Page 4 of SEAL's Spitfire
Chapter 2
It was getting late and the airport was closing but Rafe knew where to find an open restaurant. Meghan was starving and would have eaten a sandwich from a vending machine but sitting down to a huge hamburger and a side of curly fries was nirvana on a plate. When the waitress put her food on the table her mouth watered.
Rafe ordered the same with a beer. She’d have loved a drink but not sure how long she’d be stuck at the airport she was afraid to get a drink and fall asleep. She didn’t trust her surroundings enough to go to sleep. Her mom hadn’t raised a stupid woman.
Neither spoke while they ate. He devoured his burger in about five bites, but Meghan’s eyes were bigger than her stomach as usual. When she pushed her plate away with half of the burger and fries left, she noticed the yearning on Rafe’s face.
“Would you like the rest of mine? I’m stuffed.”
“You don’t want a doggie bag for it?”
“No, I won’t be able to eat it and fries are gross when they get cold.”
“That’s true.” He hesitated another few seconds.
“Go ahead, I can tell you want it. Better than letting it go to waste.” Without saying a word, he pulled her plate over and inhaled the rest of her meal. She’d never seen anyone eat as fast. It was impressive.
“Better now?”
“Oh yeah. It’s my own fault. I haven’t eaten anything but coffee since yesterday.”
“You consider coffee food?”
“Yeah, don’t you?”
“Not sure. A necessity yes, but food? I don’t think so. I don’t eat the beans or the grounds.” Apparently, that was funny because he threw his head back and laughed. Loud enough that it startled the other patrons in the restaurant.
“Sorry, but you are a breath of fresh air.”
“I am?” She was just being her usual self as far as she knew.
“Yes, you are. And it’s great.”
“I’m glad I’m so amusing.” She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or annoyed. She didn’t usually elicit this reaction from anyone.
“Please don’t be offended. I didn’t mean anything bad. I just haven’t had this much fun with anyone in a long time.”
“Okay. If you say so. But I didn’t think I’d been funny.”
“It’s not so much that you’re funny, just that you say what you think. Except for my team, it’s not what most people do. Women are the worst. Always trying to say what they think you want to hear. The last date I was on, the woman spent the entire night telling me how wonderful I am, how big my muscles are, asking how dangerous my job was, all with the hope of getting into my pants. Sometimes I hate when people figure out I’m in the Navy.”
Good thing he couldn’t read her mind. She’d been undressing him since they sat down. Wondering if he had a six pack or more under that t-shirt.
“I guess I can accept that. But you know, men do the same thing.”
“Touché. But we’re usually a lot worse at it.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Meghan giggled. “Don’t you wear regular clothing when you go out? Like today?”
“Yes, but you were able to figure out I was in the service without it. Norfolk is kind of a small town too and we usually hang out in the same places. Makes it easy to know who is military and who isn’t.”
“So, you can’t really blame the women, then can you? If you’re in a bar that caters toyour type, then they know where to go if that’s what they want.”
“Very true. But sometimes we just want to unwind. Hang out with the guys, shoot some pool, and blow off the remnants of the last mission.”
A shadow flitted across his face as he spoke, and her heart squeezed inside her chest. The last mission must have been a doozy. She wanted to ask, but it seemed too much like prying and she had no right to go there. It didn’t stop her from reaching across the table and squeezing, or attempting to squeeze, his hand as he held on to his beer mug.
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