The Goodwill Gesture

by McKay, KC

  Just then, Darcy stepped out of the bathroom looking stunning in a black polka dot dress cut at mid-thigh.

  "Wow," I commented. "You look great."

  "Thanks."

  I extended the drink toward her. "Bottoms up." I smiled.

  "Yum. That looks delicious."

  I looked at her long, thin legs. "My thoughts exactly," I said in an understated tone. I held up my beer. "I put all the gin in yours to make it a double, so I'm having a beer. Hope you don't mind."

  She smiled and shook her head sweetly. "You're very thoughtful, Zac. Thank you. By the way, how'd you get housekeeping up here so quick?"

  "Oh… I told them the next Admiral of the United States Navy was in this room, and if they didn't shake a leg you'd have this hotel leveled as a training exercise." I winked.

  She giggled and raised her glass. "I may have to give you a promotion."

  Whether she knew it or not, even without the promotion, she certainly gave me a rise.

  We touched our drinks in a toast.

  ***

  After I got cleaned up and changed, we walked down the street to The Claymore pub. Small chalkboards outside boasted several specials. Darcy told me chalkboards were a good sign that the food would be fresh. Preprinted signs meant it was the same old food all the time, but chalkboards would have to be updated regularly because of a changing menu.

  The pub was busy and had a buzz about it. Conversations rumbled around us, but I couldn't understand most of what was being said. Partly because of the volume, partly because of the accents, but mostly because I was focused on Darcy.

  We walked up to the bar.

  "What would you like?" Darcy asked.

  "You know, I really don't like the idea of you having to fund me this weekend. I mean, I'm the guy, I should be paying."

  "Oh?" She took a step back and took a good look at me. "Like a date?"

  I couldn't help but look sheepish and shrug.

  She shook her head. "Look. First of all, it's not a date. Second of all, if it was a date, this is the eighties. So if a girl wants to buy a guy a drink, and dinner for that matter, it's allowed. And please don't tell me you have the same mentality as Master Chief Woods and believe that women should be barefoot and pregnant. Is that how you'd prefer me?"

  How about naked and spread-eagle? I looked at her for a moment with my shamed look. "No, ma'am— I mean, Darcy. That's not how I meant it. I just don't want you to think I'm a sponge."

  "Zac! You had the crap beat out of you, for cryin' out loud." She placed her hand on her chest. "Protecting me. I know you're not here on a free ride. Now put your outdated ego away and order up." She had a certain fire in her eye that I wouldn't mind seeing in the bedroom given half the chance.

  "He didn't beat the crap out of me," I mumbled. "He got in a lucky punch."

  She pinched my cheek. "I know." She smiled.

  When the bartender came over, I ordered a beer.

  Darcy leaned against the bar. "Got any moonshine?"

  The barkeeper grinned. "Nay, lassie, but I got a fine single malt whiskey."

  Darcy nodded. "Aye, that'll be dandy. I'll have it neat."

  "Aye," the bartender replied. "I wouldn't serve it any other way, lassie." He balled up his fist. "Last week a Yank put Coke in it, and I give him a punch in the nose."

  Darcy gasped. "He never did." She made a fist and touched it with his. "Ya did right, matey. Bloody disgrace."

  The bartender grabbed a bottle off the top shelf and showed Darcy the label. 'Oak Aged 21 Years' it read. They both smiled.

  "And one for yourself," Darcy instructed him.

  He grinned broadly and gave triple measures in both their glasses. "You're all right, lassie."

  They clinked glasses and sipped the liquor.

  "Mmm…" Darcy hummed. "Lovely." She licked her lips.

  The bartender raised his glass toward her and winked, then walked off, leaving us in peace.

  How could she be so sophisticated, yet natural and fun-loving? I don't know if she knew it or not, but she was impressing the hell out of me.

  We placed our food order at the bar. Darcy ordered fish and chips and I had the same so I wouldn't outspend her. We found a cozy table against the wall under a painting of sheep grazing on the hillside and sat down.

  I raised my eyebrows. "Moonshine, huh?"

  She let out a deliberate sigh. "Yeah. I felt a bit homesick."

  I wasn't sure if she winked or if it was just an untimely twitch to her eye, but either way, I thought she was joking. "Are you really a hill girl?"

  She took a sip of her whiskey. "I am a Kentuckian, and I do like Blue Grass and country music, but that's pretty much where it ends. My dad owns, breeds and races horses. He was disappointed I wasn't a boy, and he didn't think a girl belonged in the world of horse racing. I tried to tell him the Queen of England is a keen horsewoman and has had great success at the Kentucky Derby. He just laughed. Said I was his little princess, not the ruler of a country."

  "Wow." I wanted to hold her hand sympathetically, but I didn't want a smack upside the head. "And your mom? Was she really a…" I couldn't bring myself to say it.

  She choked on her drink. "A prostitute?" She picked up a napkin and dabbed the sides of her mouth. "No, she's a professor of mathematics at the University of Kentucky."

  "Ha, I bet she doesn't have many home-grown students, does she?" I laughed at my own joke.

  Darcy didn't. She leaned in. "Honestly, Zac, never presuppose anything about anybody, and that includes hillbillies and prostitutes. You'll be wrong more times than you'll be right."

  "Sorry. I'll remember that." I trapped her eyes in mine. "You know I was just kidding, right?"

  She reached over and patted my hand. "Of course you were."

  Dammit! She did it again. Was she serious or not? She was harder to read than Shakespeare.

  The fish and chips arrived as we talked.

  "So, Miss Novak, how did you end up in the Navy?" Once I said it, I liked the 'Miss Novak' theme. It had a teacher ring to it and I momentarily pictured her in glasses, bending me over her knee.

  "I love my dad. We're like this." She held up her crossed fingers. "But… I needed to get away from him for a while."

  I nodded. "I get it. Trying to better yourself and your options, huh?"

  She shook her head. "I don't think you get it, Zac. Daddy's not some two-bit shyster."

  "Oh. So why the 'get away' syndrome?"

  She finished swallowing a mouthful of fish. "Daddy put some pressure on me to get married. He wanted a son-in-law to train up in the family business. I wasn't ready, so to buy some time, I said I wanted to go to college. I told him I'd find an educated guy that way. He bought it, but once I got there, I decided I wanted to see the world. And what better way than the Navy?" She dipped a fry in a pool of ketchup and bit off the end.

  "No guy in college, then?"

  She looked at her plate. "Nope. Mr. Right certainly didn't attend the University of Kentucky."

  "What's your degree in?"

  She smiled. "Psychology."

  "Marvelous," I groaned. "So now you think I'm some kind of a nut."

  "Zac, you are without a doubt, one of the most intriguing individuals I have ever met, but no, I wouldn't class you as a nut."

  I smiled. "Well, that's reassuring."

  She smiled too. "Yes, it is. Anyway, here I am. I did a few years at the submarine repair base in Connecticut. Then went to a repair ship out of Norfolk for a few years, then got transferred to Sacred Loch eight months ago. I was in the planning department until the PMA wanted to see what I was made of and put me in charge of R-One division two months ago. Talk about baptism by fire."

  I boldly placed my finger to her lips. "Shh… no work."

  She smiled and nodded.

  "Tell me this." I picked up a French fry from my plate, covered the end with ketchup, and held it to her lips. She chomped down on the end of it and stared at me while she chewed. "Were yo
u ever a cheerleader?"

  She frantically searched for her napkin and quickly covered her mouth. Her body jerked for a while, and after a hard swallow, she laughed, then shook her head. "Zac, you're something else. Teachers and cheerleaders, huh? Anything else?"

  I was sure my eyes reflected glimmers of hopefulness. "You're not Catholic, are you?"

  She reached across and playfully smacked my shoulder. "Nuns too? You're insufferable." She dipped her head and looked from the tops of her eyes. "I guess it's good you don't have a thing for Naval officers."

  I shrugged. "I don't know. Actually, I think the PMA is kind of cute."

  Darcy burst out laughing. I made some remark about getting him to play 'the bitch' and she laughed even harder.

  She reached across and took a sip of my beer without asking. That was a real girlfriend thing to do. It turned me on.

  "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but yes, I was a cheerleader for Kentucky."

  Ship chick or not, I wasn't sure if I could keep her off my lust list any longer. This was too good to be true. One way or another, be it as a teacher or a cheerleader, I had to get her back to school.

  Chapter 16

  I had to admit, for a chick, Darcy held her liquor pretty well. She surprised me and switched to beer after her whiskey. We didn't get rip-snortin' drunk, but I had a pretty good buzz by the end of the evening and she was in a damn good mood herself. I liked her even more because she laughed at my jokes.

  We left the pub and returned to the hotel. My heart raced as she slid the key card in and the door unlocked with loud clicks.

  Would she expect me to make a move on her? Would she smack me if I did? Would she be disappointed if I didn't? I'd have to play it cool and let her dictate the pace if there was any pace to be set.

  Darcy walked over to the mini bar and pulled out two small bottles of whiskey. "Shall we have a nightcap?"

  "Ma'am, I could cap you all night—" I smacked my hand over my mouth. "I mean, that's not what I meant… I mean, I meant… a nightcap… yeah, good idea. I meant, Darcy, not ma'am—"

  "Zac. Shut up."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  She poured a bottle each into separate glasses and handed one to me as she held hers up. "It's just a drink, not a goodwill gesture."

  Okay, that was a hint. No fucking.

  I took my glass and we both sipped our drinks.

  She moved over and sat on her bed cross-legged. She pulled her hem down, covering her unmentionables. But as she moved to get comfortable, her dress hiked up enough that I could see her panties.

  I looked into the bottom of my drink, then slowly let my gaze drift across the floor toward her bed, up the flower-pattern bedspread, and bingo! Right back to her honeypot hiding under those black panties. Damn those panties, but it didn't matter. It had the same effect as if she sat there commando. I started to grow hard. I quickly sat on my cot before she would notice.

  "Thanks for dinner, Darcy. That was a delicious piece of cunt—Cod! I mean cod. I said cod," I stuttered. "You know, the fish I had? It was so tasty. The cod I mean." I lifted my glass to my lips to shut me up and hoped she didn't notice my Freudian slip. I glanced at her panties again.

  She smiled, either ignoring or pretending not to hear my true desire. "You're welcome, Zac. It was my pleasure. I enjoyed having some company for dinner. It's been a long time since I've had someone to talk to while having a meal. It was nice. You were nice." She sipped her drink.

  Okay, she was sending out signals now, but I wanted a little more reassurance before I went plowing in. Literally. I glanced at her hidden muff again. "Ma'am, I mean Darcy." My eyes focused on hers and I had her full attention. "What's the Navy's view on members dating each other?"

  Her expression didn't change. "You mean like an enlisted person dating another enlisted person, right?"

  Damn it. She didn't take the hint. "Umm, yeah, right."

  "Well, there's no rule against it, as long as it doesn't happen on the ship." She sipped her drink.

  I tried to be coy. "What about if one outranks the other one?"

  "Ah, well." She stretched her legs out and pulled her dress down.

  Damn.

  "Oh my gosh, Zac. Are you serious about making a play for the PMA?" She winked. "You naughty boy."

  Oh shit. She sounded like a teacher.

  "Well, he's an officer," she continued. "But even more importantly, he's in your direct chain of command. I.E., he's your boss, as well as mine. So, forget it. That is totally against Navy regs. It ain't never going to happen."

  "Never?" I asked, purposely sounding hopeful.

  "Not until the Navy allows gay relationships."

  "Yeah, well that's never gonna happen. But what if the PMA wasn't a guy?" There. If she didn't take that hint, I'd just ask her straight out, 'Wanna fuck?'

  "Enlisted personnel messing around with officers is an out of bounds area, and a good way to end careers." She tipped her glass back, finishing her whiskey, then stretched. As far as I could tell, she faked her yawn, but it was still a turn-on seeing her mouth open that wide.

  She scooted to the edge of the bed. "Let's not talk about Navy regs right now. Let's get some sleep and enjoy the rest of the weekend." She stood up and grabbed a nightie out of her bag. "I'm going to change. Turn the light out when you get into bed. Goodnight, Zac." She walked to the bathroom and closed the door.

  I stripped down to my underwear, grabbed a fresh t-shirt from my bag of clothes and slipped it on. After turning off the light, I crawled into the cot. "Goodnight, Darcy," I whispered.

  ***

  We got up the following morning and Darcy dressed in white shorts and a sleeveless white and yellow top. She looked quite athletic wearing her white Reebok sneakers, or perhaps that look came from her long, slim legs. I looked boring next to her in my Levi's and a blue Fruit of the Loom t-shirt.

  After breakfast, Darcy insisted we catch a bus and take a tour of Edinburgh castle. It was an incredible gray stone structure which dominated the skyline from atop its hill. Cannons lined the plateau around the entrance, poking out of gun ports, protecting the castle from the enemies of old.

  Inside, history draped the walls with extravagant paintings and rooms such as the great hall with magnificent oak paneling and wooden ceilings some twenty feet overhead. It didn't take long to discover that history was one of Darcy's areas of expertise. She loved it and enlightened me endlessly about the Scottish past. Most of it was quite boring, but to listen to her talk had me completely enthralled. She had a soft voice, but spoke with such passion, I did actually learn a lot. But truth be told, I found her far more exciting than the stones and bones she spoke about.

  We left the castle and went back to the city center to get something to eat.

  "What are you in the mood for?" she asked.

  I pointed down the street. "Look, there's a McDonald's."

  She frowned with disgust and thrust her hands on her small hips. "Zac, that's ridiculous. You come to this country and should embrace the culture, not eat American crap you can get anywhere in the world."

  I held my hands out. "Honestly, Darcy, I'm just trying to look after your financial interest. You know, something cheap and cheerful. You don't want to be spending a fortune on me."

  "Ahh…" She grabbed my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. "But you're my knight in shining armor who saved me from danger, slaying dragons and Scottish giants to rescue this damsel in distress. How can I ever repay you?" She jerked her head up and pressed her finger against my lips. "On second thought, don't answer that."

  "Too bad." I licked my lips. "I got a serious hankering for some thighs."

  Her jaw dropped and she smacked me on the shoulder, yet her eyes retained a twinkle.

  "You dirty little cheerleader." I pointed to the other side of the street. "There's a Kentucky Fried Chicken. I thought that might make you feel at home." I feigned disgust. "What the hell were you thinking?"

  She glanced at the red and
white striped logo, then stared back at me. A grin crossed her face and she waggled her finger in front of my face. "You tricked me."

  I gasped. "Miss Novak, you didn't think I meant…" My eyes lowered until I focused on her thighs. A vivid recall of her sitting in her black panties dominated my thoughts. "Finger-licking-goo—"

  "Zac!" She swung her arm to hit me, but I ducked out of the way. She swung again, and I skipped back. "I'm going to get you," she growled.

  I took off down the street with Darcy chasing me. I weaved around pedestrians while she stayed in pursuit. I ran down the block, crossed the street, and ran into the KFC. Darcy followed me in. I turned around and grabbed her. She stood in my embrace, face-to-face, a lonely inch separating our lips. Her peach scent wafted up my nose. I held her tightly around the waist and didn't let her escape.

  "We can have thighs here…" I jerked my head in the direction of our hotel "…or, somewhere else if you like."

  She stayed fixated on me for several seconds, her breathing ragged. She pressed herself against me. Much longer in that position and she would have felt me growing hard against her. "We better have them here, don't you think? We don't want to get into trouble."

  I moved my head until I felt the static electricity from her lips. "I happen to like trouble," I whispered.

  A barrel-shaped woman in a floral print dress caught my attention from the corner of my eye. Then her partner.

  Oh shit. Looking down, I took aim and kicked Darcy on the ankle.

  "Owww!" she yelled, her face creased with pain. "What'd you do—"

  "What's up, JG? I almost didn't recognize you." Master Chief Woods stood a few feet from us. His round friend stood next to him. Master Chief's forehead wrinkled. "Chambers? What are you doing here?"

  "Oh, hi, Master Chief. I came to Edinburgh for the Tattoo, you know, being military and stuff. We all gotta support each other, no matter what country we're fighting for, right?" I stepped back from Darcy. "I came in for something to eat, and whaddya know?" I opened my arms toward Darcy. "Lieutenant Novak here came in, twisted her ankle, and fell on me. How's that for a chance meeting? Then you show up. Wow, what a small world."