Page 22 of Loving a Warrior

Shane could only gape at him.

“Rodeo clowns,” the waitress repeated slowly.

Matt shot her an innocent smile. “Yes, ma’am. Er, Dot,” he said, reading her name tag. “Red noses, big balloon-y pants with suspenders. That’s us.”

Dot regarded him for a moment. “Hmm. Rodeo clownin’ is hungry work, I reckon.”

“It really is.”

She rolled her eyes. “Right. I’ve been working here for years and served more team guys than I can count, but that’s the worst cover story I’ve heard yet. Okay, Bozo, breakfast coming up.”

As she walked off, Shane hissed, “Clowns? Why not, I don’t know, rugby players or construction workers or, hell, if you had to go rodeo, bull riders?”

Matt stared at him, his face expressionless. “’Cause when I look at you, all I see is a clown.” He yelped when Shane kicked his shin hard.

“Asshole.”

“Clown.”

Shane sat back against the booth, shaking his head in mock disgust. “Good thing we’re not on the same boat crew, because I have a feeling I’d end up killing you.”

“Oh, man.” The wicked smirk on Matt’s face died away. “Boat crews. You know how bad Monday’s gonna suck?”

At the reminder, Shane gave himself a mental slap upside the head. What the hell are you doing, flirting with this guy? Not smart, on so many levels.

Needing a distraction, he asked, “So why the teams? Because of your uncle? Family business type shit?”

“Yeah, part of it.” Matt stirred some cream into his coffee, the spoon clinking against the mug. “He’s an amazing man, and I’ve always looked up to him.”

“What’s the other part of it?”

Matt shrugged. “Not wanting to live my life on a North Dakota farm, you know? Plus adventure, travel, getting to do badass shit.”

“The cool-guy factor?”

“Anything wrong with that?” Matt’s voice held a faint note of belligerence.

Shane held his hands up defensively. “I never said there was. I just wanted to know.”

“What about you, then? Why leave the Marines?”

Shane aimlessly tore little pieces of his napkin off and made a pile of them. “Just wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself, I guess. I wasn’t finding that where I was, so I took a chance, made a change.”

He cleared his throat and glanced up to see Matt looking at him curiously. Shane let his gaze slither away. Jesus, after two years he should be better at hiding his emotions.

“Here ya go, guys.” Shane slumped in relief as Dot appeared with a loaded tray and distributed their food with brisk efficiency. “Enjoy.”

They dug in, neither of them coming up for air until their plates were practically licked clean.

Finally Matt belched into his fist and groaned. “God, I can’t move.”

“I need to unbutton my pants.” Shane rubbed his stomach. “I just gained twenty pounds.”

They finished their coffee and Shane waited in line to pay the check while Matt wandered outside. When Shane finally rejoined him, he was leaning against his truck, arms and ankles crossed, eyes closed and face tilted toward the sky.

“You ready?”

Shane gulped as Matt gave a lazy stretch in reply, his T-shirt riding up to show the waistband of his underwear peeking out over the top of his low-slung jeans. The skin between his hipbones was paler than the rest of him, not yet touched by the sun.