Page 40 of Keeping a Warrior

With one last glance in the mirror, Devon strode from the room.

It was a loud, boisterous group that made their way over to a local bar not far from the airfield. There was a live country band playing, and several of Devon’s teammates soon had partners and were tearing up the dance floor.

Matt glowered at Shane. “What a clown. He isn’t supposed to be having so much fun.”

Devon sipped her club soda with lime and studied Shane, who was attempting to do a halting two-step with an attractive blonde woman. She couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore. “So what happened with you two?”

Deliberately turning his back to the dance floor, Matt picked up his own drink, a root beer in a large, frosty mug. “Well, one night I opened my mouth and a whole bunch of stupid shit came out.”

He sounded so disgusted that Devon couldn’t help but snort. “It must’ve been some really stupid shit.”

“Oh, it was.” Matt dragged his finger through the condensation on the side of his glass. “I outdid myself.”

Devon glanced over at Shane as he guided the woman to the bar, his hand resting lightly at the small of her back. They leaned against the counter and stood intimately close together while they ordered.

She was about to turn away when she saw Shane dart his eyes toward Matt, a look of frustration tightening his lips.

Ah. Devon hid a smile under the guise of a huge yawn. The woman, the dancing, it was all for show. Shane was trying his damndest to push Matt’s buttons and provoke a reaction, any reaction.

She aimed a kick at Matt’s shin. “Well, like it or not, you’re here now and so is he. Instead of crying in your root beer, why don’t you go talk to him?”

“What?” Matt straightened indignantly, and then he paused, smirking. “You’re blunt as fuck. I like it.” He shrugged. “Maybe I’m not ready. Maybe I’m only hanging around to find out if it really is over. Screw him.”

Over? Matt’s yearning for Shane radiated off him in waves, and if Shane’s body language and searching glances were any indication, that longing was fully reciprocated. With a disgusted huff, she snapped, “Wow, you really are ridiculous and stubborn. Someone’s gotta make the first move here, so why not you? Get your head out of your ass and go talk to your man.”

Matt glared at her. “I said when I’m ready,” he growled. “Now leave me alone.” He grabbed up his root beer and stalked away.

“Idiot,” Devon called after him, laughing when he flipped her off.

“Everything all right?”

Devon whirled around to see Rhys smiling down at her. Damn. He was wearing a black T-shirt, the soft fabric hugging his broad shoulders and emphasizing his long, lean torso. His jeans were tight in all the right places; his freckles and full, sensuous lips creating an oh-so-delicious mix of boyishness and sex appeal.

“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine,” she mumbled, those butterflies taking flight again.

Across the way, Matt had propped himself against the bar not far from Shane and the woman.

“A lot of the guys think those two are together.” Rhys’s tone was so offhand and casual that Devon choked on her soda.

“What?” she wheezed, coughing into her little cocktail napkin. “Who’s together?”

“Matt and Shane.”

Devon’s mind raced. Shane had come out as gay, but Matt had not, so she had to tread carefully. “Um—”

“Aaron went through BUD/S with them,” Rhys mumbled around a huge handful of peanuts he’d just stuffed in his mouth. “Said it was really obvious, the way they looked at each other, spent so much time together, all that. One of those secrets everyone knows but pretends they don’t.”

Oh, man. Should I warn Matt?

“Would the guys care if they are?”

Rhys snorted. “I think the only thing SEALs care about is whether or not you pulled your weight on your boat crew. They don’t care who you fuck or how you fuck them, as long as you’re squared away at work.”

Devon let out the breath she’d been holding. “Well, good. It’s none of our business, but good.”

“Yeah.” Rhys washed his peanuts down with his beer, still watching Matt. “He looks like an angry, lovesick puppy, doesn’t he?”

He really does. Poor guy.