“I don’t think we should cruise together anymore,” I stated.
He nodded, then said, “You’re perfect in every way…”
“But one. Same could be said for you.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I’d say I wish I were different, but I don’t want to change. I like my life. And I wouldn’t want you to change who you are for me. That’s just a recipe for disaster.”
“Yeah, it is. So, one last hurrah.”
“Fuck that. We’ll figure it out. I’m not losing my best friend.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure we could. But I also didn’t want to lose my best friend. I just wanted to make sure we kept things in the friends column and stopped crossing the line into the lovers column. Before I could stress the need to keep that separation, the partition rolled down.
“We’re here, Mr. Holt.”
Marcel never used Parker’s rank. I didn’t know why, and hadn’t asked, but it always struck me as odd. The man was a fucking officer in the US Navy and a damn SEAL. He deserved all the recognition and respect those titles afforded him.
Parker pushed open the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk near the club. I followed once he moved out of the way. Thethumpa-thumpafrom the club lived and breathed in the air, making the atmosphere vibrate with intensity and promise. It never failed to recharge my batteries. I could be dragging-my-ass tired and walking into a club or just passing one where the beat thumped like this one, and all the tired disappeared.
“So, a drink at the bar, then we part ways?” Parker suggested, hesitance clear in his voice. He sounded like a shy little boy, unsure of his place in the world, instead of the dominant, aggressive, alpha male I knew him to be.
“Parker, the only change I need is you being less of an in-your-face temptation. We aren’t looking for the same thing in a partner or not a partner in your case. As long as we can get on the same page, I’m willing to figure things out by hitting the bars and clubs together.”
A deep sigh lifted his shoulders, and the little boy melted away, replaced instantly with the confident SEAL who oozed sex appeal.
“Let’s go, big guy,” I said with a smile I didn’t quite feel and a slap to his back.
“Yeah. I need a drink.”
“Me too,” I replied, giving him a shove toward the entrance.
My eyes scanned the crowd, surveying the meat market laid out before us. In the shadows, coming toward the club from the alley, a figure caught my eye. I waited, watching to see if he would step into the light and give me a better view.
“Someone didn’t even make it into the club.”
“Shut up.”
I couldn’t understand why Parker making that joke—a joke he’d made many times—irked me. I kept my eyes averted from his, so I didn’t see the questions in his eyes; what I heard in his words.
“You gonna make a move…”
“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” I said.
“Have fun,” Parker’s voice echoed.
CHAPTER 3
ALEX
San Diego - Summer2001
Chirp! Chirp!
Arming the alarm on a car never sounded so loud. It bounced off the buildings, echoing through the dark, deserted street. The shadows of the building I parked in front of camouflaged the nondescript sedan I rented to avoid leaving my car on the street.
The sound of my footsteps also seemed louder than usual, as if amplified.
This is stupid. So fucking stupid. Off the charts stupid. Like out of the stratosphere stupid.
