by Yazz Ustaris
Harper latched on to the information with glee and demanded, “Well? What did you think of them, Teagan?”
How did I begin to describe the masculine essence that was Wyatt, without selling him short? I chewed on my bottom lip as I confessed, “One of them kissed my hand, and the other one just stood there staring at me and smiling. It was all very confusing.”
“What did they look like?” Harper asked.
“Well, they were both good looking,” I admitted. “But Wyatt was a level 10 on the Sex Appeal Scale of Hotness.”
“Whoooo! I can’t wait to get a peek at them!” Allegra gushed. “So…he’s interested in you…and you think he’s hot. What exactly is the problem here?”
I rolled my eyes at her teasingly as Kyrie and Marisol giggled in the background. “It’s not that simple. You see, Wyatt started paying attention to me right around the same time that Gideon did, which was like….a couple days ago.” I could feel my face burning as we were talking, and it startled me when both Harper and Allegra simultaneously pointed at me and hooted in laughter.
“No, no, no. Gideon has had the major hots for you since the beginning. Like, as soon as you arrived on base.” Harper pointed out.
I shook my head and stated, “No… it was just a little crush. But now he’s trying to turn it into something more.”
Marisol cleared her throat as if she wanted to say something. I looked at her and prompted her with a bob of my eyebrows to go ahead and speak her mind. “Teagan, we watched you on the live camera feeds every day that you were in boot camp. We were able to see things that you didn’t or couldn’t see, including the way that Gideon always looked at you.”
Jamie was quick to interject, “It’s true, Teagan. And it’s very plain to see that it has morphed into more than just a simple crush.”
Flabbergasted, I just sat there and mulled it over. Could it be true? Why didn’t I see it sooner? Were the signs there all along and I had just been completely oblivious?
Sergeant Kami butted into my private thoughts as she inquired, “Just out of curiosity…what exactly is your objection to Gideon’s interest in you?”
“Yeah. I wanna hear your answer because Gideon is seriously hot.” Allegra pointed out. “I mean, he didn’t look that way when he got here, but 6 months of boot camp did his body good. Come on, have you seen his muscles?” She bit her lip as she let loose a dreamy sigh.
I blew out a breath as I considered the question. “Well….he’s only 19. I’m four years older than him.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how incredibly lame it sounded, even to my own ears.
“Are you kidding? That seems to be the trend these days, especially in the celebrity world. And besides…he’s over 18! That means he’s legal.” Harper grinned at me as she dismissed my excuse. “What else? What other objections about Gideon do you have?”
As I pictured him in my mind’s eye, I honestly was coming up blank. If I were being truthful with myself, I couldn’t come up with any other reason why I shouldn’t consider a romantic relationship with Gideon. After all, I already cared a lot about him. The question was, what happened if we gave it a try and it didn’t work out? Would the fallout forever ruin our friendship? I couldn’t bear the thought of losing the close bond I already shared with him.
Sergeant Kami seemed to read my mind as she smiled tenderly at me and said, “Don’t stress too hard about this. No one expects you to come to a decision tonight. If a love match between you and Gideon was meant to be, then I sincerely believe that things will work themselves out in the end. As for Wyatt, you’ll just have to come to your own conclusions about him. You’re still young and life is nothing but one big lesson. So…you know…live and learn!” I nodded my head in understanding as I decided to follow her advice and stop stressing about it.
Leaning over, I gently nudged Kyrie and asked, “Why so quiet, Squirt? What are you thinking about?”
Kyrie tilted her head to the side as she tried to put her thoughts into words. “Thinking about Gideon makes me think of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. He looks nothing now like he did when he first got here. Especially after you gave him a haircut and shaved off his beard. Who knew a stud was hiding beneath all that hair?”
Amused, I smiled at her in response. “Those are some pretty deep thoughts. Anything else you wanna share?”
“Mmm… well. I wanted to say that Sam is also a butterfly, and he’s very good looking too. It’s too bad that he’s gay.”
I burst out laughing at her observation, along with the others. “I’m sure he’d consider it the highest compliment if he knew what you were thinking.”
Letting out a gasp, she worried, “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”
Winking at her, I replied, “Tell him what?”
She released a relieved sigh, which made me laugh again. “Okay mademoiselle’s, who’s next on the pedestal? What guy problems do you want to discuss?”
As the night wore on, I discovered that nearly everyone adored Gideon but no one wanted to bother engaging his interest, since apparently he only had eyes for me. Harper and Allegra both liked Logan, but since Logan was never alone and always had Cassidy and Gabe by his side, it made it hard to get to know him better.
To my surprise, Jamie was happily dating Doc Duffy and they had been together for just over a year. I learned that Sergeant Kami had a huge crush on Sergeant Flynn but was too chicken-shit to make a move. Teasingly, Harper, Allegra, and I started brainstorming ways to covertly bring them together. I started to get a cramp in my side from laughing so hard from some of the scenarios we concocted.
When asked if they had any secret crushes, both Kyrie and Marisol denied having any feelings for anyone. Slinging my arms around each one of their shoulders, I replied, “Good! You guys should stay away from boys…they’re nothing but trouble!”
When the others heard my comment, they doubled over in laughter claiming I was so contradictory. Suddenly, a loud snore resonated from behind us and I laughed when I saw that Mercer was deeply asleep. He had been so quiet, I had forgotten he was with us. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I was shocked to see that it was already half past midnight.
Jamie beat me to it when she suggested, “As fun as Ladies Night was, I think it’s time to call it a night and turn in for bed. We all have to get up pretty early in the morning for training.”
With sleepy smiles, we all scrambled to our feet and started packing up all the snacks to take back with us to the kitchen in the Mess Hall. I made a mental note to thank Amos for the wonderful spread he had laid out for us. As soon as we stood up, Mercer automatically awoke at the sound of our rustling and padded over to my side.
One by one, we exited the building and walked single file towards the direction of the main building. When Kyrie stumbled once, Harper snagged her arm to prevent her from doing a face-plant in the grass and I let loose a quiet chuckle. Kyrie sure lost her steam pretty fast, but then again she was the youngest of the bunch, so I’m sure she didn’t get the chance to stay up this late very often.
When all the leftover snacks had been dropped off in the kitchen, I squatted in front of Kyrie and ordered, “Hop on Squirt.” In the corridor, we all whispered “goodbyes” to one another, and retired to our respective rooms for the night.
In our own room, Kyrie stayed awake long enough to change into her pajamas and brush her teeth before shuffling to her bed like a zombie, and falling face first into her pillows with her ankles hanging over the edge of the mattress. She didn’t even take the time to wiggle beneath her comforter. I stared at her, amazed as a soft snore emerged from her lips. Shaking my head and laughing quietly, I walked over to her side of the room and managed to maneuver her beneath the sheets without waking her up.
In the bathroom, I debated washing my hair as I stood at the sink brushing my teeth. The pungent smell of chlorine was nearly overwhelming to my sensitive nose, but my hair was already nearly dry and I hated the idea of going to bed with wet ha
ir. In any case, I reasoned to myself, I’d only be getting up again in a few short hours to shower for the new day ahead.
Settling down beneath my own comforter, I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Half an hour later after doing nothing but tossing and turning, I sat up in bed, frustrated that I couldn’t turn my mind off. Inwardly I groaned, dreading another night of insomnia. Rolling over to my other side, I hugged my pillow and tried to find the most comfortable position. Still sleep eluded me, and after another 30 minutes of restlessness, I decided to go to the Mess Hall in search of something hot to drink.
Being as quiet as possible, I donned my bunny slippers and pulled a green hooded sweatshirt over my thin tank top. Looking down at my mismatched purple pajama bottoms, I shrugged thinking the odds of running into anyone at this time of the night would be highly unlikely. The slight tinkle of Mercer’s dog tag sounded, and I looked down to see that he had suddenly become alert the moment I got out of bed. Reaching down to rub his soft head, I whispered, “Mercer, stay!” He licked my hand before laying back down on his bed like the good obedient puppy that he was.
Smiling, I let myself out and started heading towards the Mess Hall. About halfway down the corridor, I thought I heard something. Stopping in the middle of the hallway, I closed my eyes and focused on the voices coming from the direction of the Mess Hall.
“Come on, Aidan! We’ve been getting stronger every day. We can do this!”
“No, it’s not time yet. I think we should hold off until we get our second injections. Did you see how high those three were able to jump the other day during training? No….we need to get stronger first, otherwise we won’t stand a chance of making it over the electric barb-wire fence.”
“I can’t wait much longer Aidan…I need to get the fuck out of here. I feel like I’m suffocating in this place. I hate it here!”
“We’re in the middle of the freakin’ desert, Leif! What the hell do you want me to do? I said we’re not strong enough yet. What do you think they’ll do to us if we get caught?”
Having heard enough, I opened my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as I shook my head in annoyance and continued on my way. Aidan and Leif. I knew they were the two angry guys whom I hadn’t officially met yet. Even though they had been whispering heatedly, I was able to clearly hear their conversation when I concentrated. So I knew that if I could hear them, then the military staff most definitely could too since they had bugged nearly every common room in the barracks. What a couple of boneheads!
The whispering stopped as soon as I rounded the corner and entered the Mess Hall. As I predicted, the scruffy-faced blonde haired guy was sitting at one of the tables with a younger guy who had pale skin, dark brown hair, and a severely pock-marked face. Both of them were glaring at me as I kept my distance and walked along the perimeter of the room.
Sheesh…if looks could kill. When my eyes involuntarily flicked back in their direction, the younger one whom I presumed was Leif, stood up from his chair with his hands fisted at his sides. Pointing his finger at me, he practically growled, “What the hell are you looking at?!”
Taken aback at the level of anger directed at me for no reason, I tried to play it cool even though I was sort of beginning to regret leaving the safety of my room. Raising an eyebrow at him I replied, “Not a damn thing. I have no interest in you at all, so you can just pretend I’m not here and go back to plotting your escape from the barracks.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I bit my lip and internally cursed my impulsive tongue. Leif seemed a little bit on the unstable side, and it definitely wasn’t smart of me to get him worked up even more. Who knew what could make the guy snap.
Breaking eye contact with him, I resumed my walk to the beverage station. Maybe if I ignored them, they’d lose interest in me and go back to planning their escape. Idiots. Reaching for a mug, I filled it with hot water from the dispenser and turned to look for some tea bags. Frowning when I didn’t immediately find any tea, I carried my mug with me to the kitchen. Since I was on friendly terms with Amos, I figured he probably wouldn’t mind it if I puttered around in his domain, so long as I didn’t mess anything up.
The first drawer I pulled out happened to be the “junk drawer”, and there was a bunch of miscellaneous stuff in there, like pens, tape, candles, and….zip ties. Staring at the zip ties for a moment, I grabbed a small handful and shoved them into the front pouch of my hoodie. They were the type of zip ties that were long and thick and useful for immobilizing opponents in a pinch.
Continuing my search for tea, I had to open four different cupboards before I found what I was looking for. I dunked two chamomile tea bags into my cup before heading for the doorway leading back to the Mess Hall. The quicker I made it back to my room, the sooner I’d be able to relax.
Unfortunately, I encountered the pock-marked freakazoid pacing back and forth in front of the empty buffet table, and as it so happened, he was blocking my path. Great. As soon as he saw me re-emerge, he stopped pacing and approached me. Aidan had also drifted closer and was currently standing off to the side with his arms crossed as he watched the scene unfolding.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Leif.” He warned his comrade.
“Yeah, Leif. Don’t do anything stupid,” I mimicked. Once again, I couldn’t help the smart assed comment from tumbling out.
Leif glared at me again as he ranted, “Who the hell do you think you are? I bet you think you’re pretty damn special, don’t you?”
Shrugging one shoulder, I replied, “Not particularly. We’re all equal here. I just work harder than you to get what I want.” Sensing trouble brewing, I decided to put my mug down before any of its precious contents got spilled. But before I did, I couldn’t resist taking a soothing sip of the delicious tea.
For some reason, my actions seemed to piss Leif off even more. “That’s it! I’m gonna knock you on your ass and teach you a lesson! I hate how everyone around here bows and worships the ground you walk on, like you’re some freakin’ queen of the castle or some shit.”
Starting to lose my temper, I said, “You’ve got quite the mouth on you. Do you speak that way in front of Kyrie?”
“I speak however the hell I want. What are you gonna do about it?” Suddenly rushing forward into my personal space, he grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me hard.
I stumbled backwards a few steps before I was able to catch my balance. “Knock it off! I don’t want to fight with you.”
He rushed at me again and shoved me with all his strength. Once again I stumbled backwards, and felt my lower back crash into the edge of the buffet table. Okay…that freakin’ hurt!
“Shut up and fight me, you bitch! What are you, a wuss or something?”
“Of course I’m not… I just don’t wanna hurt you if I don’t have to. It wouldn’t be a fair fight. So consider this your warning. If you keep pushing me, I won’t be held accountable for my actions. Do you really want to get your ass kicked by a girl?”
“You’re the one who’s gonna get your ass kicked!” And with that, the fight began. Leif moved fast, throwing punch after punch with his full strength. Every now and then, he kicked out with one of his legs trying to take me by surprise. But for every punch and kick he made, I managed to block him blow for blow. Fairly soon he started to wear himself out, huffing and puffing from being out of breath. All of his movements were uncoordinated and jerky, and I saw that it was pissing him off even more that I wasn’t fighting back.
Suddenly I felt a yawn coming on, and even though I knew it was bad timing on my part, for the life of me I couldn’t suppress it. Naturally, seeing my yawn launched him into a full blown rage and he let out a yell as he made a desperate grab for me. He got lucky as he wound up fisting a handful of my hair. Tears sprang to the corners of my eyes from pain when he jerked me backwards by my hair. That’s it! No one messes with the hair!
Before I had the chance to regain my equilibrium, Leif struck out with two consecutive blows to my face wi
th his open palm. I was actually impressed with the speed at which he moved. However, I should’ve known that the sneaky little bastard would fight dirty.
Deciding that enough was enough, I dropped my weight down to a crouch and swept my leg backwards in a low, reverse-roundhouse kick, catching Leif by surprise and causing him to fall hard onto the floor. He lay there stunned for a few seconds before quickly climbing to his feet again. Wasting no time, I leapt forward and sharply brought my knee up to his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. The moment he bent forward at the waist to catch his breath, I swung my elbow out in a Muay Thai style elbow strike, clocking him in the face and causing a nosebleed. When he staggered back from the blow to his face, I closed my fist and threw a quick jab to his windpipe; not too hard, just hard enough to incapacitate him.
He dropped to his knees like a rock, choking and gasping for breath as blood spewed out of his nose in a steady stream. Oops! Maybe I hit him a little too hard. Shooting Aidan a look in a silent message not to interfere, I withdrew the zip ties from my hoodie and worked quickly to hogtie Leif. When I was satisfied that he was completely secured, I turned a wary eye on Aidan. He was taller, beefier, and older than Leif, but I felt confident enough in my abilities to be able to take him on too.
He stood there frowning down at Leif, but one side of his mouth was quirked up at the corner as if in perverse fascination of the entire scene. When he finally looked up and noticed me giving him the evil eye, I demanded, “What about you? You want a piece of me too?”
His expression changed as he met my gaze directly. I had a hard time trying to figure out what he was thinking. Sighing wearily, he rubbed the back of his neck for a moment before replying. “Nope. I told that dumbass not to do anything stupid. He didn’t listen. So…..yeah. I’m going to bed.”
Still glaring at him, I said, “Smart man. Now run along.” I was using my no-nonsense voice and Aidan just stared at me for a few more seconds before turning and walking away. I caught the ghost of a smile on his face though before he disappeared around the corner. What he found so amusing, I could only guess. I just beat the shit out of his friend. What was so funny about that?