Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Let’s go.
“It’s a plan.” I nodded firmly and cursed myself to hell. What was I doing? Even if I was drawn to Leighton, it wasn’t as if I could act on it. Besides, I wasn’t ready to admit to an actual attraction. It could be something else. We had good chemistry. Maybe I was simply annoyed by the fact that we couldn’t form a proper friendship while he was my recruit, and the part of me that had always rebelled against authority was acting out.
Maybe I was confused again.
So far, so good.
The trick to remain in denial was to not watch him in the shower. When we’d headed into the operators’ shower room, I’d only turned on the lights in the laundry section, so the visibility in the showers wasn’t great. Then I’d dumped my clothes into my laundry bag and superglued my stare to the tiles all the way over to the shower I’d picked. He was right next to me, without walls in the way, but I had self-discipline and dimmed lighting. I’d showered with other men more times than I had showered in private, including with recruits. It wasn’t a fucking thing. Modesty didn’t exist here, just like in the service. So, I wasn’t going to treat Leighton any different. Well, with the exception that I refused to glance his way even for a second.
I didn’t need a glimpse of his naked ass.
Stepping away from the water cascading down, I poured body wash into my hand from the dispenser on the wall, and I began lathering up.
“The showers here are way better than the others,” Leighton said.
They wouldn’t be for much longer. The water damage in the recruits’ dorms on the other side of the building was almost fixed, and the shower room there had been renovated. They were just redoing the adjacent laundry room now.
“It might be the other way around soon.” Eyes closed, I finished washing my face before I took care of my junk.
He hummed but said nothing.
At least for a moment. “So, um…am I allowed to ask personal questions?”
Allowed, yes. Was it smart? Not one bit.
“As a grown man, I have the ability to tell people to mind their business,” I drawled. “You can ask me anything.”
“Smartass.”
I smiled and brought my hands back to my stomach and chest. Tension was finally leaving me, and I could relax more. I’d always liked to take my time in the shower.
“How do you date as an operator?” he wondered. Not the most uncommon question, for sure. “From what I understand, Operator Rose and Operator Payne are married—and they used to work as a team when they were in the field. So, like…I can see that working. But I’ve heard about divorces here almost as much as I heard about them in the Army. And in the Army, they were practically a guarantee. I think I know of one marriage that didn’t fall apart while I was in.”
Yeah, they were definitely common here too. “The short answer? It’s rough. You’re gone a lot—and even when you’re not on assignment, you’re working uncomfortable hours and spending more time with coworkers here than with your family.”
“Right. And even if you’re married to another Hillcroft employee, it’s not always easier,” he went on. He said it like half a question, half an observation.
“You thinkin’ about Operator Riggs?” I stepped under the water again and rested my hands on the wall. I just let the hot water do its thing.
“Yeah,” he admitted. “Tanner did some digging. He’s definitely hooked on the guy.”
Still? That was…interesting.
“I thought you and Tanner had your thing,” I said, keeping my tone casual.
Leighton chuckled. “Eh. We have the same type.”
As in, someone like Riggs? ’Cause I kinda fit the bill. But it annoyed me that Leighton didn’t confirm or deny having messed around with Tanner.
I straightened and tilted my face up, and I started rinsing the remnants of the suds from my body.
“So how do you date?” he asked. His voice had changed. He sounded…shakier, almost.
Was he watching me?
I swallowed and slid my hands over my cock, down to my balls, and I lingered. Like an idiot. He wasn’t watching. Was he? No.
“I don’t,” I replied. “I crash my relationships into the ground. I try to force something that ain’t there, and then I become more and more distant until they end things.”
“That sounds healthy and pleasant,” he noted.
I chuckled and hung my head, just letting the hot water relax me further. Hands along my sides now. I didn’t need to be accused of giving a recruit a show.
“If there’s one thing my string of girlfriends has taught me, it’s that I’m not healthy or pleasant to be around,” I said. “I’m a living, breathing red flag.”
It was nothing but the truth. Not that I abused them or anything. No ex-girlfriend of mine would rank me the highest of douchebags. But I was undoubtedly on the Top 10 list.