“Thanks, man.” I chugged about half of it, leaning back.

“I keep wanting to just let her go,” Aiden said, looking outside. “All of this scares the shit out of me. I haven’t done this shit since Jessica, and I haven’t wanted to do it with anyone since.”

“Not even that year you came back from your last tour?” I asked.

“I don’t want to do that shit again. I was happy with casual sex and not having to work at it. The thing is, I was happy, but not anymore, not after meeting Jane. I don’t know if she wants me.” He took a sip of his beer.

“I don’t think any of us can go back to the way things used to be. I sure as hell can’t.” Cal stood at the door. “She wants you. She lit up every time we talked while we were in Dallas. You just haven’t had a chance to be with her.”

“I don’t want to go back to the way it was. With Jane, I see a future, something I’ve never allowed myself to believe, but I don’t want to pursue her if you guys aren’t sure.” I ran a hand over my face, feeling stressed. “I don’t want to cause her more pain.”

“I’m serious.” Cal walked to us. “I’m in.”

I stood up, looking at Aiden, ready for him to say he would not do this. He stood up, looking at the ceiling.

“I’m in,” he said with a little more confidence.

I breathed in a sigh of relief. “Then let’s work on getting our girl.”

3. Jane

THREE

Jane

I stared at my phone for a moment longer than I should’ve. The past week had been a blur. I took on two more shifts than I normally did trying to keep myself busy. I put my phone in my back pocket, scolding myself for checking and waiting for the text that had been coming in everyday since the fight. Walking to the nurses’ station, I put in a toddler’s information who had come in with a high fever. As I closed the program, my pocket began vibrating.

Good morning, beautiful.

My heart fluttered reading the text from Nathan. I had been strong the first couple of days the texts started coming in, not even bothering to read them. Of course, I wasn’t strong enough, and I lost my resolve on Wednesday with a text from Aiden. They all started out the same, wishing me good morning, but he also said I’m sorry, can we please talk?