Fraternizing (49 page)

“It turns out he
is in my class, but I learned who he was after our first day of class. Another
Pfc. in the barracks had some people over for a video game match and pizza, and
I met Private Allen there.”

“Was it a
friendly meeting?”

“No. He had
apparently been drinking, and he was intoxicated. I went against him in Mortal
Kombat, and he wagered me. He said if he won, I could blow him, and if I won, I
could still blow him.”

His eyebrows shot
up.

“And then what
happened?”

“I told him I
wasn’t interested. I went on to play him, and I beat him. He became irate,
yelling obscenities until some of the guys had to restrain him.”

“Who are the
names of these guys? I will need to speak to them.”

I gave him the
names of Dalton, Pete, and a few others who were there that night. They would
definitely be able to verify my story and hopefully get Allen away from me for
good.

“Anymore
instances that you can think of?”

“Yes. He’s told
me that I must be a lesbian if I didn’t want him. He’s told me I needed to be
taught how to be a lady, and that he’d put me in my place. Then recently, he
told me he’d shove his--“ I stopped, feeling embarrassed to say the word in
front of First Sergeant O’Hara. He nodded, signaling that he understood. “His
private down my throat to shut my mouth.”

He face softened
a bit, and his eyes briefly closed as he scratched the back of his neck and sat
back in his seat. I watched him take a pen and notepad from his desk and start
writing down names of people I had given him. He seemed to believe me, which
made me feel so much better than when I had first stepped into his office.

“Are there any
more people I should be speaking to?” he asked, his head still down, writing.

“Yes, a few of
his friends
that are
always around when he says these
things.”

“I’ll need their
names as well.”

I gave him the
names of a couple of guys who I knew ran in Allen’s circle. I couldn’t remember
them all, but the ones I did give him, I was sure they would talk. They didn’t
seem loyal. Just seemed like a couple of followers who found humor in the
antics of a supreme asshole. When First Sergeant O’Hara was finished writing,
he placed his pen down on his notepad and looked up to me.

“We will be
digging further into these claims. In the meantime, you are to have no contact,
whatsoever, with Private Allen. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, First
Sergeant.”

“Good to go.”

He stood, and I
followed. I walked to the door, blowing out a heavy and deep breath that had
filled me the entire time I sat in the chair. My conscience felt lighter,
knowing that I was finally able to get all of my irritation for Allen out in
the open. I went walking down the hallway when my phone buzzed. I pulled it out
to find a text from Alex.

Alex: How did it go? Damn this, I hate
being away from you. I want to see you.

Me: It went okay. I want to see you, too. But
we do need to lay low. They are digging through everything.

Alex: I want to dig through something… My
tongue is more than willing.

Me: Perv. I will call you later.

It was hard being
so close to Alex, but unable to be with him, especially after everything that
we had been through together. I felt like time was slipping away from us. In a
very short amount of time, I’d be packed, orders in hand, and on an airplane,
taking me three thousand miles away from him.

It was gut
wrenching to even think about it.

My heart felt
like it shattered into a million pieces every time I thought about being
without him. And although the prospect had been discussed, it didn’t take the
sting out of it. Even if I had been given orders to Camp Pendleton, weekend
trips would have erased the distance that separated us. But with me being on
the opposite coast, I’d have to settle for once a month flights, and pray that
time would even allow for that to happen.

I went to bed
that night with it on my mind, and even when I talked to Alex later that
evening, sitting on the cement barricade framing the parking lot, it didn’t
make things any easier.
Alex, for as strong as he was trying
to be, was anything but.
It was bothering him just as much as it was
bothering me. We’d had—or at least I’d had—no intention of ever
falling this far when I took the bait and jumped in head first for him. I
thought this was hot, casual sex at its finest. I’d never thought that we’d get
to where we stood, and be faced with such a depressing situation. The more we
talked about it, the more I wished time would just stand still, and I could
stay in this hot, barren, good for nothing desert. It didn’t have much going
for it, but it had Alex, and that was enough for me.

When I woke up
the next morning, I found a text from Alex stating that the investigation into
Allen was moving along quickly. First Sergeant O’Hara decided to give Allen an
NJP—non-judicial punishment—and was pushing for an expedited
administrative discharge. I couldn’t recall ever experiencing such early
morning jubilation that didn’t involve Alex and his body mingling with mine.
 
The news was quick and unexpected. My
initial reaction to First Sergeant O’Hara was that he wasn’t taking any of this
too seriously, but to get confirmation that it was handled swiftly and
forcefully made me happy.

I walked down to
the schoolhouse with Dalton, gleefully explaining to him what went down and
that Allen would no longer be a threat to me. He commented, letting me know
that First Sergeant grilled him, wanting to know everything, and was trying to
see if any of the encounters were made up on my behalf.

Newsome, Alex,
and Jensen stood before us in the classroom, going through their spiel about
how proud of us they were, and how we’d make fine fleet Marines once we made it
to our destinations. Alex gave subliminal messages, saying he’d miss seeing
some of us around the schoolhouse, but that he knew our new units were gaining
great, new additions. His words tugged at my heart at another reminder that we
would be split apart. A part of me wanted to cry because the thought and the
reality of it
was
just too much. Another part of me
wanted to see as it yet another challenge in my life that I would have to work
extra hard to overcome.

 
No matter which way it was sliced, the
fact that I would be in North Carolina by this time next week was a hard pill
to swallow, and I didn’t want to spend another second thinking about it.

Newsome took over
the speech, standing with a clipboard in his hands.

“So without further
ado, the winner of the seventy-two challenge—and it came down to the
wire—is Pfc. Bennett.”

The class broke
out in applause, with even a few “oorahs” thrown in for good measure. I
nervously smiled, looking around the room. Even Angelica was clapping for me. When
my eyes landed on Alex’s, salacious smirks were thrown back at me, making me
blush and sweat under the intensity of his stare. I found myself tingling in
between my legs because I knew the hidden message in his
golden
flecked
eyes. If I didn’t turn away from it, I would need to make a
swift exit for the nearest restroom.

“Pfc. Bennett,
enjoy having Monday off,” Newsome said, nodding his head and then giving the
floor to Alex.

“Your last order
of business before you graduate is to pass the final exam. Today, we will cover
the last bit of material, and then you will work in study groups, quizzing one
another on everything you can think of. If you fail it, you will be recycled.
You will have to take the course again, and you’ll be stuck here in Twentynine.
For those of you leaving, I’m not so sure if you want to do that.”

His eyes landed
on me as he spoke, making my insides swirl. I was on a
double
edged
sword. Staying in Twentynine, while it would mean not being
separated from Alex, would be detrimental for my career. I had to remember
that, above all else, my career needed to come first.

The morning was
filled with instruction, then splitting up into our study teams of four. It
seemed that since I had been announced as the winner, everyone wanted to work
with me. To my shock, Angelica even came my way, but I bypassed her. There was
no way I was about to work with her when she had done nothing but try and make
my life a living nightmare since we’d arrived here.

By the time lunch
rolled around, I was absolutely starving. I walked out into the courtyard to
meet up with Dalton, Lane, and Hutchins, when I got a buzz on my phone.

Alex: Jensen is out with Gunny Chavez for
the lunch hour and the rest of the guys left too. Come to my office NOW. I need
to EAT!

I knew exactly
what that meant. And the heat of my body and the flush of my skin told Dalton
exactly what it was as well.

“I have to go and
take care of something, guys. I’ll see you all later.”

Dalton smiled and
patted my shoulder.

“Enjoy!” he said,
smirking at me and making me blush with embarrassment. He knew exactly where I
was headed, and even though he’d known about Alex and me for quite some time, I
still couldn’t erase the guilt behind it. I smiled anyway, then turned in the
opposite direction and walked off before Lane or Hutchins could pick up on
anything.

I looked around
before knocking on Alex’s office door, then turned the knob and found him
sitting at his desk, waiting for me. He stood and walked over, closing and
locking the door behind him. When he turned around, he didn’t even say
anything. Instead, he took my face in his hands and planted the deepest, most
passion-filled kiss on my lips. I allowed him in, and he took advantage,
dominating me with his powerful, and commanding tongue. I wrapped my arms
around his neck, slightly tilting my head to the side as I attempted to gain
some ground on him. He was hungry, indeed, but it wasn’t food he was
after—it was
me
.

We pulled away,
breathing hard and lusting after one another. He wiped his lips and pulled me
over to his desk. I sat in between his legs, facing him as those sensual golden
eyes flared out at me, drawing me even further into him.

“I’m so pissed
you’re leaving me,” he said in a low whisper, my heart ached at the longing
look encasing his face.

I didn’t want to
go, but we both knew that this would be a very real possibility.

“I know. I wish I
were staying here. They could have given Angelica my orders and given me hers.”

“Just our fucking
luck, right?”

I nodded my head
then focused on the black box that he pulled out of his pocket. My eyes
narrowed as I pondered exactly what he had in there, and what he was planning
to do with it.

“Our beach trip
was so fucking eye opening for me. I knew that there was so much about you that
I loved, but hearing about what brought you here—what brought you to
me—I knew I needed to do something to always have a piece of me with
you.”

“You already did
that, Alex. I have your dog tags. They mean more to me than anything else in
the world.”

“Well this can be
a close second. Because I saw it and instantly thought of you.”

He opened the box
and a silver necklace lay inside with a small, sparkling butterfly dangling
from the end. No amount of willpower could stop the tears that immediately
coated my eyes and fell down my cheeks. The butterfly was my symbol, my way of
expressing freedom, and here was Alex, recognizing it in the most meaningful
way.

He turned me
around and placed it around my neck, clasping the ends in the back,
then
running his hand over my shoulder and down my chest,
stopping on the butterfly. He moved closer, his lips on my neck as his other
hand held firmly to my waist.

“I’m going to
miss the hell out of you. But like the butterfly, you are free to go wherever
you choose, so make sure you make your way back to me, or I’ll have to play
catcher and go after you.”

I giggled. Tears
fell down my face in slow trickles. I needed to look at him, to see the face of
the one person who had made me feel whole again. I turned around and watched
sadness float through his eyes. I kissed him long and hard, pressing him down
on the desk and climbing on top of him. It was hard, and it kind of
hurt—I knew that from experience—but it was all we had and I wasn’t
about to waste a second not enjoying him.

“I want you,
Alex. All of you.”

“You’ve got me,
Blondie.”

“Then take me. Take
me right now. I don’t want to lose another second with you.”

A spark went off
in his eyes and he sat up, removing my blouse, my t-shirt underneath,
then
my bra. He nuzzled his face in my breasts as I held on
to the back of his head. I could feel his erection, jabbing through his pants,
longing to be set free, to snake its way into me and leave me breathless.

“I want you.”

I leaned back and
unbuttoned his blouse, helping him out of it, then pulled his t-shirt over his
head. His hardened and sculpted chest sat before me, and my hands glided down
to it, stopping on his pectorals and squeezing as he unfastened my belt and
unbuttoned my pants. An ache settled between my legs, desperately longing for
his attention in just the right spot. My hands slid down to his pants, where I
did the same to him as I leaned in and kissed him passionately. Every ounce of
our touch hit me, like a powerful wave crashing on the shore. My heart ached
with the thought of having to leave him, and I wanted—no,
needed—all of him that I could get.