Page 7 of Key Of Dreams

There wasn’t time to get a word in before he stepped away. He didn’t go back to Maya and instead mingled with the rest of the guests. I was appeased, but only momentarily. For the next several hours, no fewer than three men approach my girl, and all of them with the intention of getting into her pants.

Wire comes over and hands me a beer. “Looks like you need one,” he says. He follows my gaze to a blond-haired, skinny nothing who looks like he just got out of high school and is nearly drooling over Maya. “You know, she doesn’t see it,” he says.

“See what?” My focus never wavers from the scene.

“Maya doesn’t see that these guys are hitting on her. And when Rebel told her that she was beautiful, she looked like a deer in the headlights.”

I grunt and force myself to tear my gaze away from her. “She’s toonicefor a guy like me.” I know I’m trying to convince myself, and I also know I’m losing the fucking battle.

“You want a bitch in your life?” Wire asks sarcastically.

“I can handle a bitch. Not sure if I can do nice,” I murmur.

“You’d rather coed boy give it a shot?” He points to the other guy who’s been sniffing around Maya. “Or should lawyer dude with the fancy car and overinflated ego give her a go?” I clench my fist tighter around the neck of the beer. “Christ, brother. You’re going to snap that thing in half,” he comments. I loosen my grip and take a deep breath. “The Bull I know goes after what he wants. Get on that, will you? Because you’ve been impossible to be around.”

When Wire moves over to sit and chat with Gertie, my eyes are drawn back to Maya, who I catch staring at me. Her cheeks turn a bright pink, like a kid who’s been caught with her fingers in the cookie jar. Jesus, one look and I can feel my dick react. I feel like I’m sixteen and haven’t figured out how to ask the prettiest girl to the dance.

I don’t have any finesse. Never gave a shit and always took the stance that either you like me or you don’t. But that hint of a smile and the small wave of her hand makes me want to steal her away and kiss her until we’re both breathless.

“Step up, man,” I hear Falcon say beside me. “That’s all the encouragement you’re going to get, and not because she’s playing games. It’s all she knows how to do. You got a girl who’s into you, and you can’t even see it.”

“I see it.”

“And?”

“What if I fuck this up?”

“Won’t know until you try.”

“I’m not a good man,” I remind him.

“None of us are. We’re just men.”

“You know what I mean,” I grumble.

“We’ve all killed. It was kill or be killed. It haunts us, but we did what we had to do to survive. Now we’re doing something else. Are we trying to right our wrongs? Maybe. But in the end, we were soldiers, and we were fighting for freedom and country. If you’re still holding onto that, then you should be talking to Marshall,” Falcon says.

Marshall is the counselor Falcon insisted we all see after we left the military to help us to ground ourselves in civilian life. He’s honest and tells it like it is, and he’s been a game changer for me.

Falcon might be right. I haven’t touched base with Marshall in a while, and whenever we talk, I feel lighter.

“I repeat, step up. Now’s your chance.” Falcon indicates lawyer dude refilling Maya’s wineglass.

Chapter4

Hand-Holding

Maya

Getting to know the people in the building isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Every once in a while, Gertie crooks her finger at me, and I join her on the couch, where she gives the lowdown on who’s who. She does not like Ken Samper, the newly appointed partner in the law firm where he’s been working for the last five years.

She thinks I haven’t noticed, but twice now, Gertie’s sent someone over to “save” me. I don’t think Ken is all bad. A little conceited—if I hear about his parking space and corner office one more time, I might gag—but he’s proud of his accomplishments and isn’t shy about sharing them.

It’s nearing eleven o’clock when I look around the room for Bull and see that he hasn’t moved from the same spot he’s been in since he got here. He doesn’t seem happy and has been brooding in the corner for the last hour. I hope he doesn’t see me staring. How embarrassing that would be.

“With my new expense account, we can go try the new French restaurant one night,” I hear Ken say. Darn! I’ve missed the entire conversation. I blink up at him.

“Umm…” He’s pouring more wine into my glass.

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