Page 41 of The Playboy SEAL
As a SEAL, I only have a few options for duty stations. It’s San Diego, Virginia Beach, or Hawaii. The pipe dream has always been to end up in Virginia Beach. That’s where the elite SEALs work. Better known as SEAL Team Six. The selection process is severe and long, and only the best of the best are chosen for a spot.
My heart thunders out a staccato as I watch Teala stand from the swing and make her way to the house. “No, no. Not now anyway,” I admit. It’s a lie, but I don’t want that conversation anywhere near her ears yet.
“Oh, no?” he asks, busying himself with the condiments and drinks. “What changed?”
Teala and my mother walk into the kitchen. They walk so close their arms brush together, and their smiles are effortless.
“The house, you know? I want to give that some time. Get everything together and fixed. Get a couple more deployments under my belt.” Initially I set out for it to be a quick flip of a job, but I’ve grown attached to it over the months. “Maybe down the road,” I tell him, honestly.
Everyone is listening to our conversation at this point,and all I can do is hope Teala doesn’t ask questions.
I smile in her direction. “You two seemed to be having quite the conversation,” I tell her.
The smile worked. Her attraction to it is unflinching. I almost feel guilty for using it against her, but I can’t. I’m not ready to have this conversation with her. She wouldn’t want to hear it anyway.
“What were you talking about?” I edge.
“You,” they both say at the same time.
“I was afraid of that. Mom, I told you this was a new…arrangement. She doesn’t want to hear that kind of stuff.” I have no idea what they were talking about, but I can only imagine.
My mom drawls out a warning for me to hush then says, “It’s only fair this beautiful woman knows what she’s getting herself into. Someone needs to warn her off.” My mother and father laugh, but Teala’s face drops, and she looks like she’s going to be violently sick. My mom’s joke hit a little too close to home.
Dating wasn’t something I was ever interested in when I lived in my parents’ house. Oh, I fucked all right. Under the bleachers, in the locker room at the high school, the playground equipment at the local park in the dark of night, but they never saw girls in my world. I went stag to all of the mandatory dances like prom and homecoming and took advantage of opportunities to get off in between. I was a dog. I am a dog. My parents don’t know that. What could my mother possibly caution her against? My schedule?
I force a laugh. “Everyone can see the cautiontape around my body, Mom. Teala doesn’t need any warnings.”
Teala nods and stands next to me. I notice she doesn’t brush against me. She keeps her distance. We eat lunch and drink fruit punch and try not to eye fuck each other. She excuses herself to use the restroom, and I tell her I’ll show her where it is even though she’s already been once right when we arrived. I follow her into the upstairs bathroom and close the door behind us.
“Your parents know we’re in here together,” she says dryly.
I waggle my brows. “As much as I’d love to fuck you in the bathroom where I was potty trained, I merely wanted to ask if anything was wrong. What did my mom tell you?” I feel a little panicked. I’m worried about something small and insignificant. That’s not my way. It’s never been my way. Give me a large problem and let me give you ten ways to solve it effectively.
Teala smiles. “She was joking about warning me, Macs. She regaled me with funny tales from your childhood and asked a whole bunch of questions about my studio. I think she wants to take a class.” She looks down at her nails and starts smoothing her nail beds with her thumb. “What she said about the warning merely brought me back into reality.” She looks at the wall. A photo of a beach stares back at her.
I sigh. I can deal with this. “The reality is I’m away much of the time. Even when I’m home, I’m not fully here, and I’ve never had to worry what that means for someone else. She was joking, but it should be a warning,” I deadpan.
Her eyes meet mine, and for the first time I see a vulnerability there. Something that isn’t inherent to her, a guard down and an open heart begging for something I can’t give. “It’s worth trying?” she asks.
I think about our chemistry and remember what it feels like to have her skin burning against mine. “Yes.” Closing the distance with one step, I take her in my arms. I don’t want to remember what she feels like. I want it right now. “I have no idea what that means.”
“I don’t either,” she admits, pressing her face into my chest. “I should ask my friends.” Teala laughs, and her shaking body gives me a hard-on. She stiffens when she feels it.
“If you ask them, they’ll give you the dictionary version. We’re doing this our way. No rules. No preconceived notions about right or wrong.” A little definition would be nice, but it’s too late for that.
Clutching the sides of my T-shirt, she looks up. “It’s wrong we’re hiding in a bathroom,” Teala whispers, her hand sliding down to cup my cock.
“What’s wrong is that your hand isn’t inside my jeans,” I counter.
“I have a valid question about something first,” she says, pulling her hand away.
Sighing, I nod.
“What happens after we have sex and you lose interest?”
I shake my head. “What if you lose interest after I fuck your brains out?” Turn it around if you can’t answer honestly.
“There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of womenlining up to take my place. It’s a lot of pressure. I don’t have that draw.”
