Page 60 of Trusting a Warrior

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it.” Tossing his sweaty T-shirt aside, Matt skinned off his running shorts and wrapped a towel loosely around his hips. Then he dropped to sitting on the bed next to Geo. “The thing is...”

“What?”

Matt drew in a breath. “I screened positive for Green Team.”

“Development Group?” Geo blinked. “Holy shit, dude! That’s great!” Of course Matt would accept the chance to join the elite SEAL Team Six, the highly mobile unit which specialized in time-sensitive missions. “Sucks to be us, but congrats!”

“I’m also getting married.” Although Matt’s voice sounded rueful, his face glowed with happiness. “Proposed last weekend, got down on one fuckin’ knee and everything.”

“Wow. Congrats again.” Geo eyed him, trying to picture serious, sometimes taciturn Matt ardently asking someone to marry him. Damn. Lucky Shane. “So...?”

“So now I have a decision to make. Stay with a West Coast team, or uproot us both.”

Geo winced. DEVGRU was based out of Dam Neck, Virginia, so accepting the slot definitely meant moving. “What about Shane’s job?”

“That’s the thing.” Matt leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped loosely between them. “His injuries mean going before a medical board, and if they keep him on operational status, he’ll be staying on the West Coast.”

“Why? Why can’t he transfer to an East Coast team?”

“He could, but...” Matt sounded stressed, and frustrated. “He owns a house in Imperial Beach. His sister and brother-in-law are in El Cajon, as well as his niece and nephew. I’d be asking him to give everything up in order to follow my dreams, but I also don’t want to start my marriage off with a long-ass separation.”

“Well, as someone single, footloose and fancy-free, I got nothin’ in the way of advice.” Geo clapped Matt on the shoulder and squeezed. “Kinda regret proposing now, huh?”

“I should, for his sake.” Grinning, Matt stood, his towel slipping perilously low. “But no, no regrets. Shane’s the best thing that could ever or will ever happen to me, and I can’t wait to marry him.” He pointed at Geo. “Just don’t tell him that, okay? I have an image to maintain. Mushy Matt is reserved for special occasions only.”

“Ha. Noted.”

After Matt had disappeared into the bathroom to shower, Geo stared unseeing at the dingy carpet. Screening for DEVGRU had never appealed to him—why, he couldn’t say. Maybe it was the thought of living his life tied to a government cellphone on a one-hour leash. No matter what he was doing, if a DEVGRU guy was called, he had one hour to get his ass on a plane. Missions spun up, and more than half the time, they spun right back down, creating a push-pull that tended to wreak havoc on personal lives.

Nope, Geo didn’t envy Matt the difficult life decisions coming up, not one bit. He sighed and hooked his nearby duffel bag with his foot, intending to drag it over and dig out some clean clothes. As he did, Matt’s phone, tossed negligently on the bed next to Geo’s hip, lit up.

Hey sexy. Where’s that dick pic u promised?

The screen faded, then went off again.

Need it now.

Geo was reaching for the phone when it lit up one last time. J/k miss u baby. Be safe. Love u.

Choking back a laugh, he tossed the phone facedown onto Matt’s bed, something that felt very much like envy coursing through him. He immediately shook it off. No way. He didn’t envy Matt. Uh-uh. Matt should envy him, because he didn’t have to answer to anyone, consult anyone, over the decisions he made, plus he had a contacts list full of people who’d request dick pics from him.

An unwilling pang shot through Geo. The “love u” part, though?

Not so much.

“Jesus, save some beer for the rest of us.”

Geo paused in the act of refilling his glass. “What?”

“We all pitched in for that pony keg, and you’ve already had half of it.” The guy met Geo’s stare challengingly. “When did you become such a lush?”

“Ever since I started working with you, Lennox.” A chorus of “ooohs” broke out from the other guys as Geo deliberately filled his glass to the brim. “Fuck off.”

The man bristled and drew himself up to his full height, which Geo had to admit was impressive. “It’s not ‘Lennox’ to you anymore, Monteverdi, it’s ‘sir.’”

Geo rolled his eyes. “Okay. Fuck off...sir.” He finished pulling his beer, and just for shits and giggles let a goodly amount spill on the floor of the bar before he shut off the tap. Aiming a mocking salute at Lennox, he strolled away, only to be intercepted by Alex.

“Hey, George,” Alex said, lips twitching a bit. “You shouldn’t bait the good ensign like that.”