Dinner was uneventful, and afterward, Alexis chose to hang out in the DFAC with some of her UN buddies. I sat nearby, threw my feet up on another chair, and settled in to wait until she was ready to go to her tent. I could have gone over to socialize with the others. Jefferson and some of the guys were getting to know the UN group, and it seemed like the rest of them were a lot friendlier than Alexis.
I wasn’t interested in putting out the energy to make new buddies though. The truth was I was here to earn money for my mom and stay alive long enough to get the hell out. This second tour had taken its toll, and I was tired. While I was more than willing to socialize with some women, I hadn’t made much effort to befriend anyone beyond Corbin and Benji, who had been buddies with Nick and me when we first got deployed.
I watched Alexis as she smiled and laughed with her volunteer buddies and thought that while I liked her all riled up, it’d be nice to be on the receiving end of one of those smiles too. She was lush-looking: juicy lips; big, dark eyes; skin that was as smooth as silk. In spite of her dark hair, she had a smattering of freckles across her nose, and it made her more beautiful for the fact that it wasn’t classic and expected. Her eyes were framed by long, dark lashes and strong brows that made the perfect inverted Vs above her eyes. Her hair was wavy but not at all frizzy—smooth, deep brown, and begging to be wrapped around my fists while I pounded into her.
On that world-rocking image, I stood and stretched, heading to the coffeepot for another cup. I’d never be able to sleep thinking about how I wanted Alexis anyway, so I figured copious amounts of caffeine weren’t going to make much difference.
As I reached the service table and began filling my cup from the spigot, Benji appeared, leaning back against the table next to me, smirk at the ready.
“So, Thompson, how goes the babysitting?” he asked, voice full of glee.
“None of your damn business, asshole,” I answered with my usual belligerence.
He laughed. Benji was used to my shitty attitude and never let it hold him back.
“Well, rumor has it Jefferson walked in on you two about to get busy, so it sounds like maybe it’s going pretty well.”
I rolled my eyes. “Jeff doesn’t know what the hell he walked in on, man. She hates me, and we weren’t ‘getting busy.’”
Now, I wasn’t one of those dudes who had to blast it all over when I was with a woman, but I also didn’t make a point of denying it. Considering my testicles were probably at stake, however, I wasn’t giving Benji even a bone to chew on. God knew word would make it to my CO in record time, and I already regretted my slipup in her tent earlier.
He sized me up for a minute before he nodded his head and pursed his lips. “All right, güero. I won’t push, but I’m not buying it. You always get the girl, and I’m betting you’ll get this one too. It’s cool though. I can wait until you’ve got something to tell, ’cause I’m easy like that. You can tell the other UN girls I’m easy. Just in case they’re curious.” He laughed and walked off.
I sighed and wandered back to my table. As I arrived, I saw Alexis standing there alone, looking around. I took bigger steps to reach her without looking like I was hurrying. “You looking for me?” I said smoothly as I winked at her.
She didn’t take the bait, just said, “I’m really tired. Can you walk me back to my tent?”
“Sure thing,” I answered, looking at her face closely, wondering why she was suddenly so drawn and pale.
“Thanks.”
We walked into the cooling night air, and she was silent. No snark, no political rants. Her shoulders were drooping and her steps were tentative.
“So, uh, you feeling homesick?” I asked quietly.
She gave me a sharp look then turned away. “Why would you ask that?”
“You just seem a little down is all.”
She sighed. “Not homesick. Just a little unbalanced, I guess.”
I laughed. “Well, I could have told you that. I took one look at you and said, ‘Now that girl’s completely unbalanced.’”
I expected a good put-down for that one or even a punch, but all I got was, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, so let’s just drop it.”
I stopped and put a hand on her arm. “Hey. I’m really not that bad. Why don’t you give me a shot? Maybe I’d understand more than you think. You know, this is my second tour here, so if anyone understands how unbalanced this place can make you, it’s me.”
She stood in the moonlight, her eyes luminous with what I feared were unshed tears. After a breathless moment, she started walking again. “It’s about what happened earlier . . . between us.”
I got a bad vibe that ran from my feet all the way up my spine to my head, where it lodged as a dull ache. “Which thing that happened earlier?”
“The you-trying-to-seduce-me part,” she snapped.
“That wasn’t even close to me trying to seduce you. That was just a tiny bit of flirting. If you want to see me try to seduce you, let’s step into the back room of the DFAC and I’ll give you a personal demonstration.”
“Do you ever stop?” she asked, her voice rising. “Do you ever stop and think about the other person in the equation? You could be doing all sorts of damage and not have any idea, because you’re so focused on ‘winning’ that you don’t care about the collateral damage.”
“Whoa, whoa, there, Alexis. Slow down. I guess I’m not as bright as the school system told me because I have no idea what you’re talking about. Collateral damage? What the fuck? I flirted with you a little, stood too close. I didn’t even kiss you, for Christ’s sake,” I said as quietly as I could, considering my level of agitation.
She huffed out a breath, and when she did, I couldn’t help but notice the way her breasts swelled in her T-shirt. They were the most perfect pair of breasts I’d ever seen, and believe me, I’d seen a few.
“Look,” she said in a soft voice now. “What happened earlier? Well, everyone’s talking about it all over camp, thanks, I guess, to Megan and that Jefferson guy.”
“And you’re what? Totally ashamed that a jerk like me got to you and everyone knows it?” I narrowed my eyes at her. I shouldn’t have cared that she was embarrassed by what happened. I’d never cared if a girl respected me before, but for some reason, the idea of her being ashamed of being seen with me took a little nick out of my heart.
She shook her head. “No. It’s not that. I don’t care what people think, except that there are people here who know me back in Austin.” She paused. “People who know my boyfriend back in Austin.”
I felt my gut clench.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
A boyfriend.
I took a breath and squared my shoulders. She couldn’t know that bothered me. No fucking way would anyone know that bothered me.
“Well, hey, I’m sorry about that, babe. But really, it was harmless. I’m sure Romeo will understand once you explain it was the asshole playboy of the camp who was putting the moves on you. You don’t have to tell him how much you liked it,” I said as I stepped closer and lowered my voice even further.
“Stop it,” she hissed. “Just . . . God. I knew you wouldn’t get it.” She started off toward her tent, and I stood there without following. But I did watch her until she was safely inside.
• • •
I woke the next morning with the headache from hell. I hadn’t slept worth a damn, and knowing I had to spend the whole day following Alexis as she did surveys of local conditions didn’t help any. I felt like crap. I wasn’t sure what was worse—the fact that I was responsible for upsetting her the night before or that she had a damn boyfriend. Either way, I knew I owed her an apology, and the sooner I got it over with, the better.
After layering on all my MultiCam for the day, I walked to Alexis’s tent and gave a holler. “Good morning, ladies. Are you ready for breakfast?”
Megan popped her head out the flap and smiled at me. “Jeff is coming for me in a few minutes, but Alexis already took off for the DFAC.”
Great. Only seven a.m. and I was already in dereliction of duty. “Thanks,” I said to Megan as I turned to hurry my ass over to breakfast.
When I walked in, I spotted her right away, deep in conversation with the scrawny guy she’d been fussing at the very first time I saw her. I went to the line, got my tray and a cup of coffee, and then walked to her table.
She and the guy seemed to have exhausted their conversation, and neither looked too happy.
“Hi, Ms. Garcia,” I said in my most polite soldier voice. “You were supposed to wait for me to come escort you to breakfast.”
“Oh, sorry, I guess I forgot,” she answered, gesturing to the empty seat at the table.
I sat down and extended my hand to the guy who was watching us. “Hi, I’m Sergeant Gabe Thompson.”
His lips pressed in a firm line, but he managed to put his hand out. “Nice to meet you. Steve Whitfield.”
I squeezed his hand just the smallest bit and saw his eyes widen for moment. “Do you know Ms. Garcia from Texas?” I asked, already suspicious that this was the asshole who was threatening Alexis like a tattletale in elementary school.
He sat up straighter and put his extra-righteous face on. “Yeah, I live on her floor in the dorms, and her boyfriend is a good friend of mine.”
Bingo. I kept my face totally neutral, something I’d had quite a bit of practice at when women were screaming at me. “Well, that’s great to come overseas with friends. I actually enlisted with my best buddy from home.”
Texas Boy gave me a small smile and then looked around the room. “Oh, I see my escort’s done eating. I’d better go grab him so we can get started on inventory. I’ll see you later, Alexis.”
She smiled politely. “Okay, Steve. Later.”
“Good to meet you, man,” I said, giving him a smile that showed enough teeth to make him grimace in response.
The relationship police gone, I turned to Alexis, who seemed embarrassed to look at me.
“So I assume that was the leak back to Austin you mentioned?”
She nodded, looking down at her eggs and stirring them around with her fork.
“Hey.” I tapped her on the hand and she looked up at me.
“You were right. I was being selfish yesterday, and I’m sorry. It never occurred to me that you might be involved with someone. I know I tend to be a bit, uh, overbearing, and I usually go balls-to-the-wall for what I want.”
She let out a little sarcastic exclamation.
“Yeah, I know. I’m an arrogant ass, but I’m not completely without scruples. And I’ve never messed around with another dude’s girl, so I won’t start now. You’re safe from me.”
Her eyes flickered with something. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn it was disappointment.
She gave a short laugh. “Okay, Don Juan, that’s good to hear, and apology accepted. If you’re serious about laying off, maybe we can be friends? Sort of looks like we’re stuck with each other for a while.”
I briefly thought that “friends” was the last thing I wanted to be with her, but I put my hand out. “Friends. Thanks for giving me a second chance, and, uh, you know, my CO would be really unhappy if he heard about yesterday.”
She nodded. “I get it. If you’re serious about a truce, I won’t say a word.”
I smiled, relief washing through me.
She shook my hand, and I couldn’t help but notice hers fit so perfectly in mine. “So, can I say one thing?” I asked.
She smiled encouragingly. She had a really beautiful smile when she wasn’t hollering at me.
“If that guy, Steve, gives you any more trouble, can I have permission to pound the shit out of him? He has no right to police you like that. Your relationship is between you and your guy, not his best friend.”
She blushed a little. “You’d beat up some guy you don’t even know just because he gave me a hard time?”
I nodded. “In a heartbeat.”
She smiled even more beautifully than before, as if that were possible. “Okay, if he says one more word about it, I’ll unleash Sergeant Thompson on him.”
“It’s a deal . . . babe.” She busted out laughing and we kept laughing most of the way through breakfast. Best breakfast I’d ever had.