First Class Hero (First Class Novels) Read Online Free Page B

San Diego.”
    “What did she tell you?” Paul’s tone was serious.
    “Just the barbecues and parties you guys had when you
weren’t deployed. There was one time you wore a tutu to the grocery store?”
    Paul exhaled and smiled. “Ah…the infamous tutu. That was a
video scavenger hunt that Chris’s wife wanted us all to do and I ended up with
the short straw, literally. Not one of my better looks,” he chuckled.
    Several people had returned from the food tables and so Paul
helped Nic up and they walked over to grab a plate and a burger. Ed dished up
big discs of beef with cheese melted and oozing all over. They looked
delicious.
    “Two or three?” asked Ed as Paul handed him his plate.
    “Eh, two to start.”
    “How many are you gonna eat?” Nic was shocked.
    “We’ll see,” grinned Paul.
    The conversation was at a low hum as everyone feasted on
burgers and salad and fruit and potato chips. Nic watched as Seal after Seal
went back for seconds and thirds.
    “You guys can pack it away,” she whispered. She had seen
these men without their shirts on – not an ounce of fat. “Where do you put it?”
    Paul grinned. “We train really hard… really hard. We
eat well.”
    They finished their meal in silence.
    *****
    After a game of football for the men, while the women helped
clean up and then play in the water with the children, family by family or
couple by couple, the gathering dispersed slowly. It was early evening and for
everyone but Paul, work came early the following morning. Paul and Ed loaded up
the barbecue and the mostly empty coolers and all the kids’ toys.
    “You guys stay,” Ed said as he threw Paul the keys to his
truck. “We’ll see you at home.”
    Nic said goodbye to Ava and Chloe.
    “Thanks for helping us build a cool sandcastle,” Ava said
and gave Nic a hug.
    “You’re welcome,” Nic replied and waved goodbye as Ed
corralled them towards the car.
    Mariah gave Nic a hug too. “It was lovely to meet you.”
    “You too,” smiled Nic. “Thanks so much for having me.”
    Mariah walked over to the car and climbed in and Paul and
Nic waved as they pulled out of the parking lot.
    “Do you wanna walk for a bit?” Paul asked.
    “Sure.”
    They wandered towards the harder wet sand and walked through
the water as the tide slowly started coming in.
    “I hope it wasn’t too bad being around all us Navy
guys,” Paul said, a slight teasing in his voice.
    Nic grinned. “I suffered through it like a champ.”
    “Yes you did,” Paul laughed. “Thanks for coming with me.”
    “Thanks for asking me.”
    They walked a little more and Paul wandered a little further
into the water.
    “It’s so warm and inviting,” he grinned. “Too bad I didn’t
bring a change of clothes.” He walked a little deeper, midway up his thigh. “If
you have your suit we could swim.” Paul turned to Nic and she stopped to look
at him. She did have her swimming suit on, but she wasn’t a fan of the unwanted
sand getting into body crevices. She shook her head.
    “Oh well, maybe another time,” Paul shrugged. At that moment
a large wave came in right behind him and pushed him forward. As the sand gave
way under his feet, he fell forward and was almost completely under the water.
He struggled to stay on his feet and Nic burst out laughing.
    “Don’t have your sea legs with you today?” she teased.
    “I was distracted,” he laughed as he made his way towards
her dripping wet.
    “Guess you could go swimming now,” Nic laughed.
    “Ha ha,” he replied, as he pushed as much water as he could
from his shorts. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and rung it out several
times and then threw it over his shoulder. As he looked back at Nic he saw the
expression of distress on her face.
    “It’s not as bad as it looks,” he offered.
    Nic’s hand moved to her open mouth as she saw the scars
covering his body.  
    “Really,” he whispered as he reached for her hand. “And it
was a long time