Текст книги "Taking Chances"

Автор книги: Molly McAdams

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Текущая страница: 24 (всего у книги 27 страниц)

“Yeah, we did all that yesterday. The appointment was all we had today. I was pretty positive I knew what the doctor was going to say, and I wanted to be alone with you when you found out, so I called your mom, asked her if she would watch Liam after we were done.”

“So that was you? Not her?” He smiled and shook his head at me. “Wait, wait, wait. So Bree already knows?”

I laughed, “She was actually the one to make me take the test. I swear she has a built-in radar for pregnant women. I had no idea and she just showed up with a test one day and forced me into the bathroom.”

“She would. Who else knows?”

“No one, and if Bree hadn’t been literally waiting outside the door that day, you would have been the first to know, I promise.”

“I can’t blame you for Bree knowing, she’s kind of a force all her own. She gets her way with everything.”

“Pretty much.” I smiled and pulled his face back to mine.

Pulling away, he lifted up the bottom of my silk shirt and placed soft kisses on my barely-there-bump, skimming his nose across it he kissed it one last time and made his way up my body. “When are you due?” He asked against my chest.

“May twenty-sixth, I’m ten weeks.” I said breathlessly.

“I love you so much Harper, and I can’t tell you how excited I am.”

“Yeah?”

Brandon looked directly into my eyes, his brown eyes full of so much love, “Yeah.”

Smiling, I kissed him once and let my head fall back onto the pillows while reaching for his towel, “I love you too.”

20

“Well I hear a congratulations is in order, huh Kid?” Konrad kissed the top of my head as he pulled me in for a hug.

“Why thank you! Your turn next, yeah?” I mock glared at Bree when he released me, but smiled when her jaw dropped.

“I swear I wasn’t the one that told him!” She said with her hands raised, palms facing me.

“I told him.” Brandon said as he walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, “It’s only fair if Bree knew, he got to know too.”

“You guys didn’t tell Mom though, right?”

Konrad and Bree shook their heads and Bree said, “No, we know you’re telling everyone at Liam’s birthday party. I still can’t believe you’re going to have two kids before I even have one!”

“Hmm…guess you better get working on that then.” I winked at her.

“No way, we’re going to have our hands full playing with yours. Just keep popping them out, and we’ll act like they’re ours.”

“Um, no! I think two is more than enough for now, I won’t even be twenty-one and Brandon will be twenty-three when baby number two is born, if we have more I’m sure it can wait.”

The doorbell rang and Brandon kissed my cheek before releasing me, “That’s probably Jeremy, he’s coming with a few cousins, so is it okay if we tone down the baby talk until they leave?”

“I thought you told Jeremy?”

“I did, because I know he won’t say anything. My cousins on the other hand, don’t know how to shut up. They’d probably call my mom before we could finish telling them.” He chuckled and jogged off toward the door.

Bree leaned over the island in the middle of the kitchen and raised her brow, “So Jer knows too?”

“Yeah,” I grunted and tried to reach for the stack of bowls on the top shelf, “I don’t know why we’re making such a big deal about not telling the parents yet, we’ve told practically everyone else. I guess we just want them all here at once, so they can find out at the same time.”

I had just climbed on top of the counter when Konrad reached over me and grabbed the bowls, smirking when I glared at him. He didn’t even have to go on the balls of his feet.

“Damn tall people.” I muttered under my breath.

“Hey sis! Hey Bree,” Jeremy hugged her quick, and turned to do a “guy hug” with Konrad, “Konrad, what’s up man?” He stepped over to where I was still sitting on the counter and I frowned when I realized he was still taller than me even when I was up here, “Trying to reach the bowls again Harper?” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek before whispering, “Congrats sis. I’m really happy for you guys.”

I hugged him tightly back, “Thanks Jer, and thanks for coming.”

“I brought my girlfriend, is that okay?”

“Jeremy, you have a girlfriend?!” His face lit up and he had a huge grin, “Are you even old enough for one of those yet?” I laughed when he playfully punched my arm.

“I’m seventeen, not twelve.”

I got all serious, “Oh yes, of course. How could I ever forget?” I looked around him, “Well where is she? I want to meet this girl who stole my brother-in-law’s heart.”

“She’s with Laura and Kate, but she’s really shy, so Bree” he turned to look at her, “go easy on her, okay?”

Bree put a hand to her chest, “Who me? Shy people are my specialty. Just ask Harper.”

We all laughed and Jeremy eyed me curiously, “Sis, what the fuck are you doing?”

“Language!” I chastised him but started giggling uncontrollably when I still couldn’t get down, “I can’t get back down. I usually can’t even jump up here. How the hell did I get up here Konrad?”

“Language!” Jeremy tried to mimic my pitch as he scooped me off the counter. “God you’re so short.”

“No, the rest of you are just freakishly tall.” I pushed him away from me and went to stand by Bree, since she was much closer to my height.

“Aww, are they making fun of you again sweetheart?” Brandon was grinning when he rounded the corner, “I can’t believe anyone would ever make fun of your height. Because you’re average height, right?”

I glared at him until he wrapped his arms around me with my favorite smile and his dimple flashing at me, “Exactly.” I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed him soundly.

“Uh, one, get a room. Two, Harper I want you to meet Aubrey.”

I peeked around Brandon’s side and saw a pretty girl with pale skin, raven black hair and wide brown eyes tucked under Jeremy’s arm. Oh my word they were cute together. “Hi Aubrey!” I walked over to them and hugged her quickly, dropping my arms and stepping back when I remembered how much I hated being hugged before Bree socialized me.

“Aubrey, this is my sister-in-law, Harper.”

She gave a small wave and blushed when she smiled, oh yeah, we were going to get along just fine. “Nice to meet you Harper, you have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you! Aubrey, this is my best friend Breanna and her fiancé Konrad.” I waited until they said their hellos and stepped back into Brandon’s arms, “And I’m guessing you just met Brandon?”

She nodded and bit her lower lip, trying to curl further into Jeremy’s arm.

“Um, no! Where is the little munchkin?” One of the twins called from the dining room.

I laughed and when Kate and Laura walked into the kitchen, I went to hug them both. “He’s at Mom and Dad’s for the night, figured this would be a little much for him. You girls remember Konrad and Bree?”

Laura jumped over to Bree’s side for a hug and Kate crossed her arms and failed at glaring at me, “I wanted to see my little Liam though.” She pouted and drug her feet to hug Bree.

“Next time,” I promised them, “besides, we have four or five single guys fresh out of the Marine Corps coming today, you really want to be playing with a baby that whole time?”

“Oh my God, really?!” They both said at the same time.

I laughed and nodded. The twins were Brandon and Jeremy’s cousins, only a year younger than myself and insanely beautiful. They had a good half foot on me, had blue eyes and unnatural blonde hair, but they rocked it pretty well. Other than their eyes, I still hadn’t found a way to tell them apart, thank God Kate had one eye that was half blue and half brown, or I’d always wonder who I was talking to.

“Well then!” Kate said and grabbed her sister’s hand, “We’re going to go change into our bikinis!”

“You do realize we don’t have a pool, right?” I called to their retreating forms.

“Don’t care!”

“I’m going to end up punching someone, aren’t I?” Brandon grumbled from behind me.

“Probably.” I sighed and looked up at him, glad to see he was smiling. “When are you going to start the grill?”

“Already did after I let them in. I’ll put the burgers on a bit after everyone else gets here.”

“Thank you.” I kissed his soft lips and relaxed further into his chest, “And thank you for this, I think it’ll be a good day.”

“I think you’re right.” He lifted me up and sat me on the counter, gave me another kiss that almost reduced me to a puddle and walked over to Jeremy, “Come help me with the ice chests.”

“Brandon! I just barely got down from the counter, and Jeremy had to help me!”

“I know.” He smiled wickedly and walked out to the garage.

I turned to Konrad, “Care to help?”

“Ya know, I forgot to get the ice from the store…wanna go with me baby?” He grabbed Bree’s hand and led her quickly out of the kitchen.

Jerks.

Looking to the only person left in the room I added dryly, “Want to join?”

Aubrey walked up next to me and had to jump three times before she got enough leverage to lift herself all the way up.

“They’re really high up, right? It’s not just me?”

“No, it’s definitely not just you.” She said softly and tucked her hair behind her ears, “Thank you so much for having us, this is really sweet of you.”

“Of course! It’s fun to do. I apologize in advance if it gets rowdy. I don’t know much about the guys coming.”

She laughed and swung her legs back and forth, “That’s fine.”

Man, did I talk this soft too? “So tell me, how did you meet Jeremy?”

“Um, school.”

“Oh yeah? How long have you been dating?”

Aubrey blushed fiercely and looked over to the door leading to the garage, “Only a week. He asked me out a few times last year, we were Chemistry partners, but I don’t know…he scared me.”

“What? Why?”

“Well I mean, besides his size, he’s really popular and outgoing. He was already popular after his first week at the school, and I knew a lot of girls liked him. I don’t know. Guys like him don’t date girls like me, I thought it was a joke.”

The first half of that didn’t surprise me one bit. He’d really filled out in the last year, was built just like Brandon, and looked exactly like him. Their size was intimidating, and they were incredibly handsome. But what the hell? “I’m sorry, I must be missing something, girls like you?”

“He plays football and is the captain of the soccer team, I’m not into sports or anything school related really.”

“If he’s dating you, then I’m pretty sure that doesn’t matter at all to him. You’re gorgeous Aubrey, and you seem really sweet, it’s not hard to see why he likes you. Jeremy doesn’t just date girls…actually, he hasn’t had a girlfriend in the two years that I’ve been with Brandon. So for him to ask you out is a big thing for him. And those boys don’t have a cruel bone in their body, he would never date you as a joke. He’s just like his brother, they’re extremely protective and devoted to the girls in their life. Nothing less.”

She blushed again, “You and Brandon are so perfect together. Jeremy’s told me so much about you both, and seeing you together is cute. It’s obvious how much you love each other.”

I smiled and leaned back on my hands, “We are definitely in love.”

Brandon and Jeremy walked through carrying two ice chests and smiled widely upon seeing us on the counter. Jeremy couldn’t tear his eyes from Aubrey. Oh he was such a goner.

“So then, you’re not into sports, what are you into?”

Aubrey was looking at Jeremy’s back and biting the corner of her bottom lip, “Um, what?” She blinked her doe-like eyes at me.

“Interests,” I laughed and nudged her side, “what are your interests? Besides Jeremy.”

“Oh,” there goes that blush again, I think I’ve met my match in the blushing department, “well I like photography, and I read a lot.”

“What do you read?” I never got into reading, the only books in my house growing up were by Stephen E. Ambrose, R. Lee Ermey or Tom Clancy and those didn’t exactly pique my interest.

“Anything with a love story. I love love triangles.”

How is that exciting? I was in the middle of a love triangle not long ago. It wasn’t exactly fun. I just nodded my head, “And photography?”

She touched the large bag at her side, I’m guessing she had her camera in there, “Anything really. Scenery, people, flowers…” She trailed off.

“I’d like to see them sometime, if that’s okay with you.”

“See what?” Jeremy asked as he jogged back into the kitchen, planting himself between Aubrey’s legs, his hands resting lightly on her waist.

“She said she likes photography.”

Jeremy glanced up at me briefly, “Oh man sis, you should see her stuff, she’s really good. She has her camera with her, why don’t you show her what you have on there Aubrey?”

Kate and Laura chose that moment to come back in and Aubrey’s blush instantly left her face as she took her hand back out of her bag.

“Later.” I whispered and she nodded her head in relief.

Brandon walked into the kitchen talking on my phone, even though I saw it in his hands, I still patted my shorts to make sure I didn’t have it on me, “Yeah, you’ll see a white truck and black Jeep out front, just walk on in. We’re in the kitchen. See ya.” He tapped the screen and handed it to me.

“Carter?”

“Yep, they just pulled onto the street. Where’d Konrad go?”

I rolled my eyes, “Jerk said he forgot to get ice and left me on the counter. Thankfully someone is nice enough and agreed to join me up here after everyone ditched me.”

Brandon looked at Jeremy and started laughing, “Sweetheart, he didn’t forget the ice, we just dumped it all in the ice chests with the drinks.”

Konrad and Bree walked back in the kitchen, Bree looked completely ravished. I narrowed my eyes at him and pointed at his chest, “Ice, huh? Asshole.”

He gave a sheepish grin and shrugged, “I’m sorry, but it’s too funny that you can’t get down.”

“You’re on my list Konrad Anderson. You are on. My. List.” Everyone was laughing loudly when we heard a voice from somewhere in the front.

“Hello?”

“In here.” Brandon called and the twins started smiling.

Carter rounded the corner, closely followed by a few guys, “What’s up man?” He shook Konrad and Brandon’s hands and looked at me awkwardly as he came in for a hug, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” I grumbled.

“She’s mad because Brandon put her up there, and no one would help her off.” Konrad smirked and leaned up against another counter, with Bree in his arms.

“Well duh Blaze. That way they don’t have to worry about you getting into trouble.”

I glared at him and scooted toward the edge, but quickly went back. Aubrey did the same and Jeremy eventually helped her down. She was at least three inches taller than me, and even she wouldn’t jump down.

Carter walked back into the dining room when he heard more of his friends come into the house and Brandon sauntered over to me, “It’s just because you’re so damn cute up there.” He kissed me and pulled me down, making it so my chest was pressed hard against his as I slowly slid down his body. His gray eyes heated and my body instantly responded. Stupid barbecue.

Carter came back in, making a total of six Marines, two of them had girlfriends with them, and we started the long process of introducing everyone. Brandon introduced us before Carter introduced himself and his friends. Kate caught my eye as she shamelessly stared at Carter, mouth partially open. I don’t know if it was her expression, but Carter definitely did a double take when he saw her too. He passed over Aubrey and Jeremy and when he caught sight of Laura, his brow furrowed and he quickly glanced over to Kate, back to Laura and finally rested on Kate again. When he looked over to me, I raised an eyebrow at him with a wide smile and I swear he blushed as he stumbled over his introductions.

“Did you see that?” Brandon whispered low in my ear. So I wasn’t crazy.

“Mhmm.”

“Huh.” He kissed my head and stood up straighter. “Interesting.”

It was quiet when Carter finished with their names and thankfully Brandon said he was going to start the food, so all the guys shuffled out with him and the hamburger patties. It was adorable to see Jeremy hesitate and look between the guys and Aubrey a few times before she pushed him out the door. I started getting cheese ready for Brandon and slicing up tomatoes and onions for when the food would be done. Bree and Aubrey helped me as the other four girls sat on barstools and talked chattily.

“Hey Blaze, your hubby said he needed cheese.” Carter walked toward me but looked at Kate over his shoulder quickly before thanking Bree for the plate of separated cheese she was holding out to him.

“You’re drooling Kate.” I smiled at her after Carter went back outside.

She smiled mischievously and glanced back quickly before leaning forward like we were sharing secrets, her elbows resting on the counter. “He’s cute, huh?”

Bree and I grinned and rolled our eyes at each other while Laura agreed. Aubrey just nodded her head silently next to us.

“So, you’re the Blaze?” One of the girlfriends asked.

Stifling a groan, I plastered a smile on my face, “That I am.”

“I heard a lot about you, Craig lives with Jason.”

The name Craig wasn’t ringing a bell, I was trying to remember which guy had been next to her, “All bad things, I’m sure?” I smirked and turned to grab the sliced produce, “Aubrey, can you help me with the plates and bowls?”

“From what he said, you two are close?” Craig’s girlfriend continued.

“Uh, kind of. We were best friends back home, but that was a while ago.”

“Cute pet name he has for you.” She goaded.

I set the plates back down a little harder than I should have, and tried to stay smiling as I tilted my head to the side, “Not really. I wouldn’t call making fun of how much I blush ‘cute’.”

“He doesn’t have a nickname for anyone else.”

“Oh my God, he has a nickname for his best friend. Big effing deal.” Bree slapped her palms down to her sides in exasperation. “Can we eat now? I’m starving.”

Dear Lord I loved Bree.

“You were the reason Ashley left him, you know.”

I bit down on my tongue and counted to five before saying anything else, “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

“Lauren.”

“Lauren, right. Can you come here for a sec?” I led her into the living room, thankful Bree made everyone else stay in the kitchen, “I’m guessing you’re a friend of Ashley’s?”

She raised a dark brow in confirmation.

“I’m sure you have a reason for trying to stand up for your friend that was sweet enough to empty Carter’s bank account and let him come back from war to find divorce papers, but I can assure you I had nothing to do with said divorce. Whether she believes that or not, is her problem. But if you still feel the need to be in the middle of it, feel free to ask Carter when the last time was that we spoke before last week. He’ll tell you it was months before he even met Ashley. I knew they got married, but I found out through a text.”

“I’m sure, I know you were still around and I’ve heard enough about you to know what kind of girl you are.”

“I doubt that.”

“You weren’t always surrounded by Marines? Sleeping with half the guys in Jason’s unit? From the way he talks about you, you’re still screwing him. Does your husband know you’ve fucked most of the infantryman in Lejeune?”

“Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are coming in my house, accusing me of –”

“Being a home-wrecker? It’s about time someone informed you of what you are! Do you know how heartbroken Ash was that her husband told her she’d never be you?”

“What happened between me and Ashley is between us.” Carter came up beside me and I felt Brandon’s large frame step behind me. “And whatever has happened since then is none of your business either.”

“It is my business when I had to listen to my friend cry for hours on end about some slut!”

“Shit.” A mumbled voice came through the back door, “Lo, what the fuck is wrong with you?” A lean guy I’m guessing was Craig pushed through us and grabbed her arm, whispered to her for a second and watched her storm out the door. “Y’all, I’m so sorry. I’m gonna take her home. Harper, Brandon, please forgive that. She’s – she’s…well what she said wasn’t right. Y-you’re not a, uh, slut Harper. I’m real sorry.”

My blood was boiling and my body was shaking, but I forced my voice to stay even, “Feel free to come back, but don’t bring her.”

Craig nodded at me and looked up to Brandon, “Brandon, I’m –”

“It’s fine,” Brandon raised a hand to stop him, “but Harper’s right, don’t bring her back to our house again. We’ll save you some food if you decide to come back.”

He waved awkwardly and bolted for the front door.

The three of us stood there for a moment looking at the shut door and I brought my hands up with a soft clap, “Well, she was lovely. Burgers, anyone?”

Carter smirked and punched my arm, “Hell yeah, bet I can still eat you under the table.”

Like that was hard to do. I patted my stomach and winked at Brandon before looking back at Carter, “I don’t know about that, I’ve been awfully hungry lately.”

“This isn’t ice cream Blaze, you know you can’t beat me unless it’s that.”

“True.” I sighed and wrapped my arms around Brandon’s waist, looking up at his amused expression, “Aren’t you supposed to be manning the grill?”

“Everything’s practically done, but Jer’s got it covered. Bree said we needed to save you.”

I rolled my eyes, “I was handling it just fine…okay maybe not.”

“You handled that better than I would have expected anyone to. You’re kind of amazing, you know?” Brandon’s gray eyes ran over my face, resting on my lips.

“And you’re kind of ridiculously handsome, you know?”

He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss, smiling against my mouth when another happy sigh escaped my lips.

“Gah, you guys are disgustingly cute.” Carter gave us a crooked smile and shook his head.

“You know Carter, Kate’s single…” I pursed my lips and raised my eyebrows.

“The one with the awesome eyes?”

Brandon and I laughed, “Yep.”

“Oh really now? Well then, please excuse me.” After rounding the corner, he poked his head back in and looked at me with mock disappointment, “I know for a fact you perfected your right hook, I expect to see it next time someone calls you a slut. Prokowski wasn’t your punching bag for nothing, make us proud Blaze!”

Carter didn’t leave Kate’s side for the rest of the afternoon, and although it helped me breathe easier, I know Brandon wasn’t completely comfortable with him yet. It took me a bit to realize why he kept pulling me closer to him than I already was until I noticed the longing glances Carter seemed to still be sending my way.

“You need help in here?”

Turning, I saw Carter standing behind the breakfast bar with a sheepish grin on his face, “There’s not much left, I’ll be back out there soon.”

The chair scraped against the floor before he sat down, his body slumping into the chair as he brought his beer to his lips, “So today has been fun.”

“Mhmm. Glad you guys could come. It was nice to be surrounded by jarheads, it’s been too long.”

“I knew you’d miss us. It was so different when you left for school. I mean, we had a lot that we were always doing, but it still felt like we had nothing to do or look forward to without you there.”

“It was weird for me too, especially with Bree. I’ve never been around girls, but she’s great, she was the perfect roommate and friend for me. And all the guys that we hung out with reminded me of you all, so it made it easier. Going my whole life being surrounded by Sir’s unit, I felt like everyone in there before you got there, and during, was my real family. You guys were my home.”

“Even Jacobs?” He gave me his crooked grin and I rolled my eyes remembering the perverted creep.

“Okay maybe not all of you. I think I told you when you first got here, I felt like I went from one family of brothers to another, and that really is the best way to explain it. It wasn’t you, or Prokowski and Sanders, but they were still protective and funny like the rest of you, so it felt like I was back home being around them. The house and Bree made moving an easy transition.” I turned to put the rest of the crème pie in the fridge, and my heart ached when I saw his lonely expression, “It really has been good to see you Carter. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too Blaze. These last couple years have gone,” he took another swig and sighed deeply, “a lot different than I thought they were going to.”

“For me too.” I leaned onto the island and shook my head, laughing softly, “I didn’t think I would be married or have a baby, that’s for sure.”

“I did, but I definitely thought it would be with me. I had it all planned out, I was gonna sweep you off your feet, you were going to drop out of college and marry me immediately.” He puffed a small laugh and ran a hand through his short hair.

“Well, obviously that didn’t happen.” I smirked at him.

“Obviously. What did you see yourself doing?”

“Continuing school, trying to enjoy the ‘college experience’, I guess. I don’t really know Carter, I just wanted to get away, be me, or find out who I was.”

“And then you met Brandon, and your whole world changed?” He looked sad, even through his smile, “I’ve gotta admit, I thought getting you to marry me anytime soon was a long shot, but I couldn’t believe the girl I knew was already head over heels for some guy she’d just met. You were so different when I got here, confident, feminine and outgoing. I had to keep reminding myself that you were my Blaze. I’d already lost you to everyone here though. It was painfully obvious after those first few minutes on the beach. And seeing you with him, I just – I don’t know. It shocked the hell out of me and killed me.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking about dating when I left home. I mean, I figured I would, but never thought I’d meet someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with after just two weeks of being here, ya know?” I laughed softly and the corners of my mouth tilted up, “Definitely thought marriage and babies would happen sometime after graduation. Like you said though, life doesn’t always go as planned, does it? It caused me to grow up, too soon probably, but I’m fine with that because it was the result of my actions. I just hate that those actions forced the people closest to me to grow up too.” Silence filled the kitchen for a few moments before I continued, “And while I can’t regret anything that brought Brandon and I to where we are now, I wish I could have spared Brandon and Chase a lot of the pain that we went through to get here.

“Chase? That tatted up guy…Bree’s brother right?”

I nodded and watched him try to figure it out.

“I knew it! I knew there was something going on there, he was way too possessive of you for you to just be friends. He was worse than Brandon and me combined. Where is he anyway?”

“He died.”

“Oh damn. When?”

“Over a year ago, he ran a red light and was hit by an eighteen wheeler. I was five and a half months pregnant with Liam. Chase was the father.”

“The fuck?” He leaned over the countertop and whispered, “Does Brandon know about this?!”

“Yes Carter, Brandon knows everything, I promise. I uh, I cheated on Brandon with Chase not long after you left for Afghanistan, but trust me when I say it is way too long and FUBAR’d to even try to explain tonight.”

“Blaze, you can’t just say something like that and not tell me what happened.”

My vision got blurry and I blinked back the tears, “Not tonight, kay Carter?”

“Yeah, alright.” He shook his head in disbelief, “But he just acts like Liam’s his son?”

“Chase was the father, but Brandon is Liam’s dad. He loves him like he’s his own.” I walked over and sat in the seat next to him, “I don’t expect you to understand what that means, it’s hard to explain it to anyone who wasn’t there for everything that happened.”

Carter continued to stare at me with wide unblinking eyes, “Jeez Blaze.”

“I know.”

“One day, we’re sitting down and you’re telling me the whole damn thing.”

“Okay Carter. Will you tell me all about you too?”

He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, “Hell, I’ll tell you it all right now. I pretty much lost it after that night at the party, slept with a new girl every weekend, went to strip clubs every Friday night and was wasted all weekend, every weekend. One Friday, I’m walking out to my car with some of my boys and I see this girl sitting on the tailgate of a big truck. Swear to God I thought it was you. Walked over and saw it wasn’t, but by that point she had seen she caught my attention and started laying it on pretty thick. Honestly it was pathetic, but at that point I didn’t care. Made the guys find their own way and spent the afternoon with her, drove to Vegas late that night and married her the next day. Stupidest damn thing I’ve ever done, and God she drove me crazy. Anytime we were out, she’d try to get me to have my dog tags outside my shirt, and would always wear a ‘Marine’s wife’ shirt. Wouldn’t even call me by my name, always called me Sergeant and let everyone she talked to know she was married to a guy in the military. I mean like literally, it was the first thing she said. Even the other people would look at her weird for just bringing it up like that. She didn’t care about me just the same as I didn’t care about her. We were both using each other for something, and I think that’s the only reason we tolerated each other for the month before I left.”

“And what Lauren said about you and her?”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, “I accidentally called her Blaze one night, and she got all excited that I gave her a nickname, I was drunk and straight up told her, ‘That name’s not for you, you’ll never be her’.”

“Jason Carter!” My mouth popped open wide, “I can’t believe you actually said that to your wife.” I know it was awful, but I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop.

Carter was shaking with silent laughter, “And yet, here you are laughing about it.”

“I’m sorry,” I wiped tears from my cheeks and laughed louder, “but I was picturing what her face would have looked like when you said that.”

“Oh God she was mad. Slapped me across the face in front of everyone, hurt like sin too!”

“You were in front of other people?!”

“We were at a bonfire with some friends. That night didn’t end well, that’s for sure.”

“Good God, Carter. That’s terrible.” My chuckling made it obvious I thought anything but that.