Love Unexpected (Navy Love Series Book 2)
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Authors: JC Santo
Copyright © 2016 JC Santo
Love Unexpected (Book 2 in the Navy Love Series)
Cover Design: Anhalt Photography and Designs
Cover photo: Licensed through Dollar Photo Club
Editing: Wendi Temporado (
Ready, Set, Edit
)
Formatting:
Angela Shockley (That Formatting Lady)
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Sneak Peek of Resilient Love (Book 3 in the Navy Love Series)
Tegan
My sister has been gone for three weeks, and while I miss her dearly, I’ve had other things and people occupying my time. Although she’s been on multiple deployments, this is the first I’m experiencing first-hand since moving closer to her.
Tonight is one of those nights; this tradition is something Tessa and I started right around the time she got her license, and is one we still hold dear to our hearts.
It’s something we’ve now brought Jo into as well; it’s kind of like an induction in a sense. Either people think we’re crazy or they get a kick out of it just as much as we do. When we were teenagers, our mom even joined in with us a few times.
I swing by Jo’s apartment and pick her up. I pull up and honk, and within seconds her door opens. She emerges and makes quick work of locking up. I see that she dressed appropriately in a tank top and her Navy-issued sweats pulled up to look like capris. Her hair is piled up on top of her head in a messy bun. If it weren’t for the difference in their builds, she could pass for my sister as she makes her way to my car. Where Tessa is curvy, Jo is a little leaner. Jo also has an olive skin tone where Tessa’s creamy.
She hops into the passenger seat. “This is going to be so much fun, Bug. We both need to relieve a little stress.”
I smile and laugh. She, along with everyone else, has attached my childhood nickname to me. I'm no longer referred to as Tegan in most cases, but Bug instead.
She’s right, tonight is going to be really entertaining.
Jo sends a text to Marsh letting him know we’re on our way.
This is the first time I’ll have ever included a man in our ritual, but it’s Marshall. He’s entertaining as hell in a normal situation—I can’t wait to see how he does with our car version of
American Idol
.
I’ve heard many fun stories of my sister and these two doing this exact same thing over the past three years.
We pull up outside Marshall’s house. The ever-demanding Jo doesn’t stop when we make it to the front door, she just pushes it open with the heel of her palm. I’ve learned that this group is very open with each other; there doesn’t seem to be a lot of boundaries. They have created their own unique family.
Marsh is expecting us, so he continues with his phone conversation, although now it’s in a hushed tone as he slips into his room.
“Did you tell him what we’re doing?” I ask Jo.
She opens the pantry and starts rummaging for something to snack on.
“Nope.”
Marshall emerges from his room, off the phone and looking at Jo oddly.
“Is there something I can help you with, Ms. Fuentes?”
I let out a small chuckle. I love that he calls Jo Ms. Fuentes; it sounds sexy rolling off his tongue.
That’s one man who brings all the girls to tears when they find out that they have an ice cream cone’s chance in hell at landing him.
“What are you two troublemakers up to tonight? And to what do I owe this wonderful visit?” He looks between the two of us when neither of us jump to answer him.
“Marsh, it’s an Idol kinda night,” I say as an explanation. His eyes light up with excitement.
“Seriously?”
“Yep. I’m not understanding how we haven’t had one together yet.”
Marshall bounces up and down. “Holy shit! It’s been awhile since I’ve had an Idol night.” He stops promptly and looks to Jo. “Oh my God, are you bitches ready to get your asses handed to you? Jo already knows I kill it at
American Idol
.”
Jo’s head pops up in down in excitement.
“It’s true, his inner-queen emerges and he rocks the hell out.”
We all tease Marshall. He’s the manliest gay guy I’ve ever met. Had my sister not told me his preference to men over women, I would have never guessed.
“Yes,”
Jo hollers. Marsh’s enthusiasm has obviously rubbed off onto her. “I need a night out anyway, and when Bug invited me to this, there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to sing out my frustrations.” I don’t know all of the details, but she’s been going through some stuff since I moved here. I hope that while Tessa is gone she knows I’ll be here for her if she ever needs someone to talk to. “Plus, I’m interested to hear you—” she points at me “—sing your ass off.” Her teasing is used to cover up her admission.
Idol nights are a silly thing Tess and I started doing when we were younger, and it’s just stuck with us. We simply get in the car and drive around with the music blaring, singing as loud as we can, until we’re exhausted. It’s an entertaining alternative to the partying lifestyle that was always available in our home town.
It’s a great way for me to learn area better, so I volunteer to drive. My main reasoning for doing this tonight is to one, form a better, stronger bond with Jo and Marshall, and two, to relieve some of my build up stress.
We sing all of the best “belt your heart out” songs, and after an hour or so, Marsh turns the radio down a bit to chat.
“Thanks for inviting me, Cupcake,” he says with a wink.
I secretly love the pet-name Marshall dubbed me with. It’s a nice change of pace from
Bug
.
“I got an email from Tessa today,” Jo says.
Marshall and I glance back at her, waiting for more information.
“She apologized for not being around before she left; she asked me to look after Bug for her too.”
I can’t stop the eye roll that surfaces; I despise being treated like a child by my sister.
“She what? Why does she treat me like a little kid?”
“I don’t know, girl. I told her nobody blamed her for being wrapped up in Hunter and Sawyer. Every one of us would be preoccupied if we had someone like him waiting for us at home too. I told her that she deserves to be happy, and no one is mad at her for finding someone she cares about.”
Leave it to Jo to shut down any self-doubts Tessa may be feeling.
“I've never seen T this happy before, and I love it. Hunter is amazing, all of you guys are.” I smile at Marsh and look in the rearview mirror winking at Jo, letting her know she's included in my statement.
“Is she doing okay out there?” Marsh asks. “Oh, and she gave me the big spiel about looking after you too, Cupcake. I think if you want that to stop, you’re going to have to have a sit-down discussion with your sister.”
Marshall is right, I need to address the issue with Tessa. If, by some crazy miracle, Reed and I decide to take things further than they are, I’ll need her to recognize that I
am
an adult.
The conversation takes a turn from the serious nature and into relationships. Marshall and I, along with everyone else, have been dying to know what is going on between J.C. and Jo. I don’t expect her to be forthcoming with details; so far they both have been very tightlipped.
“Alright, so, I’ve been seeing this guy I’ve known for a while. We’ve had sex a few times, and it is indescribable.”
Damn. I figured if she told us anything it would be a small, insignificant detail. I’m stunned to silence. Actually, the entire topic of boys and relationships has me nervous. I know my time for confessing is coming. My undeniable blush will appear when asked if I’m seeing anyone, and my new friends have already learned my tell-tale sign of lying.