Page 69 of Single-Minded
“Lucky flies,” Knox said smugly.
I growled as Presley came to mind. Actually, if I was honest with myself, Presley hadn’t been very far from my thoughts since last weekend, no matter how I tried to get her out of my head.
“I got zero prospects,” Luke said matter-of-factly. “How ’bout you, West?”
I shoved a bite of shortcake in my mouth and didn’t make eye contact with anyone.
“I don’t think West has ever been this quiet before,” Knox said.
Chance, who probably knew me best out of these guys, narrowed his eyes at me, not laughing like everyone else. “Do you have a secret, Aldridge?”
I finished my bite of dessert.
“He’s not denying it, is he?” Ben said.
What I’d learned about these guys was, they would give you all kinds of hell as long as you kept secrets. If you leveled with them, they could be supportive and sometimes even offered up passable advice.
I leaned forward, setting my plate aside and resting my elbows on my knees.
“Dude, you do have a secret,” Luke said.
I wasn’t about to out Presley, but I could give them something. “I might be hooking up with someone.”
Howls erupted around the circle as I knew they would. I waited for them to calm the hell down.
“You’re worse than a bunch of twelve-year-old boys,” I said. “I’m not saying a word about who it is, but it’s supposed to be no-strings.”
“Supposed to be?” Ben asked.
“Is,” I corrected. “Neither of us wants a relationship. Just some fun.”
“That’s better than a yearslong dry spell,” Luke said.
“It’s not easy to find the opportunity to fill your own needs as a single dad,” Chance said sympathetically. Then he grinned. “The one night I took for myself landed me my wife though.”
“And your soon-to-be-born baby,” Ben said. “That was a big night, huh?”
“That’s what she said,” Chance quipped.
I laughed with the rest of them but sobered faster. “I want the no-strings,” I said when they quieted.
“So take the no-strings and run with it,” Knox said. “Don’t pay attention to what Luke says. You don’t have to marry anybody.”
“I’ve never been any good at no-strings,” I admitted. “Maybe I’m missing one of the man genes, but I seem to get my heart involved prematurely whether I want to or not.”
“Is your heart involved?” Luke asked. “With this mysterious hookup woman?”
I didn’t immediately reply, because this was embarrassing. But I trusted these guys. They were the brothers I’d never had. Instead of answering directly, I said, “I’ve never figured out how to do meaningless sex. This was supposed to be exactly that. One and done.”
“It’s not though?” Knox asked.
“It’s happened more than once,” I admitted. “And I want it to happen again. But my history will tell you this is what I do. I get with a lady, and I rush in, get feelings too fast, want more. And then…” I made an explosion sound.
“I remember you moved April in pretty fast,” Luke said.
“Hindsight says way too fucking fast,” I agreed. “And Flora…” I shook my head. “We went from a secret relationship while we were still enlisted to pregnant to discharged to still getting to know each other to married with kids in, well, ten months flat, I guess.”
Chance laughed. “I haven’t known my wife for ten months yet, so I’m no help.”
