Skye woke up to her phone ringing. Without looking at the number, she answered, “Hello.”
“Hey, sis. What going on?” Her brother, Fintan, had a cheery upbeat attitude. On any other day, she would love to talk to him. But, she needed to let Trevor know that maybe they should just be friends. What happened between them had been a mistake. Her heart hurt every time she thought about telling him, but she had to, right?
“Hey big brother. You woke me up, jerk.” She could never be mad at him. But, it was fun teasing him.
“Whatever, red bug. Look, I wanted to know if you’d thought about what we talked about?” She had no idea why he insisted on calling her red bug. He’d started calling her that because of her red hair and how small she’d been at birth. Fintan claimed she reminded him of a bug. “No, I haven’t. I’ll think about it, I promise and let you know.”
Skye had mentioned to her brother she might not go back to being a therapist. She knew she due to return to work after a five-month leave of absence in roughly three weeks. Her family wanted her to work at the pub. They’d purchased the building next door and were planning on expanding. And she was seriously considering the offer, but she wasn’t planning on letting them know yet. She wanted to make sure leaving her practice was what she really wanted. Her boss would be devastated to lose her.
“We contacted an architect the help revamp the other side. The guy seems nice and enthusiastic about the project. The good thing is we would only have to close for one or two days.” His excitement made her smile.
“That’s great. You won’t lose too much income.” The one thing they’d worried about was the amount of time they would have to close.
“Your enthusiasm is over the top. What’s bugging you? Don’t say ‘nothing’. You sound funny.” Fintan was too observant for his own good.
Great, she needed to tell him something. “I met someone. But, not sure if I will be seeing him anymore. Before you ask, no, he didn’t do anything to hurt me. He’s in the military, active duty. So, I’m not doing a long-distance romance.”
He was too quiet. “Fintan, are you still there?”
“I’m not sure what to say. I just can’t believe one, he’s military and two, why you didn’t tell me.” Oh, boy. He didn’t always listen well.
“Fintan, listen. I’m not… not going to see him.” I repeated everything very slowly. “Plus, I only met him— what— two days ago, so this is nothing anyway.”
“Who are you trying to convince: you or me? Maybe you should. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that the last time you dated was over six months ago. Go out, have a one-night stand and live. However, please don’t tell me about the one-night stand, or I will have to hunt him down.” He chuckled.
“I am not going to talk to you about dating and especially sex. I draw the line. I have to go; I need to eat. I’ll call you all when I get home. Love ya, big brother.”
“I got it. Talk to you later. Tell Liana we all said hi. Please think about working here. I would love to see you more. Love you too, red bug.” With that, they hung up the phone.
Skye got up and got her bathing suit out of her suitcase. She wanted to go into the water today and maybe the hot tub after to release the knots in her back. Her friends were either eating, sleeping, or already outside.
Going outside, she headed to the beach and straight into the water where her friends were. They talked about nothing in particular and joked around. They all turned their heads when they heard the deep voices of the men from next door.
Skye locked glances with Trevor, and she turned her back toward him. She wrapped one arm around her waist with a hand over her heart to protect her from the pain. This was the first time she noticed the rest of her friends looking at them also. She wasn’t the only one having issues with the men next door.
Getting out, she headed right for the hot tub. “Skye.” She hadn’t even heard Trevor approach.
“I can’t right now. I’m here to see my friends, and I want to spend some time with them.” She hoped he wouldn’t push, and when he came closer, she held up her hands. “Please, Trevor. I can’t talk right now. Later.”
“Skye, you okay?” one of her friends asked.
Not looking at who asked, she said, “I’m fine.” Trevor left, and it hurt her heart to see him leave. But, that was what she wanted, right?
It took everything in Trevor to turn and leave. But the agony in her voice nearly took him to his knees. He needed to talk to her; they would all be leaving soon. He had no idea what had changed from last night to now.
Trevor rejoined his friends but couldn’t seem to stop glancing over his shoulder just to see Skye. Some of his friends were doing the same thing. He was glad he wasn’t the only one having problems.
He ran the conversation he’d had with his father over and over again. Did his father know about his nightmares? Who would’ve told him? Maybe talking to his father again would be the best thing to do.
He needed to talk to Skye about everything and what had her so spooked. And he needed to do it soon. Skye left with some of her friends before he was able to talk to her. He went inside to play pool or poker. God, I hope Gannon is cooking. They do not want me cooking or it will be soup and sandwiches.
The day flew by, and before he knew it, dinner called their names, and they all decided to go out. Thank God, I’m not cooking. Even though he really wanted to see Skye, he had a great time. The others talked about their jobs and family. He wanted to confide in his friends about the failed mission, the informant, and getting shot. He couldn’t tell them, or he would have to admit how he’d screwed up, gotten his informant killed, some of his team and himself shot. He hadn’t gone with his gut and it cost them all, some with their lives.
No one had blamed him, and his commanding officers confirmed there had been a leak within and canceled the next mission. Commander Ward refused to see another soldier fall. He’d been secretly glad it was canceled, but hadn’t told them that. Fear had no place in a soldier while on a mission.
Trevor had way too much beer at dinner and didn’t think Skye would appreciate him talking to her reeking of beer. So, he did the only thing he could, he went back to the house and went to bed. He would get with Skye tomorrow.
Starring up at the ceiling, he wondered if Skye was thinking about him. He wanted her there in bed with him. He would run his hands over her smooth skin and find all her most sensitive spots.
With Skye on her back, he would roll to his side, his head leaning against his fist. He could almost feel her skin, his fingers trailing down between her breasts, over her stomach and lower. He would lean in, kissing and nipping her neck and inhaling the smell of lavender on her. He wanted to know if it was her shampoo, body wash, or her natural scent.
I am not going to be able to sleep tonight.