Vetted: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by A. M. Williams

  Once he finished cleaning me up, he disappeared again and I worked on getting myself back to rights. First order of business: finding my underwear.

  I spotted them hanging off the corner of the coffee table and snagged them, quickly pulling them on.

  August came out as I was walking over to grab my bra.

  “What are you doing?” He asked as he grabbed me by the waist.

  “Trying to get dressed.”

  He made a noise. “I was hoping you’d join me upstairs for another round shortly.”

  I shivered at his words and he pressed a kiss to my neck while pressing his hips into my butt, making me feel his half-hard dick.

  “Are you just a robot or something?” I asked him, surprised he was already getting hard again.

  Or had he never gone soft?

  “I’m a human man that has a woman he’s incredibly attracted to at his house and he wants to spend a long night in his room exploring her.”

  I gulped at his words. “I have to go to base tomorrow,” I said.

  “I know. I’ll make sure you’re up in time. I’d say you could go back home later tonight, but I’m not sure you’ll be able to walk.”

  Well, fuck me sideways. If that’s what he was promising, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk tomorrow either. But I sure was ready to try.

  “Where’s that bedroom then?” I asked him.

  Before I could protest, he threw me over his shoulder, and we were heading inside.

  “Our clothes!” I called out as he walked me through the house like that.

  “I can get them later.”

  “What if your brother comes home?”

  August paused at the bottom of the stairs, seeming to consider my words, but he continued up.

  “I’ll drop you and go get them.”

  I grinned at his words thankful he was getting them. While I was sure Rich knew what we were doing, I didn’t want him to find out clothing and be slapped in the face with it. That would be uncool.

  Once we reached August’s room, he dropped me onto the bed and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  He disappeared. I heard him tromp through the house, the door creak as it opened and closed, and then again before he appeared in the doorway, our clothing balled up in his hands.

  “Now, where were we?”

  “You were going to fuck me hard enough I couldn’t walk.”

  And he did.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  BRITAIN

  TIME SPED up after dropping the bomb that I was deploying to my parents, my friends, my work, and August.

  After finding out I was leaving, everything was a blur of dinner with people before I left, doctor’s appointments with my dad when I could swing it and spending as much time with my parents and August as possible.

  It went without saying that the military was the elephant in the room for August and me. Even though we’d talked things out somewhat, it hadn’t made a huge difference.

  I could tell that he wasn’t happy I was deploying soon. Any time I brought the military up in his presence, he’d stiffen and look uncomfortable until we moved to a different topic. He never took part in the conversation and would leave if it dragged on too long.

  I said nothing to him about it, though, I thought about it several times, mainly when we were alone together.

  Us not talking about his thoughts with the military and my deployment wasn’t solving anything, and I feared that history was in danger of repeating itself.

  It hurt when we broke up a decade before. And as hard as it had been, I had gotten over him.

  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do the same this time if that were to happen. August was too firmly inside me now. He lived across the street from my parents! Unless he moved or something happened, it wasn’t like I was escaping him.

  I felt sick at the thought of us not being together anymore.

  It was a week before I was scheduled to ship out and the girls from the clinic had dragged me out for one last night out together at Hooligans. Today had been my last day at the clinic until I returned. I was taking the next week to spend as much time with my parents as possible before shipping out.

  I was also hoping to spend as much time with August as possible.

  “You’re too gloomy for this shit!” Amy shouted as she dropped a tray filled with shot glasses on the table.

  I arched a brow at the many shots she was distributing. “You buy them out of alcohol?”

  She laughed. “Nah. Just half of it.”

  I shook my head and took my glasses, staring at them and hoping I’d be able to walk from the place after we finished tonight. I had my doubts.

  “Here’s to Britain!”

  We took a shot.

  “Here’s to her coming home!”

  We took a shot.

  “Here’s to her man!”

  We took a shot.

  By this point, I was already feeling queasy. But I soldiered on each time one of the girls called out a toast, grateful when the shots ran out and I could order water from a waitress.

  A little while later, the girls were on the dance floor, leaving Amy and me at the table together.

  The place had filled up quickly. It seemed like most of the town had turned out tonight and there wasn’t a free inch in the place.

  “So,” Amy said, pulling me from my perusal of the crowd. “What’s the what?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, sipping my water.

  “You know what!” She laughed. “You and August. What’s happening there?”

  I shrugged and shifted in my seat. I glanced toward the dance floor, hoping the one of the other women would be on her way back to the table to distract Amy, but I wasn’t that lucky.

  “Britain, come on!” My gaze jerked back to Amy. “I won’t tell anyone. What’s going on there?”

  I dropped my gaze to my water, not sure how to admit to her that I didn’t know.

  “What’s with your face? You look like someone kicked your puppy.”

  I wrinkled my nose, but knew she probably wasn’t wrong. I’d reached the moping stage of leaving.

  “I don’t really know,” I finally said.

  “What do you mean you don’t really know?” She leaned in closer as the music cranked up louder from the jukebox.

  “What’s going on,” I practically shouted in her ear.

  She shot me a look and shook her head. “How do you not know? You two are hot and heavy and have been almost since you got home.”

  I scratched the back of my neck, not sure what to say. My skin prickled uncomfortably; I wanted this conversation to be over.

  But I also liked the thought of talking about it with someone that was unbiased. Maybe she could help me figure out what to do.

  “August won’t talk to me about my leaving. We had one conversation a few weeks after I initially told him, but since then, nothing.”

  Amy arched a brow and shot me a wide-eyed look. “He won’t talk to you?’

  I shook my head. “Nope. If someone brings the military up, he either leaves the room or clams up until a new conversation is brought up.”

  Amy stared at me for a few beats before saying, “That’s… a problem.”

  I snorted and shook my head. “Tell me about it. I want to talk about what the plan is for when I’m gone. But considering he’s acting like his head is in the sand with this…”

  I trailed off, not wanting to finish my sentence and admit what I was thinking.

  Amy had no such problem, though. “You’re worried that he’s not in it to win it with you and that he’s going to break up with you.”

  I raised a shoulder again in hopes that was a noncommittal enough answer for her.

  It wasn’t.

  “That’s bullshit,” she said, making me glance at her from the corner of my eye. “He shouldn’t be avoiding this.”

  Amy’s voice shook, and I was taken aback by the emotion in her voice. “He’s not the one leaving, you are. An
d you’re leaving behind a great life and some great parents to go do this. He doesn’t get to act this way!”

  My eyes widened at her words, and as her voice rose. I glanced around quickly and saw that only the people close to us were looking our way. I reached over and placed a hand over one of hers and drew her attention my way.

  “Thanks for having my back, but don’t get worked up over it. As bad as it sounds…” I trailed off and tried to figure out exactly what I wanted to say. I sighed. “As bad as it sounds, I’ve been preparing for him to cut me loose before I leave.”

  I paused again and said, “I plan to ask him to come with me to base when I get dropped off. I think that’ll force the issue because he can’t avoid it at that point.”

  Amy nodded, but I could tell that she was still worked up over it.

  “I just can’t believe that he’s acting this way. You’re leaving us to possibly go die overseas and he can’t pull his head out of his ass.”

  A brief smile flitted across my face at her words. It was good to know that she had my back.

  “Why don’t we get you another drink?” I asked, flagging a waitress down and ordering a round for the table. It looked like Amy might need the alcohol more than I did.

  LATER THAT NIGHT, I sat on the steps to my parent’s porch and stared at the darkened house across the street. Amy’s words bounced around in my head and I could see the truth in them I hadn’t wanted to realize earlier.

  It was shitty that August was acting like my deploying wasn’t happening, and I didn’t think that boded well at all.

  I was already worried about leaving and him ignoring it wasn’t making my leaving any easier.

  We couldn’t continue like this, that was for sure.

  I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. I was going to have to force the issue.

  I continued to sit on the porch, staring at the house across the street, trying to convince myself that I’d survived a break up once before and I could do it again.

  I just didn’t want to.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  AUGUST

  THE MORNING STARTED out so nicely.

  I woke up later in the morning, glad I could have a slow start since it was the weekend and summer.

  I ran out and got doughnuts and coffee for me and Rich.

  I read on the back porch.

  It was a great start to the day.

  It had gone downhill quickly once lunch was finished.

  “I’m packing up and heading out,” Rich announced as I finished loading the dishwasher.

  I froze, the plate halfway inside, placing it down and turning to look at my brother.

  “What?”

  He was standing in the door between the kitchen and dining room, his arms crossed over his chest and his legs planted wide. He looked ready for a fight, I just wasn’t sure what fight he was taking on, but I had a feeling it related to me.

  “I’m packing up and heading out. I’ve got some leave, and it’s still good weather, so I’m going to head out for a few days. I’ll be back in a week or so.”

  My brow furrowed. “Why?”

  By this time of year, Rich usually stuck close. He’d camped when it was cold outside and even in the dead of winter, but he hadn’t done it in a while. I thought we were past that.

  “Just got some things I need to work out.”

  I studied him, trying to get a read on what he was thinking, but he wasn’t giving anything away.

  “What’s up?” I asked, leaning against the counter behind me and crossing my own arms over my chest.

  Silence stretched between the two of us and I thought he was going to ignore my question, but after about a minute, he said, “I can’t stay here and watch what you’re doing to Britain.”

  I blinked at him, not expecting that to come out of his mouth.

  “What?” I asked, wheezing. I felt like someone had socked me in the gut with his words.

  “You heard me. I can’t stay here and watch what you’re doing.”

  “And what, exactly, am I doing?”

  Rich shook his head. “You know. You know.”

  I said nothing at first, working to get my temper in check. It was steadily rising, and I didn’t want to fight with my brother, especially not when he was about to leave.

  “No, I don’t think I do. I’d appreciate you spelling it out for me.”

  Rich blew out a loud breath and looked away from me for several beats before saying, “You’re ignoring that Britain leaves in five days.”

  I tensed at his words. I wasn’t ignoring it; I just wasn’t talking about it.

  “Don’t even act like you’re not,” Rich continued. “I’ve watched you whenever someone brings it up. You don’t say a word, and that’s shitty. She’s worried about leaving and she can’t even talk to you about it, the guy she’s dating. Because he still isn’t on board with what her dream entails.”

  I clenched my jaw at his words. “We’ve talked about it.”

  Rich laughed, but it was a mirthful one. It was hollow, and it made me study him more closely. “When she first found out. I thought for sure after you talked that night that the two of you were good. Solid. Ready to move forward. But, man, I’ve talked to her more about her deployment than you have and you don’t even see how it’s killing her that she can’t share that with you.”

  “You’ve talked to her about it?” I asked through gritted teeth. I didn’t even know why that made me mad, but it did.

  Rich stared at me. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, an incredulous look on his face. “Of course, I’ve talked to her about it. You can look at her and tell that this shit is eating her up. We talk about it almost daily.”

  “Where have I been?”

  Rich shrugged. “I don’t know. Work? Backyard? Your room? Wherever the fuck you are when you’re not with her and avoiding the realization that the woman you love is about to go into a war zone.”

  I flinched at his words, but he wasn’t done. “You can’t avoid this forever, bro. She leaves in five days and I think she’s hoping she still has you when she does. She has enough to worry about right now that she doesn’t need your shit and your hang-ups hovering over her too.”

  He stopped talking, and I had nothing to say. We stared at each other for several moments before he shook his head. “I’m going to come back and you’re not going to be with her. I’m calling that shit right now.”

  Before I could think of something to say in response, he spun on his heel and left me standing in the kitchen, thinking over what he said.

  I knew I needed to get my head out of my ass, but I needed more time. I just didn’t have it. Rich was right about one thing: Britain left in five days and I needed to sort my shit out.

  It wasn’t fair to either of us that I was hung up about her dream to have a career in the military. I knew she wanted that, but I couldn’t reconcile that with my hang-ups about the military.

  I wanted nothing to do with it, but it was like she was running toward it with open arms and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be okay with that.

  I sighed and scrubbed a hand over my face before turning to the dishwasher, closing it and walking toward the stairs.

  I needed to have a conversation with Britain and it needed to happen soon, but I wasn’t sure what I would say or do. The thought of not being with her made my heart hurt, but I couldn’t see myself with her if she was in the military either.

  Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

  I’d just put a foot on the bottom riser of the staircase when there was a knock at the door.

  I sighed and turned toward it, opening it to reveal Britain on the other side.

  I smiled at her, happy to see her. But she didn’t smile back as she stepped inside.

  A dark feeling crept into my gut, and I had a feeling that things were about to come to a head between me and her.

  “Can we talk?” She asked.

  I nodded. “Back porch?”

&nb
sp; She nodded and walked past me toward the back door.

  As she brushed past me, a shiver worked its way through my body and I had a feeling that one way or the other, something was going to be decided today. I just wasn’t sure exactly what that would be.

  I blew a raspberry before following Britain onto my back porch.

  She was standing by the screen door, staring into the backyard. I thought about going to stand next to her, but I could feel the tension rolling off her body and decided it was probably smart to let her start this off.

  I sat down on my couch and waited. I didn’t have to wait long.

  She turned and said, “I want you to go with me and my parents to base to drop me off.”

  I froze at her words. My mouth dried and my brain emptied. “What?” I croaked.

  She nodded. “I want you to go with me to drop off.”

  Her words ricocheted in my brain and I watched as she walked toward me and dropped into my love seat, leaning forward to brace her elbows on her legs.

  “Why?”

  She sighed and dropped her gaze to her lap as she said, “If you have to ask, then I have to wonder what we’re doing together.”

  I winced at her words. That was a stupid question on my part. I knew why she wanted me there. She wanted my support. And I wanted to give it to her. I just wasn’t sure I could give it to her in that way.

  “Britain…” I started, trailing off, not sure exactly what to say. “I want to be there for you… but I can’t do that.”

  She jerked at my words and her shoulder drew up. She slowly brought her head up and our gazes met. I braced.

  “Why not?”

  Her voice was high and reedy.

  “You know my thoughts on the military.”

  She jerkily nodded. “Yeah, I do. But this is me we’re talking about.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out what to say to help her understand. I sighed. “I support you in whatever you do, but I just… can’t support you with the military.”

  I winced at my words, knowing that wasn’t the best way to put what I was thinking.

  Britain’s head jerked back like I’d slapped her, and I knew I’d said the wrong thing.