Trouble Triangle (Tyler's Trouble Trilogy) (4 page)

We sat next to each other at a table in the corner away from the clacking of the pool balls. After several rounds of drinks and some easy-going conversation, I decided to dig a little deeper and see if
she would be game for some fun.

"So, you got a boyfriend back home?" I asked.

"
Naw
. Long story. What about you? Any girlfriends?"

"No, I'm a free spirit. Besides, I haven't found that girl that makes me go weak at the knees yet." I tilted my head toward her. "Although, I've certainly found someone who makes me stand up in the right place." I nudged her.

"Why, Mr. Chambers, I do believe you're getting fresh with me. Or am I just drunk?"

"Probably both. You know what? I got some Jack Daniel's in my room. Why don't we go back, do some shots, and play strip poker." I jiggled my eyebrows.

"I can trust you, right?" She placed her fingertip between her teeth and bit down.

I nodded with a big grin.
Trust me to perform to satisfaction? Absolutely.
Anticipation surged through my body.

She turned serious. "I didn't mean to lead you on. You've been
hittin
' on me since you arrived. I like you, Tyler, and I like flirting back." She leaned in and whispered. "But I don't really go out with men, if you know what I mean."

I rubbed my chin. "Oh…Catholic, huh? You just spending some time in the Navy before you go off to the convent?"

She smiled and leaned in closer. Her lilac perfume tickled my nose. Her lips brushed against my ear as she softly whispered. "Let's just say, I probably get as much pussy as you do." She leaned back, grinning, searching my face for a reaction.

My jaw dropped. She placed her finger under my chin and gently pushed it back up.

"Oh…I see." I grabbed a cigarette and lit it, followed by a slug of beer. "So, you like women in the same way I do, huh?"

Her smile broadened. "Since you put it like that, I suppose I do. Nothing personal, I just think men are jerks." She lowered her voice and slurred slightly. "I got drunk one night with a girlfriend of mine. We did…well, you know, intimate things. We carried on seeing each other for a while after that. I never considered myself gay or even thought about it until I did it with
another girl." She put her finger to her lips. "
Shh
…. Don't tell anyone. I don't want to get kicked out."

I nodded affirming my secrecy. "So it wasn't like you saw the head cheerleader naked in the shower at school and got the equivalent of a female boner or anything?"

Debbie giggled. "No, nothing like that. I guess I was a late bloomer."

I puffed on my cigarette. "So…you and me
ain't
gonna
happen then?"

"Not likely."

I play punched her jaw. "Ah, what the hell. You're too good a friend to drop just because you won't put out."

She smiled and slapped my shoulder.

"You know what?" I raised my beer. "If I were a woman, I'd probably be a lesbian too. Cheers."

We clinked glasses and carried on drinking.

#

My head throbbed the next morning as Mark and I got dressed for work. I made a mental note to myself to take it easy on the booze on workdays in the future. I sat polishing my boots before heading out to work.

"I know you were drunk last night, but do you remember what you said?" Mark asked.

"No, not really. It's all pretty hazy after I left Dolphin's." I spit on the boot and brushed some more.

"You said Debbie told you she's gay."

I stopped brushing. "Shit. I didn't, did I?"

"Relax." He fanned his hand at me. "I'm not
gonna
tell anyone. I like Debbie."

"Swear."

"Swear. So, how you getting on with the Petty Officer Knight situation?" he asked. "You only got a couple of days left, you know?"

"I know, but I've been spending a lot of time with Debbie." I put my shoe shine kit away and put my boots on. "Anyway, it won't take much of the charm offensive to get Holly wrapped around my finger. I can tell she really likes me, I've just been playing it cool.”

"Yeah, right. Maybe you should ask Debbie how she would ask Holly out. I'm sure she'd give you some pointers." He chuckled. "I'm telling you, sunshine, you set the bar a little too high for yourself on this one."

Mark may have been right. Whenever our paths did cross, I did my best to soften Holly up for the killer date line, but she kept blowing me out of the water like she was some kind of princess and I was a frog with some incurable venereal disease.

#

I glanced at the calendar and frowned. One more day and I'd owe Mark fifty bucks. "Okay," I mumbled to myself, "It's today or else." I went to make one final attempt. Not only could I not afford to give Mark fifty bucks, but he'd never let me live it down if I couldn't get a date with Holly after all of my previous talk. If it wasn't for the money, I would have given up on Holly and kept the pressure on Debbie, even though the chances of screwing a lesbian may have been slim. But if I could get a date with Holly, she certainly would be the ultimate trophy orgasm.

I left the room and walked to Holly's office, mentally rehearsing what I would say. I walked up the outdoor stairs and nervously opened the door. She sat typing as I entered her office.

I walked over to her desk. "Hi, Petty Officer Knight. I just came over to get the Cost of Living Allowance forms. I'm
gonna
move off base, so I need to make sure I get the pay adjustment."

She got up and walked over to a filing cabinet. She returned to her desk, stamped the form with dates and handed it to me. "Here's the COLA form. Bring it back to me once you've filled it out."

"Umm…Holly. Do you mind if I call you Holly?"

She glowered at me. "Yes, I do, as it happens."

"Have it your way." I placed my hands behind my back hoping she'd read my body language as a show of openness. In reality, it hid my crossed fingers. "Petty Officer Knight, I have two tickets to the Pat
Benatar
concert Friday night. Would you like to come with me?"

"You mean, like a date?" She put her hands on her hips. "And how did you get tickets?"

I smiled and shrugged.

"I've been trying for months to get tickets for her gig." She shook her head. "No. Forget it. I thought I made it clear I'm not interested."

"And I just wanted to make it clear that I am. Holly, just give me a chance. One date, and if you think I'm a jerk after that, blow me off and I'll never bother you again. Promise." I raised my hand hoping she'd believe me if I gave her a Boy Scout salute. "In the meantime, you get dinner and get to see a concert that's impossible to get tickets for.
Whatta
ya
say?"

Holly rolled her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Her head dropped and she momentarily looked at the floor. "Well, I do love Pat
Benatar
," she said quietly. She snapped her head up and held up her index finger. "Okay, Chambers, one date. But if you bug me after that, so help me God I’ll put you on report for sexual harassment." She tried to look angry, but any furrowing her eyebrows did was softened by those big brown eyes. Her voice went soft. "Pat
Benatar
is my favorite. You're lucky the concert is sold out or I wouldn't even consider this." She poked my chest and her tone turned harsh. "And if I were you, I wouldn't be expecting anything other than dinner and the concert. So get any thoughts of groping me or a goodnight kiss out of your head. Understand?"

I smiled.
Bingo.
"Cool. What time should I pick you up?"

"I'll drive. I'll pick you up at your barracks at 1830."

"Six-thirty it is. See you tomorrow night."

I returned to the dorm triumphantly and bounded in to find Mark lying on his bed reading a Louis
L'Amour
book.

"Uh, huh. I'll take that fifty bucks now." I rubbed my hands together. "I'll need it to take Holly out to dinner."
             
Mark bolted upright. "You didn't. You got a date with her?"

"Of course I did." I brushed my knuckles against my chest. She insisted that it be a non-fucking date, but she hasn't had the Chamber's charm yet. She'll be begging for it before the night's over."

Mark fished in his back pocket for his wallet. "I thought the Navy had sight tests, but obviously not. Holly must be blind." He handed me the money.

"Let's hope so." I ran my hands over my chest. "My whole body can be read in Braille." I took the money and blew him an air kiss. "I'm going to see Debbie.
Laters
."

I walked over to the women's barracks and knocked on Debbie's door. She answered wearing a Betty
Boop
t-shirt and boy shorts. She nodded for me to come in and shut the door behind me. I sat at the table and waited for her to join me. She sat down and placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her palms and looked at me with those swimmingly deep blue eyes.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "I got a date with Holly."

"Knight?" she shrieked.

I nodded, but suppressed my beam of joy so not too appear too boastful. "Yeah."

"Tyler, I told you to stay away from her. She's trouble. You don't want anything to do with her."

"I wouldn't have asked her if you were putting out." I gave her a wink and patted her knee.

She shook her head and looked down at the table. "Look, you know I told you that I had a thing with a girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

She lifted her head so her eyes met mine. "It was with Holly."

"What? No way. You mean she's gay?" I flicked a cigarette from the pack and lit up. Great. I was s
triking out all the way around.

"I don't think she's hardcore lesbian. Probably more bi. Maybe even straight, but just tried experimenting. I don't know. I really fell for her. She was my first woman, and I fell in love with her. I thought she felt the same way. We were together for about four months. In the end, she dumped me, and she got nasty about it."

Holy crap. Trust me to pick all the gay ones. No wonder she braced me for a non-sexual encounter. But Debbie did say 'Maybe even straight'. Heck, even bi would do.

#

I paced the sidewalk outside the barracks, smoking a cigarette and waiting for Holly. I had recurring twinges in my belly and groin sensing the date could go either way. A great success or a tota
l flop. I hoped for the former.

A red, 1965 Ford Mustang pulled up outside the barracks. What a classic. Holly motioned for me to come over and I got in. She dressed casually in jeans and a buttoned up blue and white New York Yankees baseball jersey. The baggy shirt didn't offer any outline of the perfe
ct softballs hiding underneath.

"So, this is our big date," I said.

"Like, I guess so. Probably bigger for you than me. But, I must admit, I have been looking forward to it. I am so into Pat
Benatar
. I still don't know how you got tickets."

I casually shrugged. "Can I just say how nice your hair looks?"

She looked in the mirror and fiddled with her fringe. "Thanks. I thought I'd try something different."

"It's perfect. Hope you like Italian. I asked around and heard good things about Alfredo's down in Waikiki, so I booked a table. Ever been there?"

"No, I haven't, but I love Italian. Wow, you really put some effort into this. I figured you'd just take me to some crappy hamburger joint."

"Are you
kiddin
'?" I extended my open hand toward her. "A stunning woman like you? I can tell you're used to the finer things in life. And I sense you're pretty special. I only got one shot at this, so I have to do my best."

"I bet you've been charming the girls since, like, puberty." She put her finger on her bottom lip and pulled it down.

I looked down and squeezed my shoulders in. "
Naw
, I'm pretty shy, really. It's just that my dad always taught me to be respectful of women." Throwing my shoulders back and sitting upright, I said, "I really hope I get to serve under a woman President one day."

"So, you're going to be in for like a hundred years?"

"No, they say Mondale is going to run with that Ferraro woman in '84. If he gets in, then gets popped, we got a woman Commander-in-Chief. I'd be proud."

"Why, Tyler Chambers. You do surprise me.  So you don't class yourself as a sexist pig then?" She smiled.

"No way." I feign
ed disdain. "I detest sexists."

She reached over and patted my hand. "We might get along after all." She fluttered her eyelashes which sent flutters through my stomach and straight to my crotch.

"I hope so." I knew I could break her down. Good looking and gullible. Figuratively speaking, I had her licked. Now if I could only make it become literal.