Love Unexpected (Navy Love Series Book 2)

by Santo, JC

  “You ready to go?” At my nod, we walk out of my apartment.

  “Where are we going?” I make small talk on the way down the stairs.

  “It’s not where you should be concerned about,” he says cryptically. I glance over to see him with a small smirk, but I still sense a nervousness about him.

  “Huh?”

  He stops, looking ahead. I follow his line of vision to a beautiful motorcycle in front of us.

  “I said it’s the how that’s important tonight. You ever rode before?”

  I shake my head, unwilling to look away from it.

  “I’ll go slow, but I wanted to take you before it gets too cold out. You up for it?”

  What I know is a huge smile breaks out across my face as I finally look at him.

  “Hell yeah.”

  He laughs as he climbs on and hands me a helmet.

  “Here, I’ll hold onto your hand while you climb on.” He holds his hand out, waiting.

  I walk up beside it, bypass his held out hand, and instead place both of mine on his shoulders, stand on my tip-toes, extend my leg over the bike, and slowly ease my way down to a sitting position. I don’t think Charlie ever realized how experienced of a dancer I am. Ballet was my favorite style.

  “You do realize you just made climbing onto a bike one of the sexiest things, right?”

  I laugh at his bluntness.

  “You ready?”

  I give a nod.

  Revving the engine, we take off.

  It’s amazing, so different from riding in any other fashion. The wind whipping by us is cold but a constant reminder of the nature around us. My arms stay locked around Reed’s waist, not out of fear, but this experience is so captivating I feel the need to hold on tightly out of fear of missing something. His firm stomach beneath my hands serve as a reminder that this is real.

  Reed

  We drove around for about thirty minutes before I felt her shiver from the cold, so I finally pull into the parking lot of 456 Fish.

  Tegan doesn’t know any of the plans for tonight. I mapped out the night for us. We spent previous months together locked away, hidden from the world. Like we were each other’s dirty little secrets. And that isn’t at all how I see Tegan. I never did, but I need to show that to her now.

  That discussion I had with Marshall the other day was enlightening. He simply told me that I need someone who’ll stand by me no matter what, and that if I couldn’t see that’s Tegan, then I’m a fool. After leaving his house that day, I thought over everything we talked about, and he’s right. I carry the heavy burden of my childhood around like an ankle weight.

  There’s no changing my past, but there is changing my future. And that is what my sudden change of heart regarding relationships is. I don’t want to end up a lonely, old, bitter man. And in Tegan, I see someone who truly cares for me. As Marshall said, if I find someone who’ll put up with my shit, I need to fight to keep her.

  By noon that afternoon, I had laid out a plan on winning Tegan over. It started with talking to her, which went over pretty well, especially the hot sex we ended up having in the midst of the talking.

  Now I'm moving on to phase two of my plan—wine and dine her. Tegan isn't necessarily one of those materialistic girls who need a man to spend a fortune on them or take them to fancy restaurants constantly, but I do want to show her that I'm proud to have her on a date with me.

  Which is why we're here. It's our first official date.

  “So what’d you think of the ride?” I ask, a little unsure of how she took it.

  I swallow, waiting for her answer. I really hope she liked it. I was most nervous about bringing the bike tonight. What would I have done had she refused to ride on it? My entire date night would have started off on a bad note.

  “I liked it a lot. How come you never took me on it before?”

  “You liked it?” She enthusiastically nods. “It’s like a therapy for me. A bike was the first thing I ever owned myself, my first sense of freedom and independence. Growing up in and out of foster homes sucked. I never thought I’d have stability. When my Dad introduced me to motorcycles, it became our thing. I guess I had to buy my own because it was not only my first taste of freedom but also of belonging. None of my foster fathers cared to share a special hobby with me. Bikes remind me of him and the bond we have, that’s why I bought it.”

  This is more than I thought I would ever tell any woman I’m interested in about my past, but with Tegan, it doesn’t feel forced. Even when we were just screwing, there were many times I felt the urge to confide in her. I just fought it, refusing to believe that I could care about someone enough to break the pattern I set for myself so long ago.

  “So how long were you in foster care?” she asks nervously.

  I can understand her hesitation. I’ve known her over six months now and have never opened up like this. Fuck, I’ve known her sister and my friends for four years and haven’t discussed my past this much.

  “I was adopted when I was ten. My parents are great, but I know that love like what they’ve got is rare and hard to find. I don’t know if that kind of love even exists anymore.”

  “It’s not that rare. My parents have it too, you just have to be willing to look for it and know when you’ve found a good thing. A love like what our parents have isn’t something that comes easy for anyone.” She pauses for a moment. “I know it’s out there for me, I’ll find it someday I’m sure.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” I say more to myself than her. Perhaps Marsh was right about her. With that spew she just gave, I don’t think she’s as naive as I first made her out to be.

  Our waitress interrupts our conversation to drop off our food. It looks amazing, and we both dig in. My medium-rare steak and lobster are delicious, while Tegan gushes over her stuffed flounder.

  “So, what was up with the weird texts earlier?” she asks in-between bites.

  “I’m going home for Christmas; I thought maybe you’d come with me.” I shrug, trying to act casual, when in reality I’m mentally preparing for a letdown.

  “Hmm, are you serious?”

  “Yeah, babe.”

  “I can’t. The babies will be here by then, Charlie. I want to be there with them and Tess for their first Christmas.”

  After a couple seconds of plotting, I rashly change my plans.

  “New Year’s then.”

  “New Year’s?”

  “Yeah. We can go to Michigan for New Year’s.”

  “I have to talk to Tessa first.” Her voice sounds defeated where moments ago it was excited.

  We’ve both finished our meals, and both plates are damn near empty. I fish my wallet out and hand it over to the waitress when she comes by to drop off the check.

  “What’s wrong, Tegan?”

  Tegan remains silent the whole time, still dawning the sad look about her.

  “I didn’t tell her today. She’s stressed out about the babies and everything else, I didn’t want to add more on her right now.” She sighs, obviously disappointed with herself. “We’re a dirty secret, just like before,” she throws in almost to herself.

  “Hey.” I lift her chin with my hand. “Babe, we’re not a dirty fuckin’ secret anymore.”

  I pull her lips to mine, taking my time exploring. My tongue runs along the seam of her lips until she opens granting me access. After a few moments, I pull back, my point proven. “If we were, that would not have happened in the middle of this crowded restaurant.”

  I’m rewarded with a smile from her.

  “I shouldn’t have agreed to let you talk to Tess alone, anyway. I’m just as much a part of this decision to be together as you are, it’s something either I should do or we should do together, babe. So don’t worry about it, we’ll talk to her next time we’re all together. Might as well face the entire firing squad at once.”

  “Okay, Charlie.”

  God, the way my name sounds coming out of her mouth is like music to my ears. I seriou
sly could become dependent on it.

  Leaning in, I whisper, “Now, let’s get out of here. I want to take my girl back to my apartment and get another taste of that pussy I’ve missed out on the past four months.”

  Tegan’s face blushes a deep shade of red, and I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me.

  We walk out hand in hand, climb on my bike, and do just what I said. Take her back to my apartment, lay her out, and feast on that pussy I’ve become addicted to.

  Tegan

  My course load is really light this week since we only have classes today and tomorrow, but everything else is piling on, causing this to be a hectic week.

  Tonight I’m having dinner with Matthew, Meredith, Caleb, Liam, and Raegan. All of them are heading home tomorrow as soon as classes are over. Raegan is spending Thanksgiving with Matthew and his family. Here’s to hoping he manages to talk to her about his feelings.

  I’m excited and nervous, Charlie will be meeting us here shortly. It’ll be the first time he’s met everyone—with the exception of Caleb since they had that little run-in a few weeks ago. I just hope everyone doesn’t hold that encounter against him.

  We’re all in the ordering line at Moe’s Burrito Grill. I’m chatting with Meredith when a pair of arms come around my waist from behind. If I didn’t know Charlie was coming, her expression lets me know it’s him.

  Most girls get that doe-eyed expression when they see Charlie. He literally makes girls go dumb with his good looks. That dark hair, the tan skin, and those piercing-green eyes are a lethal combination.

  He places a small kiss to my collar bone. “Hey, babe.”

  “Hey, you.”

  We place our order and follow Meredith to the table where everyone else is.

  All eyes are on Charlie when we approach.

  “Charlie, this is Matthew, Raegan, Liam, Caleb, and Meredith. Guys this is—”

  “Her boyfriend. I go by Reed, please. Nice to meet you guys.” He shakes hands with Matthew across the table then looks to Caleb. “Caleb, sorry about the other night, man.”

  “It’s cool. I didn’t know you and Tegan were still an item or else I never would have acted that way.”

  Charlie nods his understanding, but is sure to throw his arm around my shoulder, silently staking his claim.

  Everyone gets along well. My friends seem to genuinely like Charlie. There’s a sense of normalcy that’s beginning to settle inside me at us being together in public. It’s a satisfying feeling that we have more chemistry than just in the bedroom. I just hope that Reed’s friends and my protective big sister will see it and accept it.

  When we head all leave for the night, I’m pleased with how well it went.

  Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I’m at my sister’s house prepping. The past few weeks went by quickly. After talking it over, Charlie and I decided to keep our relationship under wraps until Tessa’s pregnancy is over.

  Is it the chicken way out? Probably. It took some convincing of Charlie at first. I’m not sure what happened to him, but he’s suddenly not gun shy about our relationship anymore. He’s still not in love with the idea of hiding us again, but he’s at least willing to for a short period of time.

  We all agreed doing Thanksgiving dinner here would be best; Sawyer’s toys are here,

  and if Tess gets too overwhelmed or tired, she can always go lay down. And, yes, Tess and I both caught all kinds of hell for calling the afternoon meal dinner and not lunch. What can I say? Back home, any big lunch time meal is considered a dinner, regardless of the time.

  Although she doesn’t like to admit it, Tessa’s energy is very low these days. She shouldn’t be cooking at all, which is why I’m here. Between Hunter and me, we’ve managed to keep her on a stool or in a chair, up off her feet, most of the day.

  At her last doctor appointment, her blood pressure was a little high. The doctor told her she needs to rest more and stress less. Something she doesn’t seem to want to listen to. My sister can’t sit still—she’s a control freak. And this holiday dinner prepping has been a perfect example. She’s refused to sit and relax; Hunter has gotten onto her multiple times and even threatened to kick her out of the kitchen.

  The babies could come anytime now since she’s thirty-six weeks along. Even though she is a huge, grumpy, pain-in-the-ass right now, we’re all trying to keep her happy.

  It was very fortunate that we’re doing it here. Hunter and Tessa’s house is bigger than Jeremy’s, Hunter and Marshall’s father. Yesterday, J.C. called Tessa to let her know he’d had a change of plans and would be joining us for dinner instead of going back home to Georgia.

  Although she hasn’t called yet, we’re all expecting Jo to confirm she’ll be here tomorrow too. It seems like a trend with the two of them. They both take leave at the same time and spend the same holidays here in Norfolk. None of us will be surprised if she ends up here tomorrow.

  We finally finish all the preparing around 10:00 PM, and I head home.

  Tomorrow should be pretty simple, we just have to fix the sides and toss the turkey in the oven.

  I’m surprised when I pull up at my apartment to see Charlie’s car outside. I gave him a key a couple weeks ago, at his insistence.

  He’s sitting at the table, the TV off and most of the lights too.

  “Hey, you,” I say as I place a kiss to his cheek. “What’s going on?”

  “Hey.”

  He seems reserved, unlike Charlie.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He doesn’t look at me. Instead, he keeps his face trained ahead. A moment of silence passes before he releases a deep sigh.

  A million thoughts run through my head at once. What if he doesn’t want to be with me anymore?

  “I’m done hiding us, Tegan.”

  “What?”

  He gets up from his chair and stands directly in front of me, finding my eyes.

  “I’m finished hiding this between us. We’re telling your sister and everyone else tomorrow,” he says with conviction.

  “But, Charlie, we can’t. We agreed to wait—”

  “I know that, and at the time I thought it was a good idea, but I’m finally at a stage where I’m comfortable with dating someone. I don’t want to hide that; I don’t want to hide you.”

  “What about Tessa being pregnant? The babies will be here any day, Charlie. I don’t want to stress her out.”

  “Alright, but if she starts talking about setting you up or fishing for your personal life again, or any of them do for that matter, I’m speaking up. And God help J.C.’s ass if he touches you again.”

  A week ago we all met up for dinner and J.C. kept jokingly throwing his arm around my waist. He swore he could see the steam shooting from of Charlie’s ears. I, however, was too focused on Jo’s hard stare at J.C.’s hand to notice Charlie’s reaction.

  J.C., the bastard, knew what he was doing. I could tell Jo was upset by something, and he used me as a way to get under her skin.

  After everyone arrived, my sister tried to set me up with some guy from her old squadron and she refused to accept a “No, thanks, not interested” from me. I eventually took his number just to stop her constant nagging. And Charlie promptly deleted it when we met up at my apartment afterward.

  Although I hope nobody ruffles Charlie’s feathers tomorrow, again, that damn romantic side of me is swooning at the thought of him confessing our relationship to everyone.

  Charlie left me standing in the kitchen and when I go in search of him, I find that he’s already made himself comfortable in my bed. He’s lying on his back with one hand stretched out below my pillow, the other spread across his chest, wearing nothing but his briefs. It’s a mouthwatering sight.

  He crooks a finger at me, motioning me to come to him and glances to my side of the bed where he’s sat out an old t-shirt of his that I love sleeping in.

  It’s one of the few things I have from when we were just sleeping together. I wore the damn thing so many nights after he brok
e it off with me; there were many nights I spent with my face buried in the baggy sleeves, crying my eyes out.

  I sit on the edge of the bed and remove my shoes and socks, followed by switching my form-fitting shirt for the baggy one. Standing up, I pull my jeans down and climb out of them and into the bed where I curl up against Charlie’s waiting side and quickly fall asleep from exhaustion.

  My alarm going off at 5:00 AM is not how I wanted to start my day. However, I know Tess will do everything on her own, despite mine and Hunter’s warnings of her health, if I’m not there to get it done.

  Climbing out of bed and Charlie’s death grip, I hop into a quick, steamy shower. Within twenty minutes, I’m dressed and ready to leave. I wake Charlie and give him a kiss before I head out. Normally, I don’t wake him up if I leave when he’s still sleeping, but knowing we won’t be able to show affection all day today, I almost feel like we both need one last kiss.

  With my change of clothes for after the cooking is done and my purse in hand, I make the short drive to Tessa’s.

  By 11:00 AM, the house is packed, the television is blaring the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and I’m fighting off men who are trying to “sample” the food left and right. Charlie is the worst culprit. I can’t decide if he’s interested in the food or putting his hands on my hips every time he reaches around me to grab a bite of whatever I happen to be standing in front of.

  J.C. has managed to keep his playful hands to himself so far; his usual upbeat and joking personality seems oddly quiet today. No one knows why, but I suspect Jo’s unapproachable attitude toward him has something to do with it.

  She did end up staying in town, although no one was terribly surprised by that, I think everyone had a slight hesitation to believe we’d see her here this morning. She looks like she’s been ill or recently went on a huge drinking binge. There are very evident bags under her puffy eyes, and she’s acting quiet and reserved toward everyone—not the typical Jo I’ve come to know.

  Hunter has only had to fuss at my sister once so far. Luckily, Sawyer is a great distraction as she's kept Tess occupied watching the parade with her all morning. Jo has jumped between helping me all morning and cocooning herself in a chair in the living room, away from everyone. Hunter and Charlie have spent most of the morning talking with Marshall and J.C. about the upcoming football games today.