Night Maneuvers

chapter 14

ALEX JERKED AWAKE as her cell phone played “Anchors Aweigh.” She grabbed the phone off her bedside table. “Hughes.”

“Alexandria, hey. It’s Neil.”

Alex swiped the hair out of her mouth and blinked the sleep from her eyes. Neil. She hadn’t heard his deep voice in over a year. A vivid memory assaulted her of Neil’s delighted expression when he realized she’d used the Navy’s theme song as his ringtone on her cell.

She cleared her throat. “Yeah, hey, hi, Neil. How’re you doing?” She rolled over and sat up, checking her alarm clock. Noon? She’d had three hours of sleep. But that wasn’t Neil’s fault. He didn’t know she was on night maneuvers.

“—you out to lunch?”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m sorry. You sound like you’re not feeling well. Is this a bad time?”

“I was asleep. I’m on night duty this rotation.”

“Oh, no, I woke you up? I’m so sorry.”

“No problem. What were you saying?”

“I’m in town and thought I’d take you out to lunch, but it sounds like that’s not going to work for you.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m not really fit for public consumption right now.” She gave a short laugh that died in the silence.

“Well, listen, I’m on leave and I flew in to Vegas because I wanted to see you. Maybe I could come over there later this afternoon? After you get a few hours’ more sleep.”

“Uh…” He flew in just to see her? Hadn’t she made it clear before she left Langley that they were done as a couple?

“I know it’s rude to invite myself over, but I’m shipping out next week and I thought I’d see how you’re doing before I go.”

“No, no problem. Come on by. I just bought a house.” She rattled off the address.

“If you’re sure?”

“Yeah, it’d be nice to catch up.” That’s all this was. Two friends catching up after a year.

“Great. Be there in about an hour.”

After Alex clicked off, she jumped in the shower, blew her hair dry and tried to apply a little makeup, but her hand shook. Why was she so nervous? She cared about Neil, but she certainly didn’t love him.

She dashed into the living room, madly snatching up clothes, trash and takeout boxes. She’d be so embarrassed to let Neil see the way she lived. Heading to the kitchen, she stopped in her tracks. Why did it matter if Neil saw the way she lived, but not Mitch? Think about that later, Hughes.

The kitchen was a mess. She stuffed things anywhere they’d fit, cabinets, pantry, the fridge, and then cleaned all the surfaces with bacteria-killing disposable wipes.

As she cleaned, it occurred to her, it’d been over a year since she’d felt compelled to try to impress someone, to be on her best behavior. To be someone she wasn’t.

And she didn’t miss feeling that way.

She’d once met his father, stumbled over her words and ended up using profanity. Neil had said he thought it was cute, but cute only went so far before it became annoying to someone with his kind of background. She could just hear the senator talking to his colleagues. Yes, my son’s in the navy, but his date’s the one who swears like a sailor.

She cringed at the memory.

Neil didn’t know she was a world-title-holder slob. Or that she snored like a chainsaw grinding through redwood.

The doorbell rang and she jumped, her heart racing. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hands down her jeans and went to get the door.

As soon as she swung it open, his classy cologne hit her senses. But as expensive as she knew it was, it didn’t do a thing for her. “Hey.” She smiled and offered her cheek as he bent down to hug her and kissed the corner of her mouth.

“Hi.” He wore his service dress uniform, shiny shoes, and ribbons covering his suit coat pocket. “Housewarming gift.” Bowing slightly from the waist, he presented her with an expensive bottle of wine, mimicking a maître d’ at an expensive restaurant.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.” She took the wine and stepped back, gesturing him inside. “I thought I’d make tuna salad. You want a sandwich?”

“Whatever you make is great.” He followed her into the kitchen and stood at the counter while she pulled out a can of tuna.

He was taller than Mitch, broader. At five feet three inches, she felt like a dwarf next to him. He made her nervous just standing there watching her. Did he notice the awkwardness between them like she did?

“Your house is nice,” he finally said.

“Thanks. It’s just an old fixer-upper, but I like the classic fifties details, like the built-in shelf in the hallway for the phone.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, and the original wood trim along the front gable? They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” Oh, God, she was rambling. She glanced over at him and smiled.

He returned it. “Hey, can I help with anything?”

“Oh, nah. Not much to do.” She pulled mayo from the fridge. “You like celery or pickles in your tuna salad?” She wouldn’t have had to ask Mitch that. She knew already. To be fair, she’d known him longer. But she’d dated Neil almost two years. She’d slept with the man, for crying out loud. She should know how he liked his tuna.

“Either is fine.” He just stood there and watched her.

“Have a seat and tell me how the hell— How are you? You’re shipping out, huh?” She knew not to ask him where. He probably couldn’t say.

As she chopped an onion, boiled a couple of eggs and mixed everything in a bowl, he sat, crossed his legs in that upper-class elegant way of his and talked.

He kept the conversation light, filling her in on all of their mutual friends in D.C. He talked of his father and mother, and their busy lives, and told her of a lady, a young lobbyist, he’d been dating a few months.

Alex made the sandwiches, set his on a plate before him with some sliced apples and pulled out a bag of potato chips.

“This looks wonderful.” He smiled down at the food and then back up at her. “I think that’s what I’ve always liked about you. You’re so down-to-earth.” He picked up the sandwich and took a man-size bite.

She blinked. Down-to-earth? Was that code for unsophisticated? Uncouth? “Gee, you really know how to flatter a girl, Neil.”

His eyes widened and he stopped chewing. Swallowing quickly, he shook his head. “No, I— That came out wrong. I meant it as a compliment. Truly.”

Feeling bad for the poor guy, she smiled. “I know. Don’t worry about it.”

He cleared his throat, scooted back in the chair, and stood. “Restroom?”

“Uh…” She scrambled up from her seat and motioned him out of the kitchen and to the right. Oh, crud, had she straightened up the bathroom? “The door on the right.”

She busied herself searching the pantry for anything she could offer for dessert besides a half-eaten bag of Oreos. As she heard the water running, she poured them both a glass of iced tea and then paced the kitchen. Why was he really here? Maybe he was marrying that lobbyist and wanted to let Alex know personally. But she’d made it clear when she left D.C. that she was breaking up with him. Maybe—

She spun on her heel as he appeared in the kitchen. “Want some tea?” She held out the glass to him.

“No, thanks.” He shoved his hands in his slacks pockets and gazed out the window above her sink to the backyard. “Is that a pool?”

“Yes!” She seized on the topic for conversation. “It’s small but it comes in handy in this desert heat.”

He was still gazing out the window. “It’s nice out today. Not too hot, not too cold.”

No way he came here just to talk about the weather. “Would you like to sit outside?”

“Yes.” His smile looked relieved as he swung his gaze back to her.

She stepped around the table, opened the back door and led him out to the patio.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Neil said from behind her. “You’ve done a great job on the landscaping.”

“Well, I had help.” Sipping her tea, she surveyed the flowerbeds and remembered the day Mitch had helped her plant them all. What a great time they’d had that day.

“Alexandria.” He caught her gaze. “I didn’t come here just to catch up on old times.”

Oh, no. She wanted to run back in the house, but she made herself stay put. “You didn’t?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She opened her mouth, but he stopped her. “Look. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. The truth is, I still have feelings for you, and I came here to see if there was any way, before I shipped out, that you’d want to give us another try.”

As much as she should’ve seen this coming, she was still stunned into silence. To camouflage her surprise, she turned and set her tea down on the table, then forced herself to face him. “Did you know I snore so loud it rivals an F-16 buzzing the house?”

Neil frowned. “You never snored when we were together.”

“That’s because I never let myself fall asleep after…” She waved a hand. “You know.”

“You didn’t?”

“No, and I never let you see my apartment unless I’d cleaned it first. I’m a horrible slob.”

He shrugged. “Well, nobody’s perfect.”

“And did you know I’ve assaulted two fellow officers in the past month? I have a wicked temper. When I get really mad, I don’t care about the consequences.”

Neil frowned. “You’re deliberately trying to scare me off. Why?”

“Not scare you off. Just show you the real me. I made the mistake of not doing that with you, Neil. You’re such a great guy. And I wanted things to work out between us so badly. I…needed to be in a normal relationship.” She stuck her hands in her back pockets and studied her unpainted toenails. “I thought I was being honest with you when we met. Telling you I’d requested the transfer to get away from a guy who didn’t return my love. I thought with sheer will I could make myself love someone else and be happy.”

Looking back up, she stared into his serious, dark brown eyes. “I didn’t realize I was only fooling myself. You’ve heard the saying, ‘The heart wants what the heart wants’?” She gave a one-shouldered shrug.

“So.” He stepped close, brought his hand up and ran a thumb over her cheek. “Did things work out with this guy? Are you happy now?”

She made herself smile and covered his hand with hers. “After everything I told you, you’re worried about me?”

He returned her smile. “I love you, Alexandria. I want you to be happy.”

“Oh, Neil.” She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, her cheek flattened against his chest. “Why couldn’t I have loved you?” she mumbled to herself.

Neil squeezed her to him a moment then pulled away and held her shoulders. “So, the idiot came to his senses?”

She couldn’t meet his gaze. “I don’t know.”

He crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face to him. “If he doesn’t, and you change your mind…” He slowly bent down and touched his lips to hers. His kiss was achingly sweet, and then he raised his head. “Contact me through my dad. Okay?”

She nodded. He was such a nice g—

The front door slammed shut and she jerked her gaze to the back door. Neil hadn’t closed it behind him. Anyone standing in the shadow of the kitchen would’ve seen Neil kiss her.

She heard the familiar roar of Mitch’s Jeep’s engine firing up and cursed long and loudly. As tires screeched in her driveway, she ran for the front door and out into the front yard just in time to see Mitch’s Jeep careen around the corner in a spray of gravel.

Suddenly, she remembered Lily’s warning about sea animals. A seal was a sea animal.

If the whole thing weren’t so disastrous, she’d have chuckled.