Page 84 of Beautiful Beast

I’m not sure if I’d rather have it called out or ignored. With Ariel’s fiery personality, she must be thinking about it, and her next question proves it.

“What was it like going to war with Adam?” Ariel asks.

I expect Briggs to make a joke, but he looks me dead in the eye and with total seriousness says, “It meant I never had to worry about someone having my six. I mean, my back. Adam is one-hundred percent there for anyone he cares about, and I’m lucky to be in that camp.”

“Forever in that camp,” I agree. “But you saved my ass just as many times as I saved yours.”

I’d literally be dead in Syria if it wasn’t for him.

Briggs tells the girls funny stories from Marine training camp over our main courses. The antics we got up to while off-duty are definitely not for the faint-hearted, and it’s a much better dinner topic than what we’ve experienced in real combat.

Most people don’t find the truth about war palatable.

And even though going out on another adventure is the last thing that I want to do, Ariel makes us promise to go see her off-off-Broadway production of Hamilton while we enjoy dessert and espresso.

I’d agree to anything to get back home – alone – with Belle.

“What do you do now?” Ariel asks Briggs. “Are you going back to war?”

“Not to Syria,” Briggs replies. “But I’m going to Columbia in a few weeks.”

It’s news to me, and I raise my eyebrows at him. After the conversation we just had, I’m surprised he’s mentally ready to get back into the game so soon. If it’s about money, I’ll give it to him so he can take the time away that he needs.

His answer is to shrug. “It’s what I’m good at, man. I’ll retire in the next ten years.”

It’s a long time to be on the front lines taking bullets, but now isn’t the right opportunity to have a conversation about it.

“We can’t all be domesticated desk jockeys,” Briggs jokes.

Ariel turns her full attention to me, which has been rare this evening. “Youwork a desk job? Like in an office and shit?”

I laugh. “Well, I work from home and spend as much of my day moving as possible. But, yeah, I guess you could say that I ride a desk now.”

She frowns. “I can’t picture it. Maybe Google has some pictures of you in a suit.”

“Probably some tuxes, too,” I return.

“Ariel, that issocreepy,” Belle complains. “And if you’re going to be creepy, at least don’t announce it.”

“I have nothing to hide in my quest for information,” Ariel says. “It’s in the public domain for me to consume.”

Belle tells us about the cute toddler in the story circle who wanted to sit on her lap, and then she had to give every other kid a turn.

It’s a gigantic stereotype, but I still can’t believe what she does for a living. Belle is the sexiest woman on the planet, and unless it’s high-end librarian porn, it’s just not what I would have ever imagined.

“I think in some ways, we all try to compensate for our childhoods,” Belle says. “We’re either perpetuating a cycle – positively or negatively – or fighting for better. Books saved me. And I want to make sure every kid who wants to read has access.”

“I guess that explains why Adam and I chose guns,” Briggs jokes.

Except he’s not really joking.

When you grow up violently, combat is instinctive. Combined with my natural love of strategy, war was the perfect fit for me.

We share dessert wine that is way too sweet for me before calling it a night.

“That was so much fun,” Belle exclaims after we get into the back of the limo. “Eric and Ariel really hit it off.”

It’s strange to hear Briggs called by his first name – I almost forgot that he had one – but I agree with her assessment. He was a googly-eyed fool over Belle’s friend.

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