JJQuinn

That was her original name. Not sure how I missed it. It's fine. I don't mind. I have. A beta reader did edit this chapter but they missed a few things. It's alright. If I missed it I can't expect others to catch it. Ty!

Fixed! Thanks again for the save 💜

Thanks for pointing that out. I tried to catch all of my little details but sometimes I miss them. I'll fix that. She's actually closer to 4:00 which I mentioned later but that's fine I can adjust it. There's like a 9-month in utero and then it was her age. So yeah the math doesn't math lol I'll adjust that. Thank you for pointing it out. I always ask readers if you see something glaringly obvious that's a mistake just point it out and I can fix it. Thank you so much and thanks for reading!!!

Yay LOL I am glad that you caught up. It definitely is taking a slightly different direction than the original plot line, but that's always par for the course for me. I didn't want it to be as dark as Halos and heroes was for Sam many times, and this worked out well. He will be a confidant, and also sort of as I've said, the Catalyst for a lot of emotional tragedy for a while, but it will strengthen all the characters in the story. We just have to get there LOL. I am currently working on Aiden's point of view and he will have his own confidant unexpectedly in poor Christie

I totally forgot to address the maternal hands part. I hadn't planned on that originally, but when I read your message, I think I am going to work that in there. As I said before, Tak is becoming more of a main supporting character then he was originally supposed to be, but it will work out better that way because of the fact that he is the catalyst for a lot of Sev's world eventually falling apart for awhile. It won't be done intentionally or with malice, but sometimes life gets messy. I am going to have to find a way to work in mom and grandma. Two more maternal figures to keep him in line (as well as Taks sisters lol) and to love on Ruby. I just wanted to say thank you for that idea. I do listen to my readers lol. And sometimes thoughts just make sense and provide me new avenues to process. I'm always grateful for every bit of feedback I get. I just wanted to make sure that I mentioned that. Thank you.

He's entertaining and will be a friend for sure. I'm sure he likes tickles beneath the socks LOL but Sev won't be giving them

@Jjeffalch thank you so much for that. I do have the entire novel mapped out, but as I'm sure any author knows, what you intend for a story isn't always what the characters want to tell. Tak was supposed to be a much less fleshed out supporting character, but as you said the levity was needed but also to build him as a person and a friend because Sev values friendships. His friends are his family and that will be important because of the role that he will play later in a major plot turning point. And yes absolutely, he is going to be the thorn in the side that is going to push Aiden into admitting how he feels. That chapter which is going to be the fourth one, we'll be told from his perspective, and it's about halfway done. I just have to finish writing it. My hands have been stiff lately. I write everything by hand before I type it by voice to text. So grateful for my new beta reader because it's going to make things a lot easier for me. The story will start jumping from POV every other chapter so stay tuned! Thanks for following along.

Thanks for the mention @Cane23. I absolutely love to use the bing AI. Yes it can take a while to find the photo that you want to use. You may have to keep pressing for more prompts, but I'm so glad that you introduced me to it. For myself I find that it's helpful in deciding what my characters are going to ultimately look like and be like if I'm a little hazy on details. I have always used real stock photos to kind of see them, but it's not the same as AI because you can put in the information that you want to see and what is thrown back at you maybe exactly what you didn't realize you wanted. I'm so grateful that GA allows us to go back and edit things LOL because sometimes I'll think that I have a character nailed down and then I start playing with the AI app and it completely changes and I go aha now that's what I was thinking. So for myself it's extremely helpful. I'm very visual and it just really helps.

Thanks @VBlew! You know I always look forward to your comments. So many good questions. Mm maybe not so clueless but def some denial. Heh why indeed... Why talk someone else up so much and not me too anything about another... Half becauze he's a dummy in denial and maybe for poor Christy.... Someone else matters to him on a deeper, this is family, level than she does... Stay tuned! The next chapter is half written and the entire story is mapped out, including the end, but it'll take a bit to get there. Lots of loving moments, sweet funny ones, and of course the dramatic family ones.

Thank you! There will be much more to come. It's switches back and forth between viewpoints from this point on. The first three had to be Sev's to set it all up. I appreciate your feedback. I try to write well rounded realistic stories as best I can. ❤️ I usually put in aspects of my own life experiences, which are many, LOL. That entire scene about the little boy who put the jelly beans up where the sun doesn't shine, actually happened. It was my friend's son who was 3. His older sister was 5. Why this got into his head, she could not fathom. She had left the room only briefly to grab the laundry and when she came back she heard the crying and her daughter told her what he had done. And when she asked her why she didn't get her earlier, she just got a shrug. Kids are weird, but having been a teacher, when I write about kids in my stories, it's usually based in real life and very accurate.

Lol naughty

lol thanks @Cane23 Yes friendship is important. It might seem like a 'was this necessary?' chapter because there isn't a romance component there, but you know how I am with using supporting characters to move a story along and flesh it out. Tak will play a large role later in both helping and blowing up Sev's life unintentionally, and that's when things will start unraveling and things come to light that I have a feeling readers will see coming eventually, but we shall see. I fixed it properly with Jo's help so it should read easier now than the preview piece you read. It's the same, but grammar errors were fixed so that was helpful. I'm grateful for them!

(Chapter 4 will be from Aidens POV and also overlap a little with this timeline while he’s on his date) Sev BY CLOSING time, I still hadn’t quite settled down into my normal baseline headspace after my conversation with Aiden earlier, but I’d managed to focus long enough to get my staff situated with their schedules, schmooze with a few of the regular clients, then start my own day. Admittedly, I’d managed that last part with the help of copious amounts of caffeine. I liked my cof

It always makes me smile when readers are so close to the true possibilities LOL and yes I agree. I think it will be good. I am aiming to finish coloring outside the lines, this and possibly max and Roman at the very least by the end of the year so we will see!

@Cane23LOL. Thank you Cane. You know I always look forward to your responses. And I commend you on even trying to read this because I know that it is not everyone's cup of tea. It is going to get very very dark with climactic moments twice in the story. Alexis is a special kind of twisted piece of work. Originally this was meant to be a short one, but you know me. When the characters start talking, they end up directing which way it's going. I will have a lot of disclaimers on this one, probably even more than I ever had on Halos and Heroes. But there is going to be I think, a hopeful ending. Not happy but it's not writing itself the way I originally intended, so it will be a little more hopeful. It was supposed to just end in the interrogation room but it didn't work out that way because of how the characters are interacting. The next chapter is going to be between him and Sean mostly and then him interacting with Alexis for a bit before having to step out and speak to Sean. There will be a third chapter after that where he speaks to Alexis and the first climactic event happens. And then more story and the second climactic event before the ending which I think is going to be a little more hopeful than originally intended. Still no sex. But there might be a little maybe... that trails off and the readers can kind of fill in the blanks as they like and imagine the future however they see it. On another note, I found a beta reader which is awesome. They reached out to me and though they will not be editing this particular story because the content a little heavy and I understand that, they are going to be editing coloring Outside the Lines so while they edit one chapter of that I will work on this story and then work on another chapter of calling outside the lines that I'll send them so it'll allow me to write both at the same time. Max and Roman have to chill out for a while because the sexual tension is a little too much for me right now lol. Gen X menopausal women have to be in the mindset for that kind of thing LOL but coloring Outside the Lines is one that I've had mostly plotted out for a long time and the characters are talking to me again. It is as usual writing itself differently than I expected so readers may find themselves having some difficulty over which partner pairing to root for but I can't stand love triangle so I'll let you know Aiden wins, but there's a definite hmm... maybe? moment.

Thank you! Oh my you are so close to so many things lol. I know. I'm usually more of a family drama or romantic comedy girl even though I like True Crime and watching police procedurals. I don't usually write them because I am so detailed oriented that I want them to be realistic even though I don't know what I'm doing LOL but the whole point of promises to push outside your comfort zone right? I'm glad that I've drawn you in and hope that you stay😁 I intend this to only be two chapters long but it doesn't seem like that's going to be the case because it's writing itself a little differently than I anticipated originally. I work off of playlist sometimes when I'm not sure and I create them for each of my stories and where I thought it would end, is not where it's going to finish. There's actually going to be two very climactic points. One with alexis, and the next when they finally find the kids and the person responsible for taking them. So, buckle up and let's see if this works out like I intend.

I knew that it would be, so I posted the note at the beginning and that the end. I didn't want anyone to stop reading simply because they were worried about where it would go. By now anyone who reads my stories knows that I have a tendency to focus on family and children, so between that and the fact that I used to be a teacher, I would never hurt a little, even if it's in a story. It would just hurt my heart. Other Littles will be mentioned in terms of the harm they experienced, but it's in passing, not anything gratuitous or just grotesque. The violence is probably just on par with about the average police procedural.

-chuckles-- I definitely can't. I try but nope. I agree with you. There won't be a HEA for Griff and Sean. That's more of a missed opportunity. The story isn't a romance, more about the relationships between Griff and the FBI and him and Alexis. She's a twisted piece of work, but has her own reasons. There's no real winners in this but the children will be found and Griffin will get a possibly hopeful if not happy ending. Originally it was supposed to happen mostly in the interrogation room, but it's beginning to drag out because it isn't going to end with Alexis. That storyline will find resolution, but then they have to find the kids. Buckle up for the ride!

I am agreeing now that I wrote more of it lol... Either a super long chapter or one or more additional chapters. We shall see! Hope you keep following

“People often believed they were safer in the light, thinking monsters only came out at night. But safety – like light – is a façade.” — C.J. Roberts THE gentle tinkle of the music box pierced the inky oblivion of Wendy Martin’s bedroom. During the day, or when the lights were on, it was easy to see all of the cheerfully vibrant furnishings, and the army of fluffy plushies on her bed, but even from her current vantage point on the bed, where she was tucked warm and snug beneath her dai

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” -Friedrich Nietzsche THE nightmares wouldn’t leave Griffin Forester alone. They came nightly to infiltrate his sleep and taunt him with shadows of the past. Sometimes they changed up subtle details in his unconscious, but the eventual outcome of that night ten years ago, the one that he’d never be able to forge

The story is based off comic fans prompt # 110 - creating evil. Griffin Forrester is a Former FBI profiler, who had struggled for the last 10 years, with both his psychic abilities, and the disgrace of living with the reality that not even those powers, allowed him to see the evil that was always right in front of him. He's tried to hide from his past, but when a child Is abducted, and her parents are brutally murdered in a ritualistic manner eerily similar to the case that cost him his career, he's dragged back into a world where belief and wishes don't always set you free to fly.

Thanks @Cane23. Yes the cheating scene in the original WASN'T ok obviously but their relationship was so complicated and it was a way of saying goodbye. It just didnt fit anywhere in this version as you know 🥰 And thank you always for the support. My heart wags it's tail.

I always try to respond to everyone who comments, especially lengthy ones, because they took time from their schedules to do it. I am grateful for every comment. ❤️ Ahhhh ok yes, if you went from the other site, none of it, not even Just Found Heaven will make sense to you. I wrote JFH, then, having a clearer idea of the characters now that I i had no word limit constraints, HALOS was COMPLETELY rewritten and as @Cane23 said, it's crazy long lol because I let it write itself. At some point I do recommend that you read Halos again, and then Just Found Heaven, so it connects properly, otherwise you're running on, and responding to now irrelevant information. I did put in the notes of this version in the first chapter I believe, that it's a revision from another site that is now much lenghthier. The general layout is the same storyline wise: that Sam is forced to retire and come home when Connor is killed, has to rebuild, and meets Ben..NOTHING else is really the same. THAT SAID.... I feel like you contacted me on that other site.... because your complaints are the same and..... I literally put the version that was on that other site, there 5 years ago? And it was 33 chapters long and you wouldnt have known all the details you seem to if you read only to 25 or 26...then I put up half.of Just Found Heaven and realized I needed to revise it to make it fit Halos better which is why Halos was revised and posted here first, THEN I began posting it on that other site but only got up to chapter 19 before I received an almost identical review like this one... same "compliment' and complaints before it was removed by the posted. I realized then, that I much prefer gayauthors due to their high expectations for their authors and I deleted my account on that other site. All that to say, your comments don't make sense. You're mentioning things that happened in the old version 5 years ago from another site ON THIS SITE without even reading it. And from your previous comments you didn't even read the changed Halos that is posted on that site. Since I removed myself from that other site, the only copies of that version are on my personal computer and backups. For anyone else whose curious about some of the changes off the top of my head, though readers who've read both easily told the difference... *Sam and Ben's relationship is MUCH more solid because of how it unfolds, and he and Sam become monogamous much sooner because Sam gives into his feelings quicker with nudges from all his friends. Almost all of their interactions and dialogue is super extended, which led to the story completely rewriting itself because there are new supporting characters who move the story along, and Tara is heavily fleshed out. This is planned as a series from the POV of most of the secondary characters in Halos. * AJ was in Sams Rangers team and retired before Sam did after that ambush that killed most of their team. He was just a mention in that scene in the original. In this one, he's one of Sam's best friends and opened a private security firm. He's solid but funny and he gets involved with Sofia, rounding her out as well in a way thay was missing in the original. He's the reason Sam ended up going to the support group because he grabs his phone and texts Ben he's coming. He's also the voice of calm in the completely new scene when Sam and he walk in on Connor and Devlin in a shared hotel room on a short leave before Halos takes place. That scene wasn't in the original. It was just a quick memory of Sam walking in on them alone. * Sam and Adelyn have newly extended scenes as well. Completely different because he tells her about Connor, noting she was stronger than her mother in a sense, though he didn't put down Sofia. He just acknowledges that Addie had to become tough so early in life, she can handle it. Sofia eventually finds out the night of the church dance, but she tells Sam AJ already told her...again, not in the original. *Seargant Whelan, who was again, just a mention at the funeral, becomes fully fleshed out. He will eventually have his own story and he, not the other officer who was friends with Ben in the original, talks to Sam much more extensively after he unintentional attacks Ben with the PTSD nightmare. He also appears in the completely rewritten coffeehouse scene where Sam has a pretty hilarious meltdown about the abysmal use of the English language in America. Halos was Ben and Sam's story, but also set the stage for future novels where the characters reappear in one another stories. * The conversation between Sam and Ben at Maplewood, and his convo with Cayden is so rewritten it's almost not the same in anyway. The dialogue between Sam and Ben is much more intense because Sam shows him his back tattoo [which is different now] then, and not when they first have sex. *Sam is Delta now. He was recruited after he recovered from the ambush. That's why I mentioned Special Forces before. Very different...they have to do things we can't imagine. We know someone who came back on a leave years ago. He's the friend of a friend and we all met one day and he was talking about a pair of boots he needed. A specific pair. His sister, annoyed, said that there were so many kinds if he couldn't find those. He wasn't a big talker at all. Very stoic. But he responded quietly and evenly by saying he needed those because the soles didn't slide in blood.... eye opening and heart breaking. Sam is broken. Damaged. And it's mentioned in the again, very extended first chapter. The PTSD nightmare scene, is also heavily extended. And there's a new scene where he accidently slams Ben up a wall earlier after they sleep together and he's staying at Ben's, because he was startled and he falls apart. Ben's steady and shows him photos of his wilder days and calms him. Which is why when the PTSD nightmare happens, Sam runs. Because it's the second time around, and he knows he could've killed Ben. He was trying to SAVE Ben, not run away to be with Max. *Max...ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES in the entire story. There is no kiss scene. It didn't make sense anymore because of how the novel unfolded. He tells Sam how he feels on the porch, but Sam tells him he and Ben "lost the latex." That's a major change from the original and Ben and AJ show up together so the kitchen scene with Sofia and the girls is also different. Tara is there in all her snarky glory. Max does take Sam to a hotel after the scene at the hospital, and they get drunk, but there's no funny business. Instead he pins Sam down and goes off about how he has to get help,s and he'd never forgive him if he killed himself like he knows he planned to because it'd make his mama cry since they're Sam's family as well. Theres an extended part that is the same effect of the porch scene in the original. No kissing, just sitting on the back of Max's SUV talking and Max tells him he of course wants Sam, but he doesn't want to be the second choice. Totally different. *Love scenes- more of them, some very explicit so you can try and skip them if it's not your thing, but there's so much dialovue between Sam and Ben in between you will just have to skin through to find those parts. The scene at the club...COMPLETELY different since Sam takes control. Literally almost every chapter in the novel was rewritten, entire sections taken out, and entirely new ones put in. So, I'd strongly suggest reading it again because if you dont, Just Found Heaven makes less sense, and so will the subsequent books because they will all be based off the new version of Halos and Heroes. I'd love to have you review THAT version and see what you think with fair analysis of the novel HERE and not the odd bits and pieces you have all mixed up to a degree you have confused ME and I'm the author 😀 If you do and still "hate almost every character" so be it. I want TRUTHFUL reviews, good or bad alike, so long as they are about the story being commented on without personal bias coloring it disproportionately. Thanks.

This is from the revision on this site not the original from another site. ---- He’s not the typical priest,” I agreed. “But I almost killed him Max. If I had…” I didn’t finish that sentence. I didn’t need to because Max knew how to fill in the blanks. He always had, which explained why he cut off anything else I might’ve otherwise added, by abruptly rolling over to pin me to the bed as he straddled my hips. He hadn’t worn the sling after the first night he’d arrived, but the subtle tremble in his injured arm when he pinned my hands down beside my head, indicated it still wasn’t up to its full strength and capacity. Fortunately, I was drunk so he had the advantage, even with a handicap. I blinked. We’d been in the exact same position millions of times, but as close as Max was pressed against me, it was obvious that he wasn’t even half hard. His eyes though… Those were like twin pieces of jade green flint. “Sam… you knock that shit off right now.” I blinked again, but Max kept going, not giving me a chance to get my thoughts in order. “We both know what you were plannin’ to do before you came back to Florida, but we never talked about it ‘cause you and I have this amazin’ joint super power where we can share everythin’, yet stick our goddamn heads in the sand at the same time because we’re tryin’ to maintain boundaries. Well, that’s officially done because we’re goin’ to talk about how you ripped my fuckin’ heart out when I found all those bullets squirreled away in your apartment in Afghanistan for whatever rainy day you felt froggy enough to blow your fuckin' brains out.” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “We’re also goin’ to talk about how I’ve been losin’ my goddamn mind since then, prayin’ to God that A.J. wouldn’t call me to say that you finally gave up.” “Max, I—” His hand covered my mouth. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d tried to smother me, but the hard plane of his palm was gentle against my lips and I felt a subtle tremble that gave away how hard Max was working at keeping his tone steady and level. “I know the military took your gun, but bein’ a trauma doc means I see all kinds of shit, includin’ a lot people who’ve tried to end their lives for one reason or another, and they usually manage just fine, even without access to a firearm. People can get very fuckin’ creative when they’re feelin’ broken, and desperation drives them to stupidity.” He paused again. This time, I watched the way his throat worked when he swallowed hard, like he was trying to get around the deepening octave of his own tone. His voice was always unusually deep, and velvety mellow, which worked well when he sang, but the sudden depth in right now let me know just how upset he actually was. “We try and save them all of course. Sometimes we get lucky. When we don’t, ages and ethnicities vary, but those cases almost always have one thing common- they all leave behind a legacy where the people who loved them can’t remember how they lived, because how the person died is the cloud of pain that overshadows everythin’ else. People who successfully manage to kill themselves go wherever it is they do when we leave this world, but their loved ones continue livin’ only half of their own lives because they’re haunted with thoughts of, ‘could I have done somethin’ to help?’ or ‘why didn’t I see this comin’?’” A soft hiss escaped from between my lips, my breath warming Max’s palm as he tightened the hold he had on my left wrist with his free hand. “Unfortunately for you Sam, my eyes work just fine, and I’m done with watchin’ you unravel, while pretendin’ you’ll eventually handle it on your own without a proper kick in the ass from someone who loves you enough to kick really fuckin’ hard.” The look in his eyes made it obvious who was going to be doing the kicking. “Wantin’ to protect Ben and your family is a fantastic fuckin' goal, but it’s one that starts with actually makin’ some major life changes, not just checkin’ out. If you commit suicide, you’re not savin’ them man. You’re just damnin’ them because they’ll never get real answers or closure. Just a pretty headstone that A.J. and I will piss all over after sharin’ as many beers as we can without affectin’ our aim. I bet Tara would probably join us too. She might even just sit on the headstone all ladylike, and let it rip. That girl’s got bigger balls than most men I know.” I agreed with that part, but didn’t say anything, just kept my gaze on Max. Over the years, I thought I’d seen every one of his facial expressions, but I’d never seen him this angry. The only time I’d seen him equally panicked had been at the hospital In Afghanistan after I lost my team and almost died. Those memories were still a little fuzzy, so this hybrid of rage and terror turning Max’s body into one long line of tension, this one was new. “I’ll help you find whatever resources you need to get your life back on a steady enough track that not every setback brings us to this point. I’ll pay for your damn therapy myself if I have to, and I’ll be there for you every step of the way. You know that. Whatever else may be goin’ on with us, that’s on me because I waited too long to man up, and I understand that. But this shit, this is all you, so you have to want to fix it and decide who, and what you’re fightin’ for. And God help you if you decide to take the easy way out for the first time in your life. You almost dyin’ in Afghanistan practically killed me. You offin' yourself now, would wreck me. I’d handle it eventually—poorly. Probably with a lot of booze, and a promise made to myself to kick your fuckin’ ass the moment I end up in the thereafter and find you. But you committin’ suicide would destroy your family.” He swallowed hard again. “You have this ass backwards idea that if you’re not on this planet, you can protect all of us. Well, that’s bullshit. How do you think the girls will feel about losin’ you? You’ve made so many strides forward with them, Sam. Emma worships the ground you walk on, and Addie Cat has a photo of the four of you as her cell’s lock screen. Connor’s name might be listed on their birth certificates, but where it matters, when it comes to showin’ up, they’re yours Sam. A.J. and I are beloved uncles. Maybe one day he’ll be more than that to them, but right now, you’re their daddy in heart and mind. Losin’ you to violence at your own hand would mess them up for the rest of their lives. It’d also break my mama’s heart because she loves you like her own son.” He moved his hand from my mouth so he could stroke his thumb gently over the seam of my lips. “Makin’ my mama cry Sam… I’d never forgive you for that.” Max said that last part quietly, voice as soft as the hand he moved to cradle my face with, thumb gently brushing along my cheekbone now. His body was a coil of barely controlled tension. His eyes also looked suspiciously damp, but I’d never seen Max cry before, and was pretty drunk right now, so it might’ve just been a trick of the light. I leaned into the touch anyway. There wasn’t anything that Max and I’d never forgiven one another for eventually, but when it came to breaking Vera Melone’s heart, or my family’s, that was a line drawn in fucking concrete not sand. “I don’t know where to start Max.” His expression softened slightly, though I could still feel the tension in his thighs where they were gripping my hips. “You can go home and see your family. See Ben.” “I can’t.” “Why not? Sofia and the girls love you. Ben loves you, and I know you love him. Shit. Sam. We’re sittin’ in this motel a little short of three sheets to the damn wind because you love him so much, you think disappearin’ is the right move. Which of course, it isn’t. And honestly, as bad as this is, Ben’s now officially seen the best and worst parts of you. Everythin’s out in the open and you can move forward if you just fuckin’ try, man. Talk to him.” “Your suggestions been noted…and overruled.” Max made an aggravated sound that was just an octave away from a growl as he slid off of me and flopped onto his back, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands before he rolled over to his side, popping himself up on his good arm. I did the same—albeit it with much less grace—so that we could mirror each other. “Sam, you’re in love with him.” “Yeah, I am,” I agreed. “But love doesn’t always conquer all, Max.” I exhaled slowly. “I can promise you that I won’t do anything stupid. And that I’ll never break Vera’s heart. Or my family’s.” Or yours. “I will get help. I swear. Whelan gave me the name of an organization here in Florida that works with veterans. I’m going to call them. But… I just can’t go home right now. Not until I trust myself. Sofia and the kids might be upset and confused right now, but they’re ok, and that’s what’s important until I figure out where to go from here.” Max didn’t look thrilled, but he accepted the compromise. "I’m still around for a few days, so we can kick around together and start makin’ a plan for how you’re goin’ to get some help and forgive yourself for the shit you couldn’t control then, and still can’t control now. After that, if you're desperate, you could head to Jersey for a while. My parents would love to see you, though after some time spent at the Melone house you might see how good you have it here. Ever since they retired, my mama’s southern hospitality has gone on hyperdrive. She redefined ‘helicopter mom’ when she saw my arm. I also got a nod from the Colonel, so they’re definitely goin’ through an empty nesters crisis late in life.” He was teasing, but I knew the offer was genuine and it was a tempting suggestion. The Colonel was retired so he understood what transition out of the service and into civilian life was like. I also knew he wouldn't ask too many questions about me retiring because as high ranking as he’d been, he knew better than most people that very few soldiers wanted to bring their past home with them. Vera would baby the hell out of me with sweet tea and endless rounds of Go Fish. I could just hide for a while in the garden state. “Maybe. Let’s start with breakfast tomorrow if the diner you mentioned has acceptable pancakes.” I knew Max had a guilty love affair with pancakes, but he couldn’t cook for shit and always appreciated good ones whether they were from a greasy spoon or IHop. “After a few cups of coffee, we can brainstorm with Google.” I paused for a long moment. “I want my life back Max, but there’s no instruction manual with this…” “I know. If love were easy, everyone would have it. Right now, you’re drunk and feelin’ down and out like a fat kid playin’ dodgeball so it’s not the time for deep conversation. Tomorrow will be better, other than dealing with the inevitable hangover that’s pre-destined to be a special kind of epic because we drank more than half a bottle of premium Johnnie Blue like he was secretly a Kentucky Gentleman.” Max made a face, then pushed up to a seated position. “Now, close your eyes. You need to get some sleep, and I need to shower off our road trip.” Max slid off of the bed and paused long enough to flip up the side of the duvet that he’d been lying on, up and over me in a loose burrito fashion. It was still warm from his body, and I felt myself relaxing beneath the lightweight material. Then he padded across the room to grab one of the clean white towels from the hanging rack. He was right, at least about me being too drunk to be having this conversation right now, but I still said, “Max?” Just his name, but Max read the tone in it like I knew he would. “I know. I love you too, dumbass. Go the fuck to sleep.” He moved into the bathroom, and I heard the sound running water when Max turned the shower on. I focused on that soft whoosh of white noise, then eventually stopped hearing anything at all as sleep took me. ---