Despite It All by Reese Knightley
Forest
“Think you can mind your own business?”
Sergeant Greene’s coldly muttered words left his palms sweating and it took all of his self-control to keep each step he took away from the man even and unhurried.
His insides were not even close to being calm. Damn it. It had taken all of his nerve to go over and talk to the big, handsome soldier. He’d never done that before, deliberately flirt with a soldier. He was the one to whom men gravitated toward and flirted with. But there was something about Joshua Greene that drew him like clouds across a sky.
Even if the guy denied it, a fire radiated between them. He’d felt it hovering like a promise for months.
For six long months, he’d been trying to get Greene to acknowledge their connection. Maybe it had all been in his head. Unfortunately, he had no more time to waste on Greene tonight.
Home was waiting for him, now that it was the weekend. A home filled with color and brightness. A home he’d just kicked his ex out of because the guy wanted to have an open relationship. Open? He called it cheating.
Greene wanted to be alone, so be it.
“If you don’t swing the bat, you’ll never hit a home run,” he reminded himself, the words lost beneath the noise of the party.
Reaching the table where Colonel Liam Cobalt and the Secretary of Defense sat sipping wine, he excused himself from the party.
“I’ve got to hit the road.”
“Aww, leaving so soon?” Dave frowned, but stood and pulled him into a hug.
He returned one of his best friend’s hard squeezes. They’d kind of grown up next door to each other. Had known each other since Dave had been a teenager and him a fatherless toddler running after the older boy. Dave had taught him and his brother to ride a bike and skateboard.
“Yeah, I have to pick up Summer and Rick. They stopped at Rick’s mom’s to have dinner.”
“I’m so glad you could come.” Liam shook his hand.
Sergeant Dillon Thorne stood with General Luke Rhine at his side; the pair owned this estate-like mansion in Bel Air. Only an hour from his own house just over the border into Ventura County, California.
“Is your friend’s mom’s house on the way home?” Dillon asked, offering his hand.
He smiled and shook both Dillon’s and Luke’s hands. Watching the pair of lovers brought a tightness to his chest. Their love reminded him there was someone out there for him. Someone would want to flirt and get to know him.
“Yeah, I can stop and get them on the way. They live close to me.”
“I’ll call you,” Dave said.
“Bye.” He waved and stopped by the door and collected his windbreaker. Draping the coat over one arm, he chanced one last glance behind him, but Greene wasn’t at the bar any longer. He forced himself to stop looking for those wide shoulders. His obsession over Greene didn’t say much about Alex, now did it? Maybe he’d subconsciously known for a while that Alex had been cheating.
Sometimes, things weren’t meant to be, he reminded himself and stepped out into the breezy summer night.
Forty-five minutes later, he pulled up in front of Rick’s mom’s house and Rick and Summer dashed out the door.
She laughed at something Rick said and his heart squeezed at their love. They’d grown up together. He’d fallen in love with Rick at the same time as Summer had, but Rick had chosen her. Accepting that had taken him years, but he’d eventually put Rick in the best friend category and moved on.
“Hey, Two and Three.” He smiled when Summer kissed his cheek.
“Hey, Four.” Rick hopped in the back and Summer slipped in the front.
Somehow, the nickname “For” had changed when he was younger to “Four”. Then, they’d decided to number and call themselves the dynamic four: Him, Mason, Summer, and Rick.
“We hitting the hills this weekend?” he asked.
“Yeah, did you get your new climbing gear?” Summer shoved her purse and bag to the floor.
“I did, and it’s so badass. You wait, I’ll be the envy of the cliffs,” he boasted.
“Dream on, Four. I’ll rule you all as usual,” Rick hooted from the back seat.
“Keeping dreaming,” Summer told Rick, giving him an exaggerated eye roll.
He grinned and pulled away from the house.
“Oh! I found a new song.” Summer snapped on her seatbelt and reached for his iPhone.
“Not that one again,” Rick groaned.
“What one?” he laughed, heading toward the freeway.
“A perfect ‘fuck you’ to Alex!” she said, her voice rising excitedly.
“You’re finding songs about my ex-boyfriend?” he snickered and took the on-ramp to the freeway.
Rick lowered his window and the warm night air blew in, bringing the smell of motor oil, strawberries from a farmer’s crop right off the 101, and somewhere near the on-ramp, the scent of barbecue drifted on the wind.
“Did you have fun at the party?” Rick leaned between the seats.
“Put on your seatbelt,” he told Rick, slowing down to give a semi-truck time to pass.
“Was Joshua there?” Summer asked.
Something slammed into his car with the force of a freight train.
Summer screamed.
Metal shrieked and crunched and ripped apart. Glass exploded and the airbag punched his face. He squeezed the wheel and the door caved in against his left side.
The world jerked.
The SUV flew into the air and crashed down, jolting his backbone.
The world flipped.
It was the last thing he remembered.