Page 15 of SEAL Mates

“Guys?”

Greg moved towards us and laughed, “Paula you forgot already. You’re giving a talk!”

I shook my head, because I was trying to process what was going on.

“You said that you would talk and mention me. I would be there to give the interviews. You would point in my direction and then I would get up and bow, like to say, hey I’m here and this is what I look like. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing like give a talk and crap…”

Stan didn’t give him a chance to answer, as he quickly said. “I’ll leave you guys to talk. You have twenty minutes.”

Backed away and before I could even say anything, the wet patch between my legs dried up and my heart started beating so damn loud, that I thought it would stop traffic.

“Greg?”

“Don’t get mad Paula. I saw the way you were panicking and nervous and shit. I thought if I told you about the talk and everything that you wouldn’t come.”

Well, he got that shit right. He held my hands, but it wasn’t romantic and sexy like the way Stan had done. It was more of an encouraging thing, as if he was a brother giving a pep talk to his sister.

“You see not only do you need this, but some of the guys too. They’re in their own dark world and they need to unleash the demons. Some of them are too proud to go to therapy and are locked in some other crap. Getting them to be part of the group was a big thing. Some turn up regularly and some don’t.”

I shook my head.

“Enough. I get it. I get why you did it,” I snatched back my hands. “Even if I don’t like the way that you did it. You should have been honest with me. It was a wrong judgement call on your part.”

I was hot, flustered and had a taste of what I’d been told is pre-menopausal so I was panicking at the same time about having hot flushes.

“I’ve done book signings, well not plural only once.”

I said as I started to pace trying to convince myself that in this madness I could pull it off. After all, we'd driven five hours to get here.

Meeting people who’d actually read your books, I thought, was the most daunting thing in my life. No, I was wrong. I was going to meet men who would play a part in my book. Real characters that I wouldn’t have to invent, but they would be there willing to be a part of the interview. Making this the easiest book that I’d ever written. I should be excited, and not dismiss it.

I hated writer’s block, lack of self-esteem and everything that was telling me that this brilliant opportunity wasn’t for me.

I took a deep breath as I faced him, as he waited eagerly for my answer.

“I’ll do it!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

He hugged me and said, “Great. Now, let’s wait a little while outside.”

He broke my hug. “Your nipples have been as hard as a rock since Stan kissed your hands. Maybe you just need to cool down first.”

I went red again, as I looked down. Yep, they were hard and not only could I see it, but I knew for a fact anyone who was near where I would be speaking could see it too.

As I looked down thinking it must be down by now. They were still up.

“PP, you haven’t changed a bit. You’re just as fun as you were back then.”

I couldn’t remember the last time I had fun. It’d been a while. He was right I had this in the bag, or at least I hoped so.

* * *

As I walked into the hall after deciding that my nipples were not going to go down naturally and as I predicted once I walked into this hall then if Stan set them off alone, then one of the SEALs in the hall would set them into overdrive. I put on one of my shirts that didn’t cling to my body like a second skin and walked in with all the confidence in the world.

There were dark ones, light ones, tall ones, short ones. It was like a pick and mix of hot men and they were all smiling at me. I didn’t think that SEALs were only men, and as I suspected there were a few women in the crowd. Greg pointed out that he was a little disappointed with the numbers, but I was happy to have a smaller audience if I did calculate that there were fifty in total.

A shot of brandy which Stan had on cue as I left the bathroom and was ready to speak helped perk me up a little, and here I was after Greg announced my presence to let them know why I was here and what I was after. There was just one problem, what the fuck was I really doing here?

Interview.

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