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on the fringe of a threshold he couldn’t cross.
    He gripped the trim and closed his eyes. The beeping monitors and labored breathing overtaking Mom’s hospital room pressed in with the weight of Hernandez’s unanswered text. Would the decision to re-up or not even make a difference now? Was it too late? Maybe he should go back to Georgia early. Forget trying to make things right.
    A slow exhale leaned Evan into the doorway and into the truth he couldn’t run from. Between the remorse at seeing Mom like this and the war of being near Anna again, the consequences of his failures didn’t leave him a choice. He had a promise to keep.

Chapter Three
    Complicated
    The echo of dumbbells clanking into their racks ricocheted off the gym’s ceiling and raced straight for Evan’s temples. Working out all morning should’ve cleared his head by now. Instead, Anna’s sweet smile and infectious voice from last night hijacked his thoughts.
    His buddy Murphy looked up at him from the bench press. “Bro, I could say I just passed your record on reps, and you’d have no idea if I were lying.”
    Evan’s fingers tightened above the barbell. He was supposed to be spotting Murphy, not letting himself get lost in questions that didn’t matter, anyway. “Sorry, man. I’m not on my A game today.”
    “Girls will do that to you.” Murphy’s triceps shook while pressing the bar away from his chest. He was pushing himself to the limit, a soldier through and through.
    Evan spaced out his legs. “Nothing to do with girls. I hardly saw Marissa last night.”
    “Who said we were talking about the J Lo wannabe?”
    “Don’t call her that, man.”
    “Hey, I’m just keeping it real.”
    Evan fixed a glare on him.
    “Look, the girl’s fly. No question. But it only took me a few hours around her to see she’s a walking tabloid waiting to hit the stands.” Murphy clanked the bar into the notches and shook out his arms. “I don’t get why you’re with her.”
    He wasn’t with her. Well, not exactly. She labeled them as a couple, but a few dates didn’t count as a relationship to him. And quite frankly, whatever might’ve been there ended for him before it ever really started. But if he were honest, he’d admit he let her come along on this trip for a reason.
    A deep exhale rattled in his lungs. That wasn’t fair to Marissa. He needed to make it clear where they stood.
    Murphy sat up on the bench, snagged a hand towel from his bag, and wiped his sweaty face. “You need to ditch her, bro. Especially when you could be with Anna right now.”
    Biting back a comment, Evan rounded the bench and changed out the weights.
    “Aw, c’mon, O’Riley. This is the Anna, right? Why you acting all Bruce Wayne on me? I’ve seen your bat cave. Don’t try to tell me you’re not in love with her.”
    Evan banged the second weight into the first. “Ever wonder why you always got extra PT in Basic? It’s ‘cause you don’t know when to stop talking.”
    Murphy laughed. “Just so you know. Brooding isn’t helping your case.” He stretched an arm behind his head and pressed down on his elbow.
    If Murphy weren’t his boy, Evan would twist that thing right out of its socket. “There’s no being with Anna. She thinks of me as a brother. End of story.”
    Murphy pivoted around on the bench and jutted his chin at him. “You kept the girl’s picture in the barracks like a lifeline. Sorry, bro. The we’re-just-friends card ain’t gonna fly.”
    Evan craned his head back. Why didn’t he bring his headphones today?
    Murphy raised his palms. “A’ight. A’ight. If you’re not into her, then I guess it’s cool for me to take a shot. Dating a dancer would be pretty hot. Especially those private sessions.” His notorious Casanova grin expanded beneath his bobbing brows.
    Evan’s veins bulged on his forearms. “You know I’m a skilled marksman, right?”
    “That’s what I thought.” He pitched a brow at him. “You really think