Because it hit me like a sledgehammer. I was reading, and he came in before the mission, and all I could think was how that vest we wear in the field makes his body look hard. Tight black material with big slabs of velcro. Could he tell I was staring? I couldn’t help it.

But when we got back, and we were gearing down, he was looking at me. He may have said something, but all I could hear was velcro ripping.