Trouble Triangle (Tyler's Trouble Trilogy) (34 page)

I took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about what you said. You're right. I haven't been fair to you or Holly. As much fun as it may have been, I'm
gonna
have to end our blackmail sessions. It's not right."

She popped her tongue off the roof of her mouth. "Blackmail is such an ugly word." She swirled the liquor around in her glass, staring into it. I had decided not to grovel or try to redeem myself. Just let her say what she needed to say and we'd go from there. "Well, you did have a point," she continued. "It was my idea in the beginning and it wasn't supposed to get emotional. In hindsight, I
kinda
kidded myself thinking we would just be fuck-buddies without feelings. I always knew I liked you and really didn't know if I was gay or not. I hoped you'd be shit in the sack, I wouldn't enjoy it, and then I could go back to women with a clear conscience. But I did enjoy it and ended up falling for you even more." She looked at me softly and placed her hand in the middle of the table. "You're always so
attentive when we're together."

"I know, Debs." I reached across and took her hand. "Never, ever, offer a guy a free fuck. We're always
gonna
take it,
ya
know?" We both smiled. "I thought of it as me doing you and favor, and I probably kidded myself too. But I never thought you'd use it against me. You
gotta
admit, pulling a crap move like that wasn't cool and didn't earn you any brownie points." I lit a cigarette. "But it's okay. You're an all right chick. We almost were a couple, Debs, but now, I want to do the right thing. I shouldn't cheat on Holly anymore."

She took a drink. "I knew you'd be mesmerized by her, but I really did think I could win you over. Maybe I still can.” She ran her hand through her hair.
"Let's give it another month."

"It's not being fair to you. You're a great girl and deserve someone who can to give you everything. I want to see you happy."

She leaned in, resting her arms on the table. "I'm happy when I'm with you."

"It's for the best, Debs. We'll get caught sooner or later. If I hadn't hooked up with Holly before I met you, yeah, we probably would have had something."

She took another drink and lit a cigarette. "Aren't you afraid I might tell Holly about us?"

"Petrified. But I can't keep lying to her and sneaking around behind her back. I just have to hope you won't." I didn't whimper, grovel or beg, which I thought was very John Wayne of me considering it was eating me
alive to break it off with her.

She motioned her head toward the bed. "One more time?"

Temptation ran through my veins. I held my focus on her face and avoided looking over her petite body. I shook my head. "I'm too weak, Debbie. If I jump into bed with you right now, we'd be back where we were and I'd just be waiting for it all to come crashing down. I'm really sorry."

She grabbed the bottle and refilled her glass. "Well, I put myself in danger by making you choose. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done, but what the hell. We had a good time, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I can't say I won't tell Holly, but I can't say I will either. I'll have to see how I feel over the next couple of days. You're not going to quit talking to me, are you?"

"No way. I enjoy our chats too much."

Despite her sad look, at least she wasn't crying. Maybe that would come later when she was alone. She sat staring at her whiskey, twirling the glass as it rested on the table.

"Don't hate me, Debs."

She smiled. "No, I don't." Our eyes met. "Hey, good luck with Holly."

"Thanks. I appreciate that." I s
tood and leaned in to kiss her.

She pulled back. "Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea. Might lead somewhere."

I smiled and nodded, then walked over to the door and looked back. "It's been fun, Debs. I'll miss you."

"Me too." She whispered, choking back the tears.

I opened the door and briefl
y looked back. "See
ya
around."

We sat around the shop Monday morning waiting for Petty Officer Watkins to return from his meeting and give us our instructions and work assignments for the day. He entered.

"Listen up, men. Fallout outside in five minutes for a surprise inspection. And by God, I hope all of
you're
all dressed properly this morning and are squared away. The Captain of the base is inspecting the division today.

It was a case of good timing. After I left Debbie the night before, I was upset and distanced my mind from the situation by pressing my uniform and shining my boots. It was good therapy. I held some confidence that I would pass the inspection and not have my ass in the grinder yet again.

"Chambers," Watkins called out, "front and center."

I came from the end of the rank and moved to stand in front of him. He looked me up and down and side to side, then cast his gaze skyward. He clasped his hands shook them in front of him. "Thank you," he said. "By the way, Chambers, you passed the test for Third Class Petty Officer. Congratulations." His leprechaun smile and knowing that I was now a Petty Officer g
ave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Exams for promotions were held semi-annually. He notified the rest of the shop that he would post the results sheet on the bulletin board in the shop. Mark passed as well. He must have singled me out for personal praise from his shock that I had actually passed. Mark and I patted each other on the back and went to
the inspection in high spirits.

Mark and I stood next to each other as the Captain moved along the ranks and finally came to stand in front of me. I had only ever seen the Captain once before and that was from a distance. It was a huge base he was in charge of, so having never met him before was a good thing for me. Any meetings with a man of his power would have meant I was in trouble. So far my misdemeanors were handled at lower levels and didn't warrant any intervention from him. He looked me over longer than most of the others he had already inspected. Traces of my black eyes were still evident, and he probably wondered what kind of
shitbag
he had under his command.

"Hmm…" the Captain hummed. Lieutenant Johnson stood next to him with the clipboard ready to take notes of discrepancies. "You haven't been causing trouble, have you?" The Captain tilted his head back and forth examining my eyes.

"No, sir. I box, or should say, I used to box. Found out I'm not very good at it."

He smiled. "Where you from, sailor?" His voice had a gravely quality. Gray hair peeked below the edge of his hat. His face hardened from the sea spray; or perhaps a lack of natural oxygen from lurking beneath the ocean surface riding submarines. He continued to visually search me up and down b
efore locking his eyes on mine.

I swallowed hard. I noticed Lieutenant Johnson getting his pen ready to start the hit list. "Indiana, sir."

"Why'd you join the Navy, son?"

"Patriotic duty, sir."

"I see." He seemed fascinated with my eyes. "Ball State,
IU
, Norte Dame, Purdue. You should have stuck to basketball instead of jumping in the ring." He looked at Lieutenant Johnson. "Lieutenant, he looks all squared-away. Put his uniform and appearance down as outstanding." He moved on and I let out a quiet sigh.

#

I couldn't wait to tell Holly what a great day I had. I stopped by her office and we agreed t
o meet at Dolphin's after work.

She sometimes showered in the ladies locker room after work and showed up at the bar in a white dress with the hemline stopping at mid-thigh. It had white fabric tiles sewn on it that swayed and flapped as she walked. Her tanned legs disappeared into shin-high white cowboy boots. Only Holly could get away with some of the outfits she wore. She did look like the ultimate giddy-up girl. My heart raced when I saw her. I'd been faithful to her for over a week and found the monogamous thing quite a turn on. I stood as she approached the table.

"What would you like, babe?" I asked.

"Umm…sex on the beach."

"In a glass or on the sand?"

"Yes." She smiled and scrunched her nose. She sat down while I went to the bar and to get our drinks.

She had her compact out checking her hair when I returned. I put her drink down and sat next to her.

"Guess what?" I said.

She looked at me blankly and shrugged.

"You are now dating a third class petty officer who happened to get an outstanding for appearance from the Captain this morning." I rubbed my knuckles against my chest.

Her mouth dropped open. "Really?" She clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, goody," she squealed. "I knew you could do it. I'm so proud of you, baby." She patted my leg.

The feeling between us was electric.

"I got a little surprise for you," she sing-
songed
, raising her eyebrows. "I accidentall
y on purpose forgot something."

She scanned the surroundings. We were pretty isolated. She looked down at the end of dress and clipped a finger and thumb at the hem with each hand in the middle of each thigh. She looked at me, and then back down. My eyes followed. Slowly, she inched the bottom of dress up her thighs. Little by little, the dress went higher. My crotch twitched and I grew hard; my eyes glued on the ever-rising hemline. She slid it back until her perfectly manicured bush was on show. My jaw dropped as I stared.

"Nice pussy, Holly."

Holly yanked the dress down as we both jerked our heads up. Debbie stood at the end of the table, smiling. She still wore her dungarees and held a bottle of Coors.

"Mind if I join you?" She pulled out a chair and sat before we could answer. "Lucky it was me who saw it and not Shore Patrol. What would it be…? Probably…" She lifted her head toward the ceiling and placed a finger under her chin while resting her elbow on the table, eyes looking upward. "CUNT." She slammed her hand down on the table and smiled. "Cumming Under Navy Table. Yeah, that's it." She laughed and took a drink of beer.

"Have you been drinking, Debs,
er
, Debbie?" I asked.

"You know me, Tyler." She leaned in, resting her chin on the palm of her fist. "I'm a sucker for a stiff one." She sniggered and took another drink.

"I think she's drunk," Holly whispered.

"Drunk? I'm shitfaced," Debbie shouted, and her face hit the table.

"C'mon, we
gotta
get her
outta
here," I said.

Holly and I managed to get her up and dragged her out of the bar. We took her back to her room, I dug in her pocket and got her key, let ourselves in and put her into bed. She snored deeply as we closed the door and left.

Holly handed me her keys as we walked to her Mustang. "You drive." She went into fantasy mode. "Okay, I'm like the driving instructor and you're the student. You have to drive slow and steady while you're distracted." She pulled up the dress and gave me a flash of her naked snatch.

I helped her into the passenger side then got behind the wheel. "Where to, Miss Instructor?" I asked.

She lowered her spaghetti straps and dropped the top half of her dress revealing her p
erfect tits. "The North Shore."

"North Shore?"

"North Shore," she said sternly. "I
wanna
scream without you shoving a fucking rag down my throat. And now for the distraction I promised." She unzipped my pants and the distraction began.

#

No one was at the beach as the night drew in. Pipeline waves crashed off the shore and stars illuminated the sky. Holly kept a blanket in her trunk for just such impromptu romps. I shook the blanket out and we laid down, our bodies settling into the soft sand.

"Did I pass the test?" I asked.

"Umm…not sure. You got a little twitchy when…well, you know when."

"Yeah, I know when. But at least I didn't mow anyone down."

I laid on my back with Holly nestled in my arm laying sideways stroking my chest. The full moon beamed and reflected off the ocean. The sea air smelt of subtle cologne enhancing a rugged outdoors.

"I could lie like this forever," Holly said.

"Yeah, me too."

We laid there for ten minutes listening to the waves, our souls merging into one in the otherwise silent evening. We communicated without talking. We exchanged passion with gentle touches.

I felt so content with her in my arms. "I love you."

Holly propped herself up and looked into my eyes. "What'd you just say?"

My soul got lost in her eyes. "I said I love you."

"Oh, Tyler, make love to me. I want to feel you inside me."

We kissed passionately as our hands went to work on each other, undressing then caressing until we could not restrain ourselves any longer and we made love. Holly shattered the stillness of the night with screams and moans that ricocheted off the stars. I discovered the true meaning of what it meant to make love. My desire for her increased. Not just for her body, but for her entire existence. I felt like the luckiest man alive.