Fort Lenordwood, Missouri was hot as hell in the spring, and even hotter in the summer which happened to be the time that Jensen Ackles arrived for basic training (8 page)

Private No-Name blinked and shook his head. His eyes widened and Ryan felt like giggling. His Drill Sergeant hadn't even warmed up yet.

“Freckles, wanna tell me?”

Ryan could either tell him or not. It was a no-win situation. On one hand he could stick with the Drill Sergeant and tell him what the soldier was talking about or he could lie.

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“Let me guess. No-name here wanted to talk smack about the Drills?” Grabowski said knowingly. “Hear that I'm a crazy fuck, No-Name?”

Ryan let out a breath of air. Grabowski didn't make him answer the question.

“Yes, Drill Sergeant Ga..Gask..”

“For fucks sake! Freckles, No Name sounds just like you did.” Phillip exclaimed. “ Grabow-ski. Say it with me, No-name.” He repeated his name and the Private said it with him.

“Fucking recruiters, they send the dumbest fucks they can find here,” he groused.

“Drill Sergeant Grabowski, after all he
is
from Delta Company,” Ryan said and froze in shock that he’d opened his mouth without being asked to.

Phillip burst into laughter. “That he is, Freckles. Only fucking morons get sent to Delta Company. Are you a fucking moron, No-name?”

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The private flushed and didn't answer.

“Come on, No-Name. What's the answer?”

Ryan figured this was one of those no correct answer things.

“No, Drill Sergeant Grabowski! We are not morons!” The private finally answered.

“Then you think Charlie Company are fucking morons?”

Ryan had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. It was a Catch-22 when answering these sorts of questions with Drill Sergeant Grabowski. Nothing that was said was ever correct.

“No, Drill Sergeant Grabowski.”

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“Your Drill Sergeants got a fucking wiener when you arrived, didn't they, Private?”

Phillip blew out a disgusted breath. He turned so he was only facing Ryan and the other private couldn't see his face. He winked once and then threw up his arms. “Fuck it! Finish this shit up.”

He stormed off.

Ryan looked at the bewildered soldier. “Yeah, he's crazy but he's ours.”

They finished the potatoes, and were all sitting around bullshitting. Grabowski was actually pretty laid back on KP. Ryan kept sneaking looks at him when he could. It was a damn shame that he was crazy as fuck. He really was an extremely beautiful man.

“Has anyone asked you about Grabowski?” Patrick asked.

“Are you crazy? Everyone is asking if he's insane. He nearly had that Matt guy in tears.”

Patrick snorted. “Does it piss you off when people talk shit about him?”

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For Ryan this was a loaded question. He looked at Patrick and thought about it. It did piss him off. Not because he had a big ol' crush on the man but because no matter what he was THEIRS. “Yeah, I guess it does. It's like he's ours to……defend.”

Patrick nodded. “I just about decked that guy over there. He called him a fucker.” He hissed. Ryan got slightly angry too. Maybe he and Patrick were both going insane.

“We get to call him a crazy fucker, not anyone else.” Ryan growled.

“Exactly!” Patrick agreed. They both looked disgruntled when they were told to get up and serve the incoming soldiers.

Ryan marveled at the ‘Us versus Them’ mentality they were both supporting.

***

There was a difference in Grabowski during KP. He watched over Ryan and Patrick like a father would. Patrick had nearly gotten into a fight with a guy who was fucking around.

Grabowski appeared out of nowhere and stopped it.

Ryan was damn near ready to stab No-Name with his peeler if the young private didn't shut up. Grabowski would come and interrupt them just to stop No-Name's rambling.

“Drill Sergeant Grabowski, may I use the latrine?” Ryan asked just to get away from the still-jabbering Private.

Phillip waved him off.

Ryan strolled into the bathroom, thankful that he was away from that stupid asshole who still thought he had the right to trash talk Grabowski. He had barely been in the bathroom for a minute when the door opened.

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“Freckles,” the Drill Sergeant said.

Ryan decided that being yelled at was a vast improvement over holding his dick when the Drill talked to him. He looked up and he recognized the look in Grabowski's eyes. God, that was fucking hot as hell. His hazel eyes were full of smoky, unspoken promises. Ryan had no doubt fucking Grabowski would be an experience of a lifetime.

It took him a moment to realize that Phillip had entered the Soldiers’ bathroom. Of course, as a Drill he had the right to go anywhere he wanted. “Drill Sergeant Grabowski,” Ryan answered.

He finished and moved to wash his hands. Their bodies brushed lightly and Ryan thought for sure he heard Grabowski groan.

“Sorry, Drill Sergeant!” Ryan said and beat a hasty retreat.

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On his way out he heard a breathy whisper.

“Me too.”

***

Basic was flying by. Ryan couldn't believe that they had already been there six weeks.

The past two weeks had gone by in a blur. They were currently sitting around watching the Drills show them different maneuvers during the hand-to-hand phase of their training.

Once at the training area they were told to take everything off their uniform, empty all of their pockets and take off their belts. Ryan was slightly worried over that. His uniform wasn't as tight as it used to be; without the belt he was worried that it would fall off completely.

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If Ryan heard Phillip mention 'mounting' one more time, he was fairly certain he would fucking kill something, probably Patrick who was his battle buddy and his practice dummy. The word itself was funny to fifty percent of their class. But for Ryan it was funny in a whole number of ways, because he could really see how mounting would be a whole helluva lot of fun with his Drill.

Patrick punched him in the shoulder. “Dude, he's been calling your name for like ten minutes!” He hissed.

Ryan looked up and blushed.

“Freckles, come on. You're the honorary dummy,” Phillip drawled.

“Yes, Drill Sergeant!” He popped up and hoped his hard-on wasn't noticeable.

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Phillip leaned in and smirked. “Don't think this means we're dating, Freckles.”

Ryan blinked but wisely didn't say a word.

“Now this is your chance, Freckles. You get one freebie. If you hit me, you're golden,”

Grabowski said, and that fucking smirk was pasted on his face. “If you don't, well, you're in a world of hurt.”

A freebie? Seriously? He glanced around and knew that everyone was thinking the same thing. If he managed to
hit
Grabowski, would he be killed right away or would he take his time and savor Ryan's blood as it hit the ground?

Drill Sergeants Connelly and King looked on half amused.

“For fucks sake, Freckles, what are you fucking waiting for? Should I send out engraved invitations?” Phillip tormented him.

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That was it. Ryan moved quicker than he thought he could and made it to the other man just in time to see the sky and sun beat down on his face, a position that should have been physically impossible since he was standing on his feet. A sudden flip and he had a face full of wood chips and a heavy knee in his back.

“Now, does anyone know where Freckles fucked up?”

Ryan knew where he fucked up. He fucked up when he decided to join the Army and got assigned to Drill Sergeant fucking Grabowski.

After Phillip went through all of the things Ryan did wrong he stood up and settled with his back on the ground.

Ryan rose slowly and stretched out his back. That kinda fucking hurt. But the picture Grabowski made caused Ryan's mouth to drool. The man was put together better than most 134

gods and Ryan wasn't stupid enough to deny that fact. He had just gotten himself under control when he heard Grabowski speak.

“Alright Freckles, mount me.” Again with that stupid, freaking smirk.

Ryan blinked, then blinked again. He couldn't believe he heard that. Of course the smirk on Grabowski's face made him want to run back to the barracks and barricade himself in.

He slipped over the bigger man's body until he was settled against hips and stomach.

Good God! He wasn't a blushing virgin by any means. He could do this. His hands were grasping the other man's shoulder. He figured it probably wasn't a good idea to really want to

feel
the flesh under his hand but damn, it was firm.

“Got a good hold, Freckles?” Phillip asked.

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Ryan wasn't a small man by any means but having his body on top of Phillip made him feel like a shrimp. He was completely annoyed with that fact. Green eyes clashed with hazel.

“Yes, Drill Sergeant.”

“Are you
sure
?” he asked again. Ryan could practically taste the skepticism.

The bastard was toying with him.

His grasp hardened and he held on tight. “I'm sure, Drill Sergeant Grabowski.” Ryan smirked. He should have known better.

“The object of this exercise is to get your opponent off of you in a timely manner. This is the trap-and-roll,” Phillip explained. “So Freckles has me down, he's trying to keep me down.”

His hips bucked forward and he grinned when Ryan's eyes widened.

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This was not the kiss but it damn well could have been. He could feel every hard plane of the Drill’s body. His hold was strong and the bucking didn't cause much to happen.

“You will want to lift your back up and buck has hard as you can.” He proceeded to show them. His back lifted off the ground and Ryan was pitched forward.

Ryan's hands were pulled off Phillip so easily he felt like he was a child getting caught in the cookie jar.

“With one hand, grab their wrist tightly.” As he explained he demonstrated to them.

“The other hand will come up to the opposite shoulder and grasp it lightly. You won't need a firm grip.”

The way Ryan lay he could smell that musky scent that was solely Phillip's. He nearly whimpered when the smell went straight to his dick. This was so not good. Rolling around with the man he was secretly lusting over did not make Ryan feel better
. I am a fucking twenty-two-137

year old man who can and will control his dick.
With that thought he steeled himself for the next movements.

“Thrust upwards again.” Holy fucking shit. This was going to kill Ryan. He was starting to think that Grabowski was torturing him just to be an asshole.

“Now lift your foot over the ankle on the same side of the wrist you’re holding and trap it there.” He did it and Ryan let out a soft moan. It wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear but him and judging by the look on Phillip's face he also heard it.

FUCKKK! Ryan would have happily died right then and there. Maybe the next move, Phillip would actually kill him. That would be great. Or hey, if he were lucky maybe the earth would crack open and swallow them both. The fucker was enjoying this.

Phillip smirked and bucked up again. “Buck forward, pulling them closer at the same time and this time roll to the side, taking them with you.” Suddenly the position drastically 138

changed. Phillip was between Ryan's spread thighs, pressing his hard body against Ryan. Ryan was flat on his back, with the Sergeant's lower body pushing into his and his upper body leaning backwards. “Keep your body away from there and hold this position.” Ryan's legs wrapped around the larger man, but the hand holding the arm across his neck tightened, until he thought for sure he would end up suffocating. Thankfully that hold made him forget his cock for a moment.

Yeah, Ryan was going to die. He had to because there was no chance in hell that Phillip COULDN'T feel his cock.

Amusement entered Phillip's eyes. “That, private, is how you do it.” He rose slowly.

Ryan could have sworn that Grabowski let his body brush against his for as long as possible - the bastard.

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He looked over the soldiers. “Now one more and you will practice these moves with your battle buddies.”

Hold the fuck up. Ryan's mind went black. He had to actually roll around on the ground with Patrick while he had the fucking hard on from hell? That had to be a joke. Please God, let that be a joke.

“Drill Sergeant King.” Phillip stepped back toward Ryan.

Oh fuck no! Ryan would have cried if he was all alone. There was no way in hell he would demonstrate another fucking position with King.

“Drill Sergeant King will be explaining the next one,” Grabowski called as King strolled up.

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Ryan damn near jumped for joy but hey, that had killed his erection. Now no longer a raging hard-on but just a plain hard-on. Fucker. He would have shot Grabowski a dirty look but the bastard was watching him with intense green eyes.

“Privates, this is called the ‘Rear Naked Choke’,” King started. There were a few snickers and more than a few chuckles.

‘Rear naked choke?!’ Ryan blinked rapidly. Crappy, shitty, fucking hell. Couldn't they have a choke called, well, ‘choke-hold’ because dear God, this was going to fucking kill him. His face flushed and he knew he looked like a fish. He couldn't get enough air to his lungs. He looked up at Phillip and saw that damn smirking smile on the man's face.

“Are you ready, Gracin?”

Fuck no
.

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“Sit down,” Grabowski ordered.

Ryan sat down.

Grabowski smirked. “Everything okay?”

Ryan shook his head rapidly, absolutely terrified to open his mouth. Knowing his luck like he did he would blurt out something like 'fuck me' or 'can I have another, Drill Sergeant?’

Instead he just shook his head.

He was only half listening to what King was saying but he caught “Wrap your legs around your opponent’s waist.”

Phillip did so and slid them down, hooking them tightly behind Ryan's knees. Ryan couldn't move if he wanted to, which he really didn't because damn….

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Strong biceps went around his neck. Ryan figured he could happily die now and probably would. He was pulled tight against the rock-hard body behind him. It took him a second to realize that not only was the upper body hard and tight, but the lower matched.