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Yes, indeed, it could.
What’s shakin’ Zoe girl?
I put the iconic tall, see-through glass with its iconic orange garnish back on the table. Taking a picture, I sent it off to Nate.
“Wonder who she’s texting?” Charlee teased.
By now, the ladies knew everything. Well, not quite everything. They knew Nate and I had been texting nonstop. And I may have mentioned some of those texts had gotten hot and heavy, but I certainly didn’t get into specifics.
Suffice it to say, we’d been getting to know more about each other than just our favorite colors and movies, although we chatted about that stuff too.
In your glory?
You know it.
And then, nothing. I still hadn’t quite gotten used to the strange cadence of his messages. The man was a fricking spotter in an active US Army combat zone, I reminded myself. And here I was kicking back on a sunny day in The Big Easy with my drink. It almost made me feel a little guilty. But when I’d confessed that to Nate the other day, he’d brushed me off.
“I signed up for this,” he said. “Part of the job. And I am glad to do it.”
That was only one of the things I liked about him. I was no stranger to the sacrifices our military, and their families, made, but it was impressive nonetheless.
“Are you going to be tethered to that thing all weekend?” Charlee asked.
I put the phone on the table. “Definitely not.”
“Well, if you are. . .” She winked at me. “We don’t mind. Right, Nat? This is Operation Distraction, after all, so if you’re not thinking of Erik, we’re happy.”
Best. Friends. Ever.
“Exactly,” Natalie said. “But since you are our tour guide, you better tell Nate he has to share you for a few days.”
“He’s so hit-or-miss,” I said. “It’s rare he gets a huge chunk of time to chat anyway.”
“Speaking of chatting, have you done anything more than text? Call? Video call?”
“Almost,” I said. “He was actually going to call me this week, but things got a little crazy, so he never had the chance. He said the next opportunity he could get to call, he would.”
“That’ll be cool to actually hear his voice, yes?” Natalie asked, her Hurricane suspiciously emptying rather quickly.
“Really cool,” I agreed. “But you might want to take it easy. These things are potent.”
“Take it easy? In The Big Easy?” Nat, for someone so outwardly mild-mannered, had a wild streak that rivaled Charlee and me put together.
With that, Natalie led a too-quick downing of our first Hurricanes, which was how we found ourselves with number two so quickly. Halfway into that one, I was just about to suggest we grab a bite to eat when my phone rang. I picked it up and nearly dropped it back down.
“Holy shit. It’s Nate. Calling.”
“Well.” Charlee gestured toward the phone. “Answer it.”
“Right,” I said, as if taking momentary leave of my senses. I did, immediately walking to a more private area of the courtyard. “Hello?”
For a second, all I could hear was what sounded like a helicopter or plane. “Can you hear me?” he asked.
Holy hell on a cracker. His voice. It was so deep. And sexy.
“I can,” I said. “Hi, Nate.”
“Hi, Zoe girl.”
