Page 2 of Smitten With My Brother’s Best Friend (SEALs of Aster Falls #1)
(Maverick)
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“We’re back, bitches!”
I shake my head as I walk past the dumbass looking around with a goofy smile on his face. I breathe in the fresh air. It smells like home, and it’s good to be back.
Three months.
After a long and stressful mission, we’ve been given a three-month leave, and we all fully intend to use it wisely.
Most of my teammates are gone. They’ve left for their various homes in other cities and towns.
But for myself and Adam, home is Aster Falls.
And although I’ll never admit it out loud, I missed the place.
“Oof!” I say when Adam suddenly throws an arm around my neck. I glare at him, and he responds with a grin.
“Ease up, Mav. We’ve been gone for two freaking years. The least you can do is smile.”
“You have three seconds to get your arm off me,” I tell him, and he immediately does.
I fight hard not to smile. It’s nice when your best friend knows what you’re capable of and is scared to piss you off. I love the guy like a brother, though, and I would never do anything to hurt him except for the occasional punch. We both know who the better fighter is.
I level a look at him.
“I am happy to be back, but my happiness is on the inside, asshole.”
“It always is,” he mutters.
I shove him playfully, and he chuckles. We head out of the base and begin our walk toward the town—one of the perks of living near your workplace. After a 30-minute walk, we arrive in the city, and my best friend immediately ditches me.
“You can find your way home alone, right, Mav? I’m gonna go see my baby,” he says enthusiastically before walking away without waiting for my answer.
His baby is his girlfriend of eight years.
Eight whole years of his life spent devoted to one girl.
I can’t imagine it. I don’t see myself ever being so invested in one person.
Heck, my longest relationship was two months.
I’m not anti-love or anti-relationship. I believe, I really do, plus Adam has proven it’s possible.
My problem is that I don’t think anyone will be able to wait for me like Lisa waits for Adam.
We’re Navy SEALs, and sometimes we’re gone for years. We might not be able to contact our loved ones, and we could even come back dead. It’s scary and amazing that Lisa is so brave regarding Adam. They’re in love, and I wish I could say I know how that feels, but I don’t.
As soon as I walk up the driveway of my house, turn the door knob and slip in, confetti is blasted over me.
“Welcome home!” my mom shouts.
I blow the shit out of my face and barely have time to react before she wraps her arms around me and crushes me into a hug.
The grin on her face is so wide it almost looks painful.
Her black hair is in a ponytail, and her blue eyes shine with excitement.
I hug her back because although I try to act hard, I’m a total mama’s boy.
“Hey, mom. I missed you,” I say, breathing in her scent.
It’s lavender, and she smells like home.
She pulls away to look over my body, her brows furrowed in concern.
“Did you get hurt? Are you okay?” she asks.
“I’m good, mom. Not even a scratch on me,” I tell her with a smile.
That’s a lie, but she doesn’t need to know I have a new stab wound on my back. Thankfully it wasn’t life-threatening and has healed very nicely.
She sighs in relief. “I’m so glad you’re back. Where’s your other half?” she questions, making me chuckle.
“Adam already went to see Lisa. He ditched me as soon as he got to town.”
“Oh, that’s nice. If only you had someone to see. You’re back after two years, and the only person you have to see is your mom,” she says, shaking her head.
“Well, my mom’s awesome.”
I kiss her forehead before walking further into our home and dropping down onto the cream-colored sofa.
I have no idea why Adam thought walking all the way to the city was a good idea.
The SEAL base is on top of a hill. It was a long, tiring walk.
He claimed it would be good exercise considering we wouldn’t be working out as much for the next three months.
I don’t know what he’s talking about. I plan to work out every day until we get back to work.
“We should throw a party,” my mom says, coming to sit on the couch.
“No,” I immediately protest.
“No?” she asks. “But... it would be so nice. We could call a few people over to the house, and they would get to see you and Adam again. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
“Nope,” I reply, making her sigh.
I don’t like people. I especially don’t like it when I’m forced to interact with more people than I would like.
“How about a small dinner?”
I stare at her warily. “What would this dinner entail? And who would be invited?” I question.
“The dinner would entail food, silly. And I’ll only invite the Millers.”
“Sounds great. Just Adam and his mom. I can work with that,” I tell her, nodding.
“Actually, Taylor’s back.”
That’s a little surprising. I haven’t seen Taylor Miller in years.
“She is?” I ask.
“Yep, and she brought a boyfriend.”
“Oh great,” I say dryly.
“I know, right? It’s so nice that both of Marilyn’s kids have partners. She’ll be getting grandchildren soon, I’ll bet. Meanwhile, I’m stuck with you.”
“What’s wrong with me?” I ask, offended.
“Nothing sweetie.”
I give her an eye roll in response.
“So, when’s this dinner?”
“Tonight.”
Awesome. I have only a few hours before facing the Miller family. Especially my best friend’s little sister, who I’m pretty sure hates my guts.
I leave her to her preparations while I head up to my room. I’m glad to see my mom didn’t change anything. My room is still just as it was when I was in high school, and it’s a painful reminder of how my life is. Unchanging, steady.
The only excitement I get is from the missions I go on.
And yet, I want more. I’m getting sick and tired of doing the same things.
I joined the Navy SEALs when I was 19. Training took three years.
Then, I’ve been working, training, and doing my best to serve for the past seven years.
I wouldn’t say this out loud to anyone because I wouldn’t know how, but I’d like to stop.
I became a SEAL because of my grandfather and father.
Both of them were legends in the Navy. My dad raised me to be just like them.
Notwithstanding that this same job is the reason they both died, I would very much like to make them proud.
Which is why I’ll keep trying, no matter how much I hate it.
My plan is to lie down for a few minutes before going to help my mom with dinner. But when I open my eyes again, it’s dark outside, and someone’s knocking on my door. It’s probably my mom, so I don’t bother putting on the shirt I had discarded earlier before opening the door.
When I do, both my eyes and the eyes of the person standing on the other side widen simultaneously.
“Taylor?”
“Uh…hi?” she says with an awkward smile, her eyes trying and failing to look anywhere but at my chest.
I stare at her, all of her. I note her blonde hair, amber eyes, and a body that I definitely don’t remember her having. Taylor Miller has changed, and she has grown up and just become the only non-constant thing in my life.