Page 106 of Oblivion

Forrest snorted and humored me. “Right—because we sit around playing with each other’s assholes all day.”

Somehow managing to not spit my mouthful of beer, I swallowed it down painfully—and extremely ungracefully. After coughing and spluttering the residual ale from my lungs, I drew enough breath to laugh like I was alone.

“Nothing’s changed, then. It’s just not me getting molested. You and your fucking fetishes,” I boomed.

“Fetishes run the world, brother. You know that.”

Cracking up, I waved my beer around as if we were having this conversation face-to-face.

“Between you, Doughboy, and Pittsy, you’ve got fetishes covered.”

“Plus, there’s you and your cradle-robber fetish.”

“That’s not a fucking fetish!” I exclaimed indignantly.“And I’m not a fucking cradle robber!”

“Twelve years, wasn’t it?”

“Fuck you.”

His loud snigger had me smiling despite myself. I missed this: the banter, the bullshit, and Forrest in general.

I hummed around another sip. “How about I come up for a weekend after this assignment is done? Get shitfaced, raise some hell, be reminded of what I’m missin’ out on?”

“Sounds like a fucking good idea, brother.” His breathing picked up and it sounded like he was running. A moment later there was a thump and a grunt.

“What the hell are you doin’?” I exclaimed through a laugh.

“Just got home and jumped the gate.”

“Why not just open the damn thing?”

“Keepin’ things fresh, Lote. You know how I roll.”

“I’m surprised your old ass can even make it over these days.”

He snorted over the sound of keys jingling in a lock. “When you come up, you and me are gonna hit the obstacle course. Then you’ll be reminded of whose ass is old. I’d still whip yours any day.”

Sure, I’d been hitting the gym most days since leaving the Army, but it wasn’t the same as getting out there and scaling walls, climbing ropes only using my arms, and carrying my brothers up and down flights of stairs while wearing full kit. Regardless of the fitness I’d lost, I took Forrest up on his challenge.

“I look forward to bringing you down a peg or two.”

His hearty laughter came through. “Sure, brother.Sure.”

“I’ll let you know when this job’s over, then we’ll tee up a weekend.”

“Sounds great, Lote. Now fuck off and let me get some sleep.”

“I hope it’s a shit one,” I joked.

“Always is, brother.”

After we disconnected, I took a moment to recollect myself.

Nostalgia had surfaced while speaking with Forrest, and now that I sat alone in the dim light of my loft, I couldn’t shake the loss that came with being separated from my team.

On a heavy sigh, I pushed to my feet and finished the beer. After quietly putting it in the trash and using the bathroom, I made my way upstairs on silent footsteps. The yellow glow from under Penny’s door had disappeared, and I said a silentgoodnightto her as I rolled my bedroom door closed.

I fell into bed and lay motionless, taking stock of each muscle as it relaxed and melted into the plush bedding. While I missed Army life, all in all, I was pretty damn content with my relocation to San Diego. Sure, it was mundane at the moment, but it was only a matter of time before an overseas mission would come up. I was assured of it.

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