Fraternizing (6 page)

"Threatened
you?" I asked, moving closer into the bathroom.

"Yes. Threatened
me." She stopped brushing her hair and looked at me through the mirror. "Basically,
my baby career in the Marine Corps could be wrecked if I run my mouth." She
started brushing her hair again. "He's hot as shit, but he's a dick. And I
have a feeling Cruz is too."

Cruz
being
a dick had not crossed my mind.

"Whatever. There
isn't anything to tell. We didn't know
who
the other
was when we made out. Now that we know, it's nothing more than an awkward
situation that we've acknowledged and moved on from."

"I sure
hope so."

"It
is," I bluntly responded with finality.

I brushed past
her, moving to my wall locker to pull out some shorts and a t-shirt.

"Are you
going to Dalton's room?" I asked while undressing.

"Yeah. I'll
meet you over there."

Throwing my
shirt over my head and stepping into my sandals, I walked out of the room,
leaving Angelica to stew over whatever it was that Jensen had said to her. By
the sound of things, he had come across much worse than Cruz had with me. He
was an intense man, so I had no doubt that whatever he said, and however he
said it, it was surely meant to scare her into submission.

I could only
hope that it would work.

Music playing,
Mortal Kombat flashing on the TV screen, and about six other Marines hooting,
hollering, and laughing was the scene that I walked into as I gently knocked
and let myself into Dalton's barrack's room. He shared the room with another
Private First Class from his Data class, and even though I didn't know the guy,
he was friendly and welcomed me into the room while shoving a piece of pizza in
my face.

"We've been
waiting on you," Dalton yelled out, looking over his shoulder at me. That
brief move caused him to lose focus on his game, and he lost with one quick
move from his opponent.

He threw down
the controller and hopped out of his chair.

"How are
you?"

"I'm okay.

"Do you
play? You want a turn?" he asked, grinning at me, obviously hoping I would
take him up on the offer.

"No. I'm
good. I came to watch."

"Alright. That's
cool." He stopped and looked around the room. "Where is Ruiz?"

"She said
she'd meet me here," I answered, shrugging my shoulders.

Dalton led me
over to the TV area, moving one of the guys, and making room for me to sit
down. The Mortal Kombat tournament was in full swing when one of the guys threw
the controller to the ground and started shouting at the guy who had just beat
him. I recognized him from our class--Private Allen.
 
He was a large, burly guy with light
brown hair and matching eyes. Even with my height he towered over me, and had
the bulging muscles to complete his overly large and intimidating frame.

"Fuck this
game. Fuck this school. Fuck those shitty ass instructors," he yelled,
making the rest of us turn and look at him. "What?" he asked, looking
unaware that he had said anything wrong.

"Cut him
off, Pete," Dalton called out, making me turn my head in his direction. He
looked at me as if I should have been aware.

"Is he
drunk?"

"Yeah. He's
been mixing, but I think he may have gotten started before he even got
here."

I nodded my
head, knowing full well that alcohol consumption or possession in the barracks
was definitely not allowed. Dalton's roommate, who I learned was, in fact,
Pete, took Allen, sat him down on one of the beds, and put a large jug of water
in his hands, helping him gulp it down. It looked almost comical to find this
overly large man sitting on the bed, being nursed back to sobriety by such a
small and nerdy looking guy.

I stopped
focusing on them and went back to the Mortal Kombat tournament, rooting on
Dalton before having the controller shoved into my hands. I never played video
games as a kid. I never owned anything like that, so I felt a bit out of place
with all of the video game aficionados knowing every move, trick, and cheat
that there was. Dalton instructed me on what to do, and before long I was
holding my own in the tournament.

"Let me take
on the pretty little girl," a half sober Allen barked as he made his way
back over to where we were. He snatched the controller from the guy I was
playing against and sat down in one of the empty chairs. The sinister look in
his light brown eyes sent chills down my spine, but I straightened up, not
wanting to show him that he was making me completely uncomfortable.

"Alright. Here's
the deal," he said, speaking much too loud, and annoying me more than I
already was. "If I win, you get to blow me, and if you win--" he
paused, pondering what it was he wanted to say. "Yeah, if you win, you get
to blow me." He laughed as if he had just told the world's funniest joke.

"How about
if I win, I get to kick you in the nuts, and if you win, I still get to kick
you in the nuts?" I smiled a bitchy smile at him, making him stop the
obnoxious laughter that had erupted from him after offering up such an immature
wager.

"Must be a
lesbian," Allen quipped, turning in his chair.

"Nope. I
like dick just as much as the next chick. I just don't think you have much, so
I'm not even willing to go there with you."

The guys
crooned, "Ooohhh," as I countered, pissing Allen off even further.

We started
playing, and after going 1-1 on the two rounds we fought, somehow I managed to
land a crushing blow on Allen's man, knocking him to the ground and securing a
victory. I dropped the controller to the ground, cocky as ever, strutting
around the space while the guy's high-fived me.

"Fuck this
shit. I want a fucking rematch!" Allen yelled, staring in my direction. Raw
anger radiated from his eyes as he stared at me, He was breathing hard while
the bulging veins in his neck looked as if they would give way to the mounting
pressure and burst. The look scared me, but I felt secure with the amount of
other guys around me.

"Pete, help
me get Allen to his room, please," Dalton called out, signaling for the
scrawny guy to take one side of the rabid beast of a man who looked as if he
was ready to attack on command.

Dalton and Pete
grabbed him, and he didn't resist. Instead, he yelled things at me, in an
attempt to frighten me even more.

"You'll
pay, bitch. I want a rematch. I want a fucking rematch."

I sat down and
sighed as they walked him out, thankful that he was out of the room and away
from me. The few people who were left sat in silence, probably just as
stunned
as I was that someone could get that angry over a
silly video game. Yes, he had been drinking, but to get to the point of threats
just seemed a bit excessive.

I walked out of
the room, ready to call it a night since we had an early morning awaiting us. Just
as I turned left to head back to my room, Dalton came running after me, calling
for me to slow down.

"Let me
walk you back."

I turned and
looked back at him.

"I'm just
up the stairs. You don't need to walk me back."

"Yes I do. After
Allen's little outburst, I feel the need to. I'm really sorry about that."

I didn't put up
any more of an argument. He was right. Allen acted like a complete psycho in
the room.

"What are
you sorry about? That wasn't you talking like that."

"I know. But
he was there, in my room. I've known him since bootcamp, and from what I gather
he hates that women are in the Marine Corps. I'm not sure why he chose
Communications since there are women in this field. He probably should have
gone Infantry or something, where women aren't allowed."

"Yeah, well
I don't care what his deal is. As long as he stays away from me, we'll be
fine," I calmly replied, hoping I wouldn't have to deal with Allen very
often.

"Well,
thanks for coming. Sorry you were the only female. I thought Ruiz was going to
come over."

"I thought
so, too," I said, pulling out my key and unlocking the door to my room. I
looked inside and found the room empty. Wherever Angelica went, she’d left me
hanging for the night, probably still angry
with
whatever it was that Jensen had said to her earlier in the day.

"I guess
I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah,
ready to run," he replied much too enthusiastically.

"Don't
remind me. I hate running," I said, making a face that made Dalton laugh
hysterically.

"See you in
the morning."

"Yeah. See
ya."

I stepped into
my room and shut the door behind me. Allen’s demeanor from earlier in the
evening rattled my nerves a bit. I just wanted to fall asleep and forget about
the fact that Angelica completely ditched me and that another Marine all but
wanted to kick my ass over a stupid video game. This day was one that I
couldn't wait to drift away from, in hopes of the next one being much, much
better.

0445 came much
too soon. My screeching alarm clock jolted me out of bed, making me painfully
aware of what was awaiting me. The PFT had never been a favorite of mine. I
always scored well, but the process was tortuous, and running long distances
was not my strong suit.

I looked over to
Angelica's bed to find her sound asleep. The noise of the alarm seemed to have
had little effect on her. I made my way back to the bathroom and quickly washed
my face and brushed my teeth, before pulling my hair back into my
quintessential bun. By the time I made my way out of the bathroom, Angelica was
up and moving about. We both got dressed in our PT gear, an awkward silence
filling the room. The tension filling the space could have been sliced with a
fingernail. I was a bit annoyed that she hadn't come by Dalton's room last
night like she'd said, leaving me as the sole female in attendance.

"Hey, sorry
about last night. I needed to blow some steam," she quietly said, making
her way to the bathroom.

"No biggie.
I had a good time anyway. Where'd you go?"

"That's
good. I took my binder and went to the food court for a small dinner and study
session
." She rubbed a towel over her face, turning to
look back at me. "I saw Sgt. Cruz there. He was with Sgt. Castillo and
they were out of uniform. I think they were on a date." A slight grin
caressed her lips and a twinkle went off in her eyes. For some strange reason,
it made goose bumps pop up all over my arms.

"Well, he
is entitled to that," I responded, not wanting her to see that the bit of
news had definitely pinched a nerve.

"Yes. That
he is. Just thought you'd want to know. He seems like a playboy, so I hope
you're serious about wanting to stay away from him."

The faux smile
she gave me while walking back to her bed and putting on her running shoes was
boiling my blood. I didn't have any claim to Cruz, but for some reason hearing
that he was out with someone else was turning me a deep shade of
green—green with absolute envy.

"You just
worry about you, Angelica. I've got me taken care of."

I walked out of
the room, letting the fresh, warm morning air steal my breath like a thief in
the night. I wasn't sure if I would ever get used to such a dry climate.

Angelica was
presenting herself as a challenge. Even her apology came with some snide
comment or rude retort. It was becoming blatantly obvious that I would have to
limit my time around her if I wanted to keep my composure.

Standing before
all of the PT gear clad instructors in the wee hours of the morning, we were
led over to the pull-up bars. Dalton came up behind me, placing his hand on my
shoulder.

"You
ready?" he asked with a smile that could have lit up the dusky, morning
sky.

"I guess
so," I responded, giving him my first genuine smile of the morning. He was
about to say something more, when I heard the deep rumble of Sgt. Cruz's voice
bellowing out to the crowd.