MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance)

by Claire Branson

  “Tequila.”

  “What?” Chelsea asked, having already forgotten what they were talking about.

  “Tequila. It’s a cure for any bad day.” He let out a laugh, noticing how frazzled she was, which of course made her cheeks turn bright pink with embarrassment. “Two shots of tequila,” he called to the bartender while holding up two fingers for emphasis.

  The bartender sat two shots in front of him, and he smoothly slid one to her. “Oh, no.” She laughed. “I’m not a tequila person.”

  “No one’s a tequila person.” He laughed. “But I’ve found that it’s the only thing that mends the things inside of you that need fixin’.”

  Chelsea looked up at him over the rim of her glasses and then back at the shot glass in front of her. “Why the hell not?” Picking it up, she tapped it against the glass in his hand, tapped it to the bar, and swallowed it down. “Oh God. Now I remember why I hate it.”

  “Come on. It burns so good.” He laughed at her as she wrinkled her nose in displeasure. “Ben.”

  Taking his extended hand, she shook it lightly in her own. “I’m Chelsea.”

  “So, Chelsea. Tell me. Why such a bad day?”

  “It’s stupid,” she said, taking another sip from her glass.

  “Can’t be that stupid if it’s bothering you this much.” She couldn’t believe that he genuinely seemed like he cared to hear what she had to say. Looking into his baby blue eyes, she felt an odd sense of peace and comfort. All the loneliness that she had been denying was bothering her seemed to fade away, even if only for a little while.

  “It’s just…I uprooted my entire life, and I have nothing to show for it.” Quickly Chelsea wiped a single tear as it slid down her cheek. Embarrassed, she fumbled through the rest of her story, trying to act as if it hadn’t happened. “I moved here because I thought it would better my chances of becoming a writer, but it didn’t. It just showed me I’m no different than anyone else.”

  “Ah, come on. Don’t say that.”

  “But it’s true. You should have seen the stack of resumes they had. There are literally hundreds of other people who are just as qualified as, if not more than, I am trying to get the same job.” Chelsea began to feel herself getting worked up all over again. Raising her hand for the bartender, she shouted, “Two more shots.”

  “Atta girl.” Ben laughed. “I’m telling ya, tequila is a cure-all for internal wounds. So where’d ya move here from?”

  “A small town in Kansas.” The bartender slid the two shots in front of them, and Chelsea slid him a twenty.

  “All right, Dorothy. Bottoms up.” His eyes danced with excitement as he teased her.

  “Very original.” Clinking their glasses together, they both swallowed the liquid in one gulp. Ben found himself laughing again at the way she wrinkled her nose in disgust as it went down. “Don’t make fun of me. I’m not a big drinker, okay? Give me a break.”

  “Then you’ve got some training to do. Two more.”

  “No, no! I do not need any more,” Chelsea protested.

  “Come on. One more.” Chelsea looked between him and the two shot glasses on the bar in front of them. “Don’t make me take both of them.” Already feeling slightly tipsy, Chelsea agreed reluctantly.

  “Fine, but this is the last one.”

  “Scouts honor,” Ben said, holding up his hand in surrender. After taking the shot, they were both in fits of laughter.

  “I’m glad I ran into you,” Chelsea said. “I needed some laughter today.”

  Ben showed his bright white teeth in a beautiful smile that melted Chelsea’s heart. “I’m glad I ran into you too. This isn’t normally the outcome of me talking to a girl in a bar.”

  The innocent look in her eyes made Ben find her even more attractive. She was so sweet. “What do you mean?”

  “Normally if I meet a girl in a bar, it isn’t long before we head to one of our houses.”

  “Oh…” Not knowing what to say, Chelsea let the rest of her sentence trail off.

  “Don’t get me wrong. That’s not all I care about. That’s just normally what girls come out to bars looking for.” Ben took in a deep, steady breath and let out a sigh. “But you’re different somehow, easier to talk to.”

  Chelsea took a long drink from her glass of wine and held it up for the bartender to see that it was empty. “Probably because I came here actually looking for a drink.”

  “Exactly. That’s what drew me to you. You weren’t flaunting yourself and begging for attention. Plus, I hate to see a pretty girl cry.”

  Her stomach fluttered. Did he just call her pretty? She knew it was probably the line he used with every girl. He seemed like the dangerous type of charmer, but she couldn’t help what she was feeling for him. She could feel her cheeks burning pink, which only got worse when she noticed he was watching her closely. “What?”

  “Nothin’. You’re just even cuter when you blush.”

  “Stop it! You’re going to make me blush even more,” she said, waving her hands in front of her face.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll change the subject.” He laughed. “Are you liking the city better than small-town Kansas?”

  “Um…that’s a hard question to answer. They’re just so different that they’re incomparable. Have you ever been to the Midwest?”

  “Nope, sure haven’t.”

  “Well, it’s much friendlier. Not that it isn’t here,” she said quickly, afraid she may offend him. “It’s just different. In my hometown you know everyone and everything about everyone. There is just such a huge sense of community that you can’t get in a city of this magnitude. Here people look at you funny if you smile at them on the street. Back home people look at you funny if you don’t.”

  Ben put his hand on top of hers, which was resting on her knee, and a chill went up her spine. “We’re not all like that, I promise. Just give it little time. You’ll love it here.” His voice was so strong and yet gentle all at the same time.

  “I think you’re right.” Suddenly aware of how long she had been staring into his eyes, she cleared her throat self-consciously. “If I don’t find someone who likes my work, then it won’t matter either way. I won’t be able to afford to live here, and I’ve kind of exhausted all of my options at this point.”

  “Does your boyfriend like your work?”

  Chelsea’s heart skipped a bit at his interest. “No boyfriend,” she said shyly.

  “Interesting.” She could hear his bad boy charm in every word that he spoke. She kept telling herself that this was how he got girls in bed and that he wasn’t truly interested in her. Although she knew better, she couldn’t help falling for him.

  “Is it?”

  “Yeah. That means I can do this…” Ben placed one hand gently on the side of her face and stared deep into her eyes. She caught her breath. Very slowly he leaned in and allowed his lips to ever so softly touch hers, but for only a moment before he pulled back, leaving her eager for more. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I saw you over here.”

  Her mind clouded by endorphins, Chelsea couldn’t form a sentence. She broke out in a goofy smile. “You’re so cute.” Ben’s voice was so confident and stern that for the first time in a long time, she actually believed that was true.

  “Thank you.” Her heart was beating so hard that she was sure he could hear it. It had been so long since a man had shown interest in her that she wasn’t quite sure what else to say. His eyes being so fixated on her made her uncomfortable in the most wonderful kind of way.

  The bartender cleared his throat, breaking the moment between them. He slid her a glass of wine and motioned for her to slide him the empty glass beside her. “Thank you,” Chelsea said. Once he left, she turned her attention back to Ben with a shy smile. “So, are you from here?”

  “I grew up in Harlem. Ma and I moved to Brooklyn after Dad left.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Nah, don’t be. Ma’s the strongest woman I’ve ever k
nown. She always did everything she could to keep us living in a safe neighborhood and well taken care of. Anywhere that Dad couldn’t find us.”

  “Anywhere your dad couldn’t find you?” She was instantly embarrassed for prying. “I’m sorry. That is none of my business.”

  Ben shook his head as he swallowed another drink of his beer. “Don’t be. He used to be a standup guy, but then we had money problems and he got more and more stressed. He turned to drugs to relax and ended up getting mixed up in some real bad stuff. That’s when he became abusive. Ma normally took the worst of it. She would always throw herself in front of me when he got mad.”

  He took a deep breath before he continued. “But then one night he got me real good on the chin, and when he fell asleep Ma packed both of us a bag. She took the emergency fund she had been saving and we never looked back. Every couple years he’d tried to find us, saying that we’d ruined his life. So Ma worked two jobs, sometimes three, to make sure we could always live in nice neighborhoods where the neighbors looked out for one another.”

  “Wow. She sounds like a great mom,” Chelsea said.

  “The best. What about your family?”

  She thought in silence for a moment as she tried to think of the best way to describe her home life.

  “Let’s see. My parents were high school sweethearts. They got married straight out of college and had me. Then two years later they had my little sister. My father is a preacher, so they’ve always been pretty strict on us.”

  Ben’s eyes doubled in size, and she thought he might spit out the beer he was drinking. “A preacher’s daughter? Ah, shit. I’m probably going to hell for liquirin’ you up and kissing you, huh?”

  She always hated sharing that part of her life with people, not because she was ashamed of her father by any means, but because it instantly made people see her differently. People automatically thought that meant she was uptight. “No, no.” Chelsea laughed, trying to make the situation lighter. “But you can imagine what a small-town preacher thought when I told him I was moving to New York City.”

  “He probably pictured you sitting in a bar with a biker,” he teased.

  “Exactly!” She laughed. “I think he was concerned that I would be corrupted by the fast-pace life, but I assured him it would take more than that for me to forget my morals.” She remembered back to the night she had told her parents her plan. Her father had told her that he didn’t think she was strong enough to handle the city. He didn’t think she would be able to make it, but she tried to convince herself that it was only because he was scared for her. She remembered how hard she had cried that night despite how much she’d tried to tell herself it was only because he cared about her.

  Although her family had always been close throughout her childhood, she and her parents didn’t often see eye to eye. They were very old-fashioned in their views, whereas she was very open-minded. They were often judgmental of modern-day norms that she saw no issue with. She could only imagine what her father would say if he found out she wasn’t a virgin.

  “I don’t know. You seem pretty strong-willed. I think you’ll be just fine.”

  “Strong-willed…stubborn…bull-headed.” She laughed. “I think those words have been used to describe me before.”

  “What a coincidence. I’ve been called those a few times too.”

  “You don’t say.” She shot him a flirtatious smile. It was as if time stood still around them as they sat and talked for hours. They paid no mind to the dozens of people who came and went, filling the air around them with noise. After a couple hours and several more glasses of wine, Chelsea let out a lazy yawn and checked her phone for the time.

  “Is it really midnight already?!” she exclaimed.

  “Geez. I didn’t realize it was so late.” Trying to jump from the barstool, Chelsea lost her balance and nearly fell to the ground. “Whoa!” Ben exclaimed as he quickly tried to steady her.

  “I’m okay.” She laughed. “I’m just really clumsy.”

  “And a little drunk maybe?” He couldn’t help but laugh at how adorable she was when in denial.

  Chelsea hastily looked all around her. “Shhhh,” she said while holding her finger to her mouth. “Let’s just keep that between us.” She raised her hand to the bartender, who made his way slowly over to her. “Sir? I need to settle my tab.”

  “Sir?” Ben laughed.

  “Yes. It’s polite,” she slurred. As the bartender returned with their tabs, Ben took both of them and handed him a card. “Oh, no. I can get mine.”

  He easily pushed her hand away as she tried to hand the bartender her own card. “I got it. It’s been nice talkin’ with ya.”

  “Are you sure? You really don’t have to do that. I had a lot of drinks.” Chelsea instantly regretted how immature she sounded. He probably had that many drinks every night, and here she was stumbling over her words, unable to handle her liquor. How embarrassing.

  “I want to. Plus, you’re the one without a job.” Ben began to laugh but straightened up when she gave him a playfully angry look. “Too soon?”

  “Way too soon.” Chelsea gathered her items and began heading to the door with Ben shortly behind her. Out on the sidewalk, Chelsea turned to face him with a coy smile. “This was really nice. Thank you for everything.”

  “Nah, thank you. It’s been really fun.” The tension between them was so thick that you could have cut it with a knife. “Here,” Ben said as he pulled out a pen and began writing on the back of a scrap receipt he had in his pocket. “Call me sometime. I’d be happy to show you around the city.”

  She could feel her heart beating harder than she thought was humanly possible in anticipation of this night ending. “Let me get you cab,” Ben said as he stepped up to the curb and hailed a yellow taxi. “I guess this is good night.” As the car pulled up beside them, they stood silently staring into each other’s eyes.

  Without thinking, Chelsea stepped forward and put her hands on either side of his face, pulling his lips hard against her own. Sparks went shooting through her, and she knew that this wasn’t a normal instant attraction. There was something else there, something more. “Good night,” she whispered as she pulled back from him.

  “Good night.” He wore a beautiful, bright white smile that almost convinced her not to go. She had never had an urge to go home with a man she’d just met until now, but she wasn’t that type of girl. She wouldn’t allow her clouded judgement to change who she was and what she stood for. As the cab pulled from the curb, she looked back to see him running his hands through his hair, so effortlessly handsome.

  Sitting on her couch sipping coffee, Chelsea replayed the night before in her head. She couldn’t believe the butterflies that fluttered through her stomach at just the thought of him. “Hey,” Taylor said as she walked into the room and plopped lazily beside her.

  “Good morning.”

  “What happened to you last night? You didn’t come in ’til really late…and I heard a lot of crashing noises.”

  Chelsea tried her hardest to stifle her laugh. “I might have tripped over the rug and knocked all the stuff off the coffee table.”

  Taylor dramatically rolled her eyes. “I should have guessed. So what kept you out? You’re never out late. I was starting to worry about you.”

  “Well…I met this guy…”

  “What?!” Taylor exclaimed, sitting up straighter and turning her whole body to face Chelsea. “Tell. Me. Everything.” Taylor was your stereotypical sorority girl: extremely excited for any type of juicy drama.

  “I spent the entire morning, and most of the afternoon, passing out resumes, but no one was interested. Every single place I went to either had a thousand resumes on file or weren’t hiring any time soon. By the time I got to—” Before Chelsea was able to finish her sentence, Taylor eagerly interrupted her.

  “Yeah, yeah. But what about the guy? Tell me about him!”

  “I’m getting to it,” Chelsea said and laughed. “By the tim
e I got to the last place on my list, I was so upset that I needed a drink. So I found a bar and went in hoping to drink my problems away. This guy sat down next to me and, long story short, we had a great night.”

  “No! No long story short! Tell me everything. Was he hot? What did he look like?” Taylor said, bouncing up and down with excitement.

  “Oh, he was soooo cute!” Chelsea relished in her memories. “He had this adorable shaggy blond hair and the perfect amount of scruff. Oh! And he was a biker with a leather jacket and all.”

  “A biker? How dangerous!” she teased.

  “I know. That’s the problem.”

  “Problem? I see no problem with that.”

  “Well…” Chelsea didn’t know how to best put into words the internal conflict she had been battling all night. “We are so different that I don’t think anything could ever come from it. He’s got a rough past and…well…you know my past.”

  “So what?! Opposites attract, you know?” Taylor exclaimed. Chelsea still wasn’t so convinced. Even if everything did work out for them, what would her parents think of him? Could her parents ever be accepting of someone with such a rough past? Although she was worried what her parents would think, there was also a part of her that was tired of planning her life around what they expected of her. “All that really matters is if you like him. Do you like him?”

  “He was so great, Taylor,” Chelsea said, relishing in the thought. “After a couple shots of tequila—”

  “Whoa! He got you to drink tequila? Do you know how long I’ve been trying to get you to do that?”

  “Well, turn into a gorgeous man and I’ll consider doing things you want,” Chelsea mocked her. “Anyway, we sat and talked for hours. I feel like I’ve known him for all of my life. There is just something so comforting and familiar about him. Plus, he gave me his number after he kissed me good night.”

  “Eeeeekkkk,” Taylor squealed with excitement. “Have you called him?! Please tell me you’ve called!”

  “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.” Chelsea laughed as she batted the air between them.