Page 9 of Leave

Even more convenient, there was limited space on that flight, and you didn’t know until the day of—literally as the flight was boarding—if you were getting on. So if I couldn’t make the flight—oh, darn, I guess I won’t make it home. Sorry, I tried!

Well, that had worked for previous family gatherings I’d “apologetically” missed. No one had to know I hadn’t evenbothered going to the terminal those days; I just told them I hadn’t made the flight, and oh well, better luck next time.

But this was my little brother’s wedding. I was going, damn it, even if it meant dealing with all the shit I’d been avoiding all this time.

“Maybe a commercial flight would be the way to go,” I said quietly. “It’s pricey, but at least then we’ll have guaranteed seats.”

Riley seemed to think about that. “Maybe? My budget’s a little tight. Maybe I’ll fly over commercial, come back on the Patriot Express. I…” He waved a hand. “I’ll figure it out.”

“I can spot you if you need it,” I said. “We’ve got a few months anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

Oh, I was sure. Now that I had someone there as backup when I faced my hometown and my family, I’d cough up for first class if that was what he needed. But I just said, “We’ll make it work. We’ve got time. Where is your family, anyway?”

“Southern California. And there’s an airbase there, too—the last couple of times I’ve been home, I flew into North Island on a military flight.” He paused. “But… you’re right about commercial. It’s more reliable. I guess we can fly into one of the major airports in California, then hop from San Diego to Seattle?”

“Works for me.” I didn’t even want to think about the logistics of planning our flights yet. If we went commercial, we’d have to fly domestically to Tokyo, then figure out the best way to the West Coast, and… yeah, we had time. I didn’t have the headspace to iron that out tonight.

For now, we settled in to chill in front of the TV, diving into a cop drama that we’d been binging lately. It cracked me up, listening to Riley groan and snark at the liberties the show took with policework, and that was exactly what I needed tonight.

Even as I watched the show, my mind kept right on racing, just in a different direction. I was going to havebackup? I didn’t have to face my family alone? That was surreal. I didn’t know how much it would actually help, but I’d take it.

The tradeoff seemed fair enough. Posing as Riley’s boyfriend wasn’t a huge ask. If I hadn’t been such a goddamned trainwreck who couldn’t trust anyone farther than I could throw them, I’d have considered dating him for real if he was interested.

Which… I needed to keep those lines crystal clear, both between us and in my own mind. We were roommates who sometimes got each other off. Maybe friends if I squinted hard enough.

Anything beyond that had to stay off the table.

Over the past couple of months, I’d caught myself getting more attached to Riley than I should, and that was dangerous. Hell, it was stupid. I’d known from day one that it was only a matter of time before he bailed just like everyone else eventually did.

Maybe this trip was an even better idea than I’d thought. There’d be no escaping what a trainwreck I was, so it would just speed up the inevitable. By the time we returned to Okinawa, he’d probably already have a new place to live lined up.

It would suck, but at least then I would no longer be waiting for him to get sick of me and leave.

Chapter 5

Riley

Late March.

Suitcase. Carry-on. Wallet. Passport.

I scanned my bedroom just in case I’d forgotten anything. Well, if I had, then I’d just have to make do.

I pocketed my wallet and passport, then double-checked that I had both of them before pocketing themagain, shouldered my carry-on bag, and took the handle of my checked bag. I dragged everything out to the living room, where I promptly confirmed (again) that my laptop was in my carry-on case, as was a power supply, and that—yep—I had my wallet and passport.

The shower was still running, so Nolan would be a few minutes. That was fine by me. I was ready well before we actually needed to leave because I was neurotic like that when I traveled. We’d agreed to leave at 0800, and it was barely 0700.

While I waited for him, I sat on the couch, picked up a wand toy, and played with Arrow and ShiShi. Velcro was probably sitting on the bathroom sink; heinsistedon sentry duty whenever Nolan showered.

As I watched Arrow and ShiShi fall all over each other to attack the toy (and each other), I couldn’t help chuckling. They were ridiculous. Always were.

My enigmatic roommate had found these three as starving kittens. They’d been wandering around outside the building where he worked. At first, he’d thought their mother must’ve been nearby, but when it became clear she was gone, Nolan immediately went outside and rounded up the kittens. He’d persuaded his supervisor to let him take them to the vet on one of the other bases to take care of them.

Apparently the supervisor had thought “take care of them” had meant to dump them off or… worse. What Nolan had meant—and done—was get them in to see the vet, buy a bunch of kitten formula, and take them back to his apartment before returning to work a few hours later.

“They would’ve died,”he’d told his supervisor in his defense. From what I’d heard, the supervisor was still salty about the whole thing.

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