Page 27 of Invaluable

23

Kyle

It wasgood to be back home. We’d returned a week ago but I had been so busy debriefing my commander and readjusting to civilian life, I was anxious. I needed to be with my girl. But I didn’t want to see Sara until I could make her my top priority. My only priority. Until the only thing I saw, breathed, and tasted washer.

Plus I wanted to arrive in style. I was bringing the romance. She deservedit.

I relaxed in the box seat and for a moment, I was back in my old life. A baller. Surrounded by my former football friends. I dined on catered lobster and sipped Cristal. And while I appreciated the finer things in life, it didn’t have the same effect. Don’t get me wrong, it was great. Just different.

My old buddy, JaMarcus King, eased up next to me. Always good to see one of my boys. “Hey, T.K. Man, good to seeyou.”

“You too, man. How youbeen?”

JaMarcus pointed to his knee. “Good, bro. Good. My knee is busted but doc says I should be able to play next season. How ‘bout you? Ever think of comingback?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Not forme.”

He bit his lip and leaned in close. “Hey, you never told me. Why did you leave? I mean the truth.”

I exhaled. I had held this truth to my chest for years. My fellow frogmen didn’t even know the reason. But after vowing to start new with Sara, I decided to break my silence. JaMarcus had always been a good friend. A true friend. “Remember that night? In Dallas? With those girls?”

He nodded. “How could I forget? Damn those bitches.”

Damn those bitches indeed. JaMarcus knew exactly what I meant. I didn’t need to go into the details. But I planned to bare my soul toSara.

But for now, I would enjoy a vacation to my past. I stared down at the field and watched my girl light up the field. She was on fire, completely magnetic. When the cameras focused on her smile and she lit up the 160-foot screen, I knew I was the luckiest man alive.