Page 14 of Stay with Me
Nova: Look at my beauty! *picture of Nicole*
Of course, Nova would brag on Nicole. Drew looked at the two pictures and couldn’t have stopped the smile across his face if he tried. There was no way he could tell which triplet was which except that Ryleigh had to be the one with the bow on her head. Ryder and Ryan? Yeah, nope, not a clue. If there was something that his family excelled at, other than military service, it was making cute babies.
Maddy: Need everyone to check their schedules for dates for a baptism
Nova: Ooh, want to see if your pastor will include Nicole? Make it easy on everyone?
Drew shook his head before answering.
Drew: I’m here for another eleven weeks, if I live
Cam: Tris isn’t back for another seven months
Cam: We might squeak into the post season on a wild card so I’m tied up for another month or so
Mags: Working on rehab for some sea lions but could get away. Let me know when.
Nova: Give me a call Maddy so we can coordinate things. Godparents?
Julia: What do you mean, if you live?
Trust his sister to pick up on that throwaway comment of his.
Drew: Just tired. Been a long few weeks.
Cal: Sounds like residency
Drew: Maybe a bit? Lot of time with firearms. Next week is the big challenge. See if I can earn my gold GAFBMP
Maddy: *sends picture of Amy in a cheerleader uniform* Go Uncle Drew!
Of course, Maddy’s daughter was a cheerleader. Could she be any cuter? Drew clicked on the picture of Amy and saved it as his lock screen. Maybe it would give him some motivation when he was dragging. He looked around his room. Everything was in its place so once he reviewed his reading for tomorrow, he could crash. Probably needed food first, though. Stopping on his way back to barracks should’ve been higher on his to-do list tonight.
A bang on his door was followed by fellow trainee Wilson yelling, “Nolan! Get your ass out here so we can get food.”
He wasn’t sure why he needed to move so Wilson could eat. Drew walked over and opened his door, barely avoiding getting Wilson’s fist to his face.
“What the hell? Since when am I required to be there so you can eat?” Drew demanded as he leaned back. He did not have the energy for a trip to the infirmary tonight.
“Oops, sorry. A few of us are grabbing food then working on dry draws from holsters. You in?” Wilson at least had the decency to look sorry.
Taking a deep breath, Drew thought about what Wilson had said. He’d vowed to get out and make more friends than he had at ECU but did he have the energy tonight? That was theten-thousand-dollar question. He just didn’t think he could do people anymore today.
“Thanks for the invite but I’m going to pass. I’m going to head to the mess hall for something quick. Do some reading before crashing. Today was brutal,” Drew said.
“Brutal? For you? You left us all in the dust. Were you born with an M4 in your hands? You hit nine out of ten while the rest of us were barely hitting six, seven if we were lucky.” Wilson was shaking his head at Drew. “We all know that you’re going to end up with a gold badge. Me? I’m hoping to just qualify.”
Drew shrugged, checking his pockets for keys and phone before he stepped out of his room, forcing Wilson to move backward. As he started down the hallway, Wilson fell into step with him.
“I’ve been shooting for years. Dad, uncles, brother? They’re all amazing shooters. I’m just decent. Maybe I can give you some pointers?” Look at him being a good team player offering to help out Wilson.
“Just decent? You’re kidding. But if you’re offering to help me, I’ll take it, please. Do you need me to beg? Offer to find you a girlfriend? Do your laundry for you? Anything. I’m desperate.” Wilson sounded on the verge of hysteria.
“Shoot me a text later. Not sure how much I can help, but I’ll try. See if we can figure out some time on the range for you this weekend. One of the guys has to have a personal firearm we can use.” Now, if they were somewhere an uncle was, there wouldn’t be an issue. Drew didn’t own any firearms of his own yet. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted a 9mm or a 45mm.
“I think that Jimmy brought one or two with him. We could ask him?” Wilson offered.
Drew pushed on the outside door, stopping with his butt against the door, holding it open for another student carrying several pizza boxes to walk through. “Sure, what’s one more?”
