he
offered took the deeper meaning away from it. It didn’t quite stop my heart
from skipping a beat as he withdrew and closed the door, my head thumping back
against the seat again. This was a stupid game to be playing, but the banter
between us was as second-nature as the irritation and heat, and we’d always had
fun with it before. I was done flaying myself for that mistake years ago - it
was over, and if I wanted to give our parents a chance, we needed to reinvent
that relationship. Which wasn’t going to work so well if I jumped every time he
made a jab in that direction.
It’s
okay - you’re living your own life now. And if he wants to help with that, even
better.
He
settled into the seat next to me and we buckled up as the engine hummed to life
under us.
The
cab of the truck wasn’t small, but his large presence seemed to fill it easily
- and it was obviously kept neat, even with the wear and rough use it had seen.
A wooden eagle dangled from the rear-view mirror, probably some kind of good
luck charm, and I settled into the seat as he started towards the driveway.
Then
we were off, my mind still trying to work out whether I should be going along
at all.
“So,
San Francisco, huh? Well, with any luck we’ll miss another awkward dinner.”
The
words surprised a laugh out of me, and I leaned forward to fiddle with the
radio.
“It’s
not that bad…”
He
raised an eyebrow and I admitted to myself I’d thought the exact same thing
often enough.
“Okay,
maybe—hey!”
His
strong fingers wrapped around my wrist, my pulse beating against him for a
moment as he moved it back to my seat and turned the radio to the original
station.
“My
truck, my rules, baby.”
A
familiar pop-song came on and I rolled my eyes.
“Oh
c’mon, you can’t want this station. They play every song to death - I must’ve
heard this at least a hundred times by now.”
He
gave me an amused glance and a quick shake of his head.
“Not
me - I got back a couple weeks ago. I get to catch up on all the music everyone
is sick to death of.”
That
made me pause - his life as a SEAL was really something I knew nothing about,
and there were probably dozens of implications I hadn’t considered. It reminded
me yet again that three years was a long time - I wasn’t sure I’d changed all
that much, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t. Giving a mock-sigh, I relented.
“Fine,
but if they play this one more than a couple of times, I’m going to start
singing along - and then you’ll have to change to something I don’t know.”
He
grinned.
“Yeah,
they didn’t cover that in interrogation resistance training…”
I
returned the smile but my stomach flipped at the casual comment, and I wasn’t
sure I was quite prepared to hear about the kind of life he led. I let the
banter drop off as he navigated his way through the city, the light music
providing a nice backdrop to the warm sun glinting down, despite my initial
objections.
When
we turned onto the interstate he ramped the truck up, the mostly empty scenery
rolling past at a crazy speed while he weaved easily between lanes and cars. My
eyes lingered on him, as they had done more often than I would have liked the
last few days, admiring the strength he handled the vehicle with and the way
his powerful presence dominated the not-insignificant space of the cab. My
curiosity got the better of me a few moments later and I couldn’t resist asking
the question that had been on my mind all week.
“So,
what do you think, then?”
He
grunted as I drew him out of wherever his thoughts had been, looking over at me
with a question.
“About
our parents, I mean.”
His
face closed off the way I’d seen it do so many times and he just shrugged.
“Not
much.”
I
waited a moment, until it became obvious that was all he was going to say.
“You
don’t think much of them being together?”
“No,
I just don’t think about them.”
The
tension in his shoulders said otherwise and
offered took the deeper meaning away from it. It didn’t quite stop my heart
from skipping a beat as he withdrew and closed the door, my head thumping back
against the seat again. This was a stupid game to be playing, but the banter
between us was as second-nature as the irritation and heat, and we’d always had
fun with it before. I was done flaying myself for that mistake years ago - it
was over, and if I wanted to give our parents a chance, we needed to reinvent
that relationship. Which wasn’t going to work so well if I jumped every time he
made a jab in that direction.
It’s
okay - you’re living your own life now. And if he wants to help with that, even
better.
He
settled into the seat next to me and we buckled up as the engine hummed to life
under us.
The
cab of the truck wasn’t small, but his large presence seemed to fill it easily
- and it was obviously kept neat, even with the wear and rough use it had seen.
A wooden eagle dangled from the rear-view mirror, probably some kind of good
luck charm, and I settled into the seat as he started towards the driveway.
Then
we were off, my mind still trying to work out whether I should be going along
at all.
“So,
San Francisco, huh? Well, with any luck we’ll miss another awkward dinner.”
The
words surprised a laugh out of me, and I leaned forward to fiddle with the
radio.
“It’s
not that bad…”
He
raised an eyebrow and I admitted to myself I’d thought the exact same thing
often enough.
“Okay,
maybe—hey!”
His
strong fingers wrapped around my wrist, my pulse beating against him for a
moment as he moved it back to my seat and turned the radio to the original
station.
“My
truck, my rules, baby.”
A
familiar pop-song came on and I rolled my eyes.
“Oh
c’mon, you can’t want this station. They play every song to death - I must’ve
heard this at least a hundred times by now.”
He
gave me an amused glance and a quick shake of his head.
“Not
me - I got back a couple weeks ago. I get to catch up on all the music everyone
is sick to death of.”
That
made me pause - his life as a SEAL was really something I knew nothing about,
and there were probably dozens of implications I hadn’t considered. It reminded
me yet again that three years was a long time - I wasn’t sure I’d changed all
that much, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t. Giving a mock-sigh, I relented.
“Fine,
but if they play this one more than a couple of times, I’m going to start
singing along - and then you’ll have to change to something I don’t know.”
He
grinned.
“Yeah,
they didn’t cover that in interrogation resistance training…”
I
returned the smile but my stomach flipped at the casual comment, and I wasn’t
sure I was quite prepared to hear about the kind of life he led. I let the
banter drop off as he navigated his way through the city, the light music
providing a nice backdrop to the warm sun glinting down, despite my initial
objections.
When
we turned onto the interstate he ramped the truck up, the mostly empty scenery
rolling past at a crazy speed while he weaved easily between lanes and cars. My
eyes lingered on him, as they had done more often than I would have liked the
last few days, admiring the strength he handled the vehicle with and the way
his powerful presence dominated the not-insignificant space of the cab. My
curiosity got the better of me a few moments later and I couldn’t resist asking
the question that had been on my mind all week.
“So,
what do you think, then?”
He
grunted as I drew him out of wherever his thoughts had been, looking over at me
with a question.
“About
our parents, I mean.”
His
face closed off the way I’d seen it do so many times and he just shrugged.
“Not
much.”
I
waited a moment, until it became obvious that was all he was going to say.
“You
don’t think much of them being together?”
“No,
I just don’t think about them.”
The
tension in his shoulders said otherwise and
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