The sound of the ocean always calmed my nerves. And I had plenty to be nervous about. After twenty years, I was finally retired from the Navy. I’d lived and breathed the Navy since I was eighteen years old. I didn’t know how to be anything but a Navy SEAL. To be finished with the only career I’d ever known was nerve-wracking as hell. Not knowing what I was going to do with myself now was a topic I avoided thinking about. At least for the next two weeks, anyway.

Instead, I was going to spend that time hanging with my buddy, Kyle, enjoying the salty water of the Atlantic Ocean and relaxing while I forgot about everything else around me. Kyle and I had served in the SEALs together, and once he’d been medically discharged after having his leg blown off, he’d settled back into his hometown of Miami.

I pulled into the drive of Kyle’s bungalow on the beach and cut the engine. I grabbed my bag from the backseat and bounded up the sidewalk, before pounding heavily on the door, making sure I was heard over the blaring music coming from inside.

After a minute with no answer, I rapped another staccato of beats onto the wooden door and added a kick for good measure. Thunderous footsteps bounded closer to the door, and a deep voice called out, “Hold the fuck on, man, I’m coming.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the gruff sound. Damn, I missed this guy. The minute the door cracked open, I shoved it open farther and half tackled the bastard behind it. I shoved my shoulder into his gut and slung him over my back like a sack of potatoes. Christ, he weighed more than I remembered. I quickly set him down, and he proceeded to punch me in the arm.

“God, you’re such a dick, Marshall. I should kick your ass for pulling a move like that.”

I threw my head back in laughter at the tone of disgust in Kyle’s voice. I loved the man like a brother and still counted him as one of my best friends.

“Dream on, old man.”

“Whatever. Come in and join the party.” He grabbed my satchel from my hand as I followed him inside.

As we strode down the hall toward the living room, the thumping music grew louder, and I was surprised the neighbors hadn’t complained already. Then again, it was peak tourist season at the beach, and a holiday to boot, so I’m sure everyone around us was having an equally good time. Kyle tossed my bag on the floor next to the bar as I waved to the guys already in the room, even though I hadn’t met them before. But, if they were friends of Kyle’s, then they were friends of mine until they proved otherwise.

Two guys were playing pool while two others were planted around the bar, beer bottles and rocks glasses in hand. I couldn’t help but smile at the relaxed expression on Kyle’s face. We’d both seen some bad shit in combat, and neither of us had returned unscathed, although Kyle’s wounds were on the outside. Which was the whole reason behind this getaway. Every year we met for a week or two to unwind and forget about everything. It was how we kept our sanity. Or at least most of it. Each of us was the other’s rock. Granted, I had my family, which was a huge blessing, but Kyle had no family and very few friends. We were our own familial unit.

It was great seeing Kyle laughing and having a good time. Once I said hey to everyone, I asked which room was mine. After being directed to its location, I grabbed up my satchel and headed down the hall to settle in. Then, I was ready to head out to the water. I grew up in a small town in the middle of the U.S. where the closest body of water was the local dirty lake. I loved the ocean and, while I was here, I intended to spend every moment possible in the water.

That was part of the reason I’d joined the Navy. I loved the water. I shook off the intruding thought of what I was going to do now that I was done. I hated that the thoughts popped up randomly. Although, there was one thing I knew I wanted. A family. I was thirty-eight years old, and I wasn’t getting any younger. I’d grown up in a family of six kids, three boys and three girls. I had a plethora of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. I’d dated women, but nothing ever came of it. I thought there could have been once, but she ran after the best night of my life.

So many nights over the last two years I pictured her curves, the softest, long blonde hair, and the biggest brown eyes that took up her entire face. There were days when thinking of her was the only thing that kept me alive. I had never been one to pick up women at the bar, but something about her drew me in. She laughed as though she was having the time of her life, but when she didn’t think anyone was watching, an anguished expression crossed her face. Then, she strongly shook it off and kept laughing at the conversation around her.

For some inexplicable reason, I’d wanted to do everything I could to keep her laughing. To make her forget about whatever it was that was making her sad. I never wanted to see a frown on her face again. So, after I woke up alone after a night of the most amazing sex, I did everything I could to try and track her down. I went back to the bar where we’d met the night before and questioned the bartender and the bouncers. With so many women coming in and out of that place, they had no idea who she was.

For three weeks, I went back every Friday and Saturday night hoping to find her again, without any luck. Then, I got a call from my Admiral with new orders. I was being deployed for no less than twelve months. I was to report for duty in three days. Reluctantly, I gave up my search for her. But I never forgot her.

Shaking off the thoughts, I quickly changed into a pair of swim trunks and headed out to the water. Nothing like a swim to clear my mind.