Jen McLaughlin: Out of Time

I shouldn’t be surprised. This was a pattern in my life. The second things started to look up for me, shit always blew up in my face. Like the time I’d gotten the job of my dreams, only to learn it would require me to travel out of the country for ten months of the year. Or the time I’d gotten my Harley, and then an asshole in a pickup truck smashed it into pieces.

This certainly wasn’t the first time I’d gone through this type of thing, and it wouldn’t be the last.

The toast popped and I set it down on the Saran Wrap. After putting the rest of her sandwich together, I poured her a to-go mug of coffee and waited at the door. She came charging out of the bathroom with jeans and my t-shirt on; her hair in a sloppy ponytail. Hot damn, I didn’t want to let her walk out the door.

But I knew I had to.

She grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and came my way. “You giving me a ride?”

I raised a brow. “Can you eat and drink coffee on a bike?”

“No.”

“Then no.” I kissed her quickly, not wanting to hold her up even more, and handed her the coffee. Her fingers brushed against mine, and I wanted to capture them and hold them close to my chest. Right above my heart. “I called you a cab, and it’s out there waiting for you.”

She grinned at me, her warm eyes shining up at me. “Thanks, love.”

“ Love? ” I scratched my head. “That’s new.”

She shrugged and took the sandwich from me. “I’m trying it on for size. You have so many nicknames for me, it’s only fair I think of one for you.”

“Hm.” I patted her on the ass, the universal signal to get going. “Well, Ginger , I’ll pick you up after class. Five, right?”

“Yes.” Her cheeks flushed, and her gaze dipped to my mouth. “I have to study afterward with a friend, so make it six?”

“Which friend?”

“A new one you don’t know.” She kissed me. “A girl. She’s majoring in biology, too, with the end goal of occupational therapy. Just like me.”

“Ah. I suppose I’ll share then.” I slapped her ass gently. “Off you go.”

Her eyes darkened. “Do I have to go?”

“You know you do. If your grades fail, then I do, too.”

She huffed. “I had to go and fall for the guy whose job it is to make sure I don’t fail, didn’t I?”

“Don’t look so sad. If you hurry up and get to class— and behave yourself all day—maybe I’ll help you study again.”

She perked up at that. “Deal.”

I pulled her in for one last kiss. “I love you, Ginger.”

“I love you, too.”

I watched her climb down the stairs and make her way toward the yellow taxi. She took a sip of her coffee and slid into the cab, her eyes on me as she pulled away. Once she was out of sight, I sighed and went back inside. As I made myself a sandwich and brewed another cup of coffee, I picked up my phone and unlocked it.

Two texts already.

Ever since I got sent here to guard her—babysit her, more like—I’d been on a daily text routine with her fucking father. He was like a needy teenager in some ways. If I didn’t immediately text him first thing in the morning, I got at least three texts before I could finish my coffee. The funny thing was she didn’t even need watching.

Well, maybe she did a little bit.

Only because she’d gone and fallen in love with me, despite my initial lies about my real identity and the fact I was her father’s lackey sent to spy on her. But no one was going to take her from me—not even her dad. I needed her too badly.

She reported to class on time .

Barely thirty seconds passed before the phone buzzed again. Good. Check on her after and make sure you actually text me back.

I snorted. Will do, sir .

After I sent the text, I spun the phone in my hand, debating my next move. Maybe I should call Dad and see what he thought was up. He’d been in the military long enough to get how things ran. I could practically hear his voice now. He’d say something along the lines of, “ Griffin, you know what this is as well as I do. You’re going to war, son.”

Maybe I would check in with one of my squad members. See if they knew something I didn’t. After flipping my egg in the nick of time, I dialed my buddy Hernandez.

“Hello?” Hernandez said, his voice rough.

“Hey. It’s Coram.”

Hernandez set something down. Maybe his coffee mug? “What’s up, man?”

“Did you get a call last night?”

“From who?”

I leaned against the counter. “Our C.O.?”

“Um, no.” Hernandez cleared his throat. “Should I have? What’s going on?”

“Shit, I don’t know. I thought…” I rubbed my forehead, but it did nothing to take away the ache between my eyes. “Fuck me.”

“No thanks,” Hernandez said. “You’re not my type.”

I snorted. “The hell I’m not.”

“Yeah…no. I prefer blondes. But why would he call you and not me?”

I shook my head. “I got a call from him that I have to show up this weekend. But if I’m the only one, what the fuck does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” I heard a door shut. “I hung out with Smith last night, and he didn’t mention it either. So I don’t know, man.”

So two people hadn’t gotten the call, but I had? What the fuck did that mean? It didn’t make any sense. “All right. Thanks, man.”

“Do you think they—?” A muffled knock sounded through the phone. “Shit. I gotta go, Coram. I’ll call you later.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

I hung up the phone and set it down, my head hurting even more now. So I wasn’t being deployed with my unit, but I might be deploying soon?

None of this made any sense, damn it.

Later that day, I shoved all my school crap into my brown messenger bag. I’d just finished my study session with my partner from chemistry, and still had a crapload of homework to do, but that was hardly a surprise. Going to school to become an occupational therapist was not an easy thing.

With it came tons of homework and labs and studying. I’d known it was what I wanted to do since I’d entered high school, and I hadn’t wavered from it at all. I loved helping people, so it seemed like a good fit for me to pick a career where I was, well, helping people. Hands down.

But now I was finding that juggling a love life and school and lying to Dad about it was a bit hard to keep up with. Not that I was complaining or anything. It was a lot to handle sometimes. Tonight before I left, I needed to drop off a few articles of clothing in the main room so people could take what they wanted, then I also had to grab a change of clothes for me.

I had a feeling I would be spending the night at Finn’s house again, and that was A-okay with me, thank you very much. Heck, if I had it my way, I’d never leave his side again except for school. Even that was a challenge, to be honest.

I knew I had to focus on studies, and so I did. There wasn’t a question of me slacking in that area. I had goals and dreams, and they didn’t include flunking out of college. But it was better when Finn was with me. I even slept better with him beside me. I needed him there, being all hot, smart-assy, annoying, and irresistible all at once.

You know. Being Finn.

When I’d found out he was my father’s spy after falling in love with him, I never would’ve thought we could move on from that. Never thought I could move on from that. But when it came to a life without Finn, well, I didn’t want to live that life.

I’d tried it. It sucked. I wasn’t going back.

I heard someone come up behind me in the library and I gazed over my shoulder. One of the last people I wanted to talk to right now stood there, looking ashamed of himself.