What Part of Marine Don't You Understand - By Heather Long Page 0,17
anyone. He paused to consider that. Well, Damon asked when he called him about the lunch and Jazz gave him a high five at physical therapy. They were the only people he’d told and of the three, only Logan knew of his actual interest.
“I’m not, but women talk.” At his blank look, James continued. “Jazz and Lauren are friends.”
“Oh.” He shifted forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Jethro lay sprawled on the carpet between them. The dog glanced up, but when Matt stayed seated, he set his head down again. Matt wasn’t certain how to respond to the Lauren comment. He liked James’ lady. Their quiet engagement the previous month had to be the worst kept secret on the campus, but everyone held the line because they didn’t want to spoil whatever surprise the couple planned.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. You’re still allowed a private life, Matt.” James gave him a graceful out, but he didn’t really deserve it.
“No, it’s cool. I just—I kept it quiet because I didn’t really know where it was leading and I….” He sighed, wincing. “I didn’t want you to tell me I’m not ready.”
“Do you think you might not be ready?”
Yeah, and hadn’t he walked right into that question. Tension knotted between his shoulder blades, but he didn’t shy away from it. “I don’t know.”
“Okay. What do you know?”
“I like her. She’s funny, she’s sweet as hell and she’s pretty. I like how I feel when I’m with her.” The corner of his mouth curved. “I like how I feel when I think about her.”
“How does she feel about you?”
“She hasn’t kicked me to the curb yet.” And she hadn’t wanted him to leave the night before, either. He might be rusty on the whole dating idea, but when he kissed her—she responded. God, she went up in flames in his arms, and he’d wanted to go right back into that apartment. But they weren’t there yet, and he hesitated to push faster than the kiss.
Hell—the kiss had been pushing it, but he was ready to test that envelope again later that day.
“Where did you meet?”
“Jethro.” Matt grinned down at him. Best damn dog in the world. He hoped the owners didn’t return any time soon, he didn’t want to turn him over. “Took him out for a walk and she sat there, playing her guitar in the park.”
“So you met a girl in the park?” The doc’s patient façade cracked and allowed some good humor to shine through.
“Yeah. She’s—she’s special. I don’t know if I can do her justice. She’s great.”
“I’d love to meet her sometime.”
“Duly noted.” No, definitely not ready for that introduction. But not impossible either. Chances were Doc had already met her.
“So let’s talk about how you’re sleeping….”
“Okay.” He held onto his good mood. “Some bad dreams, some not. More in the not category over the last few days.”
“Excellent. How’s the balance?”
“Spotty. If I push it, mostly good. Logan gave me the go ahead to add a second mile to the running regimen. We’re going to see if I can push without the puke.” He glanced at his watch again. As soon as they wrapped up there, he’d call the counselor and then grab some lunch. The weather seemed to be holding off the weather forecaster’s predicted storm. If the sun stayed out from behind the clouds, he and Naomi could eat in the park again.
“What happened in Iraq?”
“What?” The question pulled him back to the room.
“What happened in Iraq?”
His good mood diminished, but it didn’t disappear. “I got hurt during an attack.”
“What happened during the attack?”
Matt sighed. He didn’t want to talk about that. “Insurgents hit the base in the middle of the night. Suicide bombers. They took out the guard post. Came through the gates. I was asleep and….” The joy in him faded. Boots hit the ground, shouts echoed, and beyond them screams. He grabbed his gun and raced out the door….
***
“They want to move up your recording time, Naomi.” Phil Donovan called while she packed up her guitar to head to the park.
“How soon?” She still had another couple of weeks.
“Thursday.”
She grimaced. “That’s a couple of days.”
“I know, but if you want to fly out early, you can stay with me. We’ve got a band lined up. I just need you to get some of the music here so I can get them ready to go.”
Gut tightening, she blew out a hard breath. “I don’t really have