Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
They’d go to her place, he decided, as he shampooed his short, blonde hair. She had two roommates, but surely she had her own room. He could deal with that. In his other life, before the IED, he’d have fucked all three of them, all night long, and, if they were any fun, he might call one or two of them the next week. He’d had more than his share of women but none in the last three years since he’d lost his leg. He hadn’t even come close, always backing out at the last second before closing the deal.
At first he wasn’t sure how he’d manage it; his balance hadn’t been exactly perfect. He had enough trouble maneuvering himself into bed, let alone with anyone else. Plus, in the back of his mind he always knew he looked like a freak with the leg off. The stump, though healed, was something out of a horror movie, not that Brenda would have to look at it. He’d leave on the neoprene sock, but there would be no denying the missing limb.
Brenda knew, though. Everyone did. It was no secret that Easy, Shooter, Hawk, Tex, and Caleb were the only remaining members of an Army Ranger unit that had served both in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was also no secret that some of them had not come back in the same condition in which they’d enlisted. Shooter had scars across his torso that looked like ground chuck. He always kept his shirt on for that reason. Easy never wore anything but pants or jeans and did everything he could to hide his limp, which was usually only a problem toward the end of a long day when his muscles could take no more. He couldn’t get underneath the cars at the garage quite as easily as the others, but he still did it. He was determined to pull his own weight on the job.
As he sat on the toilet once more and dried himself off with a towel, he was surprised to notice his hands were shaking just a bit. Three years was a long time to go without. Brenda was perfect though, with long, brown hair and a great ass. She was cute and flirty without being too obvious. She was exactly the type of girl he’d thought he’d be married to by now. Without the bomb, he’d have been an Army Officer with a beautiful wife, adorable kids, and a house with a yard that didn’t take him four fucking hours to mow because he kept slipping in the wet grass.
He couldn’t have the uniform; he’d long since given up on that. He could, however, have the wife and kids. He’d only been hanging out with Brenda at Maria’s bar for a few weeks now, far too early to be thinking about family life. Right now, he just had to concentrate on getting the fucking right. It could work, though. It would work.
He reattached the leg and pulled on a fresh pair of blue jeans from the bottom dresser drawer. He pulled a tight, grey t-shirt over his head and his large biceps stretched the fabric. He was probably overcompensating with the wardrobe, but he didn’t want to think about that too hard. As he reached for his cell on top of his dresser, his hand passed over a tiny silver box. He smirked at it as he picked up the phone and dialed. It had been a long time since he’d even glanced at that box. In fact, he might throw that box away.
Brenda answered on the third ring, giggling into the phone. He couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey!” she greeted him, in a sing-song voice.
“Hey,” he replied, picking up his keys and pocketing them. He had the truck, but she’d probably rather take his bike. So far he hadn’t taken anyone for a ride, but he figured if it was going to be a night of firsts, he could just add that to the list. “You gonna meet me tonight?”
More giggling. “Of course,” she replied, and that had him smiling all over again. He couldn’t help that he was born with an Angel’s looks and a Devil’s grin. He may have lost a lot of things, but he’d never lost his ability to charm women’s panties off.
“You gonna have breakfast with me, too?” he drawled and closed the dresser drawer.
Brenda gasped and he chuckled to himself.
“God,” she breathed into the phone.
“Is that a yes?” he prompted, checking his hair in the mirror hanging on the back of the bathroom door. He kept it short, a remnant from his Army days. It looked fairly dry.
“God, yes!”
“See you tonight, baby,” Easy told her.
“Bye!”
He caught sight of his shirt in the mirror, looking slightly disheveled on one side. He tugged at it to straighten it. Over his phone he heard a clatter and then “Was that him?”