Chapter 13 For the first time in his life, Flash dreaded going home. Not because he'd wanted to stay in Jamaica, but because it would mean leaving Kelli. How he'd become so attached so quickly, he had no idea. But he had. And he didn't regret it. When he'd woken up that morning, he'd had a moment of confusion. He didn't do one-night stands. Didn't sleep with women-sleep sleep, that was. And yet, he'd woken up with his arms around a soft body, flowery scent in his nose, and a hard-on that was almost painful. But the confusion dissipated almost immediately as memories returned. He was at the resort. With Kelli. They were safe, clean, and he'd had the best night's sleep that he could remember in quite a while. Moving slowly so as not to jostle the still-sleeping woman in his arms, Flash had stuffed a pillow under his head so he could see Kelli more clearly. Her hair had been strewn across his T-shirt-covered chest, her hand next to her face. One of her legs was thrown over his thigh, and as he'd shifted a little, she'd snuggled deeper into him, as if wanting to make sure he didn't move away from her. Flash remembered thinking...This. This is what my life is missing. That feeling of being wanted. Of being needed. How long he watched her sleep, Flash didn't know. But he couldn't keep the smile off his face when she woke. She'd smacked her lips and frowned a little. Her brow furrowed. She was fucking adorable. Eventually she'd taken a long, slow breath-then her entire body tensed. As if she'd just realized she was cuddling up to an actual living, breathing person and not a pillow. Not wanting her to be embarrassed, Flash had wished her good morning, then slipped out from under her to use the bathroom. When he'd returned, Kelli was sitting up in bed, giving him a shy smile. He'd reheated leftovers from the previous night for breakfast, and by the time they were packed and ready to go, it was almost noon. Kevlar had called while they were eating and informed Flash that Brant Williams was gone, along with what looked like most of his clothes. He'd obviously heard about their little visit to Errol and fled. A phone call to Tex confirmed he'd gotten on a plane the night before and left the island altogether. A disappointing outcome, as Flash would've liked to have had the chance to confront the man face-to-face. But then Kevlar told him where Brant's flight was headed-and Flash's easy, non-stressful morning had changed in a heartbeat. LA. The man who'd kidnapped him and Kelli, buried them in the jungle, tried to collect ransom money from the US government for him, had gone to Los Angeles. It was way too close to Riverton for his peace of mind, especially since Williams had both his and Kelli's IDs...with their addresses. Tex was currently trying to track the man, happy that he was at least on what Tex considered home turf, where there were cameras on every corner and you couldn't fart without some sort of electronic footprint. It still wasn't what Flash had wanted to hear, nor had he wanted to freak out Kelli when she was so relaxed and content earlier that morning. He'd decided to tell her after they'd arrived back in the States. Which was any minute now. They were finally about to land in San Diego. They'd flown home on a commercial flight, as opposed to the military bird the team had arrived on. The trip was uneventful and Flash felt comfortable, surrounded by all his teammates. Kelli was seated by the window, with Flash at her side. To his surprise and delight, not long after they took off, Kelli had reached over and put her hand on his thigh. It wasn't a sexual move, not that he could tell. He assumed she just wanted to keep a connection with him, the same way he felt a need to always be connected to her. Flash had placed his hand over hers, and she'd napped a little, never breaking their hold. But now they were home. Back to reality. And Flash had no idea how the hell he was going to say goodbye to the woman who'd turned his life inside out. She'd literally changed his entire outlook on his future. He wanted to take her home with him. Move her into his small apartment. The thought of letting her just walk away was making him grouchy, and he scowled at his teammates as they talked about the schedule for the upcoming week as if nothing had changed. He sighed. For them, nothing had changed. The trip to Jamaica had been a slight detour in their schedule, nothing more. But for Flash, the few days were life-altering. He'd taken the time to talk to his sister and parents that morning, reassuring them that he was fine. They'd heard about what happened, of course, since Chuck had arrived home from the trip the night before, earlier than expected, and told Nova that he was missing. They were all freaked out, but Flash had been able to talk them out of flying to Riverton to see him. He promised Nova he'd call her later and tell her everything that happened. Kelli had also called her mom, who didn't seem quite as emotional as his own family had been about the entire situation. She was relieved her daughter was all right, and wanted to hear all about what happened, but by the time Kelli had hung up, they were talking about things like her mom's latest trip to the grocery store and what her plans were for the week. All-in-all, he and Kelli had been lucky. Damn lucky. If he wasn't who he was, if he didn't have the resources that he had, namely a team of highly trained Navy SEALs who had his back, the outcome could've been very different. As soon as they exited the plane, Flash took hold of Kelli's hand as they walked toward baggage claim. He was already getting used to being around people again, but he could feel Kelli inch closer as they walked. "It's crazy how chaotic this feels to me now," she said, glancing up at him as they walked. "I feel like this a lot after missions. Our work is intense. Often times in the middle of nowhere and in complete silence. And when I come home, the noise and hustle and bustle always take me by surprise," Flash said, wanting her to know what she was feeling was normal. When she giggled, he looked down at her. "What? Was that funny?" he asked, confused. "No. Not really. I mean, it makes sense, and I'm sorry you have to go through this all the time, because honestly, it's not very fun. I was laughing because you saying 'hustle and bustle' reminded me of Heckle and Jeckle." She shrugged. "I don't know, it struck me as humorous." Flash smiled at her. "So if I said shake and bake, it would be even funnier?" To his delight, her smile widened and she giggled again. "Artsy-fartsy," she said between giggles. "Jeepers-creepers," Flash countered. "Frick and frack." "Gloom and doom." "Holy moly guacamole!" Kelli said, laughing so hard it was almost hard to understand her. Flash shook his head. "I think you win with that one." His face hurt from smiling so hard. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this genuinely amused. "What's so funny?" Safe asked, glancing at them over his shoulder. Flash's gaze met Kelli's, and they both burst out laughing. Eventually he controlled himself enough to tell his friend, "It's impossible to explain and you wouldn't find it funny anyway." Safe rolled his eyes but let it drop. Flash's humor slowly died with each step closer to baggage claim. Now, he felt kind of sick. This wasn't a normal reaction, but he couldn't help it. It was probably because of what they'd been through together, although he'd never felt this way about one of his teammates after an especially gnarly mission. He couldn't explain it, and that made him uneasy. The second they walked through the gate that separated the secure area of the airport from the public part, Flash blinked in surprise. Instead of walking past the people waiting to pick up passengers, ignoring them as he was used to doing when he flew commercial...he stopped abruptly when he saw some very familiar faces. Remi, Wren, Josie, Maggie, and Addison were all there. And instead of running to their boyfriends or husbands, they headed directly toward him and Kelli. In seconds, they were surrounded. Flash had to let go of Kelli's hand as his friends' women all hugged him and fussed, saying how relieved they were that he was all right. Glancing back at Kelli, he saw that her eyes were wide and she looked confused...and slightly freaked. He met Kevlar's gaze, and his team leader obviously read what Flash was trying to tell him nonverbally, because he stepped up and wrapped an arm around Remi, pulling her back a little. "How about we give them a little space, sweetheart." The others all claimed their own women, giving Flash and Kelli some room to breathe. Flash regained Kelli's hand as the group moved their reunion out of the way of other travelers. Then Flash said, "Thank you all for coming. I didn't expect it." "Why not? You're one of us. Part of our group," Wren said. "When we heard you were missing, we panicked," Remi explained. "Thank God the guys were sent to find you so quickly," Josie added. "Did they find the asshole who kidnapped you?" Maggie asked. "I can't believe he had the balls to call and demand a ransom from the Navy. What an idiot," Addison murmured. "Where are your kids?" Flash asked her. "You didn't leave them home alone, did you?" Addison rolled her eyes and smiled. "Of course not. Caroline came over." Flash nodded. Caroline was the wife of Wolf Steel, an infamous former SEAL who was a kind of mentor to Flash and the rest of his team. They'd become close to the man's former team, and their families. "Are you going to introduce us?" Remi demanded, smiling at Kelli. "Right. Sorry. This is Kelli Colbert. Kelli, this is Remi, Josie, Maggie, Wren, and Addison," Flash said, nodding to each woman as he introduced them. "It's nice to meet you," Kelli said politely. "It's probably not," Josie said wryly. "We debated if we should come. The last thing we wanted was to freak you out. But we all love Flash, and we wanted to make sure he knew how relieved we are that he's all right. And you too. We've all kind of been in your shoes...you know, in shitty situations where someone feels as if they can make you do things you don't want to...so we thought you could use the support." "Yes, and with that being said," Remi added, "I hope you'll come back to Safe and Wren's place with us." "Wait-what?" Flash asked. "Um...we kind of have a welcome-home, glad-you-got-away party going on," Wren said, with a sheepish grin. "We didn't actually plan on it, but one thing led to another and before we knew it, all Caroline's friends and your SEAL buds were wanting to come, because they needed to see for themselves that you were all right, and now everyone is waiting back at the house." Flash stared at Wren for a beat, then moved his gaze to Safe. "Did you know about this?" "Uh-uh. Don't look at me like that. I had no part in this," Safe said with a shake of his head. "Come on, Flash. Please? You'll come, right? We don't really need a reason to get together and hang out, but it would be weird if you weren't there, since Addison made a huge cake that says 'welcome home.' And Alabama got a bunch of balloons, and Jessyka is in charge of the kids, who're making signs to put up all over the house to welcome you back." "And you have to come too, Kelli," Remi pleaded. "We're so glad you're okay. I mean, we don't know you, but if Flash likes you, we will too. We're a rambunctious lot, but we mean well. I promise." Flash glanced at Kelli, who tilted her head up to look at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. "Can you give us a minute?" he asked his friends. "Sure." "Of course." "Take all the time you want." "But not too much, we have food waiting at home!" The others began to walk toward baggage claim, but Flash stayed where he was. He turned to face Kelli. "Talk to me. Are you freaking out? I swear I didn't know they'd all be here, otherwise I would've warned you. Don't feel obligated to do anything. What are you thinking?" She squeezed the hand he was still holding and said, "I'm thinking you're a very lucky man." That wasn't what Flash expected to hear. "What?" "You were gone, like, one extra day, and everyone came here to the airport to see you because they didn't want to wait a moment longer than they had to. Your six best friends dropped everything to come to Jamaica to find you, and not only that, they did it literally in hours. And everyone's so happy that you're all right, an impromptu party formed because all your other friends wanted their chance to tell you how happy they are that you're back." She was right. Flash was very lucky. But just because he had good friends didn't mean his life was perfect. It was missing something huge. A partner. "You're right. I'm a lucky man. So...you'll come with me? Meet my friends? Get to know them?" "Well...I kind of feel as if I already know the women. You told me a lot about them." She was going to say yes. Flash could tell. "Okay. Thank you, yes. I'd love to come with you." Relief and satisfaction swept through Flash. "I'll take you home when you've had enough. All you need to do is let me know. It'll be crazy," he felt obligated to warn. "If you think Remi and the others are enthusiastic, wait until you meet Caroline's crew. They'll have you agreeing to sleepovers, girls' night out at Aces Bar and Grill, and who knows what other crazy schemes before the night is done." "If you're trying to talk me out of this, you aren't succeeding," Kelli said with a smile. "I've never had girlfriends to do that stuff with before. I mean, not as an adult." "Come on. Let's go find our suitcases and get out of here. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry again. That usually happens after missions or times when I haven't been able to eat properly. I'm ravenous for a few days until my body figures out that it's going to be fed on a regular basis again." And just like that, Flash was happy. They didn't have to say goodbye yet. He'd bought himself a few hours. And getting her enmeshed with the women was one of the best ways he could think of to ensure he'd see plenty of Kelli in the future. No one could resist Remi and her posse. He hoped. Kelli looked around in awe. Never in a million years would she have guessed this was where she'd be right now. In a small house, packed to the gills-with more people in the backyard-laughing with people she'd just met, feeling as if she'd known them her whole life. All of Flash's friends were open and welcoming, kind and compassionate. And they seemed genuinely happy she was there. It was...weird but awesome. Kelli wasn't the kind of woman most people were drawn to. She was used to standing in the shadows, watching others at parties and get-togethers. If someone did talk to her, it was obvious they were usually doing so simply to be polite. But she got none of those vibes from the people here. She couldn't remember everyone's names, as she'd been introduced to a lot of men and women. Fiona, Summer, Mozart, Benny, Julie, Matthew...and it seemed as if the women called the men one name, and the men used nicknames. It was all very confusing. But Kelli was still happier than she'd been in a very long time. And Flash hadn't been the only one who was starving. The cake that Addison made melted in her mouth, and it was all Kelli could do not to spontaneously orgasm right there in the kitchen at the first bite. But all the other food was just as good. There was a lot of finger food, which made it easier to eat and talk. Kids ran everywhere, shouting too loud, running into people, and dropping food on the floor, but none of the adults seemed overly concerned. They just warned them to be careful, demanded they apologize when they almost knocked Kelli over, and generally shaking their heads at their exuberance. Looking at her phone, which she was extremely grateful she hadn't brought on the tubing trip, Kelli saw that she and Flash had been at the impromptu party for three hours. It was hard to believe, as it felt as if they'd just gotten there. Just as she had the thought about Flash, he appeared as if she'd conjured him up. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and she leaned into him as he bent down and spoke softly into her ear. "You okay?" She nodded. "How many phone numbers have you gotten tonight?" Kelli chuckled. "Um...all of them?" "Good. Invites to hang out again?" "Three or four." "Has Julie tried to steal you away to work in her secondhand clothing store yet?" Her smile widened as she looked up at him. "How'd you know?" "Because she's not an idiot. You tired?" Kelli shrugged. She was exhausted. It was silly, really. She hadn't done much today. Slept in, eaten, then gotten on a plane, and now she was just standing around. But then again, traveling always made her feel as if she was dragging. Now her energy level was seriously flagging. "I'm knackered," Flash admitted. She couldn't help but smile at that. "Knackered?" she asked. "You have British blood in you that I don't know about?" "Nope. But I love that word. Was pleased I had a chance to use it." This man. He made her laugh, made her feel safe, and also scared the hell out of her. Mostly because the thought of losing him made her want to puke. And somehow she felt as if the second she said goodbye, that would be it. He'd go back to his life, with all these amazing people, and forget about her. The short, frumpy woman he'd somehow managed to get kidnapped with while on that one trip to Jamaica. "You ready to go?" She was and she wasn't. But since Flash was tired, and he was her ride home, she didn't want to hold him up. She nodded. "All right. We'll make the rounds and say bye to everyone then head out." Of course, saying goodbye took another full hour. As they moved around the house, then into the backyard to talk to the people out there, Flash never left her side. Either kept his arm around her waist or held her hand. As they were finally walking out the front door, Flash said, "Whew! I thought we'd never get out of there." "You're going to see your teammates tomorrow, right?" Kelli asked. "Yup. Why?" She shrugged. "Just wondering." "It's a thing," Flash said, as if he understood what she wanted to know without her having to say it out loud. "We never leave a get-together without saying goodbye or see you later to everyone. We've learned the hard way that life is too short." That made sense. And it explained a lot about how close these men and women were. Flash led her toward a gray Honda Pilot SUV parked on the side of the road. "Wait, is this your car?" she asked, as he opened the passenger front door. "Nope. I'm stealing it," Flash said in a deadpan tone. "Whatever. But how'd it get here?" "Wolf and Dude went to my house and picked it up for me, and brought it here." "How'd they get your keys?" "Probably from Kevlar." Kelli turned in the doorway before climbing in. "How'd he get them?" Flash leaned in and put one hand on the door, the other on the roof of the vehicle, effectively caging her in. Oh, she could've ducked under his arm and gotten away from him, but why would she? She was right where she wanted to be. Surrounded by Flash. "We all have copies of each other's house and car keys. We never know when we might have to leave our car somewhere, and one of the others will need to pick it up for us. It's just what we do." "Oh." "Yeah, oh. Now climb in. It's dark out here, and while the neighborhood has cleaned up a lot, it's still not totally safe." With that, Kelli moved, getting up into the seat. To her surprise, Flash pulled the seat belt and held it out to her. She'd never had anyone do that before. It was...nice. Once she was buckled in, Flash shut the door and walked around to the other side. He started the SUV and they were on their way. They didn't speak much as he drove her to her apartment in La Jolla. She gave him directions and before she was ready, he was pulling into her parking lot. A ball of dread sat in her throat, and it was all Kelli could do not to burst into tears. She was feeling extremely emotional. It was silly. She was safe, not buried underground, her belly was full, and her phone was crammed with numbers from who she hoped were a bunch of new friends. But the thought of walking away from Flash was actually painful. He went around to the back and got her suitcase someone had obviously put into his SUV, pulling the handle out after he'd placed it on the ground. Then he walked toward her, stopping a couple of feet away and holding out his hand. He didn't speak, didn't simply grab her, he waited for her to reach out to him. Which Kelli did without hesitation. It wasn't even a question about whether he was going to walk her to her door. This wasn't like a first date, where she would be leery of letting a man she'd just met know where she lived. This was Flash. They'd been through hell together. She had no qualms about him knowing which apartment was hers. Her complex was several stories high, and she was on the fourth floor. She had a great view and could just see the ocean between two other buildings. It wasn't super fancy, all the apartments had outside doors accessed via long walkways on opposite sides of the building. She'd heard some people complain that the complex felt like a huge motel, but Kelli had always loved it. Enjoyed being able to get fresh air when the ocean breezes were kicking. Neither spoke in the elevator. Kelli didn't know what to say, anyway. Thank you? Don't go? I had a good time? None of those options seemed terribly appropriate. Flash walked her to her door and stood back as she used her keys to open the lock. She pulled her suitcase into the small foyer, then turned to face Flash. To her surprise, he'd stepped into her personal space while she was dealing with her bag. She let out a small, surprised gasp-and then his lips were on hers. The kiss went from zero to one hundred in milliseconds. Kelli gripped Flash tightly as he bent her backward. She loved when he did that. Loved the feeling of weightlessness as she hung in his arms. She had no fear that he'd drop her. None at all. They were both breathing hard when he finally lifted his head and brought her upright. But he didn't move his arms from around her. "This isn't the end of us," he said gruffly. "Okay." "I told you that I wanted to take you out when we got home, and I do. I will." "Okay." "But I'm thinking you need some time." "Time?" Kelli asked, confused. "What we went through...it was intense. I'm not trying to be a jerk when I say this, but you relied on me to get you through much of it." He wasn't wrong. Kelli didn't take offense. "So I want you to be sure that it's me you really want to spend time with. Now that we're back in the real world, your feelings might change. You could realize that you want nothing to do with a military man. I'm gone a lot. Sometimes we have to leave at a moment's notice. I won't be here every single night, won't always be around to do the things most boyfriends do." "Are you trying to talk me out of dating you?" Kelli asked. She was confused. "No. I'm just being real. I don't want you putting me up on some pedestal because of our ordeal, and then being disappointed when you find out that I'm just a man. Someone with real flaws who does things that'll annoy you." "I know who you are, Wade Gordon," Kelli said softly. "I don't need to wait." His fingers tightened on her waist before loosening. "I need you to be sure," Flash said. "Because the way I feel about you...it would kill me if you decided that I'm not who you want to be with, after all. If our time together in Jamaica colored your version of the real-life man." Kelli wasn't thrilled with his request, but she understood it. "And you might come to realize that I'm not who you thought I was either," she said with a small nod. It looked like he wanted to say something, but instead just pressed his lips together. "One week?" she suggested. "One week," he agreed. "All right." "Okay." "Can we...talk though?" "Talk?" "Yeah. Text. Call. It feels...wrong to just cut off all contact," Kelli told him. "I'd like that. There are times I won't be available because I'm in meetings or something, but if you need anything, I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can." "My life isn't that exciting, Flash. I'm not going to have anything come up where I need you to get back to me that second." "Even so, I'm always available to you, Kelli. No matter what." He was making it even harder to agree to his stupid weeklong break. She nodded. "In a week, I'll pick you up and give you a tour of Riverton. Show you Julie's shop, my favorite little beach, maybe take you to the naval base. We can have lunch somewhere...and if you want, we can go back to my apartment and watch a movie or something afterward." "I'd like that." And she would. Especially the go-back-to-his-apartment part. She'd already come to the conclusion that she wanted this man. All of him. Naked and over her. Or under her. It didn't matter. She'd never desired anyone as badly as she did Flash. Sleeping with him had been nice, but falling asleep after he'd been deep inside her body, after he'd hopefully made her come? That would be heaven. They stood there staring at each other for a beat before Flash took a deep breath. Then he leaned down and kissed her again. It wasn't as passionate as other kisses they'd shared, but it was no less knee-buckling. "One week," he said softly as he backed away from her. Kelli couldn't speak. All she could do was nod. Then he was gone. Heading back down the walkway. Kelli shut and locked her door, then she put her back to it and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Wrapping her arms around her updrawn knees, she lowered her forehead and took several deep breaths. She didn't want to cry. She'd done enough of that. Flash hadn't said goodbye forever. Just for a week. She could understand him wanting her to be sure that she really did want to see him again, and not in the context of a savior. But that didn't mean it didn't suck. Because while Kelli definitely thought of Flash as her savior, he was so much more than that. He wasn't perfect. Neither was she. They were flawed humans who'd been through an intense experience together, and who'd forged a bond. A bond Kelli was sure would become stronger as time went by, instead of weaker. But if Flash needed time, she'd give him that. Taking a deep breath, she stood and grabbed her suitcase handle. She brought it straight to the closet in the hallway, where her washer and dryer were stacked. She unzipped it and loaded all her clothes into the washer...minus the bathing suit and cover-up she'd left in the trash at the resort. She took out her toiletries and other random items and put them away in her bathroom. Then she dragged the suitcase into her large bedroom closet and shoved it into the back corner. Finally, she sat on her bed and stared into space for a long while. Her ringing phone scared the crap out of her, partly because she'd been lost in thought, and partly because no one ever called her. Looking down, Kelli smiled when she saw Flash's name on the screen. "Did you forget something?" she asked in lieu of greeting. "Nope. Just wanted to hear your voice." The grin on her face widened. "You in bed yet?" "No. Just put my clothes in the washer and finished unpacking. You home?" "Almost." The conversation continued as Flash arrived at his apartment, went inside, unpacked, then fixed himself something to eat. Kelli got herself something small to eat as well, then got changed for bed. They talked about nothing and everything. There were no awkward silences. It wasn't until Flash said, "I should let you go," that Kelli realized how long they'd been talking. "You have to get up early tomorrow...or rather, today?" "Yeah. We have PT in a couple hours." "PT? You don't get a day off after what happened?" Flash chuckled. "Nope. I also have to meet with my commander. Give my report. And he needs to know Jeckle is in the States. Not sure what, if anything, will come of that, but the fact that the man tried to ransom US government property is probably a crime." "Not sure I like you referring to yourself as government property," Kelli mumbled. Flash had told her earlier that the man who'd kidnapped them had fled Jamaica and flown to LA. She wasn't thrilled about that, but she was determined not to give the man any more head space than he'd already taken from her. He chuckled. "It is what it is. I'll call you tomorrow?" "Yes, please." "What's on your plate?" "Nothing as interesting as your day. I'll probably go see my mom. Then talk to my boss at the travel agency, see if I still have a job, since I was supposed to work today and when I didn't call in, I might have been terminated." "Surely after they find out that you were kidnapped, they won't fire you? Or at least they'll rehire you." "Maybe. I'm not sure I want to go back anyway. I think I might stop by the community college and talk to an advisor. It's about time I figured out what to do with my life. If what happened taught me anything, it's that I want to make a difference in my little corner of the world. I don't want to spend the rest of my life working jobs I don't enjoy." "I think that's great. We can talk tomorrow night, and you can tell me all about what you found out. I'll be your sounding board." Contentment spread throughout Kelli's veins. "Thanks." "Sleep well. It's gonna feel weird to not have you sleeping on top of me tonight." "Yeah." "We'll talk tomorrow," Flash told her. "Tomorrow." "Bye." "Bye." Kelli hung up and realized she was smiling. She should've been asleep hours ago, but at least she could sleep in and didn't have to get up at five to go work out like Flash did. Grabbing an extra pillow, she hugged it to her chest as she closed her eyes. It wasn't the same as using Flash as a pillow, but it would have to do...at least for another week. Then all bets were off. In a romance-themed observation show, several participants undergo a series of interactions and conflicts filled with love, misunderstandings, and power struggles. In the end, one couple rises to over...