4.
"You're going on leave? For how long?" Ryan questioned him, firing at him those cute puppy eyes with glint sharp glances.
"Hey, hey, I'm coming back," Mouse explained. He turned and grabbed the guy by the back of his neck. "What's wrong? You're like a dog humping his master's leg."
Ryan blushed but didn't deny. Mouse had almost finished packing his bag. He didn't need much; he expected to be naked most of the time.
"You're my friend," Ryan blurted out.
Mouse snickered, looked around to check if there weren't any eavesdroppers around and kissed Ryan quickly on the lips. "And I'll be back. Suck Jordan's cock if you feel lonely."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "That guy's an asshole. He behaves like he didn't come in my mouth like last week."
"Wait until he gets horny again. Then grab him by the balls."
Ryan made a face. "Like I'm getting anywhere near that ugly dick of his again."
Mouse had a few ideas about Ryan's dislike of Jordan and Jordan's behavior, but he decided to sit back and enjoy the show. No way was he going to push those two toward another, or else they'd just find reasons to say that they really didn't want it.
"Good. Don't go suck other dicks, though. I told you."
"Yeah, yeah," Ryan said quickly. "I know. You don't have to say it again. And it's not like I like just any dick. I like yours."
"Alright, don't turn all mushy on me." Mouse ruffled Ryan's hair. "You know honeymoons today are like a week or something, right? I'll be back so soon you wouldn't even know I was gone."
Ryan nodded. "Go fuck your boyfriend, then. Your married boyfriend." He snickered, the little fucker.
Mouse pretended to be pissed by feigning a frown and twisted Ryan's ear. "Asshole," he said with affection.
He walked out of the barracks with the intention to say goodbye to just one more person. The captain took a full half a minute to invite him to come in. Mouse insisted only because he heard noise from inside.
The captain had various papers spread on his desk and seemed lost in thought. Mouse was about to throw a couple of words in and then leave, but then he noticed something thrown on top of the papers in what looked like a careless manner. He immediately looked at Reynolds' left hand. The fuck?
"Captain, I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving," he said.
Reynolds nodded and threw him a bloodshot look. "Very well, Ahab. Have a nice trip."
Mouse hesitated. "Something wrong?"
"Just paperwork," Reynolds pointed at the papers. "Anything else?"
Mouse eyed the wedding ring and allowed Reynolds to notice where he was looking, but he remained silent. "No, sir. Thank you for granting me this leave."
"You deserve it, soldier." Reynolds offered him a tired smile.
Mouse saluted and walked out of the captain's office. What was that all about? Was the captain getting a divorce? That was something he'd need to find out when he got back. Now he had a honeymoon to enjoy with Kekko and Karl.
***
He plopped himself down on the sand by Karl's side. "Hey," he said.
Karl said nothing. He was grabbing fistfuls of sand and throwing them toward the water, watching blankly how the wave washed it away. Mouse felt at odds, seeing Karl like that. He knew him to be a mean, jealous fucker, but, so far, this honeymoon had proven to be different from what he had imagined. He had hoped for some moments with Kekko, at bit of fucking around, when Karl allowed it, not this full-fledged threesome buffet that had happened so far.
Mouse could only assume that Karl was pissed because as much as he wanted not to act jealous, he still was.
"Look, man, if you don't want me near Francesco so much--" he started.
"That's not it," Karl cut him shortly. "I'm used to you."
Mouse moved closer until their shoulders touched. He risked his next move and cupped Karl's cheek to make their eyes met. "Okay. You even kissed me. Go figure. What crawled out of your ass?"
Karl snorted but didn't shake off his touch. That was a good sign. "I kinda get it," he said, making the words topple like rocks out of his mouth. Karl did that, sometimes. Mouse had learned to read the guy, but right now, he had no idea what went through that head.
Karl was handsome. Not attractive in the sense Francesco was. No, as much as he still looked like a teenage heartthrob when he let his face relax, which happened rarely, he was intimidating. Not that Mouse was the kind to let himself intimidated that easily. With Karl, it was better, always, to keep his ground.
"Get what?" he asked.
"What Cesco sees in you. You're a slut, but you're loyal."
"Geez, thanks," Mouse threw at Karl.
"My dad forced my hand with this marriage thing," Karl explained. He was looking intently at Mouse, as if he was expecting something.
"And you have no idea why," Mouse added what Karl wasn't saying.
"The official version is that he had seen the gay light or something. For the sake of his campaign."
"But you don't buy it," Mouse said again.
Karl's shoulders tensed more. "I don't," he said through his teeth. "That fucker always has something to hide. It fucking kills me that I don't know what."
Mouse sighed in sympathy. "I feel you, man. I'd be edgy as fuck if that happened to me. Only that I don't have a dad who's a big shot senator. Lucky me."
Karl laughed, to his relief. Mouse took him by the shoulders. "Look, man, I know it's not much, but you can count on me, hell or high water."
"Yeah, I know. As I told you, you're loyal."
"By the way, thanks for inviting me. It feels like a real honeymoon. I was missing the both of you like crazy."