Page 69 of The Exception

“Not exactly like Frank. But interpersonal relationships were… affected.”

He nodded at the water, thinking. “The best relationships are always under construction.”

“That’s very insightful.”

“I stole it from my therapist.”

She turned her head to look at him and the moonlight draped over her cheekbones, making her skin glow. “I heard you tell Frank that you talked to someone.”

“I’d already made a mess of a lot of my interpersonal relationships by the time I joined up, which made coming home pretty lonely.”

He thought of the night before he was to fly home to D.C., of how he’d been more terrified than his first time being dropped in a warzone. Over those fourteen years, he’d built real bonds, finally found his place, and coming back home felt like being introduced to an alien planet. Alone. He’d changed, but everything here was the same. Hence his decision to dive head first into a new career, a new neighborhood.

New friendships.

“It was good to have someone to talk to,” he said. “My best friend Mike lives a ways away. Most of my other buddies are still deployed.”

“Your dad’s here.”

He scoffed. “And you’ve met him.”

“Touché.” She blew out a breath, and had she moved closer? “I always thought that if my dad had talked to someone, things would have been different for us.”

“Is that why you went into psych?” She’d avoided that question earlier and he was good enough at this by now to see there was a reason for it.

“Partly. What about you? Why paramedic school?”

He shrugged and sipped his beer. “I’m addicted.”

She arched an eyebrow. “To what?”

“The adrenaline. Always have been, and I’m good under pressure because of it. I’m going to take that and do something good with it.”

She seemed intensely interested in that answer. She turned her head, exposing her neck and the curve of her shoulder to the moonlight. He fully admitted it was weak, but he couldn’t stop himself from staring.

“I think maybe you’re addicted to the good too,” she whispered.

He swallowed, letting his gaze drift down her arm to her hand flat on the blanket between them. He moved his closer until the tips of their fingers touched. “Why?”

“Everything you do has someone else’s good in mind. You’re nothing like what your dad thinks. You’re good with the patients. With Frank.” She smiled. “With little babies.”

He chuckled. “Who doesn’t love little babies?”

The look on her face said she wasn’t leaving it at that, but before she could analyze him any more, a low whine sounded from the baby monitor and they both bolted upright, holding their breath.

Lucia kicked her feet and made a fist, then just as quickly drifted back to peaceful sleep.

Back to just him and Sonya. He glanced sidelong to see her staring out at the water, her bottom lip between her teeth. She had to be thinking the same thing he was, that this tension between them wasn’t easing no matter how hard they ignored it.

He understood her hesitation. If he were Sonya, he wouldn’t take the risk either. But he wasn’t Sonya and he’d learned some hard lessons about putting things off until some undetermined “later.” Maybe he should suck it up until his internship was over, ask her out a few months from now, but then this moment right here would be wasted.

The sound of a party happening somewhere across the lake drifted over the water. Music, laughter. The entire night, hell the entire trip, felt like a set-up for them to fail at keeping things platonic. He’d never been afraid to fail if taking the chance was worth it. This was worth it. She was worth it.

Taking it for the sign it had to be, he got to his feet and offered her his hand. “Dance with me.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and his heart slammed in his chest. “Here?”

“Yes. On this dock, under this moon.”

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