A/N — I'm sorry that I have been MIA. Life. 2022 is waaay too much like 2020 for my comfort. I am hoping to update my other stories soon. xoxo — tmtclb

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Keep Your Friends Close

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January 2013 — Norfolk, Virginia

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"You're here!" Emily squealed, throwing her arms around Kara and giving her a tight squeeze. "Thank goodness. Justin's friends have been arriving all afternoon and I was about to drown in a sea of testosterone."

Kara snorted, before returning the hug. "Says the woman who joined the Navy with the sole goal of meeting men."

Emily laughed, brushing blonde curls back from her face. Kara took the opportunity to drop her bag onto the floor of Emily's small condo. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for a man in uniform."

"Aren't you supposed to be getting married tomorrow?" Carlton asked from behind Kara.

Turning, Emily gave Carlton a quick hug before tugging him inside the condo and closing the door. "Now Burk, you know that I love Justin dearly. But there's no harm in checking out the competition."

Before Carlton could explain all of the reasons why that was wrong, Kara jumped in. "There's no point arguing with her. If Justin thinks that a wedding ring is going to stop Emily from flirting with everyone in sight, this marriage is over before it begins."

"Emily? Flirt? Perish the thought."

This time Kara was the one to laugh, turning to Emily's fiancé. Kara might currently believe that 99% of men sucked, but Justin — along with Carlton — was one of the exceptions. She crossed the room to give the man a hug. "You know, if I didn't like you so much, I would be pretty pissed that you are taking my cabinmate with you to Hawaii. You still owe me, by the way, for introducing the two of you." But instead of laughing, Justin's eyes rose, glancing over Kara's head, his eyebrows raising. Kara turned, focusing on Emily, frowning as her friend gave Kara a devious smile. "What?"

"Well," Emily began, the picture of innocence, "we thought that we would return the favor tomorrow. One of Justin's buddies RSVP'd last minute and..."

"No."

Emily pouted. "You didn't let me finish!"

Kara sighed. "I know you mean well, Em, but Eddie and I just broke up last month and I'm not ready..."

"Which is exactly why you need a date tomorrow," Emily interrupted. "So that Eddie and the tag chaser he's bringing..." Kara's sudden inhale must have given her away because Emily's voice softened. "I know you aren't ready to date for real. But Eddie's bringing this girl just to goad you ..."

Justin interrupted this time. "We don't know that, Em. Sure it's quick but Eddie might really like this woman."

"Fat chance of that," Carlton muttered, interjecting himself into the conversation. "Em's right, Kara. Eddie's pissed off that you dumped him and is trying to spin things to make it look like he broke things off."

Kara scoffed, rolling her eyes at Emily at the idea that Carlton might have something useful to say when it came to relationships, but Emily surprised her. "Burk might be an idiot about women but he's not wrong. I was hoping that Eddie just wouldn't come. I mean, obviously you were going to be here because you're my cabinmate so bowing out would have been the gentlemanly thing to do. But, instead, he's bringing this girl. It's like doubling down. All the guys are waiting to see what happens when you and the tag chaser run into each other. Which means that everyone is going to spend my wedding reception watching the two of you for the inevitable clash. On the other hand, if you show up with someone..."

Emily let that dangle and, despite knowing that she wasn't going to win this argument, Kara gave it one more try. "I will be showing up with someone. Carlton."

"Someone that you might actually have sex with," Emily clarified, ignoring Carlton's blustering protest from behind her. "Then it looks like you and Eddie both moved on. No drama at all."

"I'm not dragging some poor guy into the middle of this mess, even for you, Em," Kara said finally.

"Not a problem," Justin jumped in. "I already explained the situation and he's cool."

Kara frowned. "Did you say he just RSVP'd? And he can't find his own date? What's wrong with the guy? There has to be something if he's coming solo."

"Hey!" Carlton interjected, but everyone ignored him.

Justin shrugged. "Danny's a SEAL so his schedule is pretty erratic. He just got back to the States two days ago and he said that attending a wedding together is like a frog hog's wet dream so he was going to come stag but then I mentioned the situation with Eddie and ..."

Kara held up a hand. "Fine, I give. I will go to your wedding with this Danny. But this does not make us even, am I clear? Unless I end up marrying this guy, you two still owe me."

Emily grinned, the gleam in her eyes making Kara wonder what exactly she was missing. "Fine, but you're going to be thanking me in the morning."

xxxxx

One glance at Danny told Kara exactly why Emily was so gleeful.

Danny was hot.

Really, really hot.

Worst of all, Danny was exactly Kara's type. Tall, hunky, with just the perfect amount of stubble on his chin for a man who shaved roughly twelve hours earlier. And his hands! Kara found herself watching as he twisted a straw, absently moving it between his fingers.

Making Kara wish that, one, she didn't have a rule about no one night stands and, two, she wasn't at one of her best friend's weddings where her absence would definitely be noticed. Not that Danny had suggested sneaking off, or even hinted at expectations for how the evening would end. No, in fact, he had been a perfect gentleman from the moment he arrived at her hotel room to pick her up.

With flowers.

Emily might claim that she didn't want any drama at her wedding, but she was clearly full of shit. Eddie's mouth had actually dropped open when he saw Kara walking into the reception with Danny. Even more telling, as the alcohol started flowing, people began dropping by to congratulate Kara on upgrading.

The third time it happened, Kara decided that pretending Danny couldn't hear what was being said was pointless. "I'm sorry about all of that. Eddie and I used to date. We split about a month ago."

Danny lifted his beer, fiddling with it for a moment before he took a sip. "Justin might have mentioned that."

"Might have mentioned that?" Kara parroted, before breaking out laughing. "And the sky might be blue. How did he talk you into babysitting me, anyway?"

A grin split Danny's face and, for the briefest moment, Kara couldn't think. Holy guacamole, this guy could be a model. "Hanging out with the most beautiful woman in the room, other than the bride of course, is hardly a chore."

Kara lifted her own drink, a vodka that she had been nursing for the last two hours. "Smooth."

Again, Danny flashed her a grin. "I thought so."

Forcing herself to focus on the conversation — as opposed to jumping Danny where he sat, sprawled in his chair, foot across knee, hair just a touch too long — Kara pressed. "But you didn't answer the question."

Danny hesitated, then turned, face suddenly serious. "If I tell you this, you can't repeat it to anyone, even Emily."

Kara blinked at the sudden change in Danny's tone. "Okaaaay."

"You promise?" Danny asked, voice low, head bent towards her.

"Yes," Kara whispered, so close that she could smell his aftershave, along with something else. Something that made her, once again, wish that she was the kind of girl to throw caution to the wind.

Danny's lip curled. "You know that Eddie was at basic with us, right?" Kara nodded, familiar with the background of how Eddie, Justin and, apparently Danny, knew each other. "Well, Eddie and I never exactly saw eye-to-eye. In fact, you might say that we hated each other's guts. The guy is a prick. I hadn't seen him in years but when Justin said that Eddie was going to be here and asked me to do him a favor ..."

Leaning back, Kara stared at Danny, before bursting into laughter. "You saw an opportunity to piss off Eddie in a way that had you coming out smelling like a rose."

Shrugging, Danny sat up, amusement dancing in his eyes. "You can't deny that this has been fun. I won't believe you. And, as a bonus, now Justin owes me a favor."

Kara considered. She didn't think of herself as a vengeful person, but she did have to admit to a certain amount of satisfaction over the irritation that appeared on Eddie's face whenever he caught sight of Kara and Danny. She lifted her glass. "To flattening overinflated egos."

"Cheers."