Two weeks later Tank stood in front of the mirror, wondering if he should bother changing, or if his uniform would be enough. After all, he didn’t think Evy would really care.
His cell rang and he picked it up. “Johnny’s running a high fever. Tank, you must get Evy from the airport, please.”
He’d planned on going there and hadn’t told Jazz and Tessa about it for the simple reason of worrying he’d chicken out.
“What? Can’t Tessa take the little one—”
“He’s my son, too, and we’re going to the doctor’s together. Plus, we’ll drop by Hil’s place the moment we’re done. Please. It’s important. And don’t be late, okay? You need me to text you the arrival dates again?”
Tank sighed. “No, I got it. You owe me. Bar or club or anything. I need a pussy.”
“As always, a charmer. See you later.”
Tank still stared into the mirror, wondering what a decent woman could ever see in him.
Looks don’t matter, son, women just crave the dicks. Be an asshole to her and then stuff her. She’ll come crawling back. Love is not real. It’s just about making them addicted to what you have to offer.
“Thanks, Mom,” Tank replied to the voice in his head; that voice had gotten so much louder since he’d tried to fight all she’d ever taught him.
The problem was, it got louder the further away he tried to push it.
They will all leave. Ask me, I know. Romantic men are pussies. No one wants those.
He got into his truck, turning up the music, trying to drown out the ugly words. Some hardcore rock band was playing, but he didn’t hear them. His attention was focused on the way he longed to hug Evy’s little girl. Over Christmas he’d gotten addicted to her and it was the strangest thing ever.
She was starting to babble her first words, and one of them had been daddy. Not directed at him or anyone specific, but since Tessa had kept cooing it toward her son, ‘dada’ had been one of Leila’s first words, too.
Soft men are weak men. Women will always leave them. If you can’t be tough with a woman, you cannot be tough with anyone else. They don’t want hearts, they want to be owned and ruined for everyone else. Sex is your weapon, your leverage, your everything, son. You cannot count on the love of a woman. It’s nothing but an illusion.
There it was again. Tank shook his head and started to hum, parking the car before hesitating a moment. He should’ve gotten flowers or something. Then again, what would Evy do with flowers?
He grinned as he realized what a woman probably really needed after a long flight with a toddler.
He vanished in one of the shops and only after he’d acquired what he’d intended, he made his way over to the gate. He knew the plane had landed, but since Evy had practically moved, he doubted she came luggage-less.
Waiting, Tank looked around, spotting couple after couple reacquainting, hugging and kissing, and his heart froze in his chest.
Watching those people, he wanted the exact same thing. He wanted Evy to come out, tear up when seeing him and then jump up at him as if he was all she’d needed.
“Tant!”
It was somewhat his name, but not a voice he knew; still, he recognized the little person stumbling toward him. He knelt, catching her, and Leila giggled in delight, practically falling into his arms.
“Leila! Goddamn, Leila!” The panic in Evy’s voice was evident. Tank stood with the girl in his arms so her mother could see them both.
He spotted her instantly: she wore dark blue jeans, sneakers, and a dark red hoodie, the curls he’d gotten so used to seeing straight down her back, pulled into a ponytail.
“Thomas.”
His name was like a prayer on her lips and he held one arm open for her. She straightened the luggage and then went, surprising him by burying her face against his chest. He suppressed the urge to kiss the top of her head.
“I have something to make your day better,” he stated and she groaned.
“Now is not the time to offer up your supposedly golden dick,” she replied and he laughed. Oh yes, usually that would be exactly the thing he’d say, but frankly with her he hadn’t even thought about spilling that line.
“No.” He stepped back to pick up the bottle of wine he’d placed on the ground when spotting Leila, and held it out to Evy. “It has a screw top for easy access.”
She stared at him, and then stared at him some more before tearing up.
Instantly Tank felt as if he’d done something utterly wrong.
“I’m sorry, I thought—”
He didn’t get further as she threw her arms around him again and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Jesus, Heaven sent you,” she declared, grabbing the bottle and taking a few sips while Tank looked at her daughter, trying to ignore the warmth in his cheeks. He was pleased he’d made her happy, and with something as small as this.
“You know,” he commented and she looked at him. “I also have this,” he then announced and pulled out a chocolate bar.
She stayed silent while her daughter cuddled onto him, her small head resting against his shoulders, her eyes getting heavy.
When he glanced at Evy, a tear was running down her cheek. “I don’t know what to say. It’s perfect,” she whispered.
There, Mom, take that, Tank thought, and for once the ugly voice in his head had nothing to reply.
* * *
Evy got into the passenger seat as Tank held the door open for her, and she couldn’t wrap her mind around the guy who’d picked them up.
Yes, she’d seen him before, and she’d talked to him before, but he was totally contrary to the person she’d met the last time.
This guy here was caring, kind, and considerate. Hell, he had a car seat for Leila in his truck; a thing she’d not even thought about when coming here.
“What happened?” she asked when he got in, too, and he stared at her blankly.
“Happened?”
“You’re not an ass today. You know, all that pussy talk and everything you always bring?”
She watched him grit his teeth as he started the car and no longer looked at her. “I was never like that with you,” he pointed out and it was almost true.
“Remember that call we had about a month before I came for Christmas?”
He lowered his head briefly, letting her know he remembered. “I was drunk and you called me at a bad time.”
“A bad time? You were taking a woman against the side of a bar—”
“Club,” he corrected.
“Club,” she picked up the word, “and talked to me for minutes while pounding into her.” Evy had been irrationally jealous and smug at the same time.
“You called, I answered. She didn’t mind. She was drunk, too.”
Evy took a deep breath. “Doesn’t matter, because it wasn’t fair to her.”
He glanced at her. “What’s she to you? And what does it matter to you when I talk to you? You called me up, I answered the phone, and I even recall you saying the world sucked.”
“You told me it doesn’t have a dick, so it cannot be sucked.” Not that the sentence had made much sense in her mind.
“It can’t. Either you’re on top, Evangeline, or you’re the one being fucked. Remember that.”
She glanced back at her daughter, asleep in the car seat. It had been a long few hours with a horrible layover in Vegas, so she wasn’t surprised Leila was exhausted.
She herself was nervous about seeing everyone.
Which reminded her of the fact that Tessa had promised to pick her up and had been a no-show.
“Your life philosophy sucks,” she snapped, angry suddenly. Not at him, but at the best friend who hadn’t even managed to make one hour free.
“What’s up, buttercup?”
He had an impeccable talent of picking up on her moods. “Don’t call me buttercup,” she replied. She didn’t need him to give her nicknames.
In fact, she didn’t need Private First Class Thomas Michaels to give her anything, not even when in the dark of night, during the witching hour when you couldn’t fight your thoughts, she’d imagined him taking her against the club wall. She wanted to be wild and carefree, and be desired so strongly he couldn’t wait until being in a rather private place.
Not that Tank took the women where he did because he desired them so much.
Nope, Tank just needed his release.
“Honey pie?” he suggested.
“No.”
“Sweetie bun?”
“No.”
“Cupcake?”
She realized then he wanted to make her smile and it worked.
“No. Just don’t give me nicknames. Those are reserved for people you care about,” she decided and then sighed. “Tessa didn’t even bother telling me she couldn’t come.”
He glanced at her, and then focused back on the road before briefly checking on her daughter in the rearview mirror.
“John is running a fever. Jazz sounded worried and they wanted to take him to the doctor, but they’ll be at Hilary’s soon, okay? She wanted to be there, Ev, I promise.”
He sounded genuine.
“What gave you that idea?” She didn’t mean to sound bitter, but ever since their first trip to the US, things between her and Tessa had been strained, hard. Somehow Evy had ended up being the bad guy even though all she’d wanted was to keep her best friend from heartache. Granted, it had been a lost cause right from the beginning, but how in the world had she been supposed to know Jazz and her were in it for the long haul?
“She bought a car seat for your daughter, got you a cheap car so you can move around town, and she and Hilary took their time redecorating the bedroom you’d sleep in. How do I know that? Jazz and I had to fucking assemble the furniture.”
Disappointment settled in her stomach. “You didn’t get the car seat?”
His brow furrowed. “Me? Of course not. What in the world gave you the idea I knew anything about children or thought far enough ahead to be prepared for them?”
Right. He wasn’t one for a family.
“Well, the thing is in your car.”
He nodded, turning into the neighborhood Evy almost recognized as familiar. “It was a delivery and I picked it up. Tessa and Jazz were supposed to get it beforehand, but somehow didn’t manage. So I was lucky really.”
“Seems that way,” she muttered.
He groaned. “What did I do wrong now?”
She shook her head.
Nothing. He’d done nothing wrong, but somewhere along the line, during their many Skype calls in the last months, her heart had started to turn on her, and now it was holding out hope someone like Tank could be changed for the better.
Her mind knew better though.
Guys like Tank never changed.
* * *
The house was a flurry when they arrived. Evy didn’t get a chance to take her daughter out of the car because Hilary had torn the door open, cooing at the sleeping girl. She picked her up while Tessa came out, beaming.
Jazz was nowhere to be seen and Evy wondered if that was because of her or because he was taking care of his son.
“Evangeline! Oh my!” She hugged her tight. “I love your hair! It’s incredible.”
Yes, straight and black, unlike before. Evy loved it, too, mainly because she felt as if with her hair she had changed, too, ready for something new.
Tessa had been tagged for life, so maybe Evy had been lucky and was tagged for a new start.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t come. Johnny has been running a fever for a few days and I thought it was going to be okay, but this morning it skyrocketed and I panicked. It’s just teething though.” She rolled her eyes and Evy nodded.
She remembered well the nights Leila had been up, screaming, without anything really helping.
“He’s asleep inside now since twenty minutes ago.”
So Jazz wasn’t watching his son.
Just that moment the guy in question came out, carrying a tray with glasses filled to the brim with something bubbly.
“It’s just white wine spritzer really,” Tessa whispered conspiratorially, but Evy didn’t mind. She was already sporting a buzz because of the wine she’d drunk earlier, and the fact that she hadn’t eaten in more than twelve hours, but no one needed to know that.
“Evy, hey!” Jazz had handed the tray off to someone else and now came over, hugging her. He still wore the same cologne he had when she’d first met him, and she was transported back to the guy he’d been then, on the bed of his truck, holding Tessa without really knowing her.
He’d probably loved her then already and what those two shared was a one-in-a-million thing.
Not that it kept Evy from wishing for the same.
Grabbing a glass of the spritzer, she downed it. Jazz and Tessa were watching her, but neither commented.
“Leila’s down and in bed,” Hilary reported. The woman was more efficient with a child than anyone else Evy knew, present people included. “That means it’s time for you to come inside and celebrate.”
Evy glanced at Tessa. “Celebrate?” She thought they’d started that outside already.
“And you, couldn’t you change at least?” Hilary asked toward Tank, arching her brow and placing her hands on her hips.
“Chicks dig uniforms,” Tank informed her. “I even picked one up at the airport who jumped at the opportunity to get close to me.” He winked then.
Evy smiled. “She’d been so excited and kept repeating your name on the plane,” she stated, dimming the glimmer in his eyes. He’d meant her, and she knew that, but she considered it best to not flirt with him or encourage him.
Tessa grabbed her hand and drew her inside, hugging her over and over while people shouted the moment they entered the living room. She recognized Jazz’s sister and mother, and a few of the guys from base. Staring at them and their excited faces, she couldn’t help but feel as if she should be running far away from them.
Tessa had organized a welcome party for her, had made sure her daughter would have everything she needed, and here Evy was, wondering how best to beg her friend to use her connections and score the event for her.
Someone stepped up behind her, warmth seeping into her as the person leaned in, brushing her side.
“Welcome to your new life, Ev,” Tank whispered and only then, after hearing those words, she exhaled and finally smiled.
Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all, and Tessa might be happy to help.
Maybe, just maybe, Evy would end up happy here in the US, so far from home.
And maybe unicorns really existed in the world and would be jumping out of a cake at any given moment.