Page 28 of Dangerous Pursuit
I nod, more to myself than to him. "That's what I thought. Well, I just turned thirty, so…"
"So…?" he prompts.
A prolonged sigh escapes me. "Let's just say I don't have your stamina anymore. Notthattype of stamina," I add, after his mouth flies open without fail. "Besides, wouldn't you rather be doing…I don't know. Whatever it is twenty-two-year-olds do."
Xander sucks in his lips, trying not to burst out laughing. I can't say I blame him. "And what is that?"
"Not me, that's for sure."
Xander stops momentarily, and I follow suit, turning to face him. And this time, I have nothing to cool off the heat radiating from his face as he clearly tries to spin my words into something he finds…useful. And maybe I don't want to. Maybe I said them on purpose, because the way his eyelids drop to half mast, the way he licks his lip as he takes a step toward me is exactly what I needed to see, both for enjoyment, and to get out of the conversation that's been dangerously heading in the wrong direction. He takes another step forward, and another, a bit too fast for me to get a grip and react, and before I can move an inch, he crashes into me, like he's drunk and I'm a wall. Fuck, Iamgetting old.
"Hey!" he points an accusatory finger at me.
I decide to feign ignorance. "What?"
"You were supposed to walk back, until you hit that wall"—he points behind me—"so that I can pin you do it and, you know, do stuff. Have you ever even seen a movie?Anymovie?"
I bite the inside of my cheek, because his antics are fucking endearing. I raise my hands in a placating gesture and walk back, hoping there's in fact a wall behind me, and not a dumpster, until I indeed hit the bricks. "Like this? Did I do it right? Here"—I raise my hands and slam them against the wall, as if he's pinning me by my wrists—"you've backed me into a corner."
He barely manages not to laugh, his acting skills failing once more. "Pfft. It doesn’t work ifyoudo it. Moment's gone."
Grinning, I push off the wall and take three long strides to catch up with him. Once I do, he asks, "What didyoudo when you were twenty-two, anyway?"
I look up and do some math in my head. "Buds."
His brows furrow as he looks at me for the next few yards. "Buds," he repeats. "Buds. As in…." He looks me up and down with more diligence than ever. "As in, The Navy SEAL Buds, Buds?"
I stuff my hands into my pockets, the breeze on my skin suddenly chilly. "Yep."
"Ha! I knew it."
I chuckle. "Did you, now?"
"Well, I had you either as ex-military or law enforcement. So I was half-right!" He's clearly pleased with himself, his eyes sparkling, and fuck if he's not alluring when he's like that. Like a magnet I try to, but can't seem to move away from. "So what happened? Why are you not a SEAL anymore? Or…" His face falls, and I instantly miss the enthusiasm. "Or am I not supposed to be asking that? Shit. Sorry," he mumbles, cutting eye contact, his voice quiet.
I shake my head. "No, nothing like that. Don't worry. I just…" I sigh. "So fucking stupid. I went quadding with some guys from my team between deployments. Got careless, crashed into a tree. Broke a few bones, tore a few muscles." I let out a self-depreciating laugh. "Nothing overtly serious, but… That was two years ago, and I'm still not fully healed." I try to keep my tone steady and not dwell on the life I’ve left behind.
"Oh. I see," Xander says, his voice low, indicating it's one of those rare occasions he's actually serious. "Sorry. Are you… Planning to go back once you're healed?"
I shake my head. "No."
"Why not?"
I sigh. "It wouldn't really work. I'll never be as fit as I was back then. As fast. As agile. No, that door is already closed."
I make sure to look ahead, but from the corner of my eye I see Xander staring at me intently, eyes burning a hole in the side of my skull. "What?" I ask, once the stare becomes too heavy.
"I don't know. You look pretty agile to me," he says in his usual voice, and I laugh.
"Thanks, I guess. I try."
"Good. I'm sure it'll prove…useful. Come," he says and catches me off guard as he grabs the bottom of my shirt, pulls me left and doesn't let go until I'm trailing behind him in a new direction. Xander's walking faster now, his stride more purposeful, and it takes me a second to orient myself in the somewhat-familiar surroundings.
"So what, you'll be trying to teach me a lesson now?" I ask as we enter the threshold of the local university campus.
He doesn't look at me, but smiles. "Well, yeah, that. But also, you wanted to know what I train, so that's where we're going."
My eyes dart to my left and to my right, taking in the labyrinth of empty alleys stretching between old, large buildings. "I don't think I'm supposed to be here," I half-say, half-whisper, full-on feeling like an intruder. "Especially not in the middle of the night."
