Page 19

“As if he wasn’t going to do it anyway after getting shot down again.”

“I’m right here!” Simmons protested.

“We know,” Sloane and Trisha said in unison.

Their response had Simmons slouching in his seat even further and widening Sloane’s grin. He shot Trisha a wink, who returned the gesture with her tongue sticking out, and Sloane pushed out of his seat. He wasn’t often able to get more than a day off, and he had every intention of taking advantage of it.

Stepping out into the late afternoon air, he took a deep breath and grinned. Sloane knew Dean also had the next day off, and he wanted to do something with his friend. Dean’s sleepover the night before had been fun, but it had left Sloane uncomfortable and a little frustrated.

There was clearly something wrong with Dean. Sloane didn’t know what had happened after he’d returned to the States, but clearly, it was eating away at Dean. Sloane could only hope it was that Dean was sworn to secrecy, but his gut told him it was more. For all his casualness and typical lack of inhibition in expressing himself, Dean could be incredibly stubborn about certain things. It was all too easy for Sloane to see Dean keeping something to himself out of some misguided desire to work through it on his own.

Sloane would worry about that another time. First things first, he needed to do a bit of shopping. His groceries were a little sparse, and he wanted to see if he could coax Dean over to his apartment on their shared day off. As much as Sloane would like to drag the story out of Dean, he knew Dean would talk if and when he wanted to, no sooner, no later. What Sloane could do, however, was create a place and time where Dean could relax and not have to jump all over the place.

Nodding to himself, he began walking back to his apartment to clean off and change. Despite Dean getting off shift in a couple of hours, he hadn’t said anything to Sloane about doing something the following day. Sloane took that as a sign that Dean wanted to do something on his own and resolved to send him a text later to ask if he’d be down for another chill-out night tomorrow.

But first, he needed to do some shopping in town.

Sloane huffedas another person nearly collided with him on the sidewalk. He’d forgotten it was Friday, and the tourist town of Dalton, a short drive from Fort Dale, was crowded. Worse, he had taken longer than intended to get ready, and with twilightturning into night, the streets were even more packed than usual. While he was trying to keep his bags of groceries close before they were torn free, everyone else was ready to start a long night of fun.

For a moment, Sloane considered taking his groceries home and returning to town. It had been a while since he’d last gone out and had a night to himself. Before he’d been deployed, there had been several nights where he’d go out on the town and find out what sort of trouble he could get into. Simmons might have commented out of exasperation, but he’d been partially right. Sloane’s bed had been shared several times.

However, that all changed when he returned to the States. Sure, there was still the occasional fling here and there, but as Sloane slipped from his early to mid-twenties, he’d discovered he had less of a taste for it. Honestly, it was easier and far more fun to enjoy some of his free time alone and the rest with his best friend. And hell, if he ever felt the urge to scratch that particular itch, he wouldn’t have to go far with the town so close.

Lost in his thoughts, Sloane found his car parked alongside a meter. There was still plenty of time on it, and he figured someone else would praise their good fortune when they inevitably took his vacant space. With relief, he shoved the grocery bags into the back seat, closed the door, and prepared to climb into the driver’s seat.

He paused as a familiar laugh nearby brought his head up. Turning to look for the source, it took a minute before he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Sloane cocked his head as he watched Dean walk through the sea of people, grinning ear to ear. Dean wasn’t usually the type to go out on the town, preferring to stay in the barracks whenever Sloane decided to have some fun. Sloane had clocked it up to his friend being a bit of a ‘shut away,’ but as it turned out, Dean liked to go out.

Sloane made to raise his hand to see if he could catch Dean’s attention and froze as someone jogged up to Dean. There was something in the strange man’s hand, and he shoved it into Dean’s grip with an ear-to-ear grin. Dean let out another laugh, goofy and playful, as he looked down at what he’d been given, shaking his head in disbelief. Sloane’s eyes widened as he watched the man bend forward, stealing a kiss from Dean, which earned him a quieter and far more private laugh.

Some distant part of his mind was sure he looked ridiculous, but Sloane couldn’t help ogling the two men. It was obvious that not only was Dean on a date, but their casual air told Sloane it wasn’t the first or even the second. Dean had always been quiet about what he did in his spare time, and Sloane had never thought to question it. As he watched Dean nudge the man, slipping an arm through his, Sloane remembered how much quieter Dean had been lately.

He stared at the two of them as they walked along the opposite sidewalk. That was until Dean happened to glance Sloane’s way. The way his friend’s eyes drifted over him, only to snap back with eye-widening recognition, might have been funny in any other context. As it was, he could only return Dean’s gaze, slowly tilting his head to one side as he tried to process what he was seeing.

Dean’s date noticed something was wrong, turning to speak softly to Dean. Dean licked his lips nervously, nodding in Sloane’s direction, bringing the date’s attention to him. For a few seconds, the three of them gazed at one another across the street, no one sure what to do. Finally, Dean’s unknown date shook himself out of it and, with a gentle pull on Dean’s wrist, led him over to Sloane.

“Hi, Sloane,” Dean began quietly, his voice almost lost in the drone around them.

“Dean,” Sloane said.

Dean glanced at the other man. “This is Marco.”

Now they were closer, Sloane could make out the finer details of Dean’s date. Objectively speaking, Sloane would give Dean credit, as he had caught an attractive man. Marco was taller than Dean but stood a few inches shorter than Sloane. He had strong features, with an angular, cut jaw accented by the lightest peppering of dark stubble. Marco obviously took care of himself, the forearms sticking out from his shirt were toned with muscle. Though a little messy, his dark brown hair was well-kept and bright, intelligent hazel eyes looked up at Sloane warily but without fear.

“Good to finally meet you,” Marco said in a rich baritone as he held out his hand.

Sloane’s eyes snapped back to Dean. “Oh, soyou’veheard ofme.”

Dean winced. “Sloane.”

Sloane took Marco’s hand, gripping it tightly and giving it a single shake. “Nice to meet you. Just found out you existed, but hey, nice to meet you anyway.”

“It was...I planned on telling you,” Dean said.

Sloane looked at Marco. “This whole keeping it a secret thing, your idea?”

Marco shook his head. “It wasn’t our intention to keep anything a secret.”

“Mmm, and yet, here it is, a secret.”