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★☆★☆★
After a surprisingly good meal, I was on my way back up to my room when I passed Dan in the hall. He was in his civilian clothes.
“Hey,” I said. “Where you going?”
He jerked a thumb behind him. “There’s a bar on base. Gonna shoot pool. Wanna go?”
Hell-to-the-yes!
I nodded. “Give me a second to change?”
“Sure, meet us outside. We’re going to walk.”
It only took me a few minutes to put on jeans and a T-shirt and spray some cologne on.
I took the stairs down quickly and walked up to Dan, who stood on the sidewalk with Tyrone and another guy.
“Forrester, you know Smith, and this is Ethan Hill,” he said, pointing to a short guy with light brown hair and a friendly face.
I nodded. “Good to meet you.”
We walked a very short distance to a small bar with an even smaller parking lot that badly needed repaving. The sky had just turned dark, so I figured it couldn’t be later than nine, but as we walked in, it seemed to be pretty busy.
Mostly dudes. Whatever. At least I wasn’t sitting in my room staring at the wall.
The place was full of pool tables and had one bar manned by a short older guy. I ordered a Coors and walked over to a large pool table where Dan, Tyrone, and Ethan were racking the balls together.
“You in?” Dan asked.
I shrugged. “Sure.”
Pool wasn’t particularly exciting, but again, at least I wasn’t in my room looking at my useless laptop or playing games on my phone. I briefly wondered if I could use the Wi-Fi hotspot from my phone to get internet access in my room when I heard Tyrone’s booming voice.
“You’re up, Forrester,” he said, chomping on gum, his arms folded over his massive biceps.
My attempt to sink the ball into the corner pocket failed miserably, and as I stood up straight with the pool stick in my hand, I peered around the dark bar. There were probably fifty dudes in here and like three women, and none of the three were worth a second glance.
I was used to this, though. Unless it was a large city, which this small Northern California town was not, the military bars were always like this. But yet, I always visited them, hoping to find something better to do other than sitting in my room alone or watching sitcom reruns in the communal TV rooms.
I noticed a poster on the wall and nudged Dan. “Hey check it out. They’re showing the UFC fight here next weekend. You in?”
Dan smiled. “I’m not big on the fights, but it’ll beat driving home to the old lady. She’s been bustin’ my balls, man. I need a break from her ass.”
I looked at him a little stunned, but then shrugged. “Okay, whatever you want.”
“I bet they have a sports bar in this town somewhere that’ll be showing the fight, and at least they’ll probably have women there.” He waggled his eyebrows.
I laughed. “Okay. Do you have a car?”
He nodded. “Yup.”
I briefly wondered why I hadn’t driven. I should have sucked up the twenty-three-hour drive in order to have my truck. I loved my red Toyota pickup. This summer was seriously going to suck without a vehicle. So I decided I would pair up with Dan, and maybe he’d take me where I wanted or needed to be during the summer. Although it sounded like if his wife got her way, he’d be gone every weekend.
I shook my head at his comment about his wife and decided it was none of my business. He must have sensed my unintentional curiosity because he added, “We’re getting divorced. Well, I’m trying, anyway.”
I nodded. “I’m divorced, too.”
That seemed to pique his interest. “Really? What happened?”
I lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “It’s not a real interesting story... she just couldn’t handle me being in the service, sorta made me get out, and then we realized we married too young. I’m reenlisting, though.”
“You are?” Dan asked, rubbing his pool stick with blue chalk.
“Yep. This is my life, man.” I took a swig of my almost empty beer.
He nodded. “I get it. But I’m only doing the weekend warrior thing for a while, then I’m done. I like California and I don’t want to leave.”
I chuckled. “Okay.”
We played pool for a while longer, and as the night wore on, I decided to leave. I was wiped out from being up so early.
“Hey, I’m gonna take off. See you tomorrow for PT,” I said to Dan as he racked another triangle of balls over the felt green of the pool table.
Dan waved a lazy hand. “See you later.”
As I made my way back to my room, I looked up at the clear night sky, an almost full moon shining against a spattering of stars. The weather was so incredibly mild. It wasn’t hot or cold, and I could see why people who lived here never wanted to leave. It would almost be worth the traffic.
★☆★
I rested my hands on my knees and panted into the cool morning air. The sun was barely peaking over the foothills to the east, and a mild wind blew over my damp forehead, cooling me off. I’d just run three miles and couldn’t wait to hit the showers.
Once we’d been dismissed from PT, I decided to go to the small gym on base and lift some weights. I wasn’t overweight by any means, but I did have some sculpting I needed to do. Now that I was single, I had to keep in shape. Not only to keep up in PT, but in case I’d be getting naked with any girls who were fortunate enough to get me into bed.
Ha...
I had been striking out lately. I didn’t know if I was off my game from being married for a little over a year, or just distracted, but I needed some serious attention from the female form before I went half crazy. PT always got my adrenaline—and apparently my testosterone—flowing.
So, after a day of training and learning about the base I’d be patrolling for the next few months, Dan again invited me to the on-base bar. I didn’t know the name of the bar and didn’t care, but he said it would be just the two of us that night.
I threw on a black T-shirt, which was tighter than the last time I wore it. I took that as a good sign, as it was snug in the right places. I then slipped on a pair of plain blue jeans.
This time, we arrived at the bar a bit later than last time. Of course, it was still all guys, but it beat being back at the barracks. I ordered a beer and went to a table in the back to shoot pool with Dan to pass the time. A popular country song blasted from the jukebox in the corner. As I had peered at it on my way in, I saw it only mostly country music on it. I smiled. I wasn’t in the mood for any hip-hop shit.
In the week I’d been at this base, I hadn’t had the chance to get out much. Dan drove us off base once to a Chili’s restaurant in the small town, but other than that, I’d been essentially sequestered here. Thankfully, the Army kept me busy with PT and training, and I was too exhausted most nights to complain.
Dan had just racked the balls, and after he removed the triangle, I leaned over and placed my stick at its tip and let it fly, sending the balls skittering over green felt. The yellow ball landed in a side pocket. I smiled at my small victory and stood up to tell Dan it was his turn when I heard him whistle through his teeth.
“Look at that blonde. Oh, my God, I’d love to tap that ass.”
I raised my eyebrows and followed his gaze to not one, but two blondes leaned up against the bar. They were both beautiful.
“Which one?” I asked.
“The tall one with the long hair. Look at that hourglass figure and those long legs. I’d love to get them wrapped around me.”
I laughed and looked at her, but my gaze drifted to her friend. She was shorter with shoulder-length hair and didn’t look quite as confident as her long-haired friend. She was in a short denim skirt with a white top over a low-cut red tank top, and she looked smokin’. There was something about her that called to me, and I was determined to at least talk to her before the night was over. As I was about to turn back around, she made eye contact with me and smiled a little, sliding some hair behind her ear shyly before turning toward her friend and continuing their conversation. I didn’t smile back but turned back toward the pool table.
Dan turned and grinned at me, leaning over to take another shot at the balls. He sank the eight-ball into the corner pocket, and I swore.
After three games of pool, I was getting bored. I told Dan I was going to find the men’s room. It wasn’t difficult to locate, as the bar was so small. After taking care of business, I exited and looked over to see Dan and the tall blonde chatting next to our table. She was standing very close to him and had her hand on his arm. I made my way over there and caught her friend walking through the small room that led to the larger one.
“Are you lost?” I asked her, biting back a smile.
She turned and looked up at me in surprise. “No, I seemed to have lost my friend. Maybe you’ve seen her? She’s really pretty, long hair...”
“She’s talking to my buddy Dan,” I said, jerking a thumb over my shoulder, “but I’d definitely say you’re the prettier of the two.”
Her eyes widened, and she grinned at me. My stomach flipped over a little at her pretty smile, and my gaze searched her face to gauge whether she was into me or not. I placed my hands on either side of her head, since her body was now backed up against the wood paneling of the wall.
“What’s your name?” I asked her.
She gave me a smirk, trying not to break into a full-blown smile. “Cara. You?”
“Riley.”
I set my empty beer bottle on a nearby table and looked at the empty glass in her hand, pointing at it. “What are you drinking?”
She slowly broke my gaze and glanced at the glass. “Well, it was a margarita...”
I gently took it from her, my fingers lingering on her soft, warm hand a bit longer than necessary. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I walked to the bar and set the glass down. The bartender smiled at me. “What can I get ya?”
“Margarita please. Extra tequila.” I gave him one of my please hook me up smiles.
He winked in return and quickly made the drink. I tipped him generously and brought it back to where she was waiting.
She took a sip and coughed. “Holy shit! How much tequila is in here, Riley?” She set it on the small round table where my empty beer bottle sat.
I put my hands on either side of her head again and looked at her. There was something about her that was definitely doing it for me. Not only was her smell intoxicating, her body language and looks suggested that she wanted to take me home. Not in an off-putting, slutty way, but there was something else there. I wouldn’t call it admiration, but something definitely flirty and demure that was driving me a little crazy.
I leaned down and said in her ear, “So, what do you do for a living, Cara?”
She laughed. “Uh, me and my friend Miranda over there, we work at the prison next door.”
Now that I hadn’t expected. She looked like a school teacher, or a nurse or something, not a cop.
“Well, you two don’t look like prison guards,” I whispered in her ear, looking at her full pink lips, suddenly wanting to touch them.
She laughed again. “Uh, we’re not correctional officers, we’re paper pushers, and...”
I didn’t hear another word she said. In fact, I didn’t let her speak. I crushed my mouth on hers and felt her stiffen. It wasn’t long before her body to relaxed and melted into mine, and for her hands to slither around my neck. She was soft, warm, delicious, and... hungry.
I was hungry, too. Starved.
I rubbed my fingers along her face as she continued to kiss me, and I couldn’t recall ever being kissed this way. She was a good, passionate kisser. I could have stayed there all night, leaned up against the cheap wood paneling of the bar when she broke the kiss and looked to her right.
I followed her gaze and saw her long-haired friend standing beside us, looking smug. Dan was at her side as she said, “You ready to go?”