Fraternizing (44 page)

For a second, I
thought he was serious, but he finally allowed a trace of playfulness to seep
into him, making me smile.

“I’m going to
miss the fuck out of you,” he said, moving into a more romantic zone.

“Me too. Hurry up
and get back so I can have you again.”

“That’s my plan.”
He used his teeth and skimmed my bottom lip, then kissed me hard. “You need to
lay low while I’m gone.”

“Why? I thought
I’d occupy your bed for the weekend. Hang with Riley and Natasha.” The look he
gave me didn’t seem like he picked up on my little joke.

“Not fucking funny,
Cassie.”

“It was a joke.”

“Keep it that
way. I wish I could pack your ass up and take you with me, but since I can’t,
you need to lay low and avoid confrontation. Your little friend, Dalton, he’s a
loyal one. Either that or well coached because he wouldn’t give up shit. And I
threatened to make his last few weeks here an absolute fucking nightmare.”

“There’s nothing
to tell, Alex.”

“Right. I know
you and Allen have had
words,
I just don’t know what
was said. It’s
all good
. I’m still digging.”

I sighed. It
didn’t seem like he was going to give up on this.

He took his
fingers and ran it over my lips and down my chest, stopping in between my
breasts.

“Where are the
dog tags?”

“Locked up in my
wall locker. I didn’t want anyone to see me with them.”

He nodded his
head. We lay silent for a few minutes, cuddled up against one another, staring
at the stars twinkling millions of miles away.

“Shouldn’t we be
getting our orders soon? What happens if we get separated?” I asked, breaking
the silence.

“We’ll figure it
out and make it work.”

“Is it really
that easy?”

“Yes. I haven’t
worked this hard to get you just to let you go a few weeks later. It’s not
ideal, but if we have to, I’ll fly out wherever you are once a month, and we’ll
take turns on holidays. But stop worrying about it. I don’t even want to think
about shit like that right now.”

The heaviness of
the reality that the Marine Corps could tear us apart in another way weighed
down on me, making me feel completely powerless. All of this time we had been
worried about our relationship being found out and the Corps destroying it,
when the real threat staring us in the face was the likelihood of me being sent
away and the distance making our relationship nearly impossible.

 
I tried to take his approach and mindset,
but the more I thought about it, the more the sadness of it all began to fill
me. I tried hard to push it out of my mind for the duration of our night. Alex
would be leaving for the next few days, and I wanted to enjoy the little bit of
time I had left with him before he had to do so.

Chapter 27

Alex

Stepping
onto the plane first thing in the morning, after only two hours or so of sleep,
had me craving the headrest. But I wouldn’t have traded my night for anything.

 
Cassie meant too much to me, and I knew
these next few days would
fucking
drag without her. I
made her picture my screensaver on my phone, her beautiful fucking face, those
pouty lips, and emerald green eyes looking seductively into my camera. No one
out in Florida would know who she was, so I could have her there, look at it,
and not have to hide it in case anyone took a peek.

On the other
hand, my mind wouldn’t rest with this bad feeling I had about Allen. No one was
really telling me much, but I did find out that she’d had an argument or something
with him. I wasn’t fucking stupid. There was more to it than that. The way she
froze in the classroom when he approached had me smelling blood. I was ready to
attack. The kid rubbed me wrong, and her demeanor solidified things for me. I
couldn’t wait to get him out and on his way, and hopefully that wouldn’t
include sending him wherever Cassie would be headed.

 
When I touched down in Florida, there was
a young Lance Corporal waiting there for me. He looked a hell of a lot like
Dalton, and as soon as I saw him, Cassie came popping back into my head.

“Welcome to
Florida, Sergeant.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you have any
bags we need to get?”

“No. I have my
bags with me.”

“Alright. Well, I
have the car parked over here.”

“Good to go.”

I placed my bags
into the back of the small SUV he was driving. Once I was seated in the car, I
pulled out my phone and texted Cassie.

Me: Made it. Still hungry… It’ll be days
before I am properly fed again.

Cassie: Glad you made it safely. You are
insatiable. Enjoy Florida.

Me: You aren’t here. But I’ll try.

When we reached
the base, I was led to my barracks room for the next few days. It had been such
a long time since I had lived in the barracks, and the cold cement brick walls,
painted over with gaudy white paint, made me remember exactly why I was so
thankful to have my own house, even in a shithole town like Twentynine. I
finished unloading all of my things when my phone started ringing. I answered
it without looking at the screen.

“Hello,” I
answered, fully expecting to hear Cassie’s sweet voice on the other end. Instead,
I got fucking Riley.

“Hey, man. Just
wanted to see if you’d made it. How’s Florida treating you?”

I sighed. “I’m
here, in a shitty ass barracks room. It’s humid as fuck. I’ll take that blazing
desert heat any day over this.”

“Sounds about
right. Well enjoy it. It’s always nice to get away for a change.”

“Yeah, I guess
so.”

There was a knock
on the door.

“Hey, man. Someone’s
at the door, I gotta go.”

I hung up the
phone then swung the door open. A tall guy stood before me, dressed in khaki
shorts, a polo shirt, and sandals.

“Sergeant Cruz,
I’m Staff Sergeant Bilkens. I’m here to show you around the base.”

“Nice to meet
you, Staff Sergeant. Let me grab my sunglasses, and I’ll be right out.”

 
The sun was just as deadly here as it was
back home. Coupled with humidity, it was downright miserable. He took me around
the base on a golf cart, pointing out the various buildings, the meeting room
where the presentation would be held, the chow hall and other recreational areas.
He said he and a few other guys would be heading to the driving range in a few,
and asked if I wanted to come along. I wasn’t much of a golfer, in fact, I was
downright terrible at it, but I went anyway, needing to stay busy and be
social.

When we got to
the range, I met two Navy guys, Petty Officer Mike Douglas, and Petty Officer
Aaron Miles. Miles was married, but said his weekends were his and his alone. He
reminded me a hell of a lot like myself before I’d met Cassie. I had his
mentality, but now that she was solidly planted in my life, I couldn’t imagine
wanting to be away from her.

Douglas was as
single as they came, and said he liked it that way. He said he was making a
career out of the Navy and wouldn’t marry while he was still active duty. Too
much cheating and whatnot when deployment comes around had him afraid of
settling down. His words struck true because that was exactly what I had gone
through with Evelyn. After her, I couldn’t imagine being exclusive with anyone
again, then that blonde hair, flowing down that sexy ass back of Cassie’s came
into view and my world changed. I was happy about it.

“So Cruz, there’s
this club we’re hitting up tonight. You coming?”

It was kind of
weird that Miles was the one asking.

“Yeah, sure. What
time?”

“Probably about
nine. We’ll swing by and get ya.”

“Sounds good.”

Bilkens took me
back to my room where I crashed down on the bed and took out my phone, finding
a missed call from Cassie. I immediately called her back.

“Hey,” she
answered, her voice soft and soothing.

“Hey. What are
you up to?”

“Just hanging
with Dalton. I’ve got nothing else to do.”

“Good. Stay away
from everyone else.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Cassie—“

“I know. I know. Anyway,
what are you doing?”

“Nothing. I just
got back from the driving range with some of the guys here. It’s humid as hell.
Makes me miss the desert.”

She laughed, the
sound like music to my ears.

“You only miss
the desert. Nothing else? You’re a tough one, Cruz.”

“We both know I
miss a hell of a lot more than just that piece of shit desert. But if I get
into that, my balls will be fucking purple by the time I get back to you.”

She laughed
again, seemingly enjoying my torment.

“Alright. Well,
you enjoy your humidity. It’s hot here as well, so we’re off to the pool.”

“The pool? “

“Yes, that big
rectangular thing filled with water.”

“I know what it
is. Tell Dalton to keep his fucking hands to himself and his eyes in his
goddamned head.”

She laughed
again, but I didn’t find the humor in it.

“I don’t really
think that’ll be an issue.”

“I’m not kidding,
Cassie.”

“Enjoy the rest
of your day. I’ll talk to you later.”

She hung up, and
I slowly began to hate this fucking temporary assignment. Dalton or not, I
hated the thought of her prancing around in a tiny bikini, and me not there to
keep the vultures away. I turned on the fan and
laid
down, falling asleep full of tension and irritation.

Standing outside
of Shake, the nightclub these guys chose to go to, I felt a little better after
my phone call with Cassie earlier in the day. The nightlife here was to be
envied. The small bars in Twentynine were in no way comparable to this place. The
line wrapped around the building to get in. Sharply dressed guys, and scantily
clad women, a booming sound system--there was nothing better. I scanned the
crowd, seeing that we’d be in line probably half of the night before we
actually got to go inside. Much to my surprise, Miles walked right up to the
bouncer at the door and handed him some money. They shook hands, and we were
waved in.

“How the fuck did
you make that happen?” I asked, curious to know why more people didn’t do it.

“That’s Big Pete.
I’ve been coming here for a while, so as long as I hand over cash, he lets me
in without having to wait in
these shitty ass line
. And
this place always has that line.”

I nodded my head,
following the guys in. A tall, very thin, Latin girl, dressed in a mini skirt
and bikini top greeted us, holding a serving tray. She was hot—that
couldn’t be denied—but the second she started talking, with her helium
filled fucking voice, I about shut down.

“
What’s up, boys
? I’m Jossie, any particular seating you
looking for?”

The dark walls
with neon signs plastered to them were filled with people. Some holding drinks
in their hands and chatting, others making out, some even looking like they
were two steps away from fucking. This wasn’t a classy establishment, but it
was popular, and I was beginning to see why. Anything went here.

“We’ll take the
usual, Jossie,” Miles answered, winking at her. I had no idea what the usual
was, but Jossie smiled and turned, all of us following right behind her. When
we finally stopped, we were in an enclosed area, cut off by a wine colored,
velvet curtain.

“Four beers,
please,” Belkins said. “Whatever is on
tap.
I’m paying
tonight.”

He reminded me a
lot of Jensen, only he wasn’t as uptight.

“So, Cruz. What
is it that you do?”

“I’m a radio
communications instructor at the Comm School in Twentynine Palms.”

“I went through Comm
School at that place. It’s a piece of shit. Florida is so much better. I hope
to never see the place again.”

I laughed. “Yeah,
it’s no fucking oasis like the signs say, but it’s home. And it isn’t so damn
humid. This humidity out here can kiss my ass.”

“I’m a Florida
boy,” Douglas threw in. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The waitress came
back out, bringing four pitchers of beer with her. My eyebrows scrunched.
I thought when Belkins ordered four beers
,
he meant four mugs
.

“Thanks,” he
said, stuffing money into the waistband of her tiny miniskirt. “Drink up, man. Plenty
more where that came from.”

Free beer would never be passed up by me
—ever. Before
long, I was sucking down the last of it just as Jossie was bringing out four
more pitchers.

“Are pitchers the
norm here? I thought she’d be bringing out mugs.”