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She turned to look at me. All I could see was my own reflection in her sunglasses.
“So you knew him well?”
“He was a like a brother to me,” I said truthfully. “To all of us, really. But yes. We went through our PST together. Pre-BUDS, BUDS…” I paused. “Do you know what those things are?”
“Basic Underwater Demolition,” she replied, looking away. Her gaze swung casually back out the passenger window. “Yeah. I know it.”
My eyes wandered again, and I had to forcibly drag them from her legs. Purposefully, I thought about Connor. Guilt flooded in.
“Yeah, we did jump school together afterward,” I said. “That’s where we met Maddox and Kane. “Tactical communications, sniper school, breacher certification… the three of us went through the whole gauntlet, HALO insertions and all. “
“Were you assigned to the same unit?”
“Yup. Got lucky,” I said. “Real lucky.”
Dallas switched legs, and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. This time I was strong enough to keep my eyes pointed forward.
“Everywhere we went, your brother kicked ass you know.”
“Oh,” she said casually, “I know.”
I laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone in shape like he was. He always made us look bad, no matter what we were doing. The man was a freak of nature.”
I could’ve gone on. I could’ve told her how Connor Winters always ran faster, went further, and jumped higher than any one of us. That I don’t think in all the time I knew him I’d ever seen him out of breath. That he could stay underwater almost a full minute longer than anyone else…
“We loved him,” I said instead. “All of us.”
Dallas remained silent, adjusting her sunglasses. I could tell my words had hit a nerve, though. Whether it was a good or a bad nerve, I didn’t know.
“I— I’m sorry for everything that happened to you.”
The sun sank a bit more on the horizon, and the miles stretched on without answer. Not that I needed an answer. I just needed to tell her.
“Fuck it,” I said suddenly, pulling off the main highway. “Let’s stop for beer.”
Off to my side, I noticed my passenger perk up a bit. Her mouth even curled into the slightest hint of a smile.
“The shit in the basement is probably old as hell anyway.”
