Staying on Course (20 page)

Crystal finally has her man back.

*****

Bryce is waiting outside when we drive up to his townhome. Before Quinn can put the car in park, I’m out and running to him. He catches me easily and steals a quick kiss before putting his head in my neck.

“Missed you.” I lean back and frame his face in my hands. “That was a really long two weeks.”

“Tell me about it. But at least now we have our own space.”

“Hey, loverlord, are you going to get our bags or what?” Quinn walks up and pinches him as he sets me down.

“Loverlord?” He raises an eyebrow at her.

“It’s a new word I’m trying out. Not sure I like it.”

I cover my mouth to hide my snicker. The last thing I need to do is encourage her. Bryce grabs our bags, and we follow him inside. Nate gets up to greet us when we walk in, and I instantly feel a sense of familiarity. They only brought a few of their personal items since the place had all the essentials, but this is more them. They’ve set up the entertainment system with their large screen TV and gaming systems similar to how it was at the apartment in Knoxville. Pictures are scattered around the room with the addition of some new ones with Tommy, Rick, and a few other guys they work with. I only saw their base housing once, but this place has one-hundred percent more personality and warmth.

“I love it here!” I declare and throw myself on the sofa. “Believe it or not, this sofa is more comfortable than the one you had. Quinn will sleep like a queen on this thing.”

“Actually, she can have my bed tonight,” Nate tells us. “I’m working.”

“Cool. What time do I need to be up tomorrow morning?” she asks.

“Nine should be fine. But if not, I’ll crash on the couch.”

Bryce reaches down and pulls me to my feet easily. “Let’s give you a tour, then we need to hit the store.”

“Is this the kind of tour where I can join, or the kind that results in the horizontal tango?” Quinn smirks then snorts at her own stupid joke.

“Horizontal tango? Really, talk about throw back. What? Are we going to start using the term bump and grind too?”

“Bumping uglies.” She rocks her hips in a piston motion.

“Get your freak on!” I thrust my own hips at her.

“Hidin’ the salami,” she shoots back.

“Banging!”

“Can we stop this crazy fucking conversation? Bad enough I have to know it’s happening. Don’t need this shit running through my mind,” Nate spews. “Swear to God, sometimes I think you two are still sixteen.”

“Touchy, touchy… Maybe Nate needs to get
previsto,
” Quinn teases.

“Actually, Quinn, I’m pretty sure Nate’s getting laid frequently,” Bryce informs us.

Nate’s head snaps up, his eyes growing wide. “You did not say that in front of my sister.”

“Hey, man, I was sticking up for you.”

“Who is she?” Quinn questions, and Bryce grins, shrugging.

“Okay.” I throw my hands up. “This conversation is over. No more.”

“Agreed,” Nate mutters.

My phone vibrates in my pocket with an incoming text. It’s from my mom.

Mom: Want company this weekend? Michelle and I found an incredible deal on a flight. Thought we’d make a girls weekend… Game on Saturday, dinner and drinks Saturday night… Dress shopping on Sunday???

“Quinn, think our moms are invading this weekend.” I flash my phone to show her the message.

“Tell her we’re busy,” she jokes. “See how quick she calls in a panic.”

“Babe, Karen’s been talking to my mom about dress shopping for weeks. Even pressuring me to talk to you about it. Don’t fuck with her,” Bryce says in my ear. “Besides, I like the thought of you getting the dress. It’s one more thing done.”

I nod and text my mom back.

Me: Sounds terrific. We just got to Norfolk. Let me know your flight info so we can be there in time. Nate and I will call you tomorrow. Love you!

Mom: You too, honey.

“Only our moms would want to go dress shopping days after Thanksgiving,” Quinn huffs.

“I guess instead of bringing desserts, we could make a big salad.”

Both of us scrunch our noses at the same time and shake our heads.

Bryce leans down and whispers, “You don’t need to worry about burning calories. I’ve got that covered.”

A thrill shoots through me, and I lean into him. “I’m counting on it.”

Quinn starts humming the tune to “
Let’s Get it On
” by Marvin Gaye, and I shoot her a dirty look.

I can’t wait until next time Dean visits. She’s gonna pay.

Quinn was right; our mothers are crazy. Dress shopping is going to be a mistake after this meal. I watch Nate, Tommy, and Bryce shove cake in their mouths and feel a little woozy. Nicole sits next to me, and I grunt as the sofa dips, bouncing us.

“It was delicious. Thank you again,” I tell her.

“My pleasure. Besides, I was worried that Bryce would come out of his skin if he went much longer without seeing you.”

“The feeling was mutual. I’m glad he finally has a place. It’ll be easier on us both, especially next semester. My Fridays will be free.”

“That’ll be nice. Even if he has shift, you can come over and hang with me and TJ.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We stay silent for a minute, watching Quinn through the back door as she paces, talking to Dean.

“So I heard my brother may have met someone. Do you know anything?”

“Very little. Tommy said it’s new.”

“I wondered if it was Dani but haven’t had time to ask Bryce.”

“No, she’s only a friend. We all love Dani; she’s sweet, but I doubt she’d date anyone on her ship. I asked her to come today, but she had plans. There’s a chance she may stop in later.” She gives me a look, and my stomach sinks.

“With Liza?”

“I’m assuming.”

“Please tell me that Liza wasn’t invited today because of me.”

“Actually, she was asked to join us. The whole crew was invited, but she declined. Then Dani said she also had plans.”

“I guess I need to apologize to Liza even though I don’t want to.”

“It’s none of my business, but I think you did the right thing. No apology needed. There’s always going to be a Liza lurking around. It’s good to stand your ground and stake your claim, especially with the aggressive ones.”

“That’s the thing. She never seemed aggressive in the true term. She’s always been indifferent in her tone, but also condescending, like she was looking down on me. And then there was that picture I found.”

“What do you mean?”

I tell her about the picture on Nate’s phone and never mentioning it to Bryce.

“Devon, I trust Tommy with my life. It’s other women I don’t trust. We’ve had countless conversations about the way women flirt with him, and I’m not only referring to the Navy women.”

“Great.” I throw my head to the back of the couch and focus on the ceiling. “More reasons to feel insecure.”

She pats my hand lightly. “Whatever you’re feeling, talk to Bryce. I’ve seen relationships crumble under the pressure. Don’t become a statistic.”

“What are we talking about now?” Quinn plops down.

“The fact that women are ruthless creatures, and Bryce will be faced with easy temptation all the time.”

“Hmmm, sounds like a worthless conversation. Women may throw themselves at him, but it’s useless on their part. So can we talk about something that won’t set your nerves on edge?”

TJ wobbles in the room, covered in chocolate, and Nicole gets up to grab him. Quinn and I lean into each other, and I struggle to keep my eyes open. The bliss only lasts a few minutes before I hear Tommy answer his phone and then tell the crowd that Dani’s on her way. Quinn and I both tense, knowing that she’s probably not alone.

Thirty minutes later, when the kitchen is almost clean, Liza and Dani come through the back door. Dani instantly gives us a warm hug. Liza acknowledges us with a small wave then walks directly into the living room. Within a few seconds, Bryce is at my side with a worried expression.

“You ready to go?” he asks.

“Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s kinda rude to leave so soon after eating or when other guests just arrived. Don’t you want to watch some of the game?”

“Not really,” he mutters unconvincingly.

Quinn gives me a knowing look then walks out, leaving us alone. I lean into him and kiss along the underside of his jaw.

“If you’re worried about Liza being here, don’t be. I’m fine.”

His eyes scan my face, and he relaxes, slipping his hands into the back pockets of my jeans. “Staying until halftime then we need to leave. Four am alarm is early, no matter what time we go to bed.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. The bed’s lonely without you.”

His eyes grow soft, and he leans down, pressing his lips against mine in a sweet kiss. A throat clears behind us, and he straightens. His face hardens.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you for a minute, Bryce.”

I turn partially and see Liza moving to a barstool. She doesn’t give me a second glance.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“We need to talk about Shawn. Had another incident you should be aware of.”

“No, if we talk about Shawn that means we’re talking about work, and I don’t want to talk about work on my day off.” He looks at his watch and then frowns. “I’ll be on base in less than thirteen hours. I’m positive this can wait.”

“It really can’t. Give me ten minutes. Let me brief you then decide if it can wait. If so, we’ll connect tomorrow morning.”

He reluctantly agrees by giving her a small nod. She slices her eyes to mine and waits silently. I start to feel uncomfortable and glance up to Bryce.

“Do you need privacy? Is this a confidential issue?”

“Yeah, babe, give me ten minutes and I’ll join you back in the living room.”

“Devon, this may take longer. Warning you now, Bryce, you’re going to want to hear all of it.” She looks between the two of us, and for once, I don’t feel threatened. Her expression is all business.

Bryce must sense this too because he blows out a deep breath and utters, “Shit,” before kissing me on the forehead and stepping back. I pat his chest and try to give him an encouraging smile then leave them alone.

Liza was right. It didn’t take ten minutes; it took an hour. Nate joined them for a little while then came back looking pissed. He sunk back on the sofa and chugged his beer. Tommy, Nicole, and Rick noticed but kept quiet.

When Bryce finally walks back in, Quinn is asleep on my shoulder, and my mind is spinning with possibilities of what took so long. His mouth is in a firm line as he runs his hands through his hair. Liza follows him out, hands him a beer, and then sits on the edge of the sofa, close to him. His eyes land on mine, and my heart falls. He looks so apologetic and torn; my mind clears of the earlier bitterness. Obviously, it was a real problem.

“Everything alright?” Tommy looks between them.

“Yes, work stuff,” Liza answers and focuses on me.

“He looks genuinely upset.” Quinn whispers, waking up.

I nod and catch Bryce’s eye, patting the empty space on the floor next to me. He sits and drapes his arm over my shoulder, tension rolling off of him.

“Babe, I hate to do this, but my schedule just got royally fucked. I need to be on base a lot earlier. We should probably go.”

I get up, and he rises too. Quinn decides to stay back with Nate for a while. She can tell we need some privacy so Bryce can share with me what’s going on.

We say our goodbyes, and I promise to call Nicole with our holiday plans once Bryce and I have decided. Tommy and Rick ask me to give them a shout out if the TV lands on me at Saturday’s game. Bryce groans, but everyone, including Liza laughs.

We are almost to the door, still smiling, when Liza finds a way to ruin my mood again.

“Bryce, you need me to pick you up?”

I stop walking and look at him. He hangs his head and takes a deep breath then turns to her. “No, Liza. I’ve got it.”

“Okay, see you in a few hours.” Satisfaction seeps through her tone.

In a millisecond, my unease returns.

*****

It turns out the problem with Shawn was that he needed help for alcohol abuse and suspicion of drinking on the job. Bryce explained as much as he could that Shawn’s wife had recently left and took their two-year old. She was filing for a separation. A lot of people were concerned and hoped he only needed some help coping.

Bryce left me in bed at one-thirty am Friday morning to go and confront Shawn and start the process to get help. He couldn’t tell me much more, except that he wanted to follow the rules and procedures to the ‘T’. It would consume his time until they decided the next steps.

I haven’t heard from him, except short text messages, since he left two days ago. Nate says he’s basically living on the base, working through this, so I have tried to be understanding. My mom and Michelle know what’s going on and have done everything to keep me occupied. I’ve tried to stay positive, but it’s a losing battle. All I can think of is Bryce working closely with Liza for endless hours. It’s obvious they both have an interest in this guy and his well-being, but no doubt she’s enjoying working with him alone. It’s stupid and selfish of me, but I can’t get rid of the sick feeling that’s settled in my stomach.

The only time I really felt like myself was when Shana found me on the field before the game. We hadn’t seen each other in forever, but she did acknowledge she received my internship application personally. I congratulated her, and she was coy, not talking about the engagement.

When she walked up, patting me on the shoulder, I turned and jumped into her embrace. Quinn joined in, and the three of us twisted and twirled until a throat cleared behind us. I looked over her shoulder to see a seriously HOT Professor Grant in jeans and a black turtleneck, his glasses gone and a few days’ growth on his face. Quinn and I said hello as Shana stepped into him, sliding an arm around his waist.

The minute she did, the sparkle from her hand caught my eye and I gasped. The largest and most ornate wedding ring set was shining off her hand. She blushed a bit but didn’t try to hide it. Instead, she took his hand to show a platinum ring as well. Then I knew why she was so tight-lipped. She eloped.