AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ladies before gentlemen.”
“Nope. I asked first.”
“But you will tell me after I share with you?”
“I swear it on my mama’s grave.”
“I am sorry to hear about your … mama,” he said the word as if it were unfamiliar.
Allison started laughing and he stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I’m sorry.” She held up a hand. “My mama isn’t dead, it’s just an expression I used a lot in …” Nope she needed to slow down or she’d tell him all about herself before he had a chance to talk. “Anyway, my mama is alive and well, thank you very much.”
He shook his head at her. “Help me understand … You’re swearing on your alive mother’s future grave that you’ll share all with me after I tell you about myself?”
“Yes, sir. It’s a pretty solemn oath that I’m making.” She winked at him and was happy to see a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. “Go on. Spill your guts.”
He chuckled but turned serious quick, looking out over the endless ocean and the darkening sky. “I grew up … there.” He pointed toward the massive homes on the bluff.
“Impressive.”
“Not at all. Simply ostentatious.”
Allison learned a lot about him in those few words. He’d come from wealth but wasn’t into it. She, on the other hand, had grown up humbly and had dreams and desires of making it big. It wasn’t about the money, more about how much she loved acting and wanted more than anything to be successful.
“I spent any free time I could carve out of my mother’s strict schedule for me in the ocean or on the beach: surfing, swimming, running, making bombs, simply being a boy.”
“Making bombs?” Her eyes widened. “Wow. I bet your mama loved that.”
He shook his head and the sparkle in his eyes faded. “My mother,” he corrected, and it was odd how she didn’t feel like he was reprimanding her, simply making a point that his “mother” was not a warm, friendly “mama”. “She doesn’t love … much about me.”
Allison stopped walking and turned to him. “That’s horrible.”
Though he turned to face her, he looked to the side, out at the ocean. “It is what it is. I have never chosen a path she could appreciate nor understand.” His mouth tightened and his body went rigid; every line in his arms was defined as he clenched his fists. “Though she does love to brag about me to her friends.”
“What path did you choose?”
He glanced at her then and said, “Military. Air Force Special Ops.”
Allison liked it, and she was impressed. “That fits you.” She turned and started walking again and he fell into step beside her. His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Well, I would’ve thought Navy with your love of surf and swim.”
“If I would’ve planned on a military career, it probably would have been with the Navy. I wanted to play football, desperately, and the best scholarship offer I received came from Air Force Academy in Colorado.”
“That’s a beautiful spot.”
“It is. I saw some of it on leave days.”
“What position did you play?”
“Defensive end.”
Military and football. It explained why he was so fit and confident. “And you fell in love with the military life?”
He smirked at her. “No, ma’am, not at first. I came from a pretty pampered background. My mother might not have liked me, and she liked to structure my days with meaningless lessons and fluff parties, but she didn’t wake me at four a.m. or make me do mostly physical work for sixteen hour days.”
“Not many parents do.” How sad that he truly felt like his own mom didn’t like him. He definitely had some issues, but she appreciated how open he was being with her, and he didn’t even know her name yet.
“Good point.” He glanced at her. “I don’t think I’ve ever told someone this much about myself, especially without knowing their name.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
