Page 13 of Little Did We Know
Oh boy.He was not going down that road on my watch.
“I know,” I replied.“Who the fuck uses sprinklers in the middle of the day?”
He huffed and took a step back.“I’m okay.I’ll be okay.”He swallowed and hung his head, and his hands ended up low on his hips.“Fuckin’ hell.”
I folded my arms over my chest and kept watching him.I wasn’t leaving until he felt okay.But he was heading in the right direction, so that was good.
He let out a long breath and tried to relax.He rolled his shoulders a bit and loosened his stance.
“Want me to go get you somethin’ to drink?”I asked.
He shook his head.“Maybe later.Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He inhaled deeply through his nose and tilted his head up, eyes closed.The sun shone down on him.
“I’ve been lucky,” he said, his voice warm but hoarse.“I haven’t had a nightmare since my first deployment.But every now and then—fuck, it’s like I’m right back there.”
I got it.The flashbacks could suck ass.
A while later, he was back in control.He blinked and glanced around us, then met my gaze.He was definitely tired.
“You seem to know what you’re doin’.”
I offered a one-shoulder shrug.“I know my way around flashbacks.”
He nodded with a dip of his chin.“You still in?”
“Oh no, I got out.”Kind of.Technically.I extended my hand.“I’m Reese.”
“Nice to meet you.”He shook my hand.“I appreciate you gettin’ me outta there.”
“Anytime.”I scratched my bicep absently.“Do you have a partner here you want me to go get, or…?”
“Nah.I was supposed to come here with a buddy, but he had to cancel,” he answered.“I don’t think I’ll stick around much longer.Watchin’ brats get sand up their asses is only fun for so long.I was hoping there’d be more for Sadists here.”
Dude.Tell me about it.
“I feel you.The majority of the events I go to are a disappointment in that area,” I said.“But we gotta keep lookin’, right?”I nodded toward the backyard, not quite ready to let him go yet.“Come grab a beer with me.I’ll introduce you to my brother and a buddy of ours.We’re lurkin’ in the back.”
He only hesitated for a quick beat, and I couldn’t blame him.But we could probably shield him from social interaction if that’s what he worried about.Then he could head out and get some rest when I knew he was in a better mood.
“A beer doesn’t sound bad,” he answered.
“Fantastic.Where are you stationed, by the way?”I assumed he was home on leave or something like that.
“I just left South Carolina,” he replied.“Started my three-year-stint as a DI in ’04, but the place was a shitshow and I was transferred back so we could head overseas.”In other words, he was a Marine.“Things have settled down a bit now, thankfully.”
I nodded in understanding.“But you’re not from the South originally, am I right?”There was no mistaking the New York accent, though he’d definitely been influenced by his time in South Carolina.
It was kinda hot.I couldn’t lie.
“Brooklyn, born and raised.”
There we go.
“Excellent,” I said.“You can bitch about the shape of the pizza here with my brother.He’s thoroughly offended they cut the pies into squares.”
