Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Tango chuckled and ran his hand over my dark hair. “Yeah, baby boy. Go get your boots and jacket. They’re in the closet. And grab your beanie. Put your gloves on, too.”
I rushed off down the hallway, his faint laughter echoing behind me. Once I was dressed, I met him by the front door, and we stepped outside together. I ran out into the snow and spun around, my arms spread out wide as the flakes fell down around us.
When I looked at Tango, he was just watching me, his shoulder braced on one of the porch beams. Leaning down, I scooped up a handful of snow, packing it together.
Tango narrowed his eyes at me, already knowing what I was doing before I finished the task. “Think twice, boy,” he rumbled, a warning in his voice.
I threw the snowball at him, smacking him right in the chest. I knew he could’ve ducked if he wanted, which meant he’d allowed me to hit him with it… which also meant I had trouble coming my way. His eyes darkened a shade, and he prowled down the porch.
I couldn’t stop the giggle from slipping past my lips even while my heart hammered in my chest.
“Run,” he growled.
I burst out laughing and took off through the snow, running for the back of the house with Tango hot on my heels.
13
Tango
The desert heat had me sweating in places I didn’t even realize was possible. Sand stuck to my clothes, and my damn uniform felt like a sweatsuit. I hated just about every moment of this deployment so far, and I was more than ready to be back stateside where the weather made sense and could be predicted. Where I didn’t feel like my skin was melting off my fucking skin.
The damn Marine Corps. would be lucky as fuck if I decided to re-up after this bullshit. Because—and I meant this with every bit of disrespect I could muster—fuck this goddamn heat. My big body wasn’t built for these temps.
“This shit sucks,” Donald grunted from beside me. He was the first real friend I’d ever had and the closest thing to a best friend I imagined I would ever get. He was also the first and only person I’d ever truly connected with. I was slightly in love with him, but I would never mention it to him. Would never even voice it. Donald had given me no indication that he felt the same, and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our friendship.
I needed him.
“You can fucking say that again.” I cut him a dark look when he opened his mouth to do exactly that. He was always such a smart ass. A smirk tilted his lips when he shut his mouth. “But don’t.”
He snorted, his eyes lighting up with laughter. “Don’t be such a grumpy ass, Burne,” he said, calling me by my last name. He only ever called me Taylor when we were off duty. Honestly, he was the only person who called me by my first name. Even in my foster homes, I was always called by my last name. It was a way foster parents and other kids kept their distance—kept boundaries between us.
Why would they bother forming attachments to a kid that was just eventually going to get moved around again?
Having Donald call me Taylor felt kind of sacred. I wanted it to stay that way.
Didn’t help that I had the crush of the goddamn century on him, which made him calling me by my first name even more special. He was funny, kind, and down-to-Earth, and he was the only person who didn’t bat an eye at my grumpiness. In fact, the first day we’d met four years ago, he’d patted my chest, told me to lighten up, and proceeded to wiggle his way beneath my skin and into my heart.
I still had no idea how he’d truly managed it. It all had happened so fast and without me ever realizing what he was doing to me.
Unfortunately, Donald was as straight as they fucking came, which was another reason I knew he would never feel anything for me. I’d even caught him with his dick inside some random woman’s pussy a few times before since we lived together. Donald had never even glanced at a man in that way, and trust me, I’d been watching him enough to know.
I was just fine keeping my feelings bottled up. Locked away tight inside my heart to never see the light of day. So long as I got to keep him as my best friend, as someone I could rely on, someone I could lean on, I could deal with my unrequited feelings.
“Fuck!” Sergeant Blume suddenly shouted, jerking me out of my head. “Incoming!”
That was all the warning we got. The truck in front of us hit an IED. Bullets rang out everywhere, the sound deafening. My ears were ringing, but I managed to knock Donald to the ground just as a bullet ripped through my shoulder, fucking murdering my good arm. I rolled to the side, grinding my teeth in pain as fire licked along my nerve endings. All I could do was stare up at the smoky sky, blood slipping down my arm and making me a bit lightheaded.