his face before he ran into Elle on the lawn returned.
The one that said, I want her and only her.
His fingers nearly landed on her lower back as their bodies shifted in unison to leave my office, but he was smart enough to wait for an actual touch.
A delicacy like Elle would require finesse—something Jesse lacked.
The girl I craved more almost moments with turned to face me one last time. “It was nice to meet you,” she sighed.
A quick smile and wave were all I got. I’d have a hard time forgetting them.
Forgetting her.
“It was nice meeting you too. I’m glad you came.” I was beyond glad. Ecstatic was more like it.
Returning to my chair, I gathered Jesse’s agreement and busied my hands. My eyes were busy too.
Watching her walk away.
I overheard Jesse’s shrinking voice ask, “You want to grab dinner tonight so I can get to know you as more than just the girl I pummeled into the grass by accident?”
God, what a terrible line.
They vanished from my line of sight, but I didn’t need to see or hear either of them to know her answer.