"Yes. Thank you."
"How do you feel? Was it too much?" he asks, checking in like he always does.
"I feel perfect. It was perfect. I loved those clamps. I assume you got them from your place along with the other supplies?" I giggle.
"Mmm. I figured I'd bring a few toys over here to stay."
To stay—wow. That's a weird feeling. It's surprising, but not? They already feel so permanent. Do I want them to be? DoIwant to be? This is too much and too deep for this moment. I guess that's something I can explore in therapy—the therapy I accepted over and over and over again.
"And you, baby?" Marco kisses the top of Jay's head. "How do you feel?"
"Debauched," he chuckles. "I've never been pegged by a woman before." He smiles at me, and I mirror it. "Feel free to do it again."
I quirk my brow. "That can be arranged."
Chapter 6
The Drive to Base
Marco
Five Years Ago
"Areyousureyoudon't want me to drive you to Fort Belvoir?" my sister asks, handing me my toiletries case as I neatly pack the last few items in my bag.
"You said it yourself, your company's investors made a last-minute trip to visit, and I told you Jay could drive me." My sister works for a medical supply startup and works crazy hours. Meetings are at all times of the day and night, and I know it's stressful for her.
Rebecca takes a seat on the made bed next to Kayla, her sweet-as-sugar border collie who's snoozing in the lamp light. The sun isn't even up yet. My sister looks up at me as she runs her fingers through Kayla's long black and white hair. "You seemed to have really hit it off with him."
That's accurate. I've spent most of the last two weeks with him. I like being around him. And sue me for wanting to be around someone fun and genuine. All my old friends—if you can even call them that—are dickheads. They're always looking out for themselves, scheming the next thing, and dragging me into their bullshit. Bullshit that's usually illegal. I'm over it. So yes, I found a friend, as new as he is, that I like. He's—I don't know, he's easy to be with, I guess. He seems safe and cool and makes me feel like I'm not the biggest waste of space.
I clear my throat. "Yeah, he's cool," I grunt.
"Is he anything like Will or Nicolai?"
I scoff at her, knowing what she's getting at. "No. Nothing like them." My sister knows I've flirted with the law, but doesn't know to what extent—and I plan to keep it like that. She doesn't need to know about the hundreds of cars I've stolen between here and Baltimore before I joined the Army. But she does know about a couple of my "friends" from high school who got me into it—like Will and Nicolai.
"Jay seems straight-laced." I smile at that, thinking maybe that's not the right word to use since he's queer. I'm about to tell her that, when I catch myself. Maybe he doesn't want that spread around? But everyone he's introduced me to these last two weeks seems to know… No. I don't want to tell her. I've never had a queer friend before, that I know of. What if she thinks I am since I've spent so much time with him? That's crazy. Maybe I'm over-analyzing this.
I pull the drawstring tight at the top of my canvas duffle and look at her. "I mean he seems like a well-adjusted person. Went to college. Has an office job." I cock my eyebrow and dip my chin. "Grew up in Bryn Mawr."
"Oh! La-tee-da!"
Kayla perks up out of nowhere and starts running out of my bedroom. I hear a knock on the front door and she starts barking, running downstairs to "protect" the house. This dog is nothing but a high-endurance marshmallow. She's never met someone she didn't want to be friends with.
I sling my bag over my shoulder and pop my ball cap over my buzzed head before heading down, Rebecca close behind me. She's hot on my toes and it's probably because she wants to meet this new mystery friend of mine.
Kayla sits next to me as I open the door and see a bundled-up Jay in that same nice coat I met him in. He's wearing nice dress pants and shoes, too. Oh shit—that's right—he's probably going into the office after he drives me down there. It's almost a three hour drive if there’s no traffic.
"Good morning," he says with a smile. "I'm Jay and I'll be your driver today. Coffee and today's paper awaits you in the car, sir. May I take your bag?" he holds out his hand and lifts a sarcastic brow.
I chuckle at the theatrics of it all. "Jay, this is my sister, Rebecca."
They shake hands and she says, "It's nice to meet you, Jay. Thanks for doing this. You know he could have taken a bus."
"Nonsense. I believe it's good karma to take someone to the airport or, in this case, to their Army base. I've been banking that karma for years. Something good will come out of it, I know it." Then he looks down at Kayla, who's wagging her tail along the floor so fast, I think she might lift off like a helicopter.
Jay crouches down a little and says, "And who is this beautiful creature?"
