Page 38 of Sloane

Duh.

Me: Absolutely. Why?

Ryan: Just double checking. There were some single ladies who were asking.

Me: Not interested.

Ryan: I figured, but I thought I’d make sure.

Me: Come on, dude. You know me better than that.

Ryan: Actually, I’ve never seen you with someone longer than a weekend.

Me: Yeah, well, Ashley’s different.

Ryan: So, I’m gathering. I’m happy for you, man.

I wanted to tell him not to get too excited. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do come Monday. My head was telling me one thing while my heart had countered with, don’t even fucking think about it.

I was trying to be cavalier and tell myself it was a problem for Monday morning, but that wasn’t how I operated. I was a planner by nature. Not only did I have a Plan A, I had Plans B, C, and D—it’s how I’d kept me and my Marines alive.

That’s why I was so worried about this upcoming mission. It was a different animal altogether, and we were going to be flying by the seat of our pants.

Being able to alter course on a dime wasn’t anything new—it was a normal occurrence in my line of work. But that’s where Plans B, C, and D came in. The problem with the next operation was there was no Plan B. Plan A either worked or people were going to die.

Which brought me back to my current dilemma.

Me: I’ll talk to you more about it tonight.

Ryan: You’re not thinking about doing anything crazy and marrying her this weekend, are you?

Me: Are you fucking nuts?? No, I’m debating if I should end things after this weekend.

Ryan: I’m so confused. I thought you said she was special?

Me: And therein lies the problem.

Ryan: You’re not making any sense.

Me: I’ll talk to you tonight when she’s not around.

Ryan: This oughta be good. Can’t wait to hear the jarhead logic behind this one.

Me: Fuck you.

Ryan: Love you, too, man.

Ryan: Don’t forget—O’Malley’s TONIGHT at 6:30 SHARP.

Ryan: Okay, maybe not SHARP, but 6:30!

I chuckled as I slipped my phone in my pocket. Damn, I loved that guy.

****

Ashley

“Please tell me you’ll come,” I begged Tammy after getting Sloane’s text reminding me about his party tonight.

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