When he turns his deep blue eyes to mine, I think I might be momentarily paralyzed. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Thanks for indulging me,” Marco says as we sit down in the no-fuss diner with our hoagies. “I know it’s cliché, but I'm about to go another twelve months without cheesesteaks. I need to stock up while I'm home."
I unwrap mine and look at him. “You’re really not twisting my arm, dude.”
We both bring our cheesesteaks to our mouths and he lets out a groan and closes his eyes. He swallows and I’m internally drooling at the sight.
I want to make him feel that good.
I want to make him swallow.
“Fuck, that’s good,” he mumbles through a napkin and then lowers it, looking at me. “Not as good as my own, but close.”
“You cook?”
“When I can. I try to make the best out of what we’re given, but MREs—the freeze-dried field meals we get—are nothing special. I try my best to put some life and flavor in them whenever possible.”
“I bet that makes you popular around your unit.”
“Popular? No. But I’d say it’s why the others talk to me. I mostly stick to myself.”
“That seems a little lonely,” I say with a furrowed brow.
He just shrugs and keeps eating.
Now I’m worried. Is he talking to anyone out there? I hate the thought of him keeping himself locked away from friendships. From not talking about how he’s feeling. It doesn’t take a trained professional to tell me that’s a recipe for destruction.
“Are you able to communicate often to friends and family back home?”
“Sometimes. Sometimes I’m not at liberty to disclose where I am or I have to be off the grid for days to weeks at a time.”
“Would it be cool if we stayed in touch?”
Marco stills and then lowers his sandwich. With a creased brow, he looks at me and I panic. “I think I need to tell you right now, Jay… I’m straight.”
Yup. Panic.
Fix this. Fix this, you moron.
“Oh my god, no. I figured. Just thought we could keep in contact so when you come back home on leave we can keep hanging out. You’re cool to talk to. And sue me for wanting to make sure my new friend is safe while at war.” I give him a sarcastic smile. “Plus, I’ve got my hands full with dating Lawrence and Harold’s grandchildren.”
His unguarded self comes back and I sigh with relief. “Please tell me how that pans out,” he chuckles.
“Who knows, maybe next time you come home it’ll be for my wedding.”
“I’ll be there.”
Chapter 4
A Decent Proposal
Jay
Present Day
“Fuck,Cora.That’ssogood,” I groan as my eyes roll to the back of my head. “Where did you learn how to do this so well?”
“My mom,” she says with a nudge of her shoulder.
