First Class Hero (First Class Novels) (2 page)

“You mad?” Evelyn asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Evelyn was her roommate. Nic had tried to make ends meet on
her waitress salary but couldn’t do it. She could have moved out of the small
house she rented, but she’d been there for five years and couldn’t bear the
thought of having her home changed as well as her job. She needed
some
stability and continuity in her life. She had met Evelyn at work and while they
would never become great friends, as roommates they did just fine.

“There’s just no teaching jobs here. If I want to teach I’m
gonna have to go somewhere else.”

“Bummer,” Evelyn said as she left the kitchen, probably
going back to bed.

Nic sat at the table and drank her orange juice. She didn’t
want to move, especially to New York, but she was a good teacher and she knew
she had something to offer if she got the chance again. She needed to find a
job that she loved and being a waitress just wasn’t it.

She grabbed the job listings off the printer and read them
again. One was in Harlem at a public school and one was at a private Catholic
school in upper Manhattan. She had told herself that she would apply for any
job on the east coast and then just see if anything was offered to her. So, she
grabbed two large envelopes and began addressing them; one to Harlem and one to
Manhattan.

*****

Maureen Lathem sat at the table in the conference room
listening to Father Todd. They were discussing the faculty openings for the
following school year. Maureen had been on the school board for over ten years
now and even though her children no longer attended St. Luke’s she took her
appointment very seriously. She had been a teacher before her sons were born
and felt that she had something to contribute to the running of the school. She
sat quietly and listened as Father Todd explained that with the higher numbers
of kindergartners registered in the fall they would need to add an additional
class. Fortunately, there were fewer students in the upper grades so the extra space
needed would not be an issue.

“The budget isn’t the issue,” Father Todd continued. “We have
standards here at St. Luke’s that we will not compromise and the last time we
advertised for a new teacher, we got a couple right out of college that had
never taught before and the rest were not Catholic. Now before you interrupt
me, I know that we do not require our teachers to be of the same faith, BUT we
do require them to uphold our principles and values and respect our religious
beliefs. It is of the utmost importance.”

Maureen nodded in agreement and looked down at the packet in
front of her. The current applicants were not at all acceptable.

“I think we should hold out for another week to see if we
receive any new applications and then, if necessary, repost the positions.”

“I agree,” Maureen added. “We should not
settle
for
anything but the best for our children. My granddaughter will be attending St
Luke’s in a couple of years and I would not want a second-rate teacher for her.
So we need to make sure we get the best.”

The board was in agreement that they would reconvene in
another week if new applications were received. As they made their way out,
Father Todd stopped Maureen and thanked her for her support.

“Of course,” she smiled. “My granddaughter Ella will have
the best kindergarten teacher here. On that there is no further discussion.”

Paul joined Ed on base. He had spent some time at the Little
Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Norfolk, but it was many years ago. He enjoyed
watching Ed command his team as they went through drills and training. Ed’s
leadership hadn’t changed at all since Paul was on his team.

In the midafternoon, Paul left the base and walked along the
harbor. His mind had shifted from his job to the woman whom he’d met just a few
weeks ago while with his family on vacation. She really hadn’t wanted much to
do with him, so why his mind kept wandering to her he didn’t quite understand.

Nic was quiet, reserved, unreadable at times, and serious.
He had only seen her smile on a few occasions, but when she did, it lit up her
whole face. He was attracted to her. He felt drawn to her and the feeling was
obviously not mutual. He had all but asked her if he could see her again and
she had ignored him. It stung a little.

Paul knew he was attractive. He had great genes and he
looked just like his brothers, and they were all good looking men. You could
definitely tell they were brothers and came from their mother. All seven boys
had inherited her thick dark hair and big blue eyes. Their height came from
their father, Peter, although Paul was the tallest of all the boys at six foot
three. He was also the biggest, but that came from years of intense training.
None of the brothers would ever compete with him in a weightlifting
competition; Paul would kick their asses, no question.

He found a bench and sat looking out over the water and the
docked naval ships. Nic was the first woman who had piqued his interest in a
very long time. The last time he had felt this way he’d almost gotten married,
but Amy didn’t want to be married to a Seal. She’d wanted him to leave the Navy
and at the time, seven years ago, he couldn’t have imagined doing that so he had
chosen his career over her. In the end, he’d realized that despite the way it
had ended, it hadn’t really been about his job. They weren’t right for each
other and it had worked out for the best, for both of them. Amy had married a
doctor and was living the dream in San Diego. He had seen her a few times since
and they had been able to remain friendly. He was glad she was happy and the
last time he had seen her, she was pregnant with her second child. He was
actually a bit envious. Amy had asked him if there was anyone special in his
life, a question he didn’t like the answer to. Maybe that had been the catalyst
for his soul searching now.

With the exception of David, all Paul’s brothers had known
exactly what they wanted to do with their lives from the moment they had left
college, Paul included. All his brothers were happy and satisfied with their
choices, as Paul had been until recently. But none of his brothers were in the
military. His youngest brother, Tim, was a New York City Firefighter, and while
dangerous, wasn’t quite the same as being a Navy Seal.

After walking a little more, he pulled out his phone and
scrolled through his contact list. He found April’s name and pushed the ‘call’
button. She answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi April. This is Paul Lathem. My brother Tim met you on
the cruise we were on a couple of weeks ago.”

“Oh, hi. Yeah I remember you. You’re the Navy guy, right?”

“Yup, that’s me. Hey I was wondering if you could give me
Nic’s number. I’m in Norfolk for a few days and thought I’d give her a call.”

“Sure thing,” April replied.  “I’ll text it to you.”

“Great, thanks.”

“How do you have my number and not hers?”

“I got yours from Tim. Hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all,” April purred. “You know, if Nic isn’t
interested, give me a call.”

“Thanks, April. I’ll wait for your text.”

Paul hung up and shuddered. He certainly wasn’t interested
in April and if he didn’t have to see her again that would suit him just fine.

As promised, within just a couple of seconds, Nic’s phone
number appeared on his cell phone and he took a deep breath and called her. She
didn’t answer…it went to voice mail.

“Hi Nic. This is Paul Lathem. I met you on the cruise a
couple of weeks ago and I am in Norfolk visiting a good friend and wondered if
you would like to have coffee or something while I’m here. Give me a call. I’m
in town ‘til next Thursday. Bye.”

Paul put his phone in his pocket and walked back in the
direction he came. Now he waited.

*****

Nic stood in the bathroom and finished straightening her
hair. The better she looked, the better her tips were.

“May as well be pole dancing,” she muttered to her
reflection.

“Oh come on!” replied Evelyn. “You’re a waitress for
heaven’s sake. It’s an honorable profession. Not everyone has the opportunity
to be college educated, you know. This may be a low class job for you, but for
some of us it’s a decent way to make a living.”

“I’m sorry,” Nic replied, her contrition obvious. “I know it
is. I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”

“It’s okay,” grinned Evelyn. “Undo another button,” she
giggled as she opened up Nic’s shirt to show more cleavage. “It’s Friday!”

“Ugh!”

“Big boobs, big tips, and maybe a date or two,” Evelyn
clapped.

“No thanks,” Nic shook her head. “I need the tips but I
won’t be finding a date at Hank’s. Nothing but Navy men and I’m not dating one
of them!”

*****

Ed and Paul sat outside watching Ed’s two young girls dance
on the grass. Mariah was bringing dinner out to the patio table.

“Can I help?” Paul asked as she placed a big bowl of salad
down.

“Nah, I’m fine. Relax, you’re on vacation.” She wandered
back into the kitchen.

“The team is having a barbecue on Sunday. It’s a family
thing…kids and everything. You should come. Phil and Chris will be there,” Ed
stated.

“Yeah,” Paul nodded. “It would be great to see them.”

Mariah was back with the rest of the food and Ed called the
girls so they could eat dinner.

“This is nice,” Mariah smiled. “Just like old times.”

When Paul was on Ed’s team they were based in Coronado, and
when not deployed somewhere, many weekends would be spent at Ed and Mariah’s
apartment, grilling steaks and watching a ball game.
The good ol’ days,
he thought.

The girls chatted all the way through dinner. They reminded
him of his niece Ella. She was probably about the same age as Chloe. He smiled
as he listened to her rattle off incomprehensible words as she ate her beans.

“They’re a handful,” Mariah smiled at Paul, watching him
watch Chloe. “But very worth it.”

“Would you have had kids if Ed had remained active? Going
off on missions all the time?”

Mariah took a deep breath and Paul saw the look she gave Ed,
who smiled and nodded. She put her knife and fork down and wiped her mouth with
her napkin.

“We hadn’t planned to have kids while he was…well,” she
paused and looked at her daughters. “While it wasn’t always certain he would
make it home. But Ava wanted to come so things happen,” she shrugged.

“Are you talking about me?” Ava asked.

“We sure are pumpkin,” Ed grinned at his daughter.

Ava giggled and continued eating her hotdog.

“But when I found out we were going to have a baby it just
reinforced the idea to go to BUDS. It all worked out really well,” Ed added.

“And you don’t mind his deployments now with three kids?”
Paul asked, genuinely curious.

“I
know
he’s coming home now. That’s a
huge
difference; a game-changer for sure.”

They finished eating and Paul helped clean up the dishes
while Ed began the evening ritual of bathing the girls.

“Look,” Mariah said as Paul handed her a plate to put into
the dishwasher, “I get the feeling you are trying to make a decision here and I
don’t want to speak out of turn or anything…”

“Please speak,” Paul grinned. “Any advice you can offer is
welcomed.”

Mariah smiled and patted his arm. “Decide what’s most
important to you and then go for it. Everything else will fall into place.”

“I wish it was that easy,” Paul sighed.

“You’ll figure it out.”

*****

Nic listened to the message on her phone for a second time.
She was bewildered why Paul would call her. She had not encouraged him at all
when she’d met him on vacation. Of that she was sure. Yet, he wanted to see
her.

Paul was nice to look at. Nic would never be able to deny
that. And he was polite, a real gentlemen. But regardless of that he was in the
Navy and Nic had no desire to go there.

But he’d come all the way to Virginia. Just to see her? Nic
didn’t know. He had been nothing but kind so she couldn’t be rude. She called
him back.

“Hello?”

“Good morning Paul. It’s Nic.”

“Hi. I wasn’t sure you’d call.”

Nic grinned. “I wasn’t either. I was at work yesterday when
you called.”

“No problem,” Paul replied. “I was wondering if you’d like
to meet for coffee. This afternoon maybe?”

There was a pause. “Ok. Coffee would be fine, I suppose.”

“Where would be a good place?”

Nic told him of a café she liked and she set the time for
three o’clock. That way she would have an excuse to leave because she had to go
to work.

“See you then.” Paul hung up and smiled.

“Good news?” asked Mariah.

“I have a date.”

“Really?” she grinned. “Good for you.”

“We’ll see.”

*****

Nic walked into the small café and saw Paul immediately. He
stood the second she stepped inside the door. He was dressed in jeans and
button-up pale blue shirt with pink pinstripes. The sleeves were rolled up and
the top two buttons were undone at the collar. He wore flip-flops on his feet
and Nic could not deny he was probably the sexiest man she had ever seen. She
had thought that when she met him a few weeks earlier but under the
circumstances she would never have allowed herself to admit it. By the time she
met Paul her only goal was to make it through the rest of the cruise without
killing April, who had ruined what could have been a fun vacation. The trip of
a lifetime had turned into a trip from hell. All April had wanted to do was
pimp her out to the friends of the men she wanted to sleep with. She felt used
and abused by her college friend and Nic hadn’t spoken to her since they got
home. She doubted their friendship would survive.  

And now, here he stood, looking all manly and gorgeous and
her eyes were locked on him. He walked to her and smiled.