Forever by Janie Crouch
Chapter Seven
Two Months Ago
Ethan - 24
Jess - 21
“You here to tour around,mate? You’re an American, right?”
Ethan met his cab driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Not really touring. Here to visit a friend for her birthday.”
He wasn’t in uniform, and he only had forty hours of leave before he had to be back in Germany to meet up with the rest of his SEAL team. He hadn’t been sure he’d be able to take these two days. It had looked like they were going to be sent out on an emergency mission, but the situation had taken care of itself at the last moment.
He’d thought this was the first birthday of Jess’s since meeting her that he was going to have to miss. That had never happened so far, and he was glad to not end the streak on her twenty-first.
He might actually pull off surprising his little genius.
As far as she knew, because that was what he’d thought was going to happen, his team was somewhere in northern Africa. His last brief communication with her three days ago had been to tell her he wasn’t going to make it.
Jess had been disappointed but had understood Ethan couldn’t always be there. At this point, with them both having hectic careers, they were well familiar with the ins and outs of a long-distance relationship. They did their best to see each other as often as they could and still managed to talk nearly every day unless Ethan was on an active mission.
But he couldn’t wait to see the surprise in Jess’s eyes when he showed up. And he had one more surprise too: the ring in his jacket pocket.
He’d had it for a while now, but it was time. They were both ready. He had to make a decision in the next few weeks about whether to re-up in the Navy or get out.
The ring in his pocket said it was time to get out. There was a lot he could do in the private sector with skills he’d developed in the military that would serve him well. But most importantly, he just wanted to be with Jess.
“Is your girl from Britain then?” the cabbie asked.
“She’s studying here. She’s lived in London for seven years now. So I’ve been here quite a few times.”
“And does she know you’re coming? This club we’re headed to is quite popular. Might be hard to find her.”
“No, she doesn’t know I’m here,” Ethan said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it and didn’t want to get her hopes up if I couldn’t.”
“Big surprise?” The cab driver waggled his eyebrows.
“I hope so,” Ethan answered, “and I hope to make it even more romantic by the end of the night. I’ve got an important question to ask her. The important question.”
“Well then, I hope she says yes, mate.” The cabbie was grinning as they pulled up in front of the club. “Good luck to you.”
“Thank you.” Ethan got out of the cab, paid the driver, and went inside. He didn’t have a bag—he had some stuff stashed at Jess’s apartment. All he needed was to find her.
The place was big, crowded, and smoky. The bass of the music was so loud he felt it in his chest. It was going to take a while to find Jess. Fortunately, he was good at reconnaissance missions.
It only took him ten seconds to realize this place definitely wasn’t where he wanted to propose to her. When he found her, maybe he could talk her into leaving. But maybe she was with friends for a proper celebration.
And maybe he wanted to do more than just get down on one knee and ask her. Damn it. He should have thought this through.
People did all sorts of elaborate proposals nowadays, but hell, he and Jess had been talking about getting married since she was four years old. This latest conversation would merely be the one that made it official.
He wanted to start a life with her, one where they lived in the same place all the time and woke up in the same bed every morning. He was ready. Of course, he’d been ready for fourteen years.
He knew the moment he was in the same vicinity as Jess. It had been this way his whole life. He wasn’t one to wax poetic. He wasn’t good with fancy love words. But when he was near her, there was something in her soul that called to his. Soulmates.
She was out on the dance floor with her friends, smiling and laughing and jumping around. He walked over to the bar and ordered a beer. He’d never been much for dancing, but he always liked to drink in the sight of Jess O’Conner.
A couple of ladies tried to engage him in conversation, but he gave them a polite smile and turned his attention back to Jess. He wasn’t here for anyone else, wasn’t interested in anyone else.
A few minutes later when the music turned slower, instead of coming off the dance floor, Jess went into the arms of one of the people she was with. Ethan took one last sip of his beer. A slow dance, he didn’t mind cutting in on. He wanted Jess in his arms.
But as he watched, things turned sideways.
Why was she dancing so close to this guy? Why was her hand threaded in his hair at the back of his neck?
Ethan wasn’t aggressive by nature. He was calm, levelheaded, and tended to think through possible scenarios before jumping to any sort of judgment or plan. But right now, it was all Ethan could do not to walk over there and leave the guy unconscious on the ground. He knew a dozen ways to make it happen without breaking a sweat.
He slid his beer away. He didn’t want anything hampering his judgment. He was on full alert, details clarifying around him. Like when he was on a mission.
And then he waited.
He waited as the guy twirled Jess around and she laughed. He waited as the guy continued to dance with her when the slow song was over. He waited for the next two hours while Jess danced and smiled and flirted.
This guy wasn’t a stranger to her. He was one of her colleagues, one of her friends. Ethan didn’t recognize him the way he did the others in her group, but the guy had the same nerdy look as the others. Jess was the only one who somehow managed to pull off brilliant, fun, and down to earth all at the same time.
Watching them was torture and yet . . . not. Because while Ethan definitely didn’t like seeing Jess flirt with this guy—touching him, standing close to him, laughing with him—there wasn’t any one moment where she crossed a line.
She didn’t kiss him. Didn’t rub up against him inappropriately. Didn’t do anything that she would have to confess.
The longer Ethan watched, the more it seemed like the entire evening was some sort of experiment. Not surprising. Research with strict methodology was how her brain worked.
But what exactly was she researching now?
What it would be like to be with someone who wasn’t Ethan? Was she testing the waters to see if she liked it?
Ethan scrubbed a hand over his face as Jess and her mystery man went back out on the dance floor for another slow dance. All Ethan did was watch.
His whole life, he’d only had one real concern when it came to him and Jess. He’d always known he would spend forever with her. That he was hers. But knowing when their forever should start had been a little trickier.
Ethan was all Jess had ever known romantically.
As he watched her with this guy now, the slightly awkward movements between them, the ring in his pocket mocked him.
Maybe he was too early. Maybe Jess needed a chance to go out and know other guys. As much as that would rip his heart to shreds, he was willing to stand by and let her do whatever she needed to do.
He could lose a battle in order to win the war, but he also knew that was dangerous. He was gone so much of the time in the Navy. Maybe she was tired of waiting. Maybe she was ready to be with someone she could go to bed with each night and not have to wait weeks, or months at a time, to see.
Maybe this trip was giving Ethan the exact intel he needed. He shifted back against the bar.
He waited another hour, keeping an eye on her, his mission shifting to one of protection. If Jess wanted this guy, that was her choice, but Ethan wasn’t going to let anyone take advantage of her.
As she dumped her drinks and turned down shots, unlike her friends and the guy, Ethan was relieved. She might be experimenting, but at least she was doing it with her full mental resources.
When they finally headed for the club’s exit, he followed, staying in the shadows but close enough that he could hear them. It sounded like they were heading back to the Vandercroft campus.
Good. He hoped.
Jess was getting in the cab when she suddenly stopped and turned, looking around. He stepped back so as not to be seen. She obviously wasn’t looking for him, but he didn’t want her to know he was here.
They’d be having a discussion, but not yet. There were things Ethan had to put into motion first.
He watched the vehicle pull away, then got in the queue for his own taxi. This had not been the night he was expecting.
He got into a taxi and looked up, startled, when the driver gave a surprised yelp. “Hey, mate! I didn’t expect to get you as a fare again tonight. How did it go with your lady friend?”
“About how you would expect given I’m without her and the ring is still here in my pocket.”
The cabbie winced. “Sorry to hear that. That’s never the ending you’re hoping for.”
“No, definitely not. But now I know where I stand.”
The taxi driver was smart enough to realize Ethan didn’t want to talk more. And instead of going to the hotel as he’d planned, he had the man take him back to the airport.
He’d been in the Navy for seven years. He’d always known he wasn’t a lifer. It had only been a matter of when he would get out and he and Jess could start their life together.
Maybe dancing in somebody else’s arms was what she needed before they started that. If so, Ethan was willing to let her have it.
But ultimately, they would be together, and he would fight for what they had. Hell, he was going to do more than just fight.
He was going to win.
