FOUR
Brooks
“How’s the new place?”Finn asks me as he joins me at the punching bags.
“It’s good. I’m still unpacking and putting everything away but it’s literally an exact copy of the room I had at Banks’s.”
He nods, stretching out his shoulders before he starts to hit his own bag.
“How’s Sylvie?” I ask and Finn’s whole body relaxes.
His girlfriend was in a car accident a few weeks ago and I know that she’s recovered from it now. Finn still tends to hover around her though. Talking about Sylvie is the fastest way to get the guy to smile and I wonder if Rae has that effect on me.
“She’s good. She just landed this big account at work so we’re going out to celebrate tonight.”
I met Finn, Niall, and Jameson when I started training at King’s Gym. They’re all good guys, but they’re here to train to fight professionally and I’m just here to get stronger. Even though we’re here for different reasons, we’ve still grown close over the last few months. I’ve been to see all of their fights and I’ve even sparred with them on occasion.
I’ve also watched all of them find their other half and settle down with them. I remember, before my attack, that I wanted that too. Being deployed didn’t offer me a lot of time to find someone special and to be honest, every time that I went out to bars or clubs, no one ever piqued my interest.
Then that IED exploded and sent my life into a tailspin.
It had been a usual Monday morning and I was out on patrol with some guys from my unit. I remember us laughing at something that Rizzo said and then the sound of the explosion hit me.
It’s strange, but the only thing that’s stuck with me from that moment is the feel of the sand on my skin and the pain in my left side. My blood had felt cold and I remember thinking how weird that was as some guys from the convoy pulled me away from the wreckage.
I don’t really remember much more than that, which the therapists that I saw all assured me was natural. My brain was trying to protect me so that I didn’t relive it over and over. So that I didn’t see all of my friends die.
I didn’t care about falling in love when I was lying in that hospital bed in Germany or when I was going through physical therapy back in the States. Finding someone to settle down with wasn’t even on my radar.
Until I met Rae.
Now I want what all of my friends have.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Rae since the first time that I met her. I’ve gone out with my friends on outings solely to see and spend more time with her. When Banks first came to me to ask if I would be willing to swap apartments so that Palmer could move in with him, I had jumped on it.
I wanted to spend as much time with Rae as I can. I was hoping that if she spent more time with me, maybe she would start to have feelings for me. The car ride this morning seemed promising but I feel like I never say the right thing around her.
I should have told her that she was beautiful or that I can’t stop thinking about her. I should have asked her out on a date or canceled my plans with Ender last night so that I could have had pizza with her.
Now that I’m living with her, the temptation to make her mine is even stronger.
If she calls me for a ride home, then I’ll ask her out. I spend the rest of my workout praying for my phone to ring.
I’m walking out of King’s Gym and waving goodbye to Finn when my phone rings and I hurry to pull it out of my pocket. It’s still pouring outside, so I hurry over to my car before I answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Brooks. It’s Rae. Palmer is staying late today for a group project. Do you think that you could come pick me up?” she asks, her sweet voice sounding worried and I can picture her pacing as she talks to me.
“Of course. I actually just left the gym, so I’ll be there in ten. Which building are you in?”
“I’ll meet you back by where you dropped me off. I’m only a few buildings away.”
“See you soon.”
“Thanks, Brooks.”
I smile, trying to play out what I’ll say to her as I drive through downtown and turn onto campus. Maybe I should wait until we get home. We could have dinner and I could ask her if she wanted to go out and grab a bite to eat with me tomorrow.
I pull up to the building that I dropped her off at this morning and see her running through the rain toward me. I hop out, running around to open her door for her, and she smiles at me as she slips past me.
“You didn’t have to get out,” she tells me as I climb back behind the wheel.
“Let me be a gentleman,” I tell her as I head toward our apartment building.
I can see her smiling out of the corner of my eye and I relax.
“How was your day?” I ask her as we head home.
“Good. Long.”
“Something wrong with your classes?”
“No, they were just dull today. I’m looking forward to going home and taking a hot shower and then relaxing for the rest of the night.”
“Want to order burgers or something for dinner?” I ask as I pull up in front of the apartment.
“That sounds good,” she says with a smile as she gathers her backpack.
“I’ll drop you off here,” I tell her and she smiles gratefully before she climbs out and heads inside the building.
I circle the block and park back in the parking lot on the side of our building before I run through the rain and inside.
I can hear the shower running as I come inside and I smile. That gives me a little more time to plan out how I’m going to ask her out.
“Hey, Rae?” I call as I knock on the bathroom door. “Did you want me to order the food now?”
The door opens a minute later and my mouth drops open as I see Rae standing there soaking wet with a towel wrapped around her lush curves.
“What?” she asks, her blonde hair dripping water onto her shoulders.
Yeah, what was I saying?
My mind blanked as soon as I saw her and now all I want to do is grab her and kiss her. When she licks her lips, her body swaying toward mine, I decide to throw caution to the wind for the first time in a long while.
I grab her and seal her mouth with mine.