Page 32 of Point of Contact

“Jesse. You’re safe with me. You hear me, brother? You’re safe. I’ll never out you to anyone, and I wouldn’t have brought it up except I want you to let go these last few days. Have fun. Be yourself.” He squeezed Jesse’s shoulder again. “Just be yourself here.”

Overwhelmed, Jesse blinked back sudden tears. “Riley, I—I don’t—”

“Hey, let’s not talk about it anymore. I’m gonna go hang with Marisol now, okay? We’ll go to her place, so don’t worry about me coming home tonight. I have my key, and I’ll just see you sometime tomorrow.” He got to his feet, snatching up his towel and shouldering his beach bag. “See ya, bud.”

With a small wave, Riley strolled off toward the bar, where Marisol and her friends were waiting. Jesse turned around and stared at the blue-green ocean, at the gentle waves undulating, listening to the soothing shushing of the water. This was paradise, a world away from Afghanistan with its craggy mountains and wily enemy...its desperate struggle for dominance and survival, its blood and death.

Jesse might have escaped the goddamned Valley’s clutches for the moment, but in a few days he’d be heading back into it and toward an uncertain future. What if he died without knowing what it was like to fuck a beautiful stranger he’d met on one of the most picturesque beaches in the world?

The gorgeous guy walked into Jesse’s line of sight again, and this time Jesse took off his sunglasses and met his gaze head-on, letting his eyes linger on the man’s face, then travel leisurely down his taut body to his feet and back up again.

The guy licked his lips, so Jesse stood, grabbed his beer from the sand and sauntered on trembling legs over to join him.

* * *

A knock on the door, a pause, and the gentle whirring of the key card in the lock woke Jesse from his doze. He rolled over with a groan as Riley poked his head cautiously into the room.

“You alone?” he asked, and Jesse nodded, stretching.

“Yeah,” he said, gathering his courage to say, “He, uh, he left about an hour ago.”

“Good.” Riley dropped his stuff to the floor and flopped on the bed next to Jesse, sprawling out on his stomach. “I’m beat. Need to crash for a while.” He put his head on his folded arms and closed his eyes. “You have a good time?”

Jesse scooted up against the pillows, making sure the sheet was pulled up to his chest, aware of his nakedness and marveling a little that Riley was so comfortable being so close to it. “I did.” He gave a soft snort. “He was kind of an arrogant prick, though. Kept talking about his workout routine and his fancy car, his condo. After a while I just wished he’d shut the hell up.”

Riley cracked his eyes open and smirked. “But his skill at conversation wasn’t what you were really after, was it?”

The hot memory of sweat and musk washed over Jesse, along with fingers tangled in damp hair, hoarse grunts—he crooked his knee to hide the burgeoning erection threatening to tent the sheet. “No,” he mumbled, and Riley laughed.

“Didn’t think so.” Riley’s green eyes were sparkling. “Have you ever had a boyfriend before?”

Jesse blinked, thinking how surreal it was to be having this conversation. “There was someone in high school. I wouldn’t really call us boyfriends, though.”

“Fuck buddies?” Riley stretched and yawned, grabbing one of Jesse’s pillows and pulling it to him.

“Not even that. I mean, we kissed a few times, did a couple of—other things.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Jesus, I can’t believe I’m talking about this with you.”

Riley stared at him through slitted eyes, the picture of unconcern. “You think that fazes me?” He wrinkled his nose. “I walked in on my dad and Carl having sex once. On the kitchen island.”

Jesse choked, slamming his pillow down over his face. The bed shook with their laughter, even as Jesse thought how hot that was...two men in love taking their pleasure with each other whenever and wherever the urge struck them.

He sighed, shoving the pillow off. “With me and Ben it never got beyond that fooling-around stage, but it was fun to dream we had a future.” He hesitated. “I was really jealous of your dad and Carl that night, for having all that so openly.”

Riley yawned again. “Well, you can have that future, too, Jess,” he said sleepily. “Maybe not while you’re in the Army, but afterward? Hell, yeah. Just let anyone tell you you can’t, and I’ll fuck ’em up for you.”

Nudging Riley’s leg with his foot, Jesse said, “You’re crazy. But thanks, Riles.”

They drifted for a moment in silence until Riley mumbled, “Oh, by the way, that Special Forces shit? Forget about it. After my contract’s up, I’m gettin’ the hell out.”

“I hear you.”

With that Riley got up and leaned down to give Jesse a smacking kiss on the top of his head before heading for the shower, scratching his taut belly and stripping off his clothes as he disappeared into the bathroom. Jesse slid down to pull the covers up over his shoulders, snuggling into the soft, warm bed, dimly aware of Riley padding naked into the room and climbing into his own bed. In a matter of minutes, they were both asleep.

They left Hawaii two days later, well-rested, well-fed, ready to rejoin their brothers and get back in the fight. As each leg of their journey brought them closer to their unit, Jesse’s tension spiked. Riley grew quiet, introspective, and they huddled in their airplane seats with their earbuds in, not speaking much.

At Bagram Jesse headed for the PX to load up on snacks and cigarettes to bring to the guys, while Riley disappeared in the direction of the MWR to call his dad before they caught their flight back to the outpost. He was still talking to him when Jesse rejoined him, and he sat nearby on a computer, surfing the ’Net, listening to Riley’s one-sided conversation.

“Once we get the official word on when we’re going home, I’ll call you.” He paused. “Yeah, there’s always the possibility they’ll extend us, but I think we would’ve heard rumors about that by now. Everything goes smoothly, we should be home in around two months.” He paused again, laughing. “Tell Carl to chill, Dad. If he wants me to wear my dress blues in the wedding, I will.” Riley rolled his eyes at Jesse. “I’m really glad you had a good time in Boston.”