“You’re funny,” Rick says, slapping me on the back.
The waitress comes to a stop just next to me, her chest bouncing as she does. She is so close that her boobs almost slap me in the face and her proximity damn near knocks me right off my bar stool.
“Welcome home, Captain Stevens,” she announces, clapping her hands in applause and leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.
A bolt of lightning shoots through me and I damn near spill my load. This is happening so fast. I’m being ambushed like never before. This is the surprise attack of all surprise attacks, and I’ve been through more than my fair share, but nothing compares to this.
“Captain Stevens? How do you know my name?” mutter, dazed.
“You’re funny,” she says, putting a hand on my shoulder and leaning in for a hug, her chest pressed against the side of my upper arm, her soft femininity the exact opposite of my rock-hard masculinity.
She pulls away and surveys the complete lack of understanding on my perplexed face.
“It’s me!” she says, her head leaning forward as she turns her palms skyward. “Sadie.”
“Sadie,” I repeat slowly and quietly. “Sadie,” I say again. “Sadie!” I say, finally getting it. “You’re…?”
She runs her hands along the length of her body from her chest down to her knees giving my eyes free reign to explore. “In the flesh.”
Yes, she is. Too much of it on display for all these other men to see.
“Waitress,” one man says, snapping his fingers.
My head snaps around like I’m staring in a remake of Poltergeist as my gaze throws daggers at him. “Get another waitress. She’s busy,” I grit out. “And learn to treat women with more respect.”
The man’s eyes dart to the ground as the rest of his buddies at the table also focus on something else to look at other than a severely pissed off six foot five inch two hundred and forty-pound man who starts his day with two hundred and fifty pushups and an equal number of sit-ups before going for a five-kilometer run…every morning in near one hundred degrees heat, before the sun is even up. Welcome to the sandbox, as the Middle East is known in SEAL circles.
“Wow,” she says, smiling. “Can you come with me to all my shifts and do that whenever someone calls me like a dog.”
“Anyone calls you like a dog I’ll show them who the bitch is,” I say, immediately regretting using such words in front of a girl who seems so sweet, innocent, and pure.
“Split my tips with you?” she teases.
“I’ll do it out of honor, respect and commitment.”
Looking over my shoulder she addresses Rick. “You’re right, Dad. He’s the best friend you could ever hope for.”
“Wouldn’t trade our friendship for the world,” Rick says, slapping me on the back yet again.
Sadie takes our drinks and then bounces off to get them. I pry my eyes away from her backside, biting down on a clenched fist knowing my return to civilian life is about to put Rick and I’s friendship to the test.
Because his daughter is everything.
And she will be mine, no matter the consequences.
2
Sadie
Ican feel Soren’s eyes on me as I walk away. A smirk tugs at one corner of my face as I catch his reflection in a window in front of me as he bites down on his fist.
My stomach tightens and I suddenly question why I wore such short shorts today. Sure the tips will be good but it’s not really good for my dad’s political career, nor the fact that I feel my panties dampening at the fact that I’m having an effect on the man I’ve always wanted.
He’s finally here. Here for good. Sitting there on the barstool in my restaurant, his close-cut military haircut, those thick muscles, and the quiet confidence that goes with being a man who has been there and done that, who has seen and experienced things average men never will. Not even close.
His life experience. His ability to stay calm under pressure. His leadership.
And the confidence that goes with it.