Matt (Red, Hot, & Blue)

by Cat Johnson

  “Oh, technology. That’s sounds important.” She looked a bit too impressed by his answer for Matt’s liking. “Are you an officer?”

  Wanda obviously had the good old Officer and a Gentleman fantasy in mind. She was probably envisioning Matt in his dress uniform sweeping her off her feet.

  “Nope.” Again, not exactly a lie, though definitely a stretch of the truth. The team members didn’t use the ranks they’d attained before joining Task Force Zeta. The theory was that except for the commanding officer everyone on the team was to be considered equal.

  “Oh.” She pursed her lips and frowned deeper. “Hey, do you know any of those Navy SEALs? I’d love to meet one of them. They’re always so hot in the movies.”

  Matt thought of BB. “Nope. Sorry.”

  Again, not quite a lie. BB was no longer in the SEAL teams. He was on Zeta, and he had a wife and a new baby—not that Matt would have fixed his friend up with Wicked Wanda anyway, if that’s what she’d been hinting at.

  “Oh.” She took a gulp of her drink, emptying the glass. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Matt, but I really should be going.”

  “That’s too bad.” Matt forced himself to hide his relief as he stood and extended a hand to her. “It was nice to meet you too.”

  Wanda stood so fast she nearly knocked her chair over. She shook his hand. “Thanks for the drink. I’ll email you. Maybe we can get together again.”

  So he could buy her more drinks and then have her run off to go who knows where? Probably to meet another Matchmakers date. Nope. Not gonna happen. Time for damage control.

  “Sure. Do that.” He put on a fake frown and slapped at his front and back jeans pockets, as if looking for his wallet. “Jeez, I hope I have enough money tonight. How much do you think the drinks cost?”

  Her eyes opened wide. “Uh, I don’t know. I’ll ask the waiter to bring over the bill on my way out. Bye.”

  That had sent her running fast enough. Torn between guilt at his own dishonesty and relief over dodging a bullet, Matt mentally crossed WickedWoman off his list of potential girlfriends. He could only hope tomorrow’s date with BabyGirl would be better.

  With a sigh, Matt dug in his pocket for his wallet and pulled out his platinum credit card. Glancing in the direction of the bar, he spotted the waitress and signaled her for the check.

  As he sat and waited for them to run his card, Matt punched in a text to Bull.

  Date number one a dud.

  The response came back.

  Second time’s the charm.

  Matt could only hope Bull was right.

  When had dating become such work? And not fun work either. Usually, Matt was all over any sort of computer-related stuff. Research. Digging for details. It all made his adrenaline pump. Give him a code to crack or a secure database to hack and he was all over it. But this searching online for a good woman sucked.

  A small pop heralded an instant message as it appeared on the screen of his smart phone.

  Sam_I_am: How’s the big date?

  Matt snorted as he read it and typed in a response.

  Computer_God: Date sucked!

  Sam_I_am: It’s done already?

  Computer_God: Yes. Thank God.

  Sam_I_am: Aw. Sorry.

  Knowing Sam well, Matt knew he was being sarcastic. Whatever. Matt was too miserable to care.

  Maybe if Matt’s teammates weren’t pairing off like Noah’s Ark had just pulled into port, he wouldn’t feel like this. And perhaps if Matt hadn’t been manning the communications console where he’d been forced to listen to, and in some cases watch on the surveillance camera not one but three of his teammates hook up, he wouldn’t be so frustrated with his single status.

  Jeez, three out of the six-man team. That had to be a record. Or maybe not. Did all guys in charge of surveillance deal with this kind of shit? There was one person Matt knew he could ask.

  Computer_God: Hey. Question. Your guys ever hook up while on ops?

  Sam_I_am: With each other???

  Computer_God: No! With women.

  Sam_I_am: Uh, no. What kind of ops you got going over there at Zeta?

  Matt sighed. That figured. He was the only one who had to listen to his teammates get laid, while all he laid his hands on was a computer console.

  Sam_I_am: Gotta go. Team moving in on a tango—not a woman. LOL! Later.

  Computer_God: Later.

  At least somebody was having an exciting weekend.

  The waitress returned with his card and receipt. Matt pocketed both and stood. Time to go home. Maybe there was a good game on TV. He could sit and veg and forget his dating woes.

  Unlike Friday’s date, Saturday’s at least looked something like her profile picture. Matt took note of that the moment BabyGirl arrived to join him, coincidentally at the same table where he’d sat with Wicked Wanda last night. He hoped that wasn’t a bad omen.

  The brunette extended her hand. “Hi. I’m Lisa. You must be Matt.”

  “I am. Nice to meet you, Lisa.” He didn’t let himself get too excited just because, unlike Wanda, Lisa had posted a photo taken during this decade.

  He’d have to get to know her before he’d let himself start to envision anything past drinks tonight. One reason he remained wary was that Lisa had all the earmarks of being high-maintenance. Designer handbag, diamond watch, perfect haircut, manicured nails, clothes that probably cost what he made in a week. Matt had grown up around girls like her. Spoiled princesses thanks to their father’s money. He could spot a daddy’s girl a mile away.

  Matt pushed aside those thoughts. He shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. He had to stay open minded or it was a certainty he’d also stay lonely. Maybe she just liked to take good care of her appearance. He couldn’t fault a girl for that. It was admirable.

  Putting his first impressions firmly aside, Matt remained standing until she sat.

  As Matt took his own seat, a waiter stopped at their table. “Do you need dinner menus or just drinks?”

  “Oh, definitely menus,” Lisa answered. “And a cosmopolitan to start, please.”

  All right. It seemed as if they were having dinner. And what was with the cosmopolitans? Weren’t there any other drinks in the world? What was it with this drink and women? Maybe it was because it was pink. Who knew?

  “A beer for me, please.” Matt ordered and then directed his attention back to Lisa. “I’m glad you could meet me tonight.”

  “Me too. Ever since I saw your profile, I’ve been dying to get to know you better.” She leaned forward, looking like she meant what she said. “So, Matt. What do you do?”

  Since it seemed all dates began with the same question, he decided to change things up a bit with a different answer than last time. “I work with computers.”

  “Really?” Her eyes opened wider. “I find that field fascinating.”

  “Eh, it’s a living.” Matt shrugged.

  It seemed she was honestly interested in his work. That was good, or would be if his computer job didn’t take him around the world on zero notice and wasn’t so secret he’d never be able to tell her anything about it.

  How the hell did the other guys do it? Having a serious relationship in his line of work was going to be a challenge, to say the least. Why was Matt trying to date again? Oh, yeah. He remembered. Lack of sex and sheer boredom. Those were two powerful motivators.

  The waiter returned with the menus and the drinks. Matt swallowed a mouthful of beer before he opened the menu on the table in front of him. Hoping to deflect any further questions about his covert career, he thought he’d change the subject to something safe, such as food. “I’ve eaten here before and the fajitas are good. So’s the burger. It comes with homemade sweet-potato fries that are good enough to make your mouth water.”

  Lisa opened her own menu and read, nodding as he talked.

  The waiter returned. “Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?”

  “I think I’m ready.” Lisa looked u
p at their server. “I’ll start with the Ahi Tuna appetizer and then the twin lobsters for an entrée.”

  Tuna and lobster—Lisa liked the stuff on the expensive side of the menu.

  “Sir?”

  Matt realized they were both waiting on his order. “Uh, fajitas for me, please.”

  “Any appetizer?”

  “Ah, yeah. Just a house salad. Oil and vinegar on the side. Thanks.”

  The server nodded and left them alone again.

  “Salad? I figured you for a chicken-wing kind of man.” Lisa raised one perfectly shaped brow.

  “I like to watch my figure.” Matt grinned. The truth was, he was too lazy to food shop very often and the likelihood of there being anything fresh or green, besides mold, in his fridge was pretty slim. He ordered his healthy food out and stuck to the two basic bachelor food groups at home—chips and beer. Those he could stock up on once a month without any fear they’d spoil before he got to eat them.

  “I’m doing the no-carb thing.” Lisa informed him of that while taking a nice big sip of her cocktail.

  Matt didn’t tell her how many empty calories or carbohydrates the alcohol and other assorted ingredients in her drink had. Instead, he nodded. “Hence the lobster and tuna.”

  “Exactly.” She smiled.

  Matt couldn’t shake how much Lisa reminded him of all the girls who spent summers in the Hamptons—Long Island’s summer paradise for the wealthy. Those girls had never even given him the time of day growing up. He was a lowly surfer who’d drive the hour from his parents’ house every chance he got to catch the waves at Ditch Plains. He’d sleep in his car or camp at Hither Hills, because back then he couldn’t afford the overpriced rooms the tourists filled from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

  Maybe he was just oversensitive after last night’s date, when Wanda had been more interested in his rank and pay grade than his personality. He’d give Lisa the benefit of the doubt, even if she did order the most expensive things on the menu.

  “Actually, my best friend just lost a ton of weight on that diet that Kate Middleton was on. It’s pretty interesting. You eat nothing at all except for lean meat for days—” As Lisa went on and on and on, Matt took another sip of beer.

  The date was easy. Matt didn’t have to do a thing except sit and listen to Lisa talk about herself, or her friends, or the food she hardly ever ate. Except, of course, for the tuna and the lobster she devoured tonight, while downing another cosmopolitan, followed by a decaf cappuccino with a side of French cognac.

  Matt didn’t know which would be the bigger number, the amount of carbohydrates Lisa consumed on her supposed carb-free diet, or the price of her meal.

  After he signaled for the check, Lisa leaned forward.

  “I would never normally do this, but you seem so nice.” She reached across the table and put her hand over his. “Would you mind coming back to my apartment?”

  Mind? Hell no. He’d gladly accept that invitation.

  He was about to express that sentiment in a more politically correct way when Lisa continued, “My computer has been acting funny. I think I might have picked up a virus. I keep getting error messages and crashing. The place where I bought it quoted me two hundred dollars to fix it. Isn’t that crazy? I’m sure you could fix it with no problem.”

  She smiled as he worked to keep his expression blank. She wanted him to come over to her place so he could give her free tech support? Just to save herself two hundred dollars? That was probably what this date was going to cost him. It seemed fair she should have to pay that amount to fix her own damn computer.

  Had she been interested in him at all? Or just what he could do for her? How would Lisa even know if she were interested in Matt as a person, since she’d basically talked at him rather than to him the entire dinner? Matt forced a smile as his brain spun for a solution.

  “I’d love to, Lisa. Oh, wait. Hold on a second. My cell phone is vibrating in my pocket. Excuse me.” He turned sideways in his chair and held the phone to his ear. He pretended to speak to someone who was telling him about a very bad computer emergency that only he could fix. “Hang tight, Bob. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

  Matt pretended to disconnect the call with the phantom Bob.

  Her eyes opened wide. “That sounded serious.”

  “I’m afraid it is. I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to take a rain check. I have to go.”

  “I understand.” She nodded. “I’ll email you.”

  “Great. Do that.” Not that he was planning to open anything she emailed him and risk catching her computer virus. “And it was great meeting you.”

  “You too,” she called after him as he waylaid the waiter on the way over with the bill. He waited at the hostess desk for them to run his card and give him his receipt and then made his escape.

  Dating in the new millennium. Not only did a guy have to worry about catching sexually transmitted diseases, now he had to worry about getting infected with a computer virus.

  He walked into his dark living room feeling lower than before his great dating quest had begun. The familiar chime on the computer he’d left on heralded an instant message. The glow of the screen guided him across the room without the lights on. One glance at the screen had Matt scowling.

  Sam_I_am: Home late from date. Good sign.

  Computer_God: No, it’s not. Bad date.

  Sam_I_am: Sorry. More dates for next week?

  Matt considered his answer for a moment and then typed. No!

  For extra emphasis, he added a half dozen more exclamation points and then hit send.

  Chapter Two

  Monday morning at zero-eight-hundred, Matt strolled into the meeting room happy to be at work after the hellish weekend he’d had in the dating trenches. He stopped at the coffeemaker, filled his mug and then plopped into a chair with a sigh.

  Across the table, Trey Williams raised a brow. “Tough weekend?”

  Matt snorted. “You have no idea.”

  “You should have come by the bar. Jack and I were there pretty much every night hanging out with Carly and watching baseball.”

  It sounded good in theory, but as each one of his teammates hooked up and got serious girlfriends, Matt felt more and more like a fifth wheel. “Was Nicki up visiting, Jack?”

  The reluctance to spend more time with the happy couples must have shown on Matt’s face. A frown creased Trey’s brow. “Why? You don’t like Nicki?”

  Matt shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I like her a lot. And she’s from New York like me. Around here, that’s pretty rare. The thing is, I feel funny being the only single guy.”

  Trey rolled his eyes. “That’s stupid. It’s a bar. It’s full of single guys. And you get used to Jack and Nicki disappearing upstairs for an hour here and there. They always come back. As much as Jack likes sex, I think he likes a good game and a nice cold beer even better.”

  Maybe Matt should start to watch more sports and drink more to make up for the appalling lack of sex in his own life. He was just considering that when Jimmy came out of the commander’s office.

  “Well, boys. The commander is off doing something for Central Command, so I’m in charge for the next few days.”

  “Is there going to be any action?” Trey asked the question Matt was wondering the answer to himself.

  “Nope. I swear it’s like we’re being punished for that shindig getting blown up with Bull inside.” Jimmy didn’t stop to address the misery that appeared in Bull’s expression at that mention, and continued, “We’ve got another training exercise this week and not much else. On top of that, they’re taking Matt away from us.”

  Matt nearly choked on the swallow of coffee he’d just taken. “What? Me? Where am I going?”

  Jimmy laughed. “Don’t worry. They’re not keeping you. You’re on loan.”

  On loan? Like a frigging library book? “Ah, on loan to whom?”

  Knowing Central Command, Matt could only imagine, and no scenar
io his brain came up with made him very happy.

  “We’ll go over it privately after the meeting. Now, for our next round of fun, how you all feel about helping train some green SpecOp recruits by whooping their asses in a recon simulation?”

  That brought smiles to the faces of every man in the room, except for Matt. He still couldn’t help but wonder what his assignment would be.

  Loaned out. What the fuck?

  Matt stewed through the team meeting, right up until Jimmy dismissed the rest of the team except for him.

  “Matt. Come on in the office.” Jimmy led the way. He sat in the commander’s chair and indicated Matt should sit in the other chair. “I gotta say, Coleman. This acting commander gig is pretty enlightening.”

  Jimmy’s smirk had Matt frowning.

  “I’m not sure what you mean.” What the hell was Jimmy talking about, and what did it have to do with Matt’s assignment?

  “Let’s see. For starters, you never said you were recruited directly out of college for the Army’s Delta Force Technology Unit. More importantly, I had no idea you’d developed—wait, let me get this straight—” Jimmy read from a single piece of paper he’d taken out of a manila folder, “—the technology for a targeting and guidance program for the military’s new missile defense system. And you sold it to Uncle Sam for millions when you were nineteen.” Jimmy put down the paper and frowned. “You’re a freaking millionaire?”

  That was in his personnel file? Matt had hoped Central wouldn’t be quite so thorough in their paperwork. “I did have a partner in that project. We split the money from the contract.”

  Jimmy seemed to ignore Matt’s explanation as he continued, “I mean, I knew you were smart, but not that you’re a frigging prodigy. Like an actual certified genius. Graduating high school at sixteen, college at nineteen.” Jimmy shook his head. “Three whole years to graduate valedictorian from college, what took you so long?”

  Matt shrugged at Jimmy’s sarcasm. “Well, you know. The missile program took up a lot of time, and we developed and sold a few computer games along the way too.”

  “Sure, in your spare time. Why not? I can understand that. Why not throw together a few games too.” Shaking his head, Jimmy laughed.