Author: Molly McAdams

“In here.” Brandon called and the twins started smiling.

Carter rounded the corner, closely followed by a few guys, “What’s up man?” He shook Konrad and Brandon’s hands and looked at me awkwardly as he came in for a hug, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” I grumbled.

“She’s mad because Brandon put her up there, and no one would help her off.” Konrad smirked and leaned up against another counter, with Bree in his arms.

“Well duh Blaze. That way they don’t have to worry about you getting into trouble.”

I glared at him and scooted toward the edge, but quickly went back. Aubrey did the same and Jeremy eventually helped her down. She was at least three inches taller than me, and even she wouldn’t jump down.

Carter walked back into the dining room when he heard more of his friends come into the house and Brandon sauntered over to me, “It’s just because you’re so damn cute up there.” He kissed me and pulled me down, making it so my chest was pressed hard against his as I slowly slid down his body. His gray eyes heated and my body instantly responded. Stupid barbecue.

Carter came back in, making a total of six Marines, two of them had girlfriends with them, and we started the long process of introducing everyone. Brandon introduced us before Carter introduced himself and his friends. Kate caught my eye as she shamelessly stared at Carter, mouth partially open. I don’t know if it was her expression, but Carter definitely did a double take when he saw her too. He passed over Aubrey and Jeremy and when he caught sight of Laura, his brow furrowed and he quickly glanced over to Kate, back to Laura and finally rested on Kate again. When he looked over to me, I raised an eyebrow at him with a wide smile and I swear he blushed as he stumbled over his introductions.

“Did you see that?” Brandon whispered low in my ear. So I wasn’t crazy.

“Mhmm.”

“Huh.” He kissed my head and stood up straighter. “Interesting.”

It was quiet when Carter finished with their names and thankfully Brandon said he was going to start the food, so all the guys shuffled out with him and the hamburger patties. It was adorable to see Jeremy hesitate and look between the guys and Aubrey a few times before she pushed him out the door. I started getting cheese ready for Brandon and slicing up tomatoes and onions for when the food would be done. Bree and Aubrey helped me as the other four girls sat on barstools and talked chattily.

“Hey Blaze, your hubby said he needed cheese.” Carter walked toward me but looked at Kate over his shoulder quickly before thanking Bree for the plate of separated cheese she was holding out to him.

“You’re drooling Kate.” I smiled at her after Carter went back outside.

She smiled mischievously and glanced back quickly before leaning forward like we were sharing secrets, her elbows resting on the counter. “He’s cute, huh?”

Bree and I grinned and rolled our eyes at each other while Laura agreed. Aubrey just nodded her head silently next to us.

“So, you’re the Blaze?” One of the girlfriends asked.

Stifling a groan, I plastered a smile on my face, “That I am.”

“I heard a lot about you, Craig lives with Jason.”

The name Craig wasn’t ringing a bell, I was trying to remember which guy had been next to her, “All bad things, I’m sure?” I smirked and turned to grab the sliced produce, “Aubrey, can you help me with the plates and bowls?”

“From what he said, you two are close?” Craig’s girlfriend continued.

“Uh, kind of. We were best friends back home, but that was a while ago.”

“Cute pet name he has for you.” She goaded.

I set the plates back down a little harder than I should have, and tried to stay smiling as I tilted my head to the side, “Not really. I wouldn’t call making fun of how much I blush ‘cute’.”

“He doesn’t have a nickname for anyone else.”

“Oh my God, he has a nickname for his best friend. Big effing deal.” Bree slapped her palms down to her sides in exasperation. “Can we eat now? I’m starving.”

Dear Lord I loved Bree.

“You were the reason Ashley left him, you know.”

I bit down on my tongue and counted to five before saying anything else, “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

“Lauren.”

“Lauren, right. Can you come here for a sec?” I led her into the living room, thankful Bree made everyone else stay in the kitchen, “I’m guessing you’re a friend of Ashley’s?”

She raised a dark brow in confirmation.

“I’m sure you have a reason for trying to stand up for your friend that was sweet enough to empty Carter’s bank account and let him come back from war to find divorce papers, but I can assure you I had nothing to do with said divorce. Whether she believes that or not, is her problem. But if you still feel the need to be in the middle of it, feel free to ask Carter when the last time was that we spoke before last week. He’ll tell you it was months before he even met Ashley. I knew they got married, but I found out through a text.”

“I’m sure, I know you were still around and I’ve heard enough about you to know what kind of girl you are.”

“I doubt that.”

“You weren’t always surrounded by Marines? Sleeping with half the guys in Jason’s unit? From the way he talks about you, you’re still screwing him. Does your husband know you’ve fucked most of the infantryman in Lejeune?”

“Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are coming in my house, accusing me of –”

“Being a home-wrecker? It’s about time someone informed you of what you are! Do you know how heartbroken Ash was that her husband told her she’d never be you?”

“What happened between me and Ashley is between us.” Carter came up beside me and I felt Brandon’s large frame step behind me. “And whatever has happened since then is none of your business either.”

“It is my business when I had to listen to my friend cry for hours on end about some slut!”

“Shit.” A mumbled voice came through the back door, “Lo, what the fuck is wrong with you?” A lean guy I’m guessing was Craig pushed through us and grabbed her arm, whispered to her for a second and watched her storm out the door. “Y’all, I’m so sorry. I’m gonna take her home. Harper, Brandon, please forgive that. She’s – she’s…well what she said wasn’t right. Y-you’re not a, uh, slut Harper. I’m real sorry.”

My blood was boiling and my body was shaking, but I forced my voice to stay even, “Feel free to come back, but don’t bring her.”

Craig nodded at me and looked up to Brandon, “Brandon, I’m –”

“It’s fine,” Brandon raised a hand to stop him, “but Harper’s right, don’t bring her back to our house again. We’ll save you some food if you decide to come back.”

He waved awkwardly and bolted for the front door.

The three of us stood there for a moment looking at the shut door and I brought my hands up with a soft clap, “Well, she was lovely. Burgers, anyone?”

Carter smirked and punched my arm, “Hell yeah, bet I can still eat you under the table.”

Like that was hard to do. I patted my stomach and winked at Brandon before looking back at Carter, “I don’t know about that, I’ve been awfully hungry lately.”

“This isn’t ice cream Blaze, you know you can’t beat me unless it’s that.”

“True.” I sighed and wrapped my arms around Brandon’s waist, looking up at his amused expression, “Aren’t you supposed to be manning the grill?”

“Everything’s practically done, but Jer’s got it covered. Bree said we needed to save you.”

I rolled my eyes, “I was handling it just fine…okay maybe not.”

“You handled that better than I would have expected anyone to. You’re kind of amazing, you know?” Brandon’s gray eyes ran over my face, resting on my lips.

“And you’re kind of ridiculously handsome, you know?”

He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss, smiling against my mouth when another happy sigh escaped my lips.

“Gah, you guys are disgustingly cute.” Carter gave us a crooked smile and shook his head.

“You know Carter, Kate’s single…” I pursed my lips and raised my eyebrows.

“The one with the awesome eyes?”

Brandon and I laughed, “Yep.”

“Oh really now? Well then, please excuse me.” After rounding the corner, he poked his head back in and looked at me with mock disappointment, “I know for a fact you perfected your right hook, I expect to see it next time someone calls you a slut. Prokowski wasn’t your punching bag for nothing, make us proud Blaze!”

Carter didn’t leave Kate’s side for the rest of the afternoon, and although it helped me breathe easier, I know Brandon wasn’t completely comfortable with him yet. It took me a bit to realize why he kept pulling me closer to him than I already was until I noticed the longing glances Carter seemed to still be sending my way.

“You need help in here?”

Turning, I saw Carter standing behind the breakfast bar with a sheepish grin on his face, “There’s not much left, I’ll be back out there soon.”

The chair scraped against the floor before he sat down, his body slumping into the chair as he brought his beer to his lips, “So today has been fun.”

“Mhmm. Glad you guys could come. It was nice to be surrounded by jarheads, it’s been too long.”

“I knew you’d miss us. It was so different when you left for school. I mean, we had a lot that we were always doing, but it still felt like we had nothing to do or look forward to without you there.”

“It was weird for me too, especially with Bree. I’ve never been around girls, but she’s great, she was the perfect roommate and friend for me. And all the guys that we hung out with reminded me of you all, so it made it easier. Going my whole life being surrounded by Sir’s unit, I felt like everyone in there before you got there, and during, was my real family. You guys were my home.”