C. Brown - Compromising

There was a brief silence, then Captain Hedlund spoke up again. “Well, First Sergeant, then I will see you and Major Godinez in court. But I warn you that if you fail to get a conviction, all bets are off. You cannot turn around and NJP them then.”

“I’m well aware of that, Captain.”

“Have a nice day, First Sergeant.”

I scampered away, not wanting to be found as the eavesdropper that I had become. This was personal for First Sergeant O’Hara. I had no clue why, but he wanted Alex and me and he wanted us badly. A simple NJP had never even crossed his mind, even though that was a slam dunk. I wondered what he had on us besides the words of a few people that led him to believe he’d easily get a conviction.

My mind was moving at warp speed as I stood in the breezeway, just down the hall from O’Hara’s office. When I finally came to, Captain Hedlund was nearing, his eyes low and questioning.

“Good morning, Pfc. Bennett.”

I quickly snapped back to the here and saluted him, then grew restless waiting on any news from him. “Good morning, Captain Hedlund. Any word on my orders?”

“It seems like everything is being held up by this court-martial. As soon as you can execute them, I will let you know. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to take care of.”

I saluted him again then watched as he walked away. O’Hara had a way of getting under anyone’s skin, and if he had successfully irritated and angered Captain Hedlund, then I knew the anger that burned inside of me was fully warranted.

I spent the day running First Sergeant O’Hara’s errands, then cleaning out storage sheds so that he could store away some boxes that I had filled from old meaningless junk in his office. He was finding any and everything that required little to no brain cells for me to do. Anything to fill my day and keep me under his cold, watchful eyes. I tried hard not to let my anger show as I knew that he was looking for it, and a couple of times I almost gave in and let him have it, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. I didn’t want him seeing the effect that his bullish ways were having on me. If anything, I wanted him to have to think harder…to have to work at getting under my skin because I knew that if he saw his shit was having little to no effect on me, it would irritate him just as much as he was truly irritating me.

My plans for lunch never happened. In fact, I never saw the outside of a building unless I was navigating my way to another building as I carried O’Hara’s shit from one place to the next. When I finally got a break for lunch, it was after the normal lunch hour, and I had just enough time to scarf my food down, then get back to whatever else he had planned for me for the day. Thankfully, I only saw him a few times—the rest of the time he was tied up in meetings.

I finally got in touch with Dalton and asked him to come by my room later in the evening. Alex wasn’t too thrilled that I was staying in my own room for the evening, but I needed to maintain my presence in the barracks, and I needed some alone time with Dalton. He was feeling brushed off, and I needed to hold on to my friend. He had been my right hand threw my secret relationship with Alex.

Dalton came by the room just as I was dressing after taking a long, hot shower. He came bearing food which I desperately needed; the little bit that I’d had earlier in the day was practically inhaled.

“Well, don’t you smell pretty,” he greeted, kissing the top of my head before making his way into the room. I’d missed him, and his loving and affectionate ways.

“Well, I smelled like a field Marine after working today, and my muscles feel as if I’ve been on a ten mile hump.”

He laughed and took a seat on my bed, taking two sub sandwiches and small bowls of pasta salad from the bag he was holding. I took a seat and dug in, savoring the food.

“So what’s the deal with these fraternizing charges? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever.”

“I know, and I’m really sorry, but we found out who’s been talking.”

“Really? Do tell…”

I took another bite, trying to chew quickly before speaking again. “Do you know Sergeant Vernon?”

Dalton sat thinking for a minute before shaking his head.

“Well, apparently, he works in Admin and can’t stand Alex. It turns out he was in the tattoo shop just outside the gate and got to talking to Nat, Riley’s girl. Well, she was talking and somehow got onto Alex and mentioned me and how awesome we are. Sergeant Vernon gave the info to First Sergeant.”

“What a bitch. And what an asshole that guy is.”

“Natasha didn’t know, so I don’t fault her. But it doesn’t stop there.”

“Let me guess. Angelica ran her mouth?”

“I almost wish it had been her, but no. Shockingly, she hasn’t said anything, but Alex’s mom did.”

“What the fuck? I thought you said she liked you.”

“She does, but when First Sergeant called her, asking vague questions, she thought something had happened to Alex.”

“So he tricked her into talking about you?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“What an ass. What did Alex say about it? And worse yet, what did his grandma say about it?”

My skin turned cold. Guadalupe was the one person that I was worried about more than anything with this whole situation. Everyone else seemed level headed enough that we could explain the circumstances to and be okay, but Alex’s grandmother already had her suspicions about me, and seeing what Alex stood to lose was certainly not going to sit well with her.

“I don’t know. Alex hasn’t told them yet.”

Dalton’s eyes bulged. “Why not? And when do you two plan on telling them? Don’t you think they need to know?”

“Yes, but Alex is going to be the one to do it, and I’m, assuming he’s going to wait until after this weekend.”

“What happens this weekend?”

I took a deep breath, then smiled. “Alex and I are getting married.”

“What? Why so soon?”

His tone came out more accusatory than I would have liked, but I brushed it off and gave him the answer. “Because First Sergeant O’Hara is moving at warp speed. He got Major Godinez to get the pre-trial hearing moved up to Monday, and Alex thinks it will best if we went into court married. It shows the judge something.”

“And you’re just going to go along with it? What do you think?”

“I know you’re thinking we’re getting married for all the wrong reasons, but that’s not the case. We were going to get married regardless, and this just helps our cause. I love him, Dalton, and I can’t wait to have him in the one way that means more than anything else.”

A sparkle went off in his icy blue eyes. The boyish charm that he so easily exuded was coming back, front and center. “Well, I’m delighted for you then. I know how much you love him. Where are you getting married?”

“I have no idea—”

“It’s all a surprise for her,” Alex interrupted, standing in the doorway of the room holding a small, brown paper bag. “All she knows is that I’m giving her my last name. Everything else is left up to me.”

He strolled into the room, looking exquisite in a pair of jeans and a tight fitting t-shirt. I couldn’t believe that he was mine, and would be filling the void that was the other part of my heart.

“What you got there, Conquerer?”

His eyebrows shot up as he gently sucked on his bottom lip. A faint smile filled with seduction caressed my lips as I stared back at him. Dalton looked on in pure confusion.

“Your friend is here, Blondie. Don’t start shit.”

I looked over to Dalton and smiled, which he returned, albeit nervously.

“I brought you some Tylenol and Icy Hot patches. You said you were sore, and since I can’t be with you tonight, I thought this might help.”