“Lowe! Good news,” the LT boomed at him. His officious tone had Wes thinking this was going to be anything other than good. “You’re going to go work with some of the new equipment the EOD mobile unit has in. We need you up to speed, especially on the new suits. Lieutenant Strauss is going with you, because we need him cross-trained. We encounter an IED on the next mission, he’ll be taking point on supervising the defusing, while you do the sort of work you’ve got such a reputation for.”
Wes kinda lost the thread of the conversation after “Strauss is going with you.” Much as he loved working with the bomb dispersal equipment, he didn’t want to go anywhere alone with Dustin. But he knew better than to ask the LT to back up and repeat himself, so he nodded. “Today?”
“Today. Word is you might get some chances to put this in action in the field soon. Need you ready.”
The LT nodded, glancing at the senior chief, who added, “Lowe will be. No problems there.”
“You can count on me, sir.” Wes’s heart sped up at the mention of fieldwork. There was nothing quite like the rush of being out there. When it came to bomb disposal, they usually called in the explosive ordnance disposal group to handle it as that was their specialty, but sometimes there just wasn’t time or ability to get the EOD to a situation, and that was where Wes worked best.
Several of the men on the team had been cross-trained in explosives work, but Wes had undergone extensive training with the EOD group at Little Creek. Had he not made it through BUD/S, the EOD rate had been his backup plan, and it was still some of his favorite stuff to work with, especially the robots and the specialized suits.
All of which should have had him excited as he followed Dustin to one of the official vehicles to travel across base to where the EOD group was located. But instead, his stomach churned at the prospect of hours with Dustin, more time trying to pretend everything was normal. The day was another gorgeous southern California morning—cloudless blue skies and bright sun with a mild breeze. It had been cold and rainy back home when he’d talked to his mother last night, so he supposed the weather was one of the few things this assignment had going for it.
“I’m driving,” Dustin announced as they approached the white Jeep, tone every bit as overbearing and annoying as the LT. The Jeep was newer than Wes’s, which had finally arrived via the navy movers, but it was still similar enough that he would have had absolutely no issues driving.
“That’s fine.” Wes bit back a more sarcastic reply and swung up into the passenger seat.
But something in his expression must have given him away, because Dustin snorted. “What?”
“I didn’t say anything.” Wes looked straight ahead rather than meet Dustin’s eyes. Looking at him, it was too easy to remember DC, to forget that he had to treat Dustin like any other superior officer. Not that he’d let himself get even this defensive with another officer.
“You were thinking,” Dustin accused him as he started the car.
“Dude.” Okay, now Wes was pissed. And if Dustin wasn’t going to treat him like any other enlisted SEAL, then Wes didn’t have to return the courtesy. “Do you have any idea how hard I am working to keep things between us cool and everything in the past on the down low? You’re going to start policing my thoughts now?”
“Sorry.” Dustin at least had the good grace to blush. “Just forget it.”
“Nope.” Wes was too worked up now. “You think I don’t notice you avoiding me? You refusing to make eye contact with me, when you do all the other guys? You not laughing at my jokes? You reckon that’s easy for me?”
“No.” Dustin pulled out of the parking spot, seemingly as reluctant to make eye contact as Wes, proving Wes’s point. “I’m sorry. I...didn’t realize.”
“Well, try.” Wes slumped back against the seat. And Dustin was lying, had to be. No way had he not noticed the low-level awkward between them.
“This sucks.” Dustin turned onto a side road. Wes should be paying attention, learning the way to the EOD group, but he was still too agitated.
“It bites,” he agreed. “And you’re not making it any easier.”
“You’re right.” Dustin’s honesty had Wes doing a double-take, making sure he’d heard right. “I’m not. This is unchartered waters for me. Feels like...well, someone died.”
“Not that.” Wes’s bark was too sharp. “Bad breakup maybe, not that I’ve had one of those. But not someone dying. Jesus, I can’t even think about death right now.”
“What’s wrong?” Dustin turned toward him the second he pulled into a parking spot at the rear of a lot, under a scrubby tree. “Is it your sister?”