Hemingway - Zoe Dawson Page 0,82
seats, but before they parted, she slipped something into his hand. He sat down in his seat as the CO said, “Congratulations and welcome to the brotherhood.” It was a Hotel del room key.
After a hardy hoo-yah, they could only celebrate this occasion one way—the Navy SEAL way. They headed for the ocean at a dead run, racing to the pier, and leaping into San Diego Bay. Of course, there was more. Together they came out of the sea, stripped off their BDUs and in their UDT shorts, got back into the water for a quarter-mile swim from the mouth of Glorietta Bay to the Coronado Golf Course. Then a safety boat crewmember handed him his socks, boots, and T-shirt for a six-mile run around Coronado, landing at Gator Beach on the Pacific Ocean side of the Naval Amphibious Base where their SQT instructors had a barbecue waiting for them with steaks, a keg of beer and soft drinks. They were now SEALs, officially members of this fraternity.
He partied with his teammates, knowing this was the last time they would be able to do that as a team. He would miss every single one of the guys but looking to the future and his operations would be his next big push. The trident takes on its true meaning after many deployments–when you are no longer the FNG.
Lieutenant Bowie “Ruckus” Cooper, Master Chief Wes “Cowboy” McGraw, Lieutenant Ford “Fast Lane” Nixon and Petty Officer Errol “Pitbull” Ballantine were there along with East Coast SEAL Team Eight and Hitchcock’s new leaders, Lieutenant Michael “Tex” Penn, a dark-haired, broad-shouldered badass from Texas. He and Cowboy got along very well. Then there was his second in command, Master Chief Angelo “Bondo” Zane, who really got along well with gearhead Fast Lane. He was bald, built like Vin Diesel, his very presence demanding attention. Hemingway had never laughed so hard at their stories in his life.
As the party wound down, Shea’s hotel card was burning a hole in his pocket. He headed down the beach toward the hotel, walking in the night air, embracing the last moments of being in Coronado before he moved on to three weeks of cold weather training in Kodiak, Alaska.
The beautiful hotel was ablaze with lights as he approached. He was still a little damp, a little sandy, but that was all right with him. He went inside and up to the floor where her room was. Eager to see her, he wasn’t sure how she was going to react to seeing him. But he was encouraged by the fact that she had given him her room key.
He used it to open the door. The room was dim, the sliding glass doors open, letting in the sea and salt tainted air. There was movement on the terrace, and Shea, dressed in a bikini and white gauzy cover up, bright against her tanned skin, said, “Hello, sailor. Care to drop your anchor for a bit?”
He spied swim trunks and a cotton T-shirt on the bed. Getting out of his clothes he donned the dry, clean ones and walked through the room done in ocean blues, gold and warm sand tones, and through the terrace doors.
“You are full of surprises.”
She smiled. “Care for a drink? There’s iced tea or lemonade.”
He picked up a pitcher and poured out a glass full of tea. “Are you done with your assignment?”
Her face clouded over, and she nodded. “It’s done.”
He sat down on the couch across from her, meeting her eyes over the terracotta fire pit and said, “I’m sorry about your brother. I didn’t get the chance to tell you in person. Has he been found?”
That cloud darkened, and she looked away toward the pool, her voice soft and liquid. “No, he’s still missing. It’s been devastating on the heels of losing my sister. In this case, torturous, because we don’t know if he’s dead or alive.”
“I’m so sorry, Shea.”
She rose and moved to the couch, snuggling into his chest after he raised his arm in invitation.
“This isn’t a night for sorrow, Atty. This is a night for us to carve out a chunk of time to just be. Are you all right with that?”
He nodded. “You’re one of my favorite people to be with,” he murmured, taking in the hibiscus scent of her soft hair, the warmth of her body against his, and the feel of her again in his arms. A temporary stay, but he wouldn’t pass this up for anything. He had