When he was finished, I rose up and stared at him, studying his eyes.
“I love you, Banner.”
His smile was brilliant.
“I love you, too, Perry.”
Chapter 24
Don’t underestimate my ability to find shit out.
-Perry to Banner
Banner
Perry and I pulled up in her mom’s car, and we both stared in horror at the church parking lot where she’d come to get me the night before.
“Ummm,” she said as we watched all the little kids play around the parking lot.
There was a fucking carnival going on, and there were ticket booths and a dunking booth set up on either side of my car.
Hell, they were even using my car to prop up one of their signs.
“I’m not going to be getting that right now,” I said as I stared. “It’s gonna have to stay until they’re done.”
She snickered then pulled the car over.
Seconds later, she ran to the nearest person that looked like they might be in charge and waved her over.
They chatted for a few seconds, then Perry came running back.
Jumping into the driver’s seat, she turned to me. “The carnival ends at six.”
I cursed. “I have an appointment that I need to make.”
Her brows rose.
“What?” she said. “I thought you were going home to wash your clothes and write that paper.”
I nodded. “I am. I do. I have an appointment, too.”
Her lips pursed. “What kind of appointment?”
I scratched my bearded jaw.
“One with a Navy recruiter,” I answered hesitantly.
Her eyes went wide, and then she started to shut down.
I knew the moment that I said it that she wasn’t going to like it.
That had been partially why I wasn’t telling her what I was doing. I didn’t want to freak her out.
“You… a recruiter?” she asked, sounding horrified. “What? Why? You have a full-blown college scholarship to LSU and Alabama!”
I did.
But I didn’t want to play football for the rest of my life. I wanted to go into the Navy. I wanted to make a difference, and I didn’t think that I could do that by being a professional football player.
That, and there were never any guarantees. I could break my leg the first year that I was there, and then they could drop me. Then what?
“I know.” I paused. “That’s why it wasn’t a big deal when Vance asked me not to play college ball. I never intended to.”
Her eyes were filled with horror as she stared at me.
“Don’t freak out,” I said. “This is just a talk with them. Nothing serious.”
Except, that was a lie.
The Navy was serious for me.
It was something I’d wanted to do for a very, very long time.
And though I loved Perry, I couldn’t give this dream up.
My lie tasted bitter on my tongue.
She didn’t say anything for so long that I was worried that she was going to blow up.
Instead, she calmly put the car into drive and started toward my house.
“Is your bike okay?” she asked. “You can get your brother or somebody to drop you off here later?”
I was looking at her hard, but she refused to look over.
“Yes,” I answered. “But why can’t you do that?”
She curled her fingers hard around the steering wheel and said, “Because I need some time to come to terms with you dying.”
I felt my belly clench.
“Perry,” I said softly, my hand going over to touch her, but she flinched. “I’m not going to die.”
She looked over at me then and I saw the tears in her eyes. “My dad almost did.”
I didn’t say anything to that.
He had.
But not everyone that went into the military came out the way her father did. Some did, but not anywhere near all.
“Don’t freak out,” I said. “This is just the initial meeting. Nothing’s set in stone.”
Except, that was really a lie, too.
I planned on telling her that later.
Right now? I just needed to get to my appointment.
I couldn’t be late.
Not when the recruiter had already waited a couple of days for me due to Perry’s health.
“I won’t hold my breath.”
She pulled up to my place five minutes later and came to a stop.
Before she could tell me to get out, I leaned over, pulled her mouth to mine, and laid a wet kiss on her lips. “Take care.”
She grumbled something underneath her breath but looked at me with terror in her eyes.
“It’ll be okay,” I promised.
I would make it be okay.
I didn’t want her to think that this was the end for us.
I wouldn’t let it be.
When I got out of the car, she drove away without another word.
***
“Holy shit.”
I blinked and looked up to find the Navy recruiter looking at me with surprise on his face.
I’d just gotten finished taking the ASVAB, and my brain hurt.
Not because of the test, though. But because of Perry.
“What?” I asked.
“You scored a ninety-nine,” he said. “Do you know how many people score that?”
I had no clue.
I knew that my brother had scored a ninety. My dad a ninety-two. And I knew that those both were really good scores.
But ninety-nine was perfect. Well, as good as you could get.
It meant that I scored better than ninety-nine percent of the people that took it.
“No, sir,” I answered honestly.
He spoke some more, but I missed some of it as my mind once again wandered to what Perry was going to think.
“…what do you want to do? You can do anything you damn well want,” the recruiter, Kaleb Donahue, asked.
“I want to be a SEAL.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course you do.”
***
It took another hour, more test scheduling, and a call to Perry before I finally took my first full breath again.
She pulled up in her mom’s car and smiled.
I couldn’t stop myself from walking to her side of the car, pulling her into my arms, and wrapping her up in my embrace.
“Missed you,” I said softly as I pressed my nose into her neck.
She sighed into my
