“Asshole.”
“Hey, I was just making an observation. Or more accurately, a series of observations. Sam’s a cool chick. I like her.”
“Did you fuck her?” I didn’t mean to ask it, and once it was out of my mouth, I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.
“Hmm. Would it matter to you if I said yes?”
My blood boiled, and my temper rose. “Did you? Because that would be an asshole move.”
“Oh, and you’ve never banged a girl you just met? You’re so much better?”
“Not saying that.” We rounded a corner, and the rays of the rising sun hit me in the eye. “Just saying that she’s ... she seemed different. She’s not some girl you just bang.”
“Yeah?” Kade hummed a little. “I guess I can see that. She did seem like the sticking kind. But you know, even the sticking kind like a quick roll now and then. Right?”
“But you didn’t.”
The run was coming to an end, and as we fell out, Kade bent over, leaning on his knees. He glanced up at me and shook his head.
“No, Max. I didn’t. But maybe you should.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know her. I only met her yesterday, right before I called you. She’s just ... some girl.”
“Uh huh. Then why were you about to rip off my head and stuff it up my ass when you thought I’d made a move on this ‘just some girl’?”
I didn’t have an answer to that question—at least, I didn’t have an answer I was comfortable saying out loud. The truth was that the idea of Kade with Samantha Crewe had kept me tossing and turning all night. I’d swung from brooding jealousy over the images my mind kept painting for me to annoyance that I was even thinking about her. Even if I’d experienced a little physical attraction, that didn’t mean I had to act on it, especially when it was crystal clear that this chick was not at all my type.
Sure, the whole package was pretty sweet. I had to admit that. I’d stopped on my way home when I’d seen the old car with the raised hood in the empty lot, but I’d expected the driver to be someone on his or her way home from work on post. When Samantha had poked her head around the hood to look at me, I’d been nearly as surprised as she had seemed. Her light brown hair fell in silky strands to just below her chin, and my first impression had been that she was kind of adorable. And then her big blue eyes had blinked up at me as she’d brushed the hair out of her eyes, and she’d moved just enough that I got a better look at the rest of her ... and adorable went out the window. She washot, and not in a fleeting, casual way like some of the girls I’d met in the past. No, she was bubbling with the kind of sensuality that imbued everything she did: from the roll of her hips when she walked to the slow smile that spread across that generous mouth.
But the minute Samantha had admitted that she had been part of the protest outside post, I knew getting involved with her wasn’t a good idea. People might say that opposites attract, but in my line of work, when I was ready to get serious and consider a long-term relationship, I was going to need someone like me: someone who understood what service to our country meant, someone who could make sacrifices while she understood that the Army was always going to come first for me. Samantha Crewe might have been sexy and tempting—and a spitfire, to boot—but there wasn’t any doubt that she was a free spirit who questioned authority on every level.
As Kade had pointed out this morning, I could have gone for just a no-strings attached night of fun with Samantha. I’d done it before, more times than I could count, even with women who normally weren’t the hook-up types. But the thought of a one-night stand with her made me queasy. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew why.
“Maybe you’re afraid that if you take her for a test drive, you’ll end up wanting to commit to more. And maybe you’re not ready to sign a long-term lease yet.” Kade lifted the hem of his T-shirt and swiped at the sweat on his forehead. A car was passing us just then, driving at the snail’s pace speed limit required on post, and I caught sight of the driver’s face. She was staring at my friend ... or more accurate, at the chiseled muscles of his abdomen as revealed under his shirt. She nearly drove off the road before she course-corrected.
“Comparing a woman to a car is offensive, Kade.” I felt duty-bound to say that, out of respect for my mother and my sister. “And no way. I’m not looking for a wife or a family yet. You know what they say: if the Army wanted you to have a wife, they’d issue you one.”
Kade sighed. “Whatever you say, dude.” He paused, shaking out his legs. “So if you’re not going to make a move, you don’t have a problem with me calling Sam? I think we could have some fun.”
I could feel a nerve jumping in my cheek. “You can do whatever you want. But I’d prefer you didn’t.”
“Aha. I bet you would.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t, because she’s involved in the protests, and you’re a company commander in the same battalion with the soldier at the center of the whole fucking mess. Things could get ... complicated.”
Kade frowned. “Reardon’s not in my company. He’s in yours. I don’t see how that complicates anything. I won’t mention anything about it to Sam. I doubt the subject would even come up.” He smirked, and I wanted to smack it off his face. “Matter of fact, we probably wouldn’t do much talking at all.”
“The fact remains that you have privileged information about the case, and there’s a possibility she could use anything you might inadvertently reveal. Do we really need more shit to shovel right now?”
He groaned. “You’re really going to stick to this story about a conflict of interest? That’s the only reason you don’t think I should date Sam?”
I kept my expression bland. “What other reason could there be?”
Kade shook his head. “You might be able to sell that line with some people, Max, but I can see right through you. That chick scared the crap out of you, didn’t she? Not because she might snarl up all the shit with Reardon, but because even just meeting her once, you already know she could be the one to ruin all your plans. She might be the one who could make you forget about the Army, forget about your career, even if it’s just for a little while. She could be a game changer.”
“You’re full of shit, Braggs. You know that, right?” The rest of the men were beginning to disperse, some going home to shower and prepare for the rest of the day while others returned to the enlisted barracks or the bachelor officers quarters. Even though I lived off-post in a townhouse, I always showered at the BOQ to save myself the trip off post.
“I’m one of the few people around here who recognizes your particular brand of bull, buddy. You can lie to the rest of them and to yourself, but I see right through you.” Kade started to stalk off in the opposite direction that I was going. He always went home between PT and the rest of the work day. After a few steps, he stopped and turned around, calling to me. “So you want her address, Max? I know where she lives now. I could give you the info ... for a price, of course. All you need to do is say, ‘Kade Braggs is a god among men and knows me better than I know myself.’”
