“I said thanks but no thanks, and that was the end of that.”
Houdini chewed another mouthful of food and swallowed. “Except it wasn’t.”
“Exactly.”
“Fuck me, dude. This is better than a soap opera. Tell me, did he recognize you the second you saw each other again?”
“Well, he’s not blind, so that would be a yes.”
“But hang on a second, if he’s the one who hit on you and you said no, why are your panties all in a twist? Unless…” Houdini nodded like he was onto something. “Is he still wantin’ to pet the Panther?”
God save me from Houdini and his horrible humor. “Pet the Panther? Really?”
“Would stroke have been better?”
“Nothing would’ve been better. But thanks, now I have that in my head.”
“You’re welcome. So, okay, what’s the problem? He wants to fuck and you…don’t?”
At Houdini’s blunt assessment of the situation, words escaped me.
“Or maybe you do. Is that it? I mean, from a straight dude’s standpoint, I can see the appeal. Solo’s hot.”
Oh my fucking God. “Stop talking or I swear on my mother I will shove the rest of that sub down your throat.”
“Ahh, so that’s how you like it, huh?”
As I went for his plate, Houdini pulled it out of reach.
“Come on, I’m just messin’ with you. But seriously, if hookin’ up with Solo is what it’s gonna take to make you crack a smile again, I say do it. He doesn’t seem like the type who’s searchin’ for a long-term commitment, if you get my drift.”
“But he is the kind who has a big fucking mouth.” I sighed and rubbed my jaw. “There’s a reason I don’t date anyone in the forces—shit would get too complicated. And Solo, he’s trouble waiting to happen.”
“I get it, man. I just thought it might ease some of the tension between you two.”
“The only tension between us is over the fact he acts like a teenager out to prove his dick is bigger than everyone else’s.”
As Houdini opened his mouth to respond, I aimed a finger at him and said, “You mention that fucking sky penis one more time…”
Houdini grinned like a fool and went back to his sub, and all I could think was how I was going to survive not only this competition and training, but being paired up with someone who made my usual focus seem like a distant memory.
10 Solo
IN HINDSIGHT, THE sky penis probably wasn’t the best way to kick off my first day, but I didn’t regret it. Not one bit. How could I when it had riled Panther up in such a delicious way? Other than coming out on top in the academy, provoking Panther had now moved up to number two on my list. A couple reasons for that—first, he was too fucking hot to leave alone, and second, any distractions would make him lose focus, which would only make it easier for me to kick his ass. Not that I needed the help.
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, just some in-class training, and then I took off with Gucci to a nearby bar—and yeah, the faint outline of my sky dick was on display, which apparently was pissing off the locals enough that the news vans had made an appearance as I was leaving. Unfortunately, the Navy wasn’t releasing the perpetrator—moi—so any TV interviews were off the table. Bummer.
I revved the engine of my ruby-red Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle as I waited for the traffic light to change, and as soon as I saw it flip to green, I took off, roaring down the road. After leaving the bar, I’d taken one look at the sunset and decided a drive along the ocean would be the perfect end to a pretty kickass day. It was so open out here: nothing but sky, water, and hills off in the distance. Nothing like some of the claustrophobic places I’d been during my travels. If I ever decided to have a home base, I could see it being a place like this. Not that I’d be tying myself down somewhere anytime soon. No, I much preferred the freedom of never knowing where I’d head off to next. Some may call that a lonely existence…and hell, maybe it was. But the good thing about being alone was that you were always a bar away from some company.
As the sun finally submerged itself into the water and night fell, I headed back to the barracks. It hadn’t taken much to move in, since I didn’t come with more than an oversized duffel, but at least I didn’t have to worry about sharing the small space with a roommate. No, the Elite got their own rooms, a serious perk after years of sharing bunks. I wouldn’t have minded having Panther as a roommate, though I’d probably have to sleep with one eye open so he didn’t smother me with a pillow in the middle of the night.