Page 9 of SEAL the Deal
TJ’s eyes narrowed. “No. We need to take him on an epic adventure. Get him out in the woods away from the big smoke and back in touch with nature.”
Rick shook his head and turned to Ernie. “You down with redneck shit or are you up for tequila and titties?”
The Latino’s eyes narrowed. “Essé, I’m not going anywhere near Mexico with you. The Chief’s idea sounds good. We get out in the woods. We drink a little bourbon around a fire and we chill.”
“I’ve got a place in Willamette National Forest up in Oregon. We’ll head up there for a weekend.”
Rick sighed. “Great idea. Except for one thing, Mike and Ali have already laid down the law. No bachelor party.”
TJ gave Axe another pat. “You leave that to me. In the meantime, we’ve got boats to clean.”
Rick and Ernie let out a simultaneous groan.
“Why is it we only wash boats when Mike’s away,” moaned Rick.
TJ smiled. “Because I like him more than I like you.”
Rick frowned. “You’re supposed to like us all the same.”
The Chief chuckled. “This is a SEAL team, not the goddamn Brady Bunch. Get your ass off that bench and get down to the sheds.”
ChapterThree
Mike laughed as Axe let out an excited bark and danced around on the beach like a hyperactive puppy.
“I guess he missed you,” said TJ with a chuckle as the team jogged along the beach.
“Wait till he sees Ali,” said Mike as they reached the turnaround point and headed back toward the Navy base.
The four SEALs ran shirtless in the warm morning sun. Their bodies were covered in sand and salt from the rigorous training program the Chief had run to celebrate Mike’s return. They’d started with pushups and crunches in the surf followed by a half mile swim and finally a three mile soft sand run.
Throughout the session Axe never left Mike’s side. Over eighteen months had passed since the dog had been shot and thanks to Ali’s veterinary skills he showed no sign of injury.
“So, how did the proposal go down?” asked TJ between breaths as they reached the end of their run.
Mike gave the boys a move-by-move breakdown of the entire operation as they stretched in a park.
“That’s pretty slick essé,” said Ernie when the story was complete.
“An operation that’d make any SEAL proud,” added TJ.
“Not bad at all kid,” said Rick. “Kicks all my proposals in the ass.”
Mike frowned. “You’ve only been married once.”
Rick shrugged. “I went through a phase of asking chicks to marry me. No big deal.”
The other three men shared looks of disbelief.
“Anyway,” he continued. “We need to talk about your bachelor party.”
Mike grabbed a stick and tossed it across the park. Axe dashed after it. “Yeah, Ali and I are keen to keep this low key. We don’t want a repeat of the Girlfriend Selection Course.”
“You two wouldn’t even be together if it wasn’t for selection,” said Rick. “Come on, brother. One last hit out with the team.”
Axe dropped the stick at Mike’s feet and looked up at him, tongue lolling from the side of his mouth. “One last hit out? I’m getting married not going to prison. The decision is final. No bachelor party.”
“Does that mean you’re not having a best man?” asked Ernie. “Because technically it was me who introduced you to Ali in the first place.”
