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Well, maybe — for a brief – very brief – period of time. Like long enough to fill the emotional reserves and then ‘go away.’ Yeah, he wasn’t exactly boyfriend or husband material, and he knew it. In fact, that was part of the reason he volunteered for Afghanistan.
A – The money was great.
B – One of his classmates accidentally got someone pregnant and was kicked out of the Academy.
C – Their parents… period.
Yeah, what a disaster.
His dad had cheated on Reese’s mother, had her parental rights revoked, married Max’s mother the second he had custody of Reese, and, well, the mess went on and on. He couldn’t even be mad at his father because the man had died. There was no asking questions like ‘why?’ or ‘what happened?’ because he only found out about a year before he passed away, and his mother had been extremely tight-lipped about it, refusing to discuss Ruth Kendall, Reese’s mom, at all.
The last thing he needed in his life was some weird, clingy woman snooping into everything, questioning him, and then going hysterical or completely crazy the second he was ready to move on.
Yep. He had an ideal woman in his mind and had yet to meet her. His ideal woman is going to be sweet, gentle, and loving with enough sense to back off and leave him alone so he could go hang out with the boys – and he had told his friends as much.
“Geeks are freaks in the sheets,” Max had advised Riptide one afternoon in Ghazni when they’d been having to run laps and were all talking about girls. They thought he was joking, but he was completely serious. “Now, if you want heaven? You get yourself a big girl…”
“Yo – that’s rude. How about ‘healthy’…” Paradox snapped. “Some of us like girls who aren’t twigs, you know. You guys are a bunch of blithering idiots.”
“Fine,” Max continued, unphased and grinning like a maniac. “Get yourself a healthy girl, with healthy boobs and a healthy body that is just made for lovin’.”
And it was true.
He wanted a big ol’ soft girl to hang onto, a shy little nerd that would idolize him, look up to him, and hang on his every word – but his little nerd would be so involved in World of Warcraft, Halo, Knights of the Old Republic, or some online game that he could get some breathing space while she went to play with her little friends.
Yup. He could see his little plump, blonde goddess now. Triple D’s, a butt that wiggled when she walked, thigh dimples… oh mercy, he loved some thigh dimples. She would cook meals, bake desserts, and hopefully be some crazed little sex fiend, wanting to fool around all the time. That was his dream girl, and he knew she was out there – somewhere – waiting for him.
“So, how’s work?” Reese said as he drove through the streets of town, distracting Max from his errant thoughts that were getting him a little hot under the collar.
“Stressful,” he blurted out and hesitated as he met his brother’s concerned look in the rearview mirror. “It’s fine. It was just that one of the pilots had a problem but it got straightened out.”
“Are you safe out there?”
“Yeah,” he fibbed, not wanting to worry his brother anymore. “Just really ready for vacation, you know?”
“I can imagine.”
“I’m really grateful you guys don’t mind me crashing on the couch, but I do plan on getting out a bit and honestly thought about getting another tattoo or seeing if…”
“Oh, mercy,” Reese muttered. “Another tattoo?”
“Hey… hey, let’s not get mad again, okay?”
“The last time you skipped your high school graduation – and the time before that, you got a tattoo during Christmas break before disappearing to go camping with your buddies.”
“They were going to the lake… I didn’t know you had a thing against getting a tattoo. Eileen, when did ol’ Reese’s Pieces become a prude?”
“I’m not a prude, Max,” Reese retorted, pulling into the driveway. “I just want you to be safe. I don’t want you getting Hepatitis C or some other disease from going to some unclean location. Be safe and smart about this – and save your dang money like Dad always said.”
“Dad also slept around…”
“It doesn’t have to be genetic.”
“I’ve been home for less than an hour, and you are already…”
“BOYS!” Eileen snapped hotly at the both of them. “We are not doing this – and Max is right.”
“I am?”
