Free Line of Fire by Simone Anderson Page B

jeans, he could still feel the sting of Brian O’Shaunessy’s words that afternoon. He’d let the first call go to voicemail, but a text calling him a coward for not picking up had him answering the phone the next time it rang.
    “Who the fuck do you think you are? What sadistic game are you playing?”
    He hadn’t recognized the person at first, even though caller ID had identified the number. There had been too much anger in O’Shaunessy’s voice.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who is this?”
    “Hayden. And I’m Brian O’Shaunessy, his dive buddy.”
    Christian’s stomach had rolled. He’d been beyond pissed when Hayden’s text about the double date had come through. He couldn’t believe the other man had told someone about their relationship. Not that he wanted to keep Hayden a secret, he just wasn’t ready to go to the next step. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be.
    O’Shaunessy had started out by calling him a selfish bastard who was only thinking of himself, before accusing him of everything from playing head games to lying to betrayal and endangering Hayden’s life.
    “Doesn’t matter what’s true and what’s not to you. Hayden matters. If you can’t figure that out, you’ve got bigger issues than me,” O’Shaunessy bit out. “I knew he’d met someone special before we entered the briefing room that day. And I figured out who it was while we were in Brazil.”
    Christian blew out a breath and shoved his hand through his hair. O’Shaunessy knew because he was Hayden’s dive buddy and best friend and because he knew the man better than pretty much anybody else on the planet. Hayden hadn’t outted him. Not verbally.
    Christian scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to pull back from the memories. The last words O’Shaunessy had said to him were the ones that bothered him the most.
    “I’ll tell you this, asshole, if you don’t make a concerted effort to keep him, if you can’t pull your head out of your own self-centered ass long enough to see what a great guy he is, you’re going to lose him.”
    “I do know—”Christian started, trying to defend himself.
    “Save it for someone who might actually believe you. Me, I think you’re a coward. Him, he cares about you. But either way, what you really are, is out of time.”
    The phone had gone dead, and the other man’s words bounced around his head. He’d thought they were doing okay. No, they hadn’t gone out on an official date or anything, but they’d spent time together. They were getting to know each other outside of the bedroom and away from the Navy. It just never seemed like the right time to go out. He listened to his gut, and none of the multiple times Hayden had asked or suggested they do something had ever felt right.
    It hadn’t felt right even when he’d agreed, but losing Hayden was worse. He’d apologized automatically. Hayden had been trying, had gone out of his way to accommodate Christian’s need for privacy and still he’d accused him of outing him without asking first.
    Blowing out a breath, he turned off the engine, walked up to Hayden’s door, knocked and waited. Before he’d always met Hayden somewhere, but after thinking on it some more he’d offered to pick his lover up for their date. He rubbed his palms on his jeans again. They’d been together for two months, had had sex in every room in both of their houses at least once and he was nervous. He’d stared at his closest far longer than he’d ever care to admit trying to decide what to wear. He’d finally gone with jeans and a dark green Polo-style shirt and loafers, wearing Hayden’s favorite cologne on him.
    “Hey sweetheart,” Christian said when the door opened. He looked his lover up and down and licked his lips. Hayden looked better than before. Snug jeans coupled with a gray t-shirt and gray button down shirt covered in black and white tribal-looking designs.
    Hayden took a step back and Christian followed him into