Page 8 of Better Late Than Never

Well, this definitely wasn’t a direction I anticipated. I had no idea what to say, so I just silently waited for him to continue.

His jaw worked, and he stared at the floor between us. Then he sighed, took his phone out of his pocket, found something on it, and handed it to me. “I really, really don’t want to make anything weird, but I found this.”

I took the phone but almost dropped it because I instantly recognized my profile on the screen. Heat flashed through me, especially into my face, and I handed the phone back. “Right. Yeah. I…” I gulped. “There’s other service members on there, though.” I shrugged as casually as I could. “Is it… Is there a reason I shouldn’t be on it?”

“No. No.” He put the phone aside and scratched the back of his head. “No, it’s… There’s a lot of us on it. It’s—I’mon it, too. I’m not judging.”

He was on it?

No shit, he’s on it—how do you think he found your profile, idiot?

But still. He was on it. Which meant he was?—

Oh for fuck’s sake. Of course the guy I’d jerked off to more times than I wanted to admit to was actually queer. And he was on that app, which meant he was on the prowl, which meant…

I had to fight back a groan that was equal parts embarrassment and frustration.

“Listen, there’s…” He hesitated, then picked up his phone again. “I wasn’t even going to say anything.” He was thumbing through something on the app, I thought. “The reason I asked to talk to you was that I wanted to give you a heads up to steer clear of him.”

Barlow again handed me the phone, this time with someone else’s profile on the screen. As I took it, confusion pushed its way past everything else. I peered at the screen, skimming over the bio and a couple of the photos. The guy in the profile was probably attractive, but I was too busy mentally short-circuiting to notice. He had about five years on me, and according to the app, he was less than one kilometer away. On-base, then. Big surprise.

Passing back the phone again, I asked, “So… what’s his deal?”

Barlow suddenly looked uncomfortable in a very different way. Not from this conversation, but from the topic. My neck prickled—oh, shit. Whatwasthis guy’s deal?

Barlow rested his hands on the edge of the desk again, and he met my gaze through long lashes. “To be perfectly blunt, Tobias is not a man I would trust with someone who doesn’t have experience.”

I wanted to bristle and snap back that I was hardly a virgin. I just hadn’t been with a man. On the other hand… I mean, fuck. There was a reason I’d been nervous about experimenting with other guys for a while, even while Aimee and I had been separated. I’d told myself I was just playing it safe and not taking chances with the Navy deciding it was adultery, but I’d been legally separated, so… not adultery. I’d just been nervous.

I shifted my weight against the door. “He’s not safe?”

“He’s not…” Barlow looked almost pained as he considered his answer. “I don’t know that I’d call him dangerous, but I wouldn’t call him safe, either, if that makes sense.”

My stomach curdled. “Seems like his chain of command should hear about it.”

Barlow scoffed. “He’s a civilian contractor.”

“Oh.” I rolled my eyes. “Of course he is.”

“Right? And I mean, he hasn’t done anything… actionable, I guess? He’s a dick—enough of one that I felt the need to warn you about him—but he’s not…” He trailed off as if he wasn’t sure how to finish that.

“I get it,” I said quietly. “And, um… I appreciate the heads up.” I hesitated. “And the discretion?”

He locked eyes with me. “I wouldn’t out you. I assume I can trust you not to do the same?”

“Absolutely.” I tried not to think too hard about why I was suddenly out of breath. “I won’t say a word to anyone.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course,” I rasped. “And, um… Thanks for the heads up, HM1.”

“Don’t mention it, sir.”

Then I left his office, and spent the rest of the day trying to remember how to concentrate.

CHAPTER4

ALEX

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