Valor on the Move (10 page)

“An old kung-fu show. I had to Google it when one of my instructors called us that during training.” He swung his arm back and took a few steps.

Shane hadn’t been bowling in years, and he knew as soon as the ball left his hand it was no good. As it careened off the wooden lane and headed for the gutter, Shane gritted his teeth.

“Um, what am I supposed to be learning, exactly?”

Ignoring him, Shane picked up another ball. He lined up the sights and pulled his arm back. This one rolled into the other gutter.

“If you want, I can put down the bumpers?”

He shot Rafa a glare that only made the kid smile wider.

“Good effort. Keep it up.” Rafa picked up his next ball. “That’s what my little league coach used to say when I whiffed my at-bats.”

Shane laughed. “All right, let’s see what you can do. Prove that wasn’t a fluke.”

Rafa did just that, scoring a spare with his two balls in the second frame. Shane lined up his next shot. This time it hit one pitiful pin on the left side.

“You’re twisting your arm too much,” Rafa noted.

“All right, Grasshopper. How do I fix it?”

“Okay, pick up the ball.”

Shane did, and suddenly Rafa was standing behind him. Very close. He put one palm on Shane’s back and ran his other down Shane’s right arm. When he spoke, his breath tickled the back of Shane’s neck and ear.

“So when your arm goes back, keep it straight, like this.” He guided Shane’s arm into position. “You see?”

“Mmm.” Shane’s heart was beating too fast.

“Then when you throw it—” Rafa moved even closer, his hip meeting Shane’s ass. “Take the last step and keep your arm straight as you go.”

Shane’s mouth was alarmingly dry, and he jerked forward, his fingers gripping the holes in the ball. “Got it. Thanks.” He tried to focus on the pins and the arrows on the lane, but his mind was full of white noise as his body thrummed. What the fuck was wrong with him? Clearly he needed to get laid if he was getting turned on by physical contact that was purely innocent.

His next shot took out three pins, so that was a vast improvement.

Rafa clapped. “There you go! See, I’ll give you bowling tips, and you can tell me about surfing.”

Shane managed one more pin in his frame, and shook his head as Rafa knocked down almost all of them with his next ball. “I think at this point your advice is a lot more useful than mine. Haven’t been on my board in forever.” With a pang, he thought of his trusty Infinity, long gone now. His parents had kept it for him in the garage. He could still hear his mother’s teasing now.

“We’re keeping this board hostage so you’ll visit. Come back soon!”

But he hadn’t. He’d gotten caught up in work. Caught up in everything except what really mattered.

“Why not?”

“Huh?” Shane blinked back to attention.

Rafa took his next shot, taking out the final two pins for another spare. “Why haven’t you surfed more over the years?”

“After training, my first assignment was the field office in Omaha. No waves in Nebraska. Then it was Greensboro, and then Albany. Montana. Me and surfing just weren’t meant to be, I guess.”

Rafa leaned against the wall as he watched Shane take a ball. “Don’t you ever go back to California to visit? Do your parents still live there?”

“No.” He rolled the ball, sending it into the gutter near the end of the lane. It was stupid that the pain still tugged at him, clammy and insistent even now.

“I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

Shane forced himself to meet Rafa’s gaze. “No. It’s… My parents were killed. Six years ago now. A house fire caused by faulty wiring.”

“God. Shane, I’m so sorry.” Rafa took a step, reaching out with his hand and then letting it drop to his side. “That must have been terrible.”

He kept his voice even as he lined up a shot. “House was completely gutted. It all burned. My dad had kept a family picture on his desk at the school where he taught. It’s the only thing I have left of them.”
Why am I telling him this?
He threw the ball and managed to keep it on the lane. “Anyway, like I said, hasn’t been any opportunity for surfing since I finished college.” Stepping back, he waited for Rafa to take a ball, but Rafa only watched him with sad eyes. Shane cleared his throat. “It’s your turn.”

“Oh! Um, yeah.” Rafa bowled, his ball spinning into the gutter.

Shane forced a triumphant smile and a light tone. “Ah, the master shows weakness. Things might be turning around here for the old man.”

Rafa put on his own shaky grin. “You wish. I was just faking you out.” He took his next ball, and sure enough it was a strike. “
Bam
.”

“Impressive comeback, I’ll grant you that. But let’s see what the rest of the frames have in store.”

What they had in store was resounding defeat, and when the game was over, Shane shook his head. “All right, you win this round.”

Rafa pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. “Just in time for lasagna. Hope you’re hungry.”

“Always.”

As he changed his shoes, Rafa glanced up at Shane. “Hey, where did you go to college?”

“UCLA.”

“What did you major in?”

“English. I always liked reading, and I needed a degree to join the service.”

“Cool. What’s your favorite book?”

“
The Hunt for Red October
.”

Rafa’s face lit up. “Really? Most people would say something totally old and pretentious.”

Chuckling, Shane shrugged. “I’ve certainly enjoyed my fair share of literature, but for sheer pleasure, it’s Clancy’s earlier work. What’s yours?”

“Well, usually I’d say
The Grapes of Wrath
. I mean, I have to say something American, and I do think it’s a good book. But for pure reading enjoyment? Harry Potter.” He laughed and ducked his head as if he was expecting Shane to mock him.

“Which one in particular? I’m partial to number four.”

Springing to his feet, Rafa grinned. “Me too! The Triwizard Tournament is the best. The whole maze sequence was so amazing. Uh, excuse the pun.”

Shane found himself laughing, which felt…damn it, it felt
good
. “And the graveyard scene was a gut punch. I really need to reread the whole series.”

“Yeah, me too. We should read them together.” He waved his hand, his smile fading. “I mean…not actually
together
. We should just both reread them. Although I guess we shouldn’t be talking about books anyway.” He turned off the lane. “But now I need to know: least favorite book.”

“Anything by James Joyce aside from
The Dead.
I know they say
Ulysses
is genius, but I’m a fan of punctuation.”

“Oh my God,
right
? I only had to read a few chapters for my English historical survey class, and it was torture. I just do not see the genius.”

“I don’t think anyone does, but they’re too afraid to admit it.”

“Exactly!” Rafa exclaimed. As Shane opened the door, Rafa flicked the lights and paused in the shadows. “Hey, do you think you’ll ever try surfing again?”

The thought simultaneously filled him with a swell of joy and the heavy drag of grief. He hadn’t been in California since the funeral. Not that he couldn’t surf in other places, but for some reason surfing was all tied up in the fire, lost in the ashes. “I don’t think so.”

“But you never know, right?”

“I’m not much of an optimist.”

Rafa smiled then, sad and sweet. “That’s okay. I’ll be one for you.”

Shane followed as Rafa headed to the stairs, trying to banish the wave of happiness that filled his chest.

After dipping his finger in the jar of pomade, Rafa went after the rogue curl over his ear, cursing at it under his breath. “Stay put, damn you.”

Of course it wouldn’t, and it really didn’t matter anyway since it would be dark. And it’s not as if Shane would care what his hair looked like. Maybe he should just have another shower and let it curl naturally. Frowning at himself in the bathroom mirror, Rafa imagined it.

Ch-ch-ch-Chia.

He snapped off the bathroom light and grabbed his burgundy hoodie. It had been a little cooler that day, and he might need it down by the water. He zipped it over his tee and hesitated. Maybe he should wear nicer clothes like usual. He hoped they wouldn’t encounter anyone, but what if they did?

So
what
if you do? No one will care, you freak. And Shane’s seen you in your boxers. What does it matter?

The thought of being in his underwear in front of Shane predictably made his dick swell, even if there’d been nothing sexual about it. Checking his watch, Rafa considered jerking off before going downstairs—it wouldn’t take much—but it was almost midnight.

He laced his sneakers and then picked up his knapsack before taking the back staircase down. As he reached the main floor, his heart skipped. Shane stood in the hallway glancing at his watch. He frowned.

“Everything all right? I was just going to come up.”

“Yeah. I actually wanted to do something different tonight. Go for a walk.”

Shane’s frown deepened. “Okay. On the grounds?”

“By the river, actually. The Potomac,” he added. He winced internally.
No shit.

“By the Memorials?”

“No. Farther upstream. It’s not too far, though. Shouldn’t be anyone there this time of night. Or morning, I guess.”

Shane was still frowning. “Why do you want to go to the river in the middle of the night?”

“The moon’s almost full, and there’s this cool little waterfall. It’s peaceful. I don’t know. I just want to go.” Rafa suddenly felt foolish with the picnic he’d carefully packed in his knapsack. He’d been planning for it all day as if he and Shane were going out on a date, and it was ridiculous. Irritation flashed through him. “I’m allowed to go where I want. I’m not a prisoner.”

Shane’s frown morphed into the placating half smile that the Secret Service must drill into its agents during training. “Of course you can go. Let me give them the heads up downstairs and put in a call to the Joint Ops Center at headquarters. They monitor all the protectees’ locations. We might want to enlist one of the uniforms to come with us.”

Rafa’s heart sank. “I don’t think we’ll need to. Seriously, there’ll be no one around. And no one’s even interested in me.”

“I’ll be back in a minute.”

Grumbling to himself, Rafa waited. If someone else came, it would…
What? Ruin your date that’s not a date?
Rafa should just abort. This was a terrible idea. They could go back up to the kitchen and eat the food there. It wasn’t even that fancy. He should have made something better than roast beef sandwiches, even if he’d made the garlic horseradish mayo himself and even borrowed a bread maker from Magda for the sour dough buns. They were still just sandwiches. Why had he ever—

As Shane reappeared, Rafa attempted a smile.

“Okay. I’ll drive you in the Suburban. Since it’s a pop-up at this hour, we should be fine without another agent. Just this once.”

Rafa knew that was what they called it when a protectee went on an unplanned excursion. “Great.” Rafa stuffed his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t fidget. “Cool. Thanks.”

The ride to the river was quiet and didn’t take long. Rafa directed Shane, who kept his eyes on the road and the mirrors, and his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel. Since he was the only agent, he didn’t wear the radio earpiece, but when they arrived at the falls, he called in immediately and had a terse conversation that lasted no more than ten seconds.

Then there was silence as they sat in the front seat of the Suburban. Rafa had been right—there didn’t seem to be a soul around for miles, and the little waterfall gleamed in the moonlight, the river flowing over the rock formations. Maybe they could go for a hike, but he supposed it would be too dark in the woods.

Shane cleared his throat. “So here it is. Do you want to get out?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Rafa’s palms were slick, and he tried to breathe steadily as he climbed out of the vehicle. This had been a dumb idea. What had he thought would happen? He’d take Shane to the river under the moon and…
what
? And
nothing.

Part of Rafa wanted to just tell Shane to take him back, but that would make him look even more foolish, so he grabbed his pack and left it on a rock before picking his way to the water’s edge.

“Careful.”

Rafa bit back a sigh of irritation. “I know. I’m not going to fall in or anything.” When he glanced behind, Shane was standing with his hands clasped in front of him, his head turning as he steadily surveyed their surroundings. Rafa sighed again. “There’s no one here. I’m sure it’s fine.”

Shane pressed his lips together into a thin line. “I still have to do my job.”

“No one wants to kidnap me. Trust me.”

Shane’s nostrils flared. “Why do you do that?” He turned to survey the trees beyond the Suburban.

“Do what?”

After a long moment, Shane answered, “Put yourself down.”

“I don’t.” Rafa bent and picked up a stone to toss into the river, which rushed by with a low hum.

His back still turned, Shane made a noise that might have been a snort.

Rafa wanted to ask Shane what was so great about him, but it was far too needy to say those words out loud. He tossed another rock. “Of the first kids, I’m just not the one people pay attention to. My sister’s always been a little wild. Christian is the hot one and Matthew’s the athletic one.” He shrugged. “I’m the other one.”

Shane was quiet for a few moments as he continued surveying the trees. “Maybe that’s the way you’ve wanted it. To stay hidden. But that doesn’t mean you’re not just as important.”

Rafa couldn’t help but smile and feel…well,
good.
“You’ll get along great with Ashleigh when she comes back. She says I don’t value myself enough.”

Shane’s back was still turned to Rafa and the river. “Sounds like an intelligent young woman.”

Rafa smiled. So Shane thought he should value himself more too? “Yeah. Ash is awesome. I’m really lucky.”

“You must miss her.”

“Of course, but she’s having an amazing time in Paris. She’s interning at
Vogue
. My dad pulled some strings. At first she didn’t want me to ask him, but I convinced her that people use their connections all the time.”