I dropped back against the couch. “I am. Doesn’t explain what the hell you’re doing up at this hour.”
Probably the first time Monty had seen the sun right after it had fully risen. Normally he was a midday kind of guy.
He shrugged and walked farther into the living room. “I got up to keep you company.”
I scoffed. “You willingly crawled your ass out of bed at this hour in the morning to keep me company?”
Monty flopped down on the couch next to me. “You’d do the same for me.”
He had a point. We had our issues a while back, but Monty had been there for me since college. Aiden had too, but it was hard when he went to school on the other side of the country.
I rolled my head to the side on the back of the couch. “Thanks, man.”
“Anytime.”
This was the Monty most people didn’t get to see. The one who cared about his friends and would do anything to help. Most people saw the clown, the one with the crazy ideas. And as much as I thought I wanted to be alone, it was nice to have company. At least today.
A bit of guilt settled in my chest, about the same spot where I could feel my wedding ring.
I knew I should tell him. He deserved to know. On the other hand, I’d promised Megan I wouldn’t say a word. She wanted our actual wedding to feel like the real thing even if we knew it wasn’t. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my mouth closed. Until the fucker reached for my coffee and took a sip.
“Uh…” he said, spitting the liquid back into the cup. “How long has that shit been sitting there?”
I picked up the mug and stood. “Since Megan left.”
“Damn, why don’t you reheat that shit?” He ran his arm across his mouth.
I glanced at the mug and back at him. “Well, since you decided to spit in it, I think I’m done with it.”
Walking into the kitchen, I poured the coffee down the drain and eyed the pot, still half full, on the counter. I could pour another cup, but would I really drink it? Probably not.
I dropped the mug into the sink and grabbed two tumblers and a bottle of Johnny Walker from the top cabinet.
Monty was sprawled on the couch, with his feet on the coffee table, flipping through the channels when I came back into the room. He sat up when I set the bottle and glasses on the table.
“The sun is barely up and you want to drink?”
I sat down and pulled the top off the bottle, filling the glass closest to me. “I think today of all days I get a pass.”
I filled the second glass and Monty shook his head. “Bad things happen when I drink whiskey.”
Picking up both glasses, I held one out to him. “You planning on leaving here anytime soon?”
“No,” he said, eyeing me up and down.
“Then drink. I’m sure Allana will understand and pick your ass up later.”
He took the glass from my hand. “Fine, but if I get in trouble for this, you’re taking the blame.” He pointed at me with the glass still in his hand.
“Fine, fine.”
I tipped back the glass and let the burn of the alcohol wash away the pain of watching her leave. When it was empty, I sat forward on my elbows, rolling the glass between my palms.
“You know she’ll be back soon, right?”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “That was what I thought when she left for winter break.”
He sighed. “I get it, I really do, but this is different. This time she’s not choosing to leave, the army is making that choice for her.”
“Which makes it suck even more.”
He playfully shoved my shoulder. “Just think, when she gets home, you can christen every room in the house.”
I looked at him with a raised brow. “Who says we haven’t?”
He peeked down at the couch he was sitting on and back up at me. Then he shrugged. “Good for you.”
There in a moment I didn’t think I’d be able to smile until Megan was back in my arms, Monty had found a way to make me laugh.
My phone lit up on the counter and I snatched it up like it was a life preserver and I was a drowning man.
Megan: Checked in. I’ll call later when I have more details.
My fingers flew over the keys.
Me: Love you. Stay safe.
Her answer was almost immediate
Megan: I will. Love you, too.
“Aww, kissy, kissy. Smooch, smoochy.” Monty rested his head on my shoulder, watching what we typed.
I shrugged him off. “Ass.”
Hours and a bottle of whiskey later, Allana came to pick up Monty.
“You’re only getting a pass because Jackson needed you today.”
“You’re the best.” Monty’s speech was slurred as she guided him out the door.
“Call me if you need anything,” Allana said over her shoulder, then shut the door behind her.
More silence. Somehow Monty had made me forget about Megan leaving. Well, not really forget, but at least not dwell on it as much.
Guitars and sheet music littered the coffee table. I’d taken his advice and put my feelings into song lyrics. And before we both got too drunk, he put some music behind it. Whether the song would ever see the light of day was another story. Hell, I didn’t even know what it sounded like sober.
I lay down on the couch as the room started to spin. My eyes drifted closed as the phone on my chest rang. I lurched up into a seated position, instantly regretting it. The phone bobbled in my hand a few times before I finally righted it and hit accept.
“Hello, my love,” I said, lying back down on the couch before my insides decided to make an appearance all over the floor.
Megan sighed. “When did you start drinking?”
“Umm…” I tried to look at the clock, but the numbers wouldn’t hold still long enough for me to read them.
“I don’t know. When Monty got here.”
“Jackson…” I could imagine her shaking her head at me. “At least Monty doesn’t get up until after noon.”
“Actually, he got here a little after you left.”
I closed my eyes to stop the room from spinning except it only made it worse.
“Shit. I don’t even want to know how much you’ve had to drink today.”
“Bottle’s empty.” My head lulled to the side to see the empty bottle.
“Lovely. I doubt you’ll remember this tomorrow, but it looks like I’m heading out for the full six months. They need a head nurse to train the incoming one and since I have experience it would be me.”
“It’s not fair.” My speech was slow, the alcohol starting to win.
“I know. But it is what it is. I’ll call you tomorrow. Right now you need to get some sleep.”
“No…wanna…talk,” I said, even as my eyes fluttered shut.
“We’ll talk tomorrow. Just promise this is a one day thing. You’re not going to drink every day I’m gone, okay?”
“Only…one.”
The world faded to black as the whiskey won and took me under.
35
Megan
My eyelids were heavy as I slowly made my way back to my tent. After a double shift in the medical tent, my muscles were sore and I wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath my blankets and sleep. But knowing it wouldn’t be long before Jackson would get up and be waiting for me to call made me want to keep my eyes open.
When I arrived I realized I’d been assigned to a base with Internet access. Not always the best signal, but better than waiting for free time to head to the call center. With my laptop, Jackson and I could talk whenever our schedules lined up. Which they did more often than not. He’d be getting up around the same time I’d be heading back to my bunk after dinner.
At least now that they were on tour, working on the West Coast, I was able to talk to him earlier than before they left. I pushed the flap and flopped down on the bed. My eyes fluttered shut. I knew by now Jackson would be out of bed. He probably expected me to call a few hours a
go, but I hadn’t expected to cut short the shift of one of my nurses, but with a fever, I couldn’t risk infecting the patients.
Forcing myself into a seated position, I opened my eyes and grabbed my laptop from the end of my bed. I could talk to him for a few minutes and knowing Jackson, he’d see how tired I was and send me to bed. I flipped up the lid and opened Skype.
The call took a bit to connect, but after a few moments, the screen lit up and the exhaustion I’d been feeling since leaving the medical tent faded away. With a smile that could light up any room, his dark hair was messy on the top of his head, like he’d just rolled out of bed.
“Morning.” I leaned back, relaxing against the pillows on my bed. Perks of being a commanding officer—a private tent.
He propped his feet on the table next to the computer. “Hey, I expected you to call earlier. You look really tired.”
I lifted a brow. “Thanks, honey. Such a wonderful way to greet your wife.”
Jackson rolled his eyes. Setting down the mug in his hands, he picked up the computer and set it on his lap. “You know I love when you call, but I can see the exhaustion all over your face.”
I sighed. “Fair enough. I had to cover one of the nurse’s duties. She had a fever, so I couldn’t let her stay.”
“Then, why don’t you go and get some sleep? We can talk tomorrow.”
I shook my head. “No, I get to sleep soon. I don’t have duty tomorrow. Carter’s on. I can talk for a little before I go to sleep. Do you have a show tonight?”
“Yeah, we arrived in town last night.”
I giggled. “I figured you didn’t play last night. You’re way too awake for that at this time of the morning.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny.”
“Hey, I try.”
“Yeah, well, it sounds like I’m getting a whole lot more sleep than you are.”
“Really?” I said, the disbelief evident in my voice. No way would Monty let them all head to bed when he was pumped after playing a show.
Jackson smirked. “Fine, maybe not. The only reason I got any sleep last night was because we were on the road and Monty couldn’t drag us all out to party.”
“That sounds about right.” I reached up, stretching the muscles in my shoulders. “Are you guys having fun?”
“Kind of. I miss you and wish you were with me. It gets lonely on my tour bus when I’m the only one all alone.”
I reached up to finger the second chain that hung around my neck. The one that held my wedding rings right next to my dog tags. “It’s just as lonely here. I miss waking up next to you every morning.”
“Let’s look at it this way, three more months and you’ll be back.”
“I know, but three months seems a whole lot longer than it did the last time I was here.”
“That’s ’cause you have something to look forward to come home to this time.”
I smiled. “That I definitely have. Have you thought any more about when and where you want to have the wedding for our families?”
“A little, but before we talk about that, how are you doing over there? Besides being tired.”
I tugged on the band holding my hair and let the loose strands fall all around me. “Okay, I guess. Just working a lot and counting down the days. It’s been pretty routine so far. If it stays that way for the next few months I’ll be lucky as hell.”
“Lots of uneventful nights works for me.”
“Me too. Now tell me what you’re thinking. You know we’re not going to be able to hide this for too long once I get back.”
He nodded and picked up the mug he’d set on the table. “I know, but we will have to wait until the tour is over for that to happen.”
“It’s nine months, right?”
“Yeah, which means we’ll have four months left still when you return.”
“Well, that’ll give us time—” A loud bang rattled from somewhere on his tour bus. “What was that?”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “What do you think it was?”
I glanced at the time. “Monty looking for company or breakfast.”
“You’d be correct. Give me a sec to get rid of him.” Jackson set the computer down and walked around the small table.
It still amazed me how much room they had on their tour buses. One night he showed me how the table had folded down to be stored for travel. Not to mention the million other cool things he’d shown me on the video tour of his bus. Honestly, it hadn’t been hard to imagine myself being on there with him every night. Made the idea of taking time off from work to go with him very appealing.
There was muffled arguing, then Monty’s voice sounded loud and clear like he barged onto the bus even though Jackson had told him to get lost for now. So much for the conversation about wedding plans.
“Hey, Megan,” Monty said, his face appearing on screen as he took Jackson’s seat.
I rolled my eyes and laughed. What else could I do, throw a fit? Not really my style, even though I wanted to know Jackson’s thoughts on our wedding, or should I say second wedding. “Hey, Monty. I guess Jackson didn’t have much luck in sending you back to your own bus?”
“Nope.” A shit-eating grin took over his face. “Told him I just wanted to say hi,” he whispered like I was his co-conspirator in this mess.
“I take it you wanted something else?”
“He wants to go to breakfast.” Jackson walked over and pushed Monty over so he could sit down and pick up his mug again. Monty tried to swipe it when Jackson smacked his hand away and brought the mug to his lips for a drink. When he lowered it again, he pinned Monty with a look. “Go get your own coffee. It’s not like your bus isn’t equipped with the same shit as mine.”
“Yeah, but then I have to make it myself.”
“Oh, poor baby.” Jackson gave Monty a fake pout.
“Monty?” I asked, drawing their attention away from each other. “Why don’t you go to breakfast with Allana?”
“Uh,” he moaned and dropped his head on the back of the couch. “Because she’s still sleeping like everyone else. I’m not allowed to wake her up when she’s not teaching and she’s on break this week. She says it’s the only time she gets to sleep in.”
“I can’t say I blame her for that,” I said.
“I know.” Now Monty was practically pouting. “But I’m starving.” For extra proof of how hungry he was, Monty gripped his stomach and hunched forward, rocking from side to side. “And everyone else is sleeping. I knew Jackson would be the only one up so he could talk to you.”
Jackson threw his hands up in the air. “Exactly, I’m up to talk to Megan and you’re not exactly letting me do that.”
“But I might starve to death while you’re on the phone,” Monty whined.
“Poor baby. You get to have breakfast wherever and whenever you want,” I said, instantly grabbing Monty’s attention.
“I didn’t. I wasn’t…” he stammered.
Holding both hands up, I started to laugh. “I’m just trying to get you flustered.”
Monty froze, staring at me. His eyes narrowed and I waited for some snappy comeback when suddenly his mouth opened and a booming laugh left his lips.
“Touché, touché.” Monty pushed himself up from the couch. “I’ll let you two talk for a bit. Megan looks tired as hell, so I’m willing to bet I won’t starve to death before you get off the phone.” He stopped and waved. “Stay safe, Megan.”
“Bye, Monty.” I waved as he walked off camera. A few seconds later I heard the bus door close.
Jackson picked up the laptop and set it back on his lap. “Sorry about that.”
I smiled. “It’s fine. I needed the laugh. But it doesn’t get you out of telling me what you’ve been thinking about for the wedding.”
He chuckled. “I know. I just feel like my time with you is so limited.”
A yawn escaped my lips. The exhaustion working its way back in, even as I tried to fight it off. “Only for a few more months. After that you’
re going to be tired of me with how much time we’ll have to spend together.”
“There’s not a moment I won’t want to spend with you when you get home.” I yawned again. “Why don’t we talk about the wedding tomorrow night when you’re not so tired?”
I shook my head. “Nope. You’re not getting out of it. Tell me now, then I can dream about it all night.”
“How can I say no to that?”
I winked. “I’m hoping you can’t.”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about something small. Our close friends and family, not the distant relative and random co-workers you feel like you should be inviting. I know you’re not the ‘look at me’ type of girl.”
“You are right about that. I’m not. But what if I said I wanted it anyway?”
“I’d say I’d give you anything you wanted. You want a thousand guests and fireworks, you got it. I’ll give you anything that makes you happy.”
He hit the nail on the head. I wasn’t the kind of girl who wanted thousands of people staring at me. I had a feeling that would happen anyway once news of the wedding hit the gossip blogs, but then I wouldn’t know they were watching me. They’d be doing it behind some computer screen, not while I stood there with their eyes lasered in on me.
“Small sounds perfect. But I gotta say, I love that you’re willing to give me anything to make me happy.”
“Always,” he whispered, his gaze locked on me.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, simply watching the other. Even though we were thousands of miles apart, the connection between us was as strong as ever. There were no words to define exactly how much I loved the man.
“What else do you have in mind?” I asked a few beats later, when the moment had finally passed.
Jackson kept listing all of his ideas until my eyes grew too heavy to keep open any longer.
“I love you. Now go and get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“I love you, too. See you tomorrow.”
A sense of sadness washed over me, same as it always did every time I disconnected our chat. The first time I came overseas it was as a single woman. One with no attachments at home besides her parents. I had talked to them every few days, but this time was different. At least I wouldn’t be here as long as the year and a half I stayed last time. Three months would be over in the blink of an eye. For now, I had to keep my mind on our wedding plans.
Play Me (Jaded Ivory Book 5) Page 24