Page 22 of Courageous Demands

No more stunts like that – or this is over before it ever starts. Got me?!

Alec threw his cell phone across the room angrily, not wanting to see her reply, wincing as he saw Justin walk into the room, narrowly dodging the projectile, and he heard the screen crack.

“You okay, buddy?”

Justin stood there, hands on his hips and stared at him with one eyebrow lifted sarcastically. It was written on the man’s face that if he’d pegged him with that Heisman pass, Alec would have required surgical assistance to remove that phone from his body.

“No,” Alec said sullenly. His stupid temper, his phone, and now this… plus the only thing he had to look forward to was facing his past demons tomorrow. Yeah, he was in a mood.

“Do you want to talk?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me to do just that?”

“Probably because they are friends and can tell…”

“She isn’t a friend,” Alec interrupted bluntly and met Justin’s gaze – only in time to see his captain roll his eyes in sudden comprehension. The other man sighed heavily and came to sit down on the bunk opposite of him.

“Look – and don’t cut me off again, Beckett,” Justin began bluntly. “I don’t mince words and don’t really do the whole ‘mushy crap’ thing… but I get what you are going through.”

“You do?”

“Someone hurt you deeply, and you are doubting everything. Conversations, self-worth, if it was a misunderstanding, and goodness knows what else,” Justin retorted, rolling his eyes again. “Look, life sucks, and it can be really hard sometimes – but it’s natural to want to have someone in your life that you can turn to. The problem comes when it’s an unhealthy relationship, and you keep going back for seconds – or thirds.”

Alec blinked silently, realizing that maybe the man did actually understand.

“I wouldn’t share a restaurant with my ex-wife because I don’t want to breathe the same air as her. I couldn’t trust her. She lied constantly about me and was always degrading me to others behind my back. But there are better people out there,” Justin volunteered and glared at him. “If you repeat this, I will beat your scrawny hide to a pulp – but when it’s right, everything is different. The sun is brighter, you feel a happiness in your soul because you have someone who has the same values or thoughts as you, and even if you disagree – it’s done with respect.”

To his shock, the captain smiled tenderly and closed his eyes before turning his face toward the ceiling.

“My wife is my heart, and my son is my very soul. The world would be a very bleak place without either of them. She smiles, and I feel it in my gut. When you look at someone and realize you would give up everything for them, no matter what their thoughts are about you,… that is love. You can only hope they feel the same way – and with Lauren, I knew she didn’t and wasn’t capable of it.”

Alec didn’t know what to say and reverted to what he did best – smarting off.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to be mushy. Dude, that was worse than ten-day-old bananas left on the counter. You know where you get fruit flies and that nasty juice oozing out the…”

“Why you little…”

Alec grinned, holding up his hands in surrender.

“I’m teasing.”

“You are about to eat your front teeth.”

“Why do you think I’m holding my hands up like this?”

“You’ve got a smart mouth, Alec… try not to use it when you talk to whoever because it really puts people on edge or in a fighting frame of mind. I’m guessing fighting is not what you want to do with whoever you are thinking about?”

“Not really.”

“I didn’t think so – so keep your yap zipped and let the other person spill their guts first. You learn a lot from keeping quiet, and the saying is true. You get more flies with honey than you do vinegar,” Justin retorted, getting up from his seat and pointing at him. “And we didn’t just talk about this.”

“No, sir… Captain Daddy Dailey.”

“Beckett…”

The growl was his final warning, and Alec knew it. Instead, he gave him a slight salute and nodded, fighting the urge to laugh, knowing he got under the man’s skin.

“Yes, sir. The mouth is closing, and I think I’m gonna catch a nap before our next run.”

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