480 Hours

9 | Man to Man

Staff Sergeant Hogan

The fragrant aroma of cheese and pizza sauce wafted around the kitchen with the breeze that blew through the windows Maggie had opened in an effort to air out my failed attempt at cooking. This was the first time the three of us had really hung out together since Maggie and I became, well, whatever we were and I felt weird about it. It was a strange feeling, a feeling I had not even thought about since I was a child in the presence of my abusive, deadbeat father.

I was nervous.

Or maybe I was anxious? Either way, I was dreading the talk I knew I needed to have with Liam in regards to the feelings I had for his sister. The sister I didn't even know existed until the morning of my flight to Georgia. I needed to be very strategic about how I told him that Maggie and I were involved. That was not a talk I was in any rush to have. However, the longer I waited, the angrier he would be when it all came to light.

We were all sitting together at the breakfast bar, shoving excessively hot pizza down our throats as the sun went down over the ocean in the distance. I had been with them for almost three weeks and had yet to see anyone sit at the actual dining room table. The Bailey's were either in the kitchen, in the living room, or out of the house. Whether it was intentional or not, both siblings seemed to avoid the remainder of the small beach house, minus their separate rooms of course. Duke on the other hand made use of every square inch of the house, as his dark hair could be found covering nearly every surface. "We should play cards or something. That's what people our age do when they hang out, right?" Liam started to choke slightly as he spoke with his mouth full.

It seemed we were all out of practice hanging out with people our own age. "You guys have fun with that, I have a conference meeting in ten minutes." Maggie smiled in my direction sweetly before looking to her brother who rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Fine, way to ruin all the fun, Mags. What kind of card games can be played with just two people?" I could tell Bailey was not actually annoyed at his sister. In fact, when he spoke, his voice was full of pride and admiration. Maggie had recently been contracted to redesign a logo for a relatively well-known company and although I did not know a lot about graphic design, by the way she had reacted I knew it was a big deal.

"I don't know, old maid?" So, once Maggie was gone, that is exactly what we did. Bailey and I got through three rounds of old maid before he asked if I wanted a beer.

We managed to get through another round of the childish game before I heard him clear his throat to speak. "So, when were you going to tell me you had a thing for my sister?"

Shit.

He spoke in such a monotone, matter of fact way that I had no way of knowing how to respond based off of his reaction. "Uhhh..." And that was it. That was all I could get to come out of my stupid, suddenly dry, mouth. I was an idiot, the biggest idiot on the planet.

Bailey was angry, really angry. "Well? Margaret isn't someone I ever wanted anyone from the unit to know about, let alone meet. She isn't an easy score, Landon. She isn't someone you can just sleep with and forget about. Maggie is not a girl you can get with for the sole purpose of going back to the boys to brag about it with. She is my sister and I swear to God if you hurt her...Landon, if you hurt her, I will kill you." I wanted to cut him off after his first statement, but I deserved to be berated. In fact, I deserved much more than that, because it was stupid of me not to tell him the moment I realized I had feelings for Maggie.

"You're right, she isn't any of those thin-" Bailey cut me off, clearly upset by my response, even if I had been agreeing with him. At this point, his face was visibly red and his voice was audibly shaking with anger.