Page 18 of Stealing It
Chapter Seven
Aidan
“YOU CAN’T FUCKING TALKlike that when she gets here, bro,” I rasp at my friend after he used several four-letter words to describe his most recent hookup. He’s tending the grill, flipping burgers with the precision of a surgeon. “She’ll be here in ten minutes and I’m about to shit my pants.” I have never, not once, been in the scenario where I’m introducing a woman to my friends, the SEALs who I share everything with. It’s scary and disconcerting, it feels like I’m turning a corner at a million miles per hour when I wasn’t planning on taking that turn. It can’t be bad. This has to be moving forward, the progression of two people who get along and want to spend time together. The reason I didn’t introduce the women from my past to my brothers is because I didn’t trust the chicks enough not to jump into bed with my teammates.
Maybe it’s a case of low self-esteem, maybe it’s the product of selecting horrible women to spend my time with. All I know right now is that Magnolia is different. She won’t want to fuck my friends, but my friends might fuck me by saying something stupid. I want to protect Magnolia. From her past. From brutal words that can be avoided. I want to protect her from everything I can. She’s been through so much.
“Don’t shit your pants. I won’t say anything,” Mercer drawls, his southern accent strong. Mercer is a good ole boy through and through. As testament, he is wearing a pair of worn-in cowboy boots with black board shorts. The entirety of his massive upper body is covered in dark blue ink. My name is in there somewhere, as are a few other teammates who were on a particular mission where he almost lost his life. Narrowing my eyes, I locate my name, right next to a big fat tit on a pinup girl’s forehead. Sighing, I shake my head. Mercer.
He waves the spatula in his hand like it’s a fairy wand or some shit, and spits into a brown tinged Pepsi bottle. “You’re so magical now. A girlfriend. That’s some unbelievable shit. I can’t take your word for it. I need to hear it from her mouth. You understand my reasons.”
I grunt in response and re-stack the bags of buns on top of the plates.
Every once in a while, we’ll grill out at the beach on our base. The group gets a little smaller with each passing month. When my brothers get girlfriends, they have better things to do than shoot the shit at work in their free time. Tahoe and Leif, my two best friends are home with their women. I’m trying to prove that even if I add a woman to my life, I can still hang. Nothing will change. I won’t let it. When Mercer starts dancing, gyrating his pelvis in my direction while singing a made-up song about my dick and manhood, I wave him off.
I grab two beers from the large, stainless steel cooler, and walk down to the hard-packed beach sand. Tahoe built a few picnic tables that we drag out of a storage shed for occasions such as this. I sit at the one that’s empty and contemplate every single decision that led to this night. It’s odd—a shock to everyone that knows me.
Colton, a SEAL who was recently transferred to Bronze Bay from Harbour Point, our base in Cape Cod, collapses onto the table in front of me. “I’m feeling so emo these days. It’s the heat. I’m never going to get used to it. Thank God we don’t actually work here.”
“Your flair for dramatics is impressive. You get used to the heat,” I reply, smirking. Magnolia’s naked, sweaty body comes to mind and I have to control my wild thoughts. “There are tradeoffs. Jaws isn’t prowling here.”
“The sharks never fuck with us,” he counters. “The chicks are hot here, but I miss the northern weather. I was in San Diego before Harbour Point, remember that. The sun is manic here,” Colton says, moaning. He’s shirtless, wearing a pair of black issued workout shorts that hit thigh high. The sun is already set and he’s still complaining. It’s amusing. “Is dinner almost ready?”
“Yes, darling. It’s almost ready,” I coo in a sarcastic voice. “Are you going out after we eat?” I ask, curious if they are prowling tonight like I used to. It’s not jealousy that drives the question because the mere thought of the work that goes into hooking up for one night and ditching them is pretty extensive. There’s always the risk of a stage one clinger, like Wildcat.
Colton sits up and rests on his elbows. “I don’t know. It’s so hot. I might just go home and turn the A/C as high as it will go and see if I can break the unit. That sounds like a good time, doesn’t it?”
“No,” I deadpan. “It doesn’t. But you’ve always been a bit of a pussy, so it doesn’t surprise me.”
“Fuck you, man. Speaking of, aren’t you the one banging the same pussy every night?”
I scoff. “No.” The lie came without my permission.
“No?” Colton quirks a brow and then aims his gaze up toward base. I turn my head and glimpse Magnolia standing in a group of guys. There’s a couple of other women mixed in, but it’s primarily my teammates. Slamming the rest of my beer, I jump up and jog to the powwow just in time to hear Mercer’s high pitched chuckle.
“And that’s when I knew there was no other job for me,” Mercer finishes, flexing his bicep in an over-exaggerated way.
I roll my eyes and groan. “Is this buffoon bothering you?” I ask, snaking an arm around Magnolia, claiming her.
Her eyes light when mine meet hers. The crackle of sexual tension buzzes where my clothed body presses against hers. “No, he was just explaining the finer nuances of grilling,” Magnolia says, smiling wide. “I think?”
Glaring at Mercer, I thump him on the shoulder harder than a friendly tap.
“Hey man, you weren’t here to greet your woman, so I did it for you. It was a pleasure to meet you, Magnolia Sager. I look forward to visiting your shop soon.” Mercer bows, putting the spatula against his chest.
“He’s not right in the head. Too many explosions,” I counter. “Let me properly introduce you to everyone,” I say, my words clogging in my throat. Am I doing it right? Can she tell I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing—mixing two worlds without an instruction manual.
“Calm down,” Magnolia whispers as I guide her by her elbow away from the crowd. “I’m here for a cheeseburger, Aidan.”
Closing my eyes, I sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This isn’t a big deal.”
“It’s really not. Normal, average people do this sort of thing all the time. Introducing one friend to another. It’s casual,” Magnolia says, squeezing my hand in hers. “You like that word, right?”
When we’re far enough away, I spin her toward me. “There’s nothing normal about me. Or average about you. There’s nothing casual about us. I’ve never done this before,” I admit, trying to control my heart rate. “I don’t have family. This is the equivalent of you meeting my mother.”
Magnolia laughs, her bright white smile melting away any residual fears that linger. “I’m honored to meet your mother. Even if she’s a beastly six foot four shirtless creature who wears boots to the beach. It’s a bit odd, but you know, I can’t judge.”
“Mercer is a little much. It would have been better if we started introductions with the tamer variety.” I see a few who meet that criteria and flag them over. I introduce Magnolia to them and they are gracious, and for reasons I can’t fathom, they don’t try to fuck me over. They only say good things about me, talk me up. Magnolia is animated as she asks questions about their lives and our chosen career. They answer, and one by one, I see the spark, the glamour in their eyes as they see what I do—recognize Magnolia for what she is and mostly for what she is not.
