Forgive & Forget (Love in the Fleet)

by Ashby, Heather

  “So you had her all day in a bikini on the boat and then?”

  “And we sailed. And swam. And…”

  “And?”

  “We did a little kissing.” Philip’s lips curved into a self-satisfied smile.

  Sky pushed his beer aside and set his forearms on the table, eyes eager. “And?”

  “A little sunscreen application.” He drew out the words for Sky’s benefit.

  Sky slapped the table and flashed his signature grin, complete with a space between his two front teeth. He leaned back and slid his fingers through his blond crew cut. “Oh, yeah, now we’re getting to the good stuff. Then what?”

  “That’s it.”

  Sky jerked back in his seat. “That’s it?”

  “Yeah, Sky, I’m not an asshole around women like you are. That’s it.”

  “Ah, Lieutenant Integrity speaks. Okay, but let’s say her bikini top had, like, fallen off. Would we be talking oranges or cantaloupes or—?”

  “You are such a tool.” Philip shook his head in disbelief. “Sorry, but Hallie’s body is none of your business.”

  “Yeah, but I bet you’re gonna make it your business. Okay, forget the fruit, Cowboy, but come on, give me some details. This is the Skylark, king of the skies and the bedroom. Your alpha male wingman, your head coach. I have to know what the playing field’s like if I’m gonna give you any pointers.”

  Philip smiled like the cat that just ate the canary. “I’m doing fine on my own these days, thank you very much, pardner.”

  “Come on. Use the scale. Give me a number. I can’t get a visual on this girl unless I have a number. Just one digit and I won’t ask another question. One to ten.”

  “Thirty-five.”

  Sky howled. “Damn, I wish you could see yourself sitting there with a shit-eating grin on your face. You got it bad, Billy Boy—or is that ‘Billie the Kid’ now? When can I meet her—or are you afraid you’ll be like yesterday’s newspaper once she sees the Skylark in a flight suit?”

  “In your dreams, asshole.”

  “Got a picture?”

  “Nope, but trust me, she’s gorgeous. With an incredible body to match, and she’s…” He drifted off with a dreamy look on his face. “…awesome.” Sky rolled his eyes as Philip waxed and waned about Hallie’s virtues. He told Sky about her dreams of being a newscaster and how she handled the sailboat and how smart she was.

  “I had dinner at her cousin’s last night. And it was pretty funny, because we were kissing on the couch while they did the dishes. And Jeopardy was on, and Hallie kept pulling away to answer the questions. And she got them all right.”

  Sky whooped and slapped his thigh. “A nympho-brainiac!”

  “Shut up, Sky.” But Philip laughed right along with him.

  “Okay, okay.” Sky had to catch his breath. “But why were you watching television and playing kissy face at the cousins’ when you could have been upstairs doing the horizontal mambo? That’s so seventh grade.”

  “You were smooching on the couch in seventh grade?”

  “I was a gifted student, buddy. In all advanced classes when it came to lovin’.”

  Philip chuckled in spite of himself. “You are so full of shit. Look, I’m not stupid. I invited her up, but she said she had too much work to do.”

  “Excuses, excuses. So, Billy Boy, you think you’ve found the mythical perfect woman?”

  Philip sobered a bit. “Pretty much, even though there’s something I can’t place. She’s got an edge to her.” He focused on picking at the label on his beer bottle. “She goes somewhere in her head sometimes. She gets this haunted look in her eyes, like she’s got some baggage. Some secrets.”

  “Maybe she’s doing a clandestine study of the mating rituals of nerd lieutenants. Was she wearing a wire?” Sky failed to keep a straight face.

  “No, seriously. She’s got a few issues. Her dad was never a part of her life and she lost her mom a couple of years ago. And she was uber-sensitive about me having a nickname. She even mentioned something about being bullied in high school. I never thought about pretty girls getting bullied. She didn’t tell me the nicknames guys called her but it’s not hard to figure out. Probably ‘McBabe’ or something.”

  Sky spewed his beer across the table. “McBabe!” He grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth. “I sure hope you get Happy Meals!”

  “Shut up, Sky.” Philip shook his head again and pulled out his wallet to pay their tab. “Look I gotta run. Hallie said she’d call if she got her work done early.”

  “Oh, man. Look at you. You are so whipped. But it’s nice to see you with that big old grin on your face. I’d like to meet her if we can get together before we ship out.” He raised his hand in a stop sign. “And I promise to behave. But remember, once we leave on cruise, I’m your number one date in all liberty ports.”

  Philip fist-bumped Sky, then socked him lightly on the shoulder. “Until something better comes along, right?”

  “Damn straight.”

  Philip climbed into his SUV. “Keep your powder dry, buddy.”

  Sky waved as he jumped into his truck. “Giddy-up, Cowboy!”

  If Hallie McCabe had balls, Sarah “Trixie” Williams had them in spades. In addition, rumor had it she’d slept with half the Atlantic Fleet—the male half. Naked, she was a work of art. Literally. You’d think a nineteen-year-old girl, who was barely five-feet tall and weighed maybe one hundred pounds soaking wet, wouldn’t have the square footage or life history to be the proud owner of six tattoos, but she was. When Trixie walked through berthing in a bra and a thong, it was like an advertisement for Strut Your Stuff, Ink.

  There was the snake draped around her neck, with its forked tongue pointing the way down into her cleavage, the twisted vine of red roses and barbed wire around her navel, and the words “Unplumbed Depths” in fancy script above her soon-to-be plumber’s crack. But everybody’s favorite was “Your Name” tattooed on her left butt cheek, visible to everyone present when she was only wearing a thong.

  Trixie had collected plenty of free drinks in bars after challenging strangers to bet that she remembered them so well “I even had your name tattooed on my ass.” Not that she’d ever bared it on the ship, except in berthing, but the entire crew was privy to the stories of her baring it in bars. The sailors always baited her by saying, “Trixie, how well do you know me?”

  Trixie was a Navy fireman apprentice from the streets of Lowell, Massachusetts. She’d been in a gang since the age of fourteen and had joined the Navy when a recruiter came to her high school. “He was hot, so I told him I’d join up.”

  Since Hallie pulled the duty on Thursday that week, she stayed on board for the night. She and Gina happened to be in berthing when Trixie debriefed about her day. “You should see Bill Gates this week. He’s so much in love he’s, like, walking into bulkheads and shit. The man is definitely getting some. Or maybe he’s just taking happy pills because I can’t imagine any chick wanting to do it with him. What a geek.”

  Gina caught the look on Hallie’s face—pretending not to listen, but obviously taking in every word—and she put two and two together. Hallie and this Bill Gates were both so much in love they were walking into bulkheads and shit. So were they in love with each other?

  She shot Hallie a look across the space and Hallie’s knee-jerk reaction confirmed that Hallie was “the chick.” She caught her eye and mouthed out the words “Bill Gates?” Hallie blushed crimson. Fortunately, Trixie didn’t notice.

  “Oh, Hallie. He’s adorable!” Gina cried as best she could, considering they were whispering in the female head just outside Public Affairs Friday morning.

  Hallie had conceded to letting Gina go down in the hole on the pretext of seeing where Trixie worked. Trixie was only too happy to give Gina a tour of the engineering spaces
and an introduction to her geeky boss, Bill Gates.

  “She took me into his office and you were right. He did have his BCGs on, but I could tell he was gorgeous behind them. And God, what a build. So he stands up, takes his hard hat off, and shakes my hand. How nice was that? I mean, I’m just a peon second-class.”

  Gina planted her feet and smiled, just getting started with her report. “So he shook my hand and said, ‘Pleased to meet you, Miss Marini. Welcome to Shit Central.’ You know how guys look at you when they meet you? Basically look you up and down and check you out? They don’t know that we know it’s all in their eyes, even when their eyes aren’t moving. But he didn’t do that. He was very polite and decent. You’re right. He’s a gentleman.”

  Hallie nodded approvingly as Gina explained how Philip said Trixie could show her around, everywhere but the nuke spaces.

  “So Trixie says, ‘Well, I’m not allowed in those spaces anyway. Gee, I wonder why the Navy doesn’t want me around a fucking nuclear reactor.’ And he said, ‘Language, Williams,’ like you just knew he tells her that all the time. And she said, ‘Oh, sorry, sir. I forgot there was a fucking lady present.’ So he sat down and pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, then the back of his neck, and said, ‘See what I endure all day long?’ Oh, Hallie, he was so hot when he took his glasses off. I totally know what you’re talking about now. I still say you need to tell him the truth before you get yourself in too deep.”

  Gina stopped, out of breath.

  “Thanks for the advice,” Hallie said, “but I’m still trying to figure out what to do. The UCMJ says he can’t get in trouble as long as he doesn’t know I’m enlisted, so at least he’s covered while I figure it out. I mean, there’s no way I’m going to try to fake it through the cruise. But we could have a month or so of bliss before we leave. Rebecca and her husband have been on me all week to tell him, too. They said they’re not going to cover for me. It’s just that every time I get ready to tell him, I picture him walking away and he is, like, the greatest guy I’ve ever met in my life.”

  “How have you avoided him so far on the ship?”

  “Well, first of all I’m hiding in plain sight. He’s not expecting me to be here, especially in the same uniform everyone else is wearing, and he’s not used to seeing me with my hair up. I’m always on the lookout when I’m in the passageways. And since snipes wear plain blue coveralls on board, he’d be easy to notice. Plus, they stay down in the hole and hardly ever travel higher than the mess decks. And I know his hours. He leaves really early in the morning and uses the Officers’ brow to get on the ship.”

  “Oh, man, this is like a spy movie or something.”

  “And I make sure I get to the ship after him and sneak on board right before muster. He usually works late, so I leave as soon as liberty is called. Even then, I don’t mess around going down the brow or hanging around the pier. I just get off the ship and book it for my car.”

  “What about on the other end? What if he changes his routine? I doubt you’d want him catching you in uniform in The Towers parking lot. What are you going to do? Start changing in a McDonald’s bathroom on the way home?”

  “Good idea.”

  “Hallie, no freaking way. You gotta tell him. He’s too nice.”

  “I know. I know.”

  “What are you doing about duty nights?” Gina asked.

  “I thought it was fortunate we’re on the same duty schedule. But even that’s a problem, because he asked me to dine with him in the wardroom when he had duty last night.”

  “So what did you tell him?”

  “That I have to study. Which isn’t a lie. I’ve never outright lied to him.”

  “Just by omission.”

  “Oh, and I forgot. He invited me to a party at the Captain’s house tomorrow night.”

  “No way.”

  “Way. Course I’m not going, but I may see him after the party if it isn’t too late. Then we’re going sailing Sunday.”

  “And then what? Come on, you gotta tell him. Look I hate to burst your bubble, but this whole thing is just a fairy tale if you can’t tell him the truth.”

  “Yeah, thanks for reminding me, Fairy Godmother.”

  “I say you tell him and let the chips fall where they may. Because Cinderella, if you don’t tell him soon, you’re going to turn back into a pumpkin and break Prince Charming’s heart.”

  Chapter 6

  Hallie closed her computer and checked her watch again. Nine thirty. Guess Philip wasn’t going to call or come by. Probably for the best. She had no business visiting his apartment anyway. How much she’d wanted to go up there the other night after dinner at Rebecca’s. They’d been like a couple of high school kids necking on the couch. She’d wanted him to kiss her all night and take away all her responsibilities.

  But she couldn’t quiet the little voices in her head that kept whispering about what she’d read.

  “…personal relationships including dating, cohabitation, and any sexual relationship between officers and enlisted personnel are strictly forbidden.”

  So Hallie came to a decision. She would tell him the truth after sailing tomorrow and if he bolted, as she expected him to do, then so be it. If he wanted to continue secretly off base? That would be gravy. They’d figure out how to handle the cruise later. But somehow she doubted he’d break the rules. That was one of the reasons she liked him so much.

  The ring tone of her phone pulled her out of her reverie.

  Philip invited her up to watch a movie and have that glass of wine. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of seeing him tonight. She thought long and hard before accepting, but what could a glass of wine hurt?

  After she arrived, he debriefed about the party while she sipped her pinot grigio. She listened carefully when he shared stories of his fellow officers, because she knew some of them. Fortunately he didn’t mention her boss.

  “Actually, the party pretty much sucked because you weren’t there.” His brown eyes were so focused on her she hoped he couldn’t see into her deceitful soul.

  He picked up his phone and asked if he could take her picture, since she was looking so cute in braids tonight. Hallie’s heart raced. She reached out and covered the phone. “I’d rather you didn’t, Philip. I don’t like my picture taken.”

  He cocked his head, questions in his eyes.

  “Sorry,” she said. “It’s just that somebody took pictures of me in high school and Photoshopped them and they circulated through the school. People called me…‘Babe McCabe’ and…‘The McBabe.’ Guys had called me that in middle school, but it was worse after those pictures went around. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but it makes me feel uncomfortable.” Not a lie.

  Just what she needed. Her picture on his desk in Engineering. Wouldn’t Trixie get a kick out of that? The fact that he might mention Hallie’s name to the wrong person—especially Trixie—was bad enough. Hallie swore to herself that she would tell him tomorrow after sailing. Period.

  “That’s awful.” Philip reached for her. “I just wanted to capture how cute you look in those braids. Trust me. I’d never do anything like that.”

  “I know. But we’ve only known each other a week—”

  “Best week of my life.” He tried to smile but couldn’t move past the concern for her.

  “I have some weird trust issues. Okay, Philip? Please be patient with me.”

  Weird trust issues? No photographs? Bullied in high school? No parents? The woman had some baggage. There were landmines planted all around Hallie and Philip hoped he didn’t step on any more.

  “Look, Hallie, I know we just met but I am crazy about you. I hope you know I’d never do anything to hurt you. You tell me what you want me to do—or not do—and I’ll do it—or not do it.”

  Hallie reached out and
stroked his cheek. “Thank you.”

  After putting in a movie, Philip slipped his arm around her on the sofa. He was still mulling over her reaction to photographs when he felt fingers in his hair. Turning to her, he found her smile slow, mischievous, and totally breathtaking.

  “Sorry, but your curls are so tempting,” she said.

  “Well, if you get to do that, I get to play with the golden tendril.”

  “The what?”

  “This.” He reached up and pulled it from behind her ear. “This is the golden tendril and it drives me crazy.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  “I love it.” He curled and uncurled the lock of hair around his finger. “That’s why it drives me crazy.”

  He not only thought of Muslim women covering their hair but visions of military women in uniform came to him as well. How many times had he sat in boring staff meetings imagining himself letting down some female officer’s hair and then…Bound hair showed control, but unbound?

  Wait. Why was he even thinking of women in uniform when he had Hallie right here and the golden tendril between his fingers?

  And then they were kissing. Philip wasn’t sure who started it, but he wasn’t complaining. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her to him. Desire twisted in his gut as she returned his long, slow, deep, kisses, tongues searching, and finding.

  A tiny purr in her throat just about undid him. She was liquid in his arms, tasting him, threading her fingers through his hair, kissing him deeper. He had no idea what kind of trust issues she might have, but he was powerless over her kisses. Heat curled inside him, threatening his control. True, he kept getting mixed messages from her, but her mouth was so hot. If she wanted him to stop, he would.