Page 60 of Fallen Hero

“The girl who treated you like a pogo stick instead of a person with feelings.”

I wouldn’t mind Calli treating me like a pogo stick.

“Not worth you risking going back to San Diego when you have a warrant out for your arrest for triple homicide.”

“Shit. I forgot about that.”

Jesus. Only Calli would forget she was wanted for killing three men.

I pushed my head back on the cushion and laughed. When I finally got my hilarity under control and looked back at Calli, she was smiling.

A real smile.

Bright and blinding and so damn beautiful.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Calista, but when you smile, you are downright gorgeous.”

I heard her suck in a breath.

To break the moment we could not share, I went back to the rest of my story.

“The irony is, fucking a Seal isn’t some great feat.”

Calista’s smile fell. I wanted it back so desperately, I gave her more, knowing it would make me sound like a prick. I didn’t trust myself with her. I didn’t trust that if I had more smiles, more time in our cone of silence, more sharing of stories, I wouldn’t fall for her. Top to toe, she was everything I’d want in a woman. And that was unacceptable.

“The bars around IB are packed with Team Guys who will gladly bang some Frog Hog skank in the bathroom or in the parking lot, and if she holds promise, they’ll take her to their bed. But for me, I’d given that cunt something that meant something to me. Never again would I make that mistake. Emily broke my heart. Jennifer fucked me and left me. After that, I locked down my emotions and became what the women I’d dated wanted—a no-strings, good-time guy.

“I fucked my way through half the beautiful women in San Diego. I spent years having meaningless sex that, after, I showered off as nothing but a distant memory. I didn’t bother with names because I wasn’t going to remember them. I gave the bare minimum I needed to get a woman naked. I was known for how quickly I could get a woman off. My teammates thought it was a talent. What it was, was a necessity. The faster I got them off, the faster I could get off, then get the fuck out.

“Women are easy. Flash a smile, fuck her mind while promising mind-bending sex, and she’ll drop to her knees. I didn’t need the uniform or the Trident. I’d mastered the art of seduction. Truth be told, it’s boring as fuck.”

Unlike the other three times when I was done speaking, she didn’t immediately provide commentary.

Mission accomplished.

Problem solved.

“I get that,” she whispered.

“Get what?”

“Turning off your emotions and going through the motions. Using something painful as an excuse to be someone you were never meant to be.”

Goddamn, fuck. There was more she needed to know.

“Calli—”

“Are you a football or baseball guy?”

“Sweetness—”

“Answer, hotshot.”

“Football.”

“Movie or book?”

“Book.”