Collide Into You: A Romantic Gender Swap Love Story (37 page)

“Don’t ever let me eat four hot dogs, okay? The results aren’t pretty.”

Keira laughs and hits me with the pillow. If she still loves me after bringing up
that
embarrassing moment, I’m golden.

Keira

I
N
THE
MORNING
,
AS
D
ILLAN
sleeps in—I informed him that LouAnn gave him the rest of the week off—I dress and head into work. Surprisingly, there isn’t much for me to fix over the last two days.
 

The general’s already off on another official trip, the secretary says a few jokes about the general’s coffee that I don’t quite understand and how my lips still look swollen. I’d say they’re swollen from kissing Dillan for about four hours total since last night, but I’m understanding the gist of the meaning to be that the general’s coffee is somehow responsible. I’m not about to disillusion her of this thought even though it makes zero sense.

I make it through the day by reading as many of the letters as possible and I skip ahead. The last letter breaks my heart, but now that I know the outcome, I’ll be happy to report to the general that there was no classified information passed in the letters.

During lunch, I see Justin and Aaron together, their heads close together as they discuss something only the two of them can hear, and I’m reminded of Jon and Tanner.
 

I write myself a note to call Tanner and to e-mail Jon later. Only they really know the details of their relationship, but if part of their argument was about me and Dillan, I feel like it’s only right to inform them of the new development.

Later in the day, Colonel Benson pulls me aside.

“I wanted to let you know that a full-time billet has opened up in the Army G2 staff. Lieutenant General Patricia Martin, the Army’s top intelligence officer, is interested in having you join her team when you’ve completed General MacWilliams’ investigation. Human resources command is cutting your orders this week. Luckily, you won’t have to move far, since the Army G2 is one floor above us. Congratulations, Sergeant.”

As the colonel moves away, I notice that Justin, Aaron, and Nebraska are within listening distance.

“You know what this means, right?” Nebraska asks.
 

I do a double take.
 

Nebraska has a black eye and his arm is in a sling. I look at Justin. He has a bruise on his jaw. Aaron, who I gather is more or less the sensible person in the group, looks normal. Gorgeous, yes. But normal.
 

I know that Justin is highly trusted by the Chief of Staff of the Army. So he and his friends must not be doing anything illegal. My mind goes to James Bond and spy stuff. Do
they
do that kind of stuff?

Do I know what this means?
“You get to ask me to Tuesday Night Trouble?” I ask.

“Man you’re good,” Nebraska says and hands a twenty-dollar bill to Aaron.

I laugh as we leave the suite. I spot someone riding one of those adult-size tricycles.
 

“Let me ask you guys a question.” Three sets of eyes look at me. “How do I get my hands on one of those?” I point at the receding figure.
 

Dillan will look utterly ridiculous riding a gigantic tricycle, but my love for him has opened up all sorts of ridiculous possibilities. Looking up at my friends, I seem to be in the right company.

Nebraska puts his heavy arm around my shoulders.
 

“I think that this calls for another bet with General MacWilliams,” he says cheerfully. Behind us, Justin and Aaron just groan.

Dillan

I
WAKE
UP
A
MAN
. I shower like a man. I finally get to take a dump like a man. It feels good being back in my body.

Keira wrote another note this morning. “P.S. I’m not moving out. Deal with it. Love Keira.” She could have written
eat shit, love, Keira
, and I probably would have been okay with it because it had
love, Keira
at the end.

I put Keira’s suitcases and duffle bag back in the guest bedroom even though I don’t actually plan to let her sleep in that room ever again.
 

But first, I have to put my room back together. Thank God we didn’t come in here last night. We would have broken our necks just trying to make it to the bed. I chuckle as I think about last night, our fumbling, our excitement. We had no idea going in that we’d swap back. Well, I think Keira hoped for it.

I was just happy being near her.

Later, I try to play
NFL Pro
, only to realize everything I’ve saved and built up over the last year was somehow lost. Odd. Oh well. I doubt I’ll have time to play video games anyway. I get a few texts from people at work congratulating me on LouAnn’s and my promotions.
 

Then, after lunch, LouAnn calls me and asks me what I’m going to spend my raise on.
 

“I’m taking Keira out for dinner,” I say, not thinking that the raise is anything significant.
 

“That must be some dinner, kiddo. I hope you’re not spending the fifty grand on a private jet to Paris for that dinner. As long as your happy ass is back to work on Monday, you can do whatever you want. Cheers.”

Fifty grand? There’s no way LouAnn would have just offered up fifty grand. I’m not sure how she did it, but I know that Keira is behind it somehow. I start dinner a few hours later, and when Keira comes home in her frumpy uniform with a scowl on her face, I don’t do what I did the first time she did that. I don’t hit her with the fridge door and I don’t offer her a beer.

I dry my hands on the dish towel, move to the door, and kiss the scowl off her face. If I had done that move a week ago, it’s possible none of this would have happened.

“I got put back on orders,” she says seriously.

That’s not good, right? I think being
put back on orders
means the Army’s moving her somewhere else.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “What does that mean?”
Dear heart: please start beating again.

“Well, for one, it means I’ll have to learn a new system of getting around the Pentagon. I’ll be working on the
third
floor, not the second floor. And two, I’m hoping it’s sort of, kind of, maybe okay that I live here with you. Unless you don’t want Jon’s bratty little sister hanging all over you.”

She begins to remove her clothing. “Sometimes in various stages of undress.” She backs me into the corner in the kitchen. “And being bossy.” She orders me to remove my clothing. “While eating all of your food.” She sneaks a piece of chicken from a plate on the counter.

“You little thief,” I say, smacking her on the rear. My God, she’s gorgeous naked.

“You can afford it,” she says, a smile tugging at her lips.

“Apparently,” I say. “Sergeant Brunette neglected to mention that I got a raise.”

“Well,” she says coyly, “the raise I’m going for today is the different kind.”

And when her hands unbutton my pants, she gets the raise she was looking for. I turn off the stove as she walks to the bedroom. She looks back.

What else can I say? I follow her.

Keira

D
ILLAN
STANDS
OVER
MY
SHOULDER
as I type out the e-mail addressed to Jon and Tanner. “You can’t begin it with the words,
Don’t have a heart attack, but…
” Dillan says.

I laugh. “What do you suggest, then?”

He kisses my neck—a total stalling move as he thinks of an answer—and finally says, “Write,
We understand now what all the fuss is about.
They’ll understand.”

I type it out and press
send
. “What is this fuss you speak of? I demand a demonstration.”

“Your wish is my command, Sergeant Brunette,” Dillan says with a gleam in his eyes as he hops onto the bed.

A wicked thought comes to mind. “Hold that thought,” I say, dodging his outstretched arms, and head to the bathroom. Opening my makeup satchel, I grab a tube of lipstick and write a note for Dillan on the mirror. It’s nothing elaborate, like what Stacey wrote, but something else. Last week, he asked me a question that I never answered. I refused to. In fact, we'd made a bet on it and I won, so I technically don't have to answer.

So, with my mauve lipstick, I write 0/0/4 on the mirror. It may take him a few minutes to remember the bet. And when he does, I know he’ll ask if
he’s
number four, or if four would have been how I answered
last week
.

Obviously, I couldn’t predict the future when we made that bet, but I’ll leave him guessing. Sure, I’ve lived in a man’s body, I’ve dodged an aggressive woman as she tried to seduce me, and my well-ordered life might have crashed around me, but a girl’s got to keep a little mystery in her relationship.

Sometimes, a girl needs a little disorder in her life. And, as I exit the bathroom and stare at the gorgeous man I’ve been in love with for the last nine years, I realize I got it. I got it in spades. 

Acknowledgements

Writing can be a solitary profession. However, I am surrounded by amazingly talented women who made this book shine. My editor, Susan Helene Gottfried, who happens to be a gifted writer in her own right
and
a rock-goddess, loves grammar and editing about as much as I
don’t
. Opposites and all that jazz. It is a relationship made in heaven and I am delighted that I get to work with her.

I’d also like to thank Gabrielle Prendergast, my cover artist. I mean: look at that gorgeous cover. And the totally cute couple on the front. I was a hair’s breadth away from finishing the manuscript when I contacted her, gave her the theme and my ideas, and she completely blew me away. Her design exceeded my expectations and I can’t wait to knock on her door when it’s time to design the next book in this series.
(Yes, there will be at least three stand-alone books in this series…maybe four.)

I would be remise if I didn’t acknowledge Dayle Dermatis. She’s a wickedly good proofreader (among other things) who understands widows and orphans and kerning and other bookish-things that make books Look Good. Trust me when I say that the print version of
Collide Into You
looks a helluva lot better because of her.

To my sister, Samantha H., who is my biggest cheerleader, beta reader, idea sounding board, friend, and my confidant. Thank you for encouraging me. To Mary and Becky, my initial beta readers, thanks for taking a chance on me. You’re my girls.

Finally, and most importantly, to my readers. Holy cow, thank you. Thank you beyond my wildest dreams. I ask that if you enjoyed
Collide Into You
, please tell a friend. Your mom, or sister, or neighbor, or daughter. I’ve made this ebook loanable, so feel free to loan it to them. Go onto
GoodReads
and/or
Amazon
and leave a review. Readers look to other readers for recommendations, and reviews help discoverability. I would be honored if you helped me spread the word about
Collide Into You
. Until the next book… happy reading!

About the Author

Kelly Washington is a former soldier who now writes in the military romance genre. Past lives include flutist, soldier, trainer, security assistant, intelligence analyst, and, for the last few years, a senior executive assistant. Kelly has worked for the Department of Defense for almost two decades. She finds that writing and playing the flute help relieve stress. She and her family call Washington, DC, home. Contact her anytime via
email
, her
website
, and she’d love you forever if you signed up for her
newsletter
to receive notices of upcoming releases, previews, and the occasional free short story.

Author's Note

Long before Keira and Dillan fell in love, Sergeant Justin Hauten and Lieutenant Aaron Parris fell in love. It wasn’t love at first sight and it didn’t begin easily. You see, crazy, zany, ridiculous things happen around Justin, his buddy Nebraska, and Justin’s love interest—Aaron. Turn the page for an excerpt for
FALLING FOR HIM: A M/M Military Love Story (The Complete Series)
.