“I have to call home. They’ll worry.”
“Why would they worry? You’re with me. I saved you.”
“After what happened, they freak if I stay too long at yoga.” She picked up her cell phone and dialed.
“Hi Dad.”
“It was fun. I’m going to stay with Pat tonight.”
She shifted her phone to her right ear, probably so I couldn’t hear her dad tell her what a piece of shit I was.
“Whatever, Dad. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She ended the call and looked out the window.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
I knew her dad must’ve given her a hard time. “What did he say?”
“That you were just a typical SEAL that was going to leave me and cheat on me. ‘Remember where you met him, Annie. That’s not the kind of man you want to get involved with.’ Whatever, I don’t care. They’ll get over it. They can’t really pretend to try to protect me from anything. I’ve already survived the worst life imaginable.”
We drove back to my place mostly in silence. I lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Pacific Beach. It had a small courtyard for Trigger and was close to the all the shops and restaurants.
I had two motives for having Annie at my place. A, I wanted to fuck her brains out again. B, I wanted to figure out whether or not I was off base about her parents.
I opened the door, and leashed up Trigger for a quick walk. “You want to come with me?”
“Nah. Can I take a shower?”
I wanted to take a shower with her, see the beads of water glisten off her body. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Trigger was grateful to see me. Some would say it was stupid to get a dog when I was deployed so much. But Trigger was my family. His loyalty was boundless.
We entered the courtyard and Trigger sniffed a tree. I took my phone out and saw I’d had a missed call from Kyle. I called him back and he picked up on the first ring.
“I texted Dave already about Annie and he texted me back.” I heard a girl’s voice in the background. No matter what one of us was doing, day or night, we would always pick up any call from each other. “He said he had some information.”
That was fast. “Did he say what?”
“No. But he told me to call him tomorrow. So let’s meet up.”
Trigger had done his business and was now flirting with a pug. “Sounds good. Later.”
“Bye.”
I took Trigger back into the apartment, hoping maybe Annie would meet me at the door naked. But she was sitting on my bedspread, wrapped in a towel, texting on her phone.
I unleashed Trigger. “Who you texting?”
“Oh. No one. I mean, it’s nothing. Chris just asked where I was because he’d stopped by my parents’ house and they’d said I’d left.”
“He just stops by your house whenever he feels like it?” I clenched my teeth. “Are you fucking kidding me, Annie? Are you still seeing him?”
“No, Pat. Of course not. But we’re still friends. He went through a lot you know, being a suspect, everyone treating him like a murderer. And, I mean, he cares about me.”
“Sure, he does. And he’ll comfort you when I deploy, too. Have you slept with him since you’ve been home?”
“Oh my God. No! Pat, you’re crazy. We grew up together, our families know each other. He was so distraught when I went missing. It was hard on him too.”
“I bet. Don’t play me, Annie. This can end now if you’re going to fuck around on me. I don’t need this bullshit, your dad bribing me, worrying about you when I’m in the field—”
“Bribe you? He just tried to give you the reward. Which you should take. You deserve it. You can buy a condo with it.”
Figures, I knew my lifestyle would never be enough to satisfy this fucking princess. “I’m sure Chris has a great condo. Maybe even a beachfront house. Go live with him if you don’t like my crappy apartment.”
Her towel dropped and I could see her full breasts. Great distraction technique.
“Pat, relax. That’s not what I meant.” She wrapped her naked legs around me. “I know your ex cheated on you. I’m not her. I would never do that to you. But I’m not sorry I texted Chris. He has a girlfriend. There is nothing going on between us. Nothing. I’m only interested in you. I swear.”
This was a mistake. Going to her house, sleeping with her, inviting her back to my place. Even under the best of circumstances, it was hard to have a successful relationship with a Team guy. We had so much working against us. Her family, her past, my job. And I hated to admit it, but it was hard for me to deal with the fact that she had been a prostitute. I didn’t blame her for it, nor think less of her. Nothing like that. I understand that she had been forced. But at night, the images of all of those other man, random faceless men, filled my head, like a never-ending movie loop.
I unwrapped her legs. “I don’t know if I can do this. We’re too different.”
“Get over yourself for a minute and think of me for a second.”
“I am—”
“No, you’re thinking of how I fit into your life. Think of ME. What I want. What I need.”
“I’m tired. I’m going to take a shower and then crash.”
She nodded and I went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. SEALs hated cold showers, reminded us of freezing our balls off in the ocean during BUD/S.
I was trying to push her away. I knew that. I couldn’t risk letting her in and having her betray me also. But I’d already let her in.
I dried off and went back into the bedroom. Annie was lying under the covers, reading a book she must’ve grabbed from my nightstand. I needed to give her, us, a chance.
“Sorry. I trust you. I just don’t trust him, or any guy for that matter. If he’s your friend, I need to meet him.”
Her voice became quiet. “Why?”
“Because I need to look him in the eyes. It’s important to me.”
“Fine. I’ll ask him.”
“Monday. Lunch at noon.”
Her fingers moved across her phone. She smiled when she received a reply. Pissed me off. I wanted to be the only one to make her smile.
“He says okay.”
Yeah I’ll bet. Fucking ‘Jody.’ He’ll be happy to shake my hand tomorrow and fuck my girl when I’m gone.
I wanted to believe her words, the promises she made with her naked body. But I didn’t. What if she relapsed on heroin when I was gone? It’s not easy going three weeks without any communication. And if we were deep undercover, that’s exactly what would happen. And I’m sure Chris would be waiting with open arms to take care of her.
21.
Annie slept in late on Sunday but I couldn’t rest. I snuck out to the farmer’s market to get food, and came back and made her breakfast in bed. I wasn’t much of a chef, more of a short order cook: scrambled eggs, bacon, toast. I liked taking care of her.
In the afternoon, I took her shopping. I hated malls but it beat returning to her parents home and dealing with her dad. We spent most of the day having sex, watching movies, and playing with Trigger. I usually spent my days off hanging out with Vic and Kyle. I missed those motherfuckers.
I woke Annie early on Monday, told her I had to do something quick at work and that I’d be back in an hour or so. She just gave me a kiss and fell back asleep. Trigger would keep her safe.
I cruised over to Kyle’s place. At least he had invested some of his NFL money. He had a sick townhouse overlooking the beach.