Fraternizing (13 page)

We grabbed our
food and walked into the theater, making sure to avoid Allen and his caveman
crew.

The movie was
mildly entertaining for me, but Dalton, even though this was his third time
watching it, was engrossed in it, reciting lines and cheering on the Autobots. I
had picked up a few things here and there, but I wasn't pulled in the way he
was.

Nearing the end
of the movie my phone began buzzing in my back pocket. I took it out to find a
text message from an unknown number.

Unknown: Hope you enjoyed that movie. I'll
be coming by to see you tonight.

"What the
fuck?" I whispered, apparently not low enough as I caught Dalton's
attention. He looked over to me and I quickly stuffed my phone between my legs,
looking up to him and smiling.

"You
alright?"

"Yeah. Just
a surprise text, that's all."

Dalton turned
back to his movie, but I couldn't focus. What little focus I had before the
text was gone now. I knew
who
it was from, but I
couldn't find the right words to respond to him.

"I'll be
right back," I whispered to Dalton, grabbing my phone and hurrying out of
the theater. I walked into the bathroom and stopped just inside, leaning back
against the wall before pulling my phone out and sending a text back to him.

Me: How did you get my number?

Almost
immediately, a response buzzed in.

Unknown: Don't worry about that. I have it,
and I want to see you. Don't go anywhere else with that pencil dick either. I'll
be coming by.

His earlier
interaction with Castillo popped back into my head and frustrated me all over
again.

Me: Don't you have a dinner date?

Unknown: NO!

I didn't know
what to make of that response.

I tucked my
phone back into my pocket, then grabbed a few paper towels, wetting them and
dabbing the small bits of moisture from my face. Staring at myself in the
mirror, I searched hard for my will power. I needed it desperately. I didn't
need Cruz crashing back into my life when I was finally able to recognize that
I had lost my focus and needed to get it back. I was ready to do what it was I
came to Comm School to do-- to learn and move on.

I walked back
into the theater without another thought on him or his text messages.

Instead of going
straight home, Dalton and I walked over to the food court and had an ice cream
cone,
then
stopped at the mini mart not far from the
barracks to grab soda, chips, and candy before making our way back to our
rooms. Walking to the stairs that led to the upper floor rooms, we passed by
the duty room again.

"That was
made from scratch, with love. My tia taught me how to make those carne
enchiladas. There's more where that came from."

"Thanks,
Leti," I heard Cruz answer. "I haven't had a home cooked meal in a
long ass time." I inched a bit closer and saw that Leti was, in fact, Sgt.
Castillo. She was dressed casually, her hair down and make-up on her face. She
was already an attractive chick, but seeing her out of uniform, looking more
done up that usual, struck me with a pang of jealousy, making me falter on my
goal of forgetting all about him.

"There's
more where that came from." The smile on her face was anything but
innocent and Sgt. Cruz smiled back, making my stomach turn.

She was leaning
over to him as she sat in the seat next to him, both of them laughing while
their bodies rubbed up against one another. My hands were beginning to ache, so
I cracked my knuckles, and Dalton made his way over to me, concern etched on
his face.

"You need
to talk to Sgt. Cruz?" Dalton asked, breaking me from my bitter thoughts.

"No,"
I quickly answered. "I just smelled that delicious food, and it lured me
in." I spoke up at that part, stepping further into their view, making
sure that my voice could be heard.

Castillo, or,
Leti, as Sgt. Cruz so casually called her, looked up and saw me. Her menacing
eyes seared into me, but I stood my ground. My inner fighter wasn't about to
take her shit lightly, even though she was my superior. Cruz looked up and saw
me standing there, looking like I was ready to pounce.
 

"Can I help
you, Bennett?" Cruz asked, his voice harsh but his eyes inviting.

"No. I just
smelled that food, and it pulled me in. Smells good, Sergeant. We don't have
anything like that around here." My gaze was stuck on him, but I managed
to sneak a peek over to Castillo who looked like she would charge at any
second.

Dalton moved
further into the
door frame
beside me, much to Cruz's
dismay. I couldn't find a reason to stand there any longer, enticing and
infuriating my body at the same time, so I turned to Dalton, nodding my head
and signaling for us to make our way out.

"Have a
good night, Sergeant. Enjoy that meal." There was an undercurrent of
sarcasm in my voice that was well intended. As I looked back to Sgts. Castillo
and Cruz, they both seemed to have caught on to it. Cruz looked as though I had
just given him the green light to come and fuck me while Castillo looked ready
to rip my eyeballs out.

I walked up the
stairs with Dalton, internally smiling as we walked.

"What the
hell was that?"

"What?"

"That bitch
fest."

I laughed at the
accuracy of his terminology.

"I have no
idea what you're talking about."

"Keep
saying that. You know exactly what I'm talking about. If Castillo could have,
she would've bitch slapped you, and I think you would have done the same."

"Well, I
don't know. You know how male Marines treat you guys like shit? Well, she's
kind of doing the same with me."

Dalton rolled
his eyes but didn't comment any further. When we reached my room, he stopped
just before the door, standing aside so I could take out my key and unlock it. He
waved his hand for me to lead the way, following in behind me.

I walked into
the room and threw my bag of junk food down onto my bed, signaling for Dalton
to take a seat. It was late, and Angelica still wasn't home which made me
happy. I tried to spend the least amount of time with her as possible.

We sat down,
laughing about my lack of knowledge on almost everything that was popular in
our childhood. Although Dalton was only nineteen years old, making him two
years younger than me, he was the one person who I found it very easy to relate
to.

From what he
told me, he came from a very well to do family in Kenosha, Wisconsin and had a
brother who was currently serving in the U.S. Army. His dad was retired Air
Force, so it was a no brainer that he would serve his country in some branch of
the armed forces. He chose the Marines because it was a branch that no one else
in his family had served in and he wanted the challenge.

We spent the
next half hour just getting to know one another a little better, spilling a few
personal tidbits here and there. At one point, Dalton got emotional, wiping
tears that fell from his strikingly pure azure eyes at the mention of some
things in his past. I swallowed hard, unsure how we had gotten to this point
and wanting to quickly remove myself from it. I had learned a long time ago to
build a fortress around my emotions, not showing any signs of weakness because
they could be preyed on. Apparently, Dalton didn't have that same mindset, and
it somewhat shocked me that a guy of his stature would cry, but I didn't judge.
Instead, I reached over and hugged him.

As we pulled
away, Dalton's face flushed red, a sure fire sign of embarrassment, and he
wiped his last stray tear, smiling at me and warming my heart.

"It's
twenty-two hundred, Marines. Time to get back to your own rooms," a young
Private on fire watch called out as he stood out in the hallway looking into my
room. I looked up, the face unrecognizable to me.
 

"I'll come
by tomorrow. Run first thing in the morning," Dalton said, standing up and
then hugging me.

The Private
stood in his spot until Dalton was out of the room and walking down the
hallway. I shut my door,
then
turned to make my way to
my dresser, grabbing a t-shirt and shorts to change into for bed. I still
wasn't sure where Angelica was, and honestly, I didn't really care. It was nice
to not have to deal with her bullshit for a night.

Just as I was
washing my face, my cell phone went off on my desk, prompting me to hurry over
to it. When I looked down at it, I was a bit shocked by what was on the screen.

Unknown: 2200 is the rule for weekends, but
much too late for YOU to have unworthy dicks in your room.
 
Good night!

My mind was
racing to try and come up with a witty comeback but failed to do so. I couldn't
think of anything that would show him that he wasn't affecting me, so I typed
the first thing that came to mind.

Me: It's too late for any dicks, so I guess
I will also bid YOU good night.

A quick response
chimed on my phone.

Unknown: Don't make me show you how BIG of
a DICK I can be. It's never too late for me. You'd be wise to pay attention to
that.

A tight squeeze
of my thighs was needed as a charge of sensation burst in between my legs,
sending an ache accompanied by the thrill of an intense need pummeling down and
into me. A light smiled caressed my lips as I found myself being sucked in by
his dirty banter, which I wanted, and didn't want, all at the same time. I
didn't need to go any further, even though I wanted to. Instead, I denied what
my mind and body craved, and sent a text to quiet him down.

Sent: Good night, Sgt. Cruz.

After sending
the text, I shut my phone off. I knew how weak I could be when he was around,
and since I had earlier reconciled with myself that I would no longer be
playing into his hands or giving in to his advances, I cut it off, then fell
asleep watching pointless TV.

Chapter 9

Alex

Dammit.
I was losing my touch. Castillo bringing me dinner, while satisfying, was definitely
not what I needed tonight. Fuck if Bennett didn't see me, sitting there,
enjoying what could be perceived as a date-- only it wasn't a date. It wasn't
anywhere close to a date. I was simply stuck on duty, and Castillo showed up
with food; home cooked food at that.

Who could pass
that shit up?

What I didn't
plan on was her sticking around, especially not long enough for Bennett to walk
by and see us, and with that fucking Dalton kid at that. That look on his face
made me see red, like a bull ready to take out a matador, but I’d composed
myself. I wasn't about to show my ass in front of the private that I was stuck
on duty with.

Bennett's little
comments, coming from that sweet, yet
smart ass
mouth
of hers, were nothing but a stimulant to my already hardened dick. The way she
went toe to toe with Castillo, even though she's a junior Marine, made her even
more appealing to me. The intensity in her eyes as she glared back at her, that
quick wit coming off those innocent lips, excited every inch of me. How a girl
with the delicacy of a flower could have the demeanor of a pit bull was a total
mind fuck to me, one that was welcomed every day of the week. She stood there,
looking like she wanted to know about the food, when deep inside I knew she
wanted to know about me and the female sitting next to me. And Castillo knew it
too. Laughter would have come pouring out of me if I hadn't found the poise to
keep it locked down. The situation was comical, even if I was the only one to
find the humor in it.

What I didn't
find comical was finding out that Dalton was in Bennett's room up until 10pm--
alone. Ruiz had already been granted clearance to be out for the night, and
even though I didn’t want to give it to her, I needed to. It was my way of
getting to Bennett without the constant distraction. Good thing the firewatch
for the night asked no questions and just did as told. I’d had a feeling Dalton
might be there, but deep inside I’d wanted to be wrong. Fire ignited in my gut
when I was radioed and told that the fucker was, in fact, in there and had to
be told to leave. If I could have punched through walls, I would have.

2:24am, and the
private on duty with me
was
asleep. It was time for
him to wake the fuck up while I made my rounds.

"Hey,
Private Rinaldi, wake up. I'm going on my rounds," I told him, standing
over him with my radio in hand. He awoke in a hurry, blinking furiously as he
tried to focus on my face with the bright lights of the barracks room shining
down on him. "If you need me--radio. Under no circumstances are you to go
to sleep or abandon your post while I'm out, you understand that?"