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“No,” Heath says, his tone a clear warning and the waiter flushes before he scurries away.
“My hero,” I tease and he smiles down at his burger.
We play twenty questions as we eat and I let him steal some of my fries since he finishes before I do. He pays the bill and drops the tip on the table, giving me a warning look before I can argue about it.
“Thanks for lunch,” I say as we walk out.
I lean over, kissing his cheek before I head for the driver’s side door.
“Would you want to get a job? You could work in a restaurant or something? We could see what’s hiring?”
“Maybe. I need to think about it more.”
“Have you thought about your new routine more?”
“I’d like to work out. That was such a big part of being in the teams. Staying fit and keeping your mind and body sharp.”
“There’s a gym in Honey Peak. Let’s go there now. You can sign up.”
“Alright.”
We head home, riding in mostly silence. I’m glad that he’s starting to get more settled already, but part of me is worried.
How long will he need me around for? And what does us sleeping together mean? Is it just stress relief or a distraction for him?
I try to push those thoughts from my head as we head back through town but I’m not sure that I succeed.
NINE
Heath
“Hey,”Patrick says as I step outside.
I needed some fresh air after dinner and was hoping to escape to the backyard, but I didn’t realize that he was out here too.
“Hey,” I say as I join him at the little patio table, resting my cane against my chair as I sit down.
“How’s it going?” he asks me.
He’s doing that analyzing look that he does whenever he looks at me now, and I hate it. My first instinct is to stay fine. SEALs don’t complain. They just get the job done and that mentality is still in me.
Except, I don’t have a job. Not anymore.
“Alright.”
“Yeah?” he asks me and I sigh.
Maybe Corrine is right. Maybe I need to open up to someone, to admit that I need help and talk about what’s triggering me.
It can’t hurt, right?
I push my doubts aside as I turn to face Patrick more fully.
“Kind of.”
“What’s wrong?” he asks and I lean forward, resting my elbows on the table between us.
“I’ve been getting panic attacks,” I admit, and it feels like a weight has been lifted from my chest.
