4

Josh

“It’s great to see you again, Josh. You look much better than the last time I saw you.” Kane, my very good friend from the Navy says, looking pleased.

It’s been over three years since I last saw him, after an injury to my knee forced me into an early separation from the Navy. The saddest time of my life so far, but I’m glad to say I’ve come leaps and bounds since then. It was difficult at first, no family, no friends, no job–nothing and no one to fall back on. It’s all in the past now. Everything’s finally looking up again and I guess it shows.

“The last time you saw me, I had my leg wrapped in a cast and I looked like shit.”

He smiles. “I always did tell you your penchant for self sabotage would be your undoing.”

I snort before responding. “You say a lot of things. Come on, have a seat.”

He keeps looking around and I can tell he’s quite surprised at how exquisite my place looks. The penthouse has its own private patio just beyond the glass walls that gives a near perfect view of the city below. The furniture is modern minimalist, black leather seats, white walls, chrome lighting fixtures—all done to perfection. A mini bar resides against the wall next to the fireplace and some of my most prized paintings adorn the walls. Perfection in every way.

“This place is lovely, Josh. How were you…” He pauses, seemingly unable to finish his sentence. He shakes himself out of it, “How did you afford such a place?”

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I take a seat across him, pouring us both a glass of wine. “What can I say? I got lucky?”

He cocks a brow. “You call all of this luck?” He gestures to the lavish penthouse we are sitting in. I shrug noncommittally as I sip my drink. “Of course.”

“You’re not serious.”

I laugh, taking another sip. “Yes, I am. Two years ago, one of my paintings got auctioned at an art exhibition in Switzerland to some bigwig withexquisitetaste. He loved it and bought three more. Then he told his friends about me. I became a very rich man that month, and every month after that…and the rest is history.”

His expression shifts into something resembling surprise. “That’s incredible, Josh. Congratulations!”

I raise my glass. “Thank you. Here’s to more good fortune coming our way.”

“To good fortune!” He echoes enthusiastically before downing the contents of his glass.

Seeing him again now after a long while reminds me of how much I’ve missed his company. Eight years in the Navy, and I can say my biggest accomplishment was his friendship, and that’s without mincing words. He became the sibling I never had, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

“Talking about the Navy.” He starts, wiping off his upper lip. “Heard from Beth of late?”

Beth is the only girl I’ve ever had any sort of emotional connection with. Sometimes I wondered why she chose a life in the Navy, when she could have been living the life as a model or something. She had killer looks and a body that most women could only dream of. It was all fun and games until I was medically discharged, and we sort of lost contact.

“Nah,” I reply, pushing away thoughts of her. “We stopped talking not too long after I left. I heard she’s married with kids now. But it doesn’t really matter anyway. Plus, you know me. I’m not like you.”

He chuckles. “What do you mean you’re not like me?”

I raise my hands in surrender, laughing along with him. “I’m not the faithful type and I don’t think I can ever be.”

Kane’s deep baritone laugh echoes off the walls. “True until you find the right person.”

A longshot to be honest because people like me were not made for love and commitment. I mean, I love it for people but I would rather steer clear, for obvious reasons. One of which is that there’s so many beautiful ladies out there that it sucks to stop at one. I want them…I want them all. Speaking of which.

I nod in agreement. “Maybe but don’t bet on it. Until then. But for now, how about we head to the club. All that time off shore must have made you cold and stiff. Pretty sure you could do with some booze and a little distraction. Like the good ol’ days.”

The club might be the wrong place to find love but we did always have the best times.

Kane drops his empty glass onto the coaster on the table. “I think I’ll sit this one out.”

I frown and lean forward slightly. “Come on man. Don’t be such a buzz kill.” I snort, shaking my head. “You sound so much like McCoy now.”

Back in our crew, we were the hotshots, the ones everyone wanted to get to know. And there were those who were our polar opposites. McCoy was one of them. He used to be an absolute pain in my ass, constantly telling me I needed to work hard and prove myself as a Naval officer and how we needed to stop drinking and clubbing if we wanted to live long. Then there were his bad jokes. Terrible actually. Jokes that should never see the light of day but he made a habit of telling them. That kind of bullshit.

Kane’s mouth quirks into a grin, “My apologies. But I’ll pass this time.”

Knowing Kane, trying to talk him into changing his mind is pointless. He’s too stubborn. So instead, I nod in acceptance. “Okay. I can respect that. I guess I’ll have fun for both of us then.”

“Sure.”

He stands up and I join him, grabbing our coats. “I’ll see you around. I’ll be taking my leave now. I’ve got a few things to settle.”

I smile. “Sounds good, man. Call if you need anything.” He nods and heads for the door, pausing to give my shoulder a light squeeze. His hand is warm even through my jacket and sends warmth throughout my entire body.

It’s a comforting sensation and I welcome it with open arms. We part ways and I head to the elevator for the ride to the ground floor where I exit and walk towards my car. It’s my first night out partying again after several months, and I’m gonna enjoy every second of it.