Semper Fidelis Read Online Free Page B

second one was about intimate knowledge of Steve Rogers.”
    Linc’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Who?”
    “Captain America,” Zach clarified.
    “Oh yeah, he’s totally gay then—and a geek. He’s probably hoping you are too. You going to keep talking to him?”
    “I have a lot going on…”
    Linc huffed. “Yeah, ’cause getting laid could really mess with your rocket-building endurance. Come on! You’re not an athlete, man. Some release would probably help clear your head.”
    “He says he’s a Marine.”
    “And I take it that’s kinda hot?”
    Zach scowled at Linc. Kinda? Nope. It was beyond hot. He worried his bottom lip between his teeth as he thought about what to do next.
    “Give me your phone. I’m going to message him and ask for a picture. Either way then you’ll know how much effort you should put into this. He’s invited you to his door—you just have to knock on it.”
    “I don’t do that.”
    “You really should. At least once. As long as it’s safe and consensual.”
    “You know I don’t date well.”
    Linc grinned. “Forget the dating part. Let’s just go for one night.”
     

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    ZJR: Send me your number. Let’s text instead of talking through here.
     
    Galen stared at the screen dumbfounded.
    He blinked and made sure he was reading the message correctly, because as soon as he responded the original message would disappear and he couldn’t go back and make sure he’d read that right.
    Zach was asking for his phone number, right?
    A slow smile spread across Galen’s face as he typed in those fateful ten digits. Seconds later the ping of a text came through.
     
    Hey Just Galen.
     
    Hey.
     
    Galen thumped his head against the headboard. When had he forgotten how to be smooth? Zach hadn’t started to type anything back, so Galen sent…
     
    Warning, another awkward moment coming next…
     
    He took a deep breath and went for the full truth.
     
    I think you’re cute.
     
    As soon as he hit send he clamped his eyes shut and groaned. What the ever fucking loving hell was he doing? He was a grown-ass man who was more than capable of picking up guys in a mature way and he’d gone with ‘cute’. Cute? Wow . Yes, it’d been a year since his last hookup, but he shouldn’t have been this out of practice. His phone pinged and he lifted off his chest to look at how much damage he’d done.
     
    And I don’t even know what you look like.
     
    Huh. Well that wasn’t a brush-off.
     
    Is that your way of asking for a pic? I’m lying on my hotel bed half naked.
     
    That escalated quickly.
     
    Galen guffawed. He held up his phone, snapped a picture and sent it off.
     
    Acceptable?
     
    There was no indication that Zach was responding as the seconds ticked past, and Galen got more and more freaked out that he’d read the signs wrong. Then Zach’s reply came through.
     
    Thought you were joking about the half-naked part.
     
    That bad, huh?
     
    I was expecting you to be a woman. You are so not a woman.
     
    Ummmm…
     
    That’s a good thing.
     
    Galen let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
     
    Good. I didn’t crash my car for you to hope I’d be a woman.
     
    Was that an autocorrect text?
     
    Ha! No. I may have backed into another car thinking I was going to lose my chance to message you when you left Synthfad today.
     
    Couldn’t you have just hit the button to message me instead of driving after me?
     
    Yeah I thought of that later. Was worried I’d never see you again. Grabbing the brass ring and all that.
     
    There was a longer stretch of silence, and Galen wondered if he’d crossed the line somehow. Zach’s reply didn’t help ease his worries.
     
    Not gonna lie. This is kinda weird.
     
    He took a deep breath.
     
    I’m aware. Prefer to call it untraditional. How can we make this less weird?
     
    Tell me something about you besides the whole Marine thing and not working on the classified research study that