If I shared more, it’d be with Ashley first, to explain why I’d broken protocol and asked her out when it was so damn risky. And apologize. A lot.
The silence at the table was louder than the chatter of the crowd and the music blasting through the speakers.
“I’m a Cubs fan,” Doug ended the silence with a whiplash-inducing subject change, putting everyone back at ease.
I could talk about sports. Sports were a safe topic.
“Are you from Chicago?” I asked.
“Born and raised. Bears fan too,” Doug answered.
“What about you? What sports do you like?” Jack asked.
“Football and hockey.”
“Don’t give us too much all at once.” Jay laughed.
“Pot,” Jack coughed into his hand.
“What was that?” Jay asked.
I sat back and watched, glad the attention had shifted away from me.
“I seem to recall a certain Jarhead giving nothing but one-word answers for a while.”
“Shut up, ground pounder,” Jay countered.
“That’s rich coming from you, grunt,” Jack teased back.
“Technically, Raiders aren’t grunts,” I said.
Jay held up his fist, and I bumped it with mine. “Yeah,” Jay shot back at his brother.
“And the SEAL enters the ring,” AJ said.
“The two of us against all of you. Any day,” Jay bragged.
“With or without guns?” Doug asked, sizing me up.
Enjoying the banter, I shrugged and asked, “Does it matter?”
“It does. Jamie’s as good a shot as Jay, so we’ve got the distance covered. So it’d come to pistols, and I think we could out shoot you,” Doug said.
“Big talk coming from an airman,” Jay teased.
“Do you doubt my skills?” Doug asked.
I hadn’t seen him handle a gun, but the rest of the team trusted his skills, so I figured he couldn’t be too bad a shot.
“What about unarmed?” I asked.
“Jay’s batshit crazy on the mat and could easily beat both his brothers at the same time.”
“Hey!” the older Sheppards piped up.
“It’s true,” Jay said, his confidence bordering on arrogance.
AJ and Doug nodded. I tucked away the information, knowing I’d want to remember this conversation when it came time for the monthly sparring session.
