Page 33 of Better Late Than Never

“Hey, it’s the military—would you really be surprised if you found out a doctor used to be an aircraft maintainer?”

“Okay, good point. But—yes, I was a corpsman. At the end of my enlistment, I wanted to go to medical school, and after my wife and I talked it over, we figured going the ROTC route was the best bet. The G.I. Bill would cover some of it, but not all; having the Navy cover it and then serving a few years?” Connor half-shrugged. “At least then I wouldn’t be deploying again until the boys were older, and we’d still have housing, health insurance—all of that.”

“Ah, yeah. That makes sense. And then, what? You just decided to stick with it?”

Another shrug. “By the time I was coming to the end of my contract, I was just sort of… used to it, I guess. Being in the military, I mean. And I’d already put in enough years that it just made sense to stay in until I could retire.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Same. When I got to the end of my second enlistment, it was like, well—I’m already halfway to twenty. Might as well just stick it out and get a pension.” I absently trailed a finger along the edge of the armrest as I studied him. “This is your first overseas duty station, right?”

“Yep. I’ve been CONUS my whole career aside from Sandbox and shipboard deployments. You?”

“I spent a few years in Yokosuka. Otherwise, same—just Sandbox and shipboard.”

He grimaced sympathetically. “You went downrange, too?”

I nodded, pretending not to notice the spiders creeping up my spine. “Three tours.”

“Shit,” he whispered. “Two was almost too much for me.”

“I thinkonewas too much for me.” I shifted a little, trying to chase away those spiders. “I liked Yokosuka, though. I got to see a lot of Japan, so that was great.”

“Oh, man, I was hoping for orders to Japan. I love it here, don’t get me wrong, but Japan is a dream.”

“You’ve still got time. And you can always hop a military flight and visit after you retire.”

“Ooh, that’s true. Well, someday, then.” He watched me, the passing scenery flickering across the edges of his glasses. “So what was the best part about living there?”

I thought about it. “I mean, for one thing, there’s the food…”

CHAPTER11

CONNOR

The train ride from Sevilla flew by. We weren’t even on a bullet train—well, we were, but it wasn’t running at full speed. We just cruised along at a moderate clip through small towns, farmland, and scrubby open space that reminded me a lot of Southern California.

The hour and fifteen minutes or so just went by fast because I spent the whole time talking with Alex.

We talked about the Navy. About the places we’d been. About some of the crazy shit we’d experienced from boot camp to our current command, though we both steered well clear of combat. I was grateful for that; a lot of people loved telling war stories, and it was even therapeutic for some. That wasn’t the case for me. Maybe it wasn’t healthy, and maybe I needed to talk about it, but that was what professionals were for.

Not the smoking hot corpsman who had no idea how much I wanted him. And definitely not out in public. If I was going to pick apart my worst memories, it was going to be in the privacy of my own home with access to alcohol and a place to heave in peace.

Whether it was because he didn’t like talking about it either, or he just didn’t bring it up, I appreciated that Alex didn’t delve into the subject. I was enjoying myself way too much to revisit that part of my past.

All too soon, the speaker above our heads announced that we would be pulling into El Puerto de Santa Maria. Most of the people in our train car got up, including Alex, so I followed suit. We put on our backpacks and headed toward one end of the car where several people were waiting by the door.

My stomach somersaulted as we stood there. I stole a glance at Alex, and though I felt like an idiot for it, I wished this wasn’t about to be over. As much as this weekend had been an exercise in more restraint than I’d ever realized I had, I’d enjoyed it. I enjoyed being with him. Lusting after him and checking him out when he wasn’t looking, yes, but also shooting the shit and just… being with him.

It pissed me off that the Navy would even frown on this much “fraternization” just because of our ranks. Even if they really wanted to die on the hill that officers and enlisted shouldn’t fuck, was it honestly so bad for us to befriends?

The Navy didn’t give a shit about my opinion on the matter, though, and whether I liked it or not, the station we were rapidly approaching would be where we parted ways. We’d be back to passing in the halls of the hospital and interacting on a professional level while I spent every damn night giving myself tennis elbow.

I surreptitiously gazed at Alex, who was checking something on his phone.

Does this have to be over now?

Of course the answer was yes, but that didn’t stop me from mentally pushing back against it.

The train pulled up to the platform and stopped, and we followed the other passengers out. As we headed into the station, I peered up at the signs over our heads. “Okay, so…” I looked around. “Which way is the taxi stand?”

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