“I HOPE YOU enjoyed your vacation, lieutenants, because things are only going to get tougher from here on out.” Commander Levy paced the front of the room, his arms clasped behind his back and his assessing gaze landing on each of us. “We’ve got a full day ahead, beginning with a discussion regarding the investigation from Lieutenant Hughes’s incident.”
I glanced down at Panther sitting two rows below me, beside Houdini, and wondered if having to sit through a reenactment of the crash was the best way for Panther to ease back into training, but there wasn’t shit I could do about it. He was already too far from me as it was.
“But first, I’ve been asked to remind you about the upcoming Navy Ball taking place in two weeks. Each of you is expected to be in attendance, and you’re permitted to bring a guest for the evening. The dress code is strictly formal, and you’ll find all the pertinent information in your lockers by day’s end.”
Shit.I’d forgotten all about the annual military ball, and had the event not been required, I would skip out on it entirely. But no. I’d have to go, and Panther would have to go, and we’d both have to bring dates because no one ever went to these events alone.
God, that was the last thing I wanted to do.
As Commander Levy hit the lights to begin the brief, Panther looked over his shoulder at me, a question in his eyes. It was a good thing I was starting to read him pretty well, because I caught it right away:What the hell are we gonna do about the ball?
There was no way he’d ever consider going together, and bringing another guy was out of the question too. So, what? He’d bring some random female? The thought of that happening had my insides roiling, my body physically protesting Panther showing up with anyone other than me.
Fuck me, I thought, gripping the pencil so hard in my fist that it snapped in half. If it hadn’t been so damn quiet, no one would’ve noticed, but of course Gucci shot me a quizzical look.
Waving him off, I dropped the remnants of the pencil and leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms and pretending I was paying attention to what Commander Levy was saying. I didn’t need a brief on what happened up there with Panther; I’d fucking seen it, and it wasn’t something I wanted to relive. Besides, I had more important things to think about. Like who the hell was Panther taking to the ball?
The more I thought about it, the more I ground my teeth, because why did I even care? It wouldn’t mean anything to bring a friend or whoever to the event. No, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that something inside me was tethering itself to Panther, and there wasn’t one fucking thing I could do about it.
No attachments. No letting anyone in close. That was the way I’d lived my life for years now, and somehow in the course of a few weeks Panther had weaseled his way into my mind, and damn if I didn’t mind him being there.
If I were honest, though, I’d admit he had taken up residence in more than just my mind, but since I was content to be a lying bastard for the time being, I wouldn’t think about that. Whatever was happening between us wasn’t serious. It was fun and sexy as fuck, and that was that.
Or was it?
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and by the end of the brief, I could not have spouted back one fact about the official investigation for all I’d been paying attention.
“Hey. Solo. Solo? Dude, wake up.” Gucci elbowed me, and when I jolted up in my seat, he shook his head. “Never seen anyone sleep with their eyes open before. That’s creepy, man.”
“I wasn’t asleep.”
“You sure about that? ’Cause your eyes are lookin’ a little glazed over.”
“Well, that was some shit I didn’t need to sit through.” When I noticed everyone was getting up and heading out of the room, I frowned. “Where we going?”
Gucci snorted. “Sure you weren’t asleep? We’ve gotta change into our suits. They want us back here for the hop briefing in twenty.”
That woke my ass up. “What? We’re going up already?”
“That a problem for you?”
“No, it’s just…” I searched out Panther, wondering what was going through his mind at having to fly again on the first day back, and as I spotted his familiar head of dark hair heading out the door, I leaped out of my seat, pushed by Gucci, and practically ran to catch up with Panther.
“Panther,” I called out, reaching for his arm, and when he turned around, I pulled him off to the side.
He nodded and smiled at the others passing by us, their expressions full of curiosity, and then he focused on me. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Shit, now that I’d gotten him alone, I didn’t know what to say. “How was, uh”—I gestured toward the room—“all that?”
Panther blew out a breath, gripping the back of his neck. For almost two weeks I’d had him all to myself, and it was suddenly hard to not want to grab him and kiss the fuck out of that mouth.
Remember where you are.
“It wasn’t the best morning of my life, but I’m glad it wasn’t my fault. I kept thinking I missed something in pre-check, or that it was somehow on me.”
“Of course it wasn’t—”
“I know, but we’re in control, right?” He gave me a small smile. “We’re control freaks, and that’s why we’re good at what we do. It’s just an eye-opener when something out of your power happens and you’re fucked.”
