Fraternizing

And Riley would be the perfect man for the job.

'I need you to dig. Dig through everything at your disposal on Ruiz. I need ammo in case this bitch tries to go to war with us.'

'You got it, man. But why is she so hell bent on destroying you?'

'Coyotes, the night of my selection celebration, she spotted me and had her ass all over me, but then Cassie came up and I was fucking gone.  Stupid as shit since I didn't even know either of them, but yeah, she must have been pissed because I've noticed her taking little jabs at Cassie ever since.'

'Bitches. Catty little bitches. I'm so glad to be a dude.'

I swooped over to him, landing just before him and grabbing him by his t-shirt.

'Don't ever call her a bitch,' I barked, feeling like the insult against Cassie was a direct insult on me.

'Not her, man. Ruiz.' Fear went off in his eyes in that moment, causing me to let go and back away from him. My feelings for Cassie were deeper that I had originally thought.

'Sorry. I don't know what came over me.'

He fixed his shirt then stood upright, craning his neck to look at me, but I wouldn't let him. I was too ashamed of what I had become in his eyes, but also much too proud to have my heart land in the hands of such of incredibly amazing woman.

'Dude, you really have feelings for this chick, don’t you?'

I looked up at him, silence filling the space, but my facial expression doing all of the speaking necessary for him to get his answer.

'Shit, man. This isn't just another fuck and duck for you. You have feelings.'

'Riley, shut the fuck up.'

He flashed me a smile then patted me on the shoulder.

'I'm happy for you, man. You haven't been like this since Evelyn, so it's nice to see it. Even if it is a jail sentence waiting to happen.' Laughter erupted from him, spurring me to do the same. In all of his silliness, he always had a way of being so profound. He was refreshing in every sense of the way that I was not. He was my polar opposite, but more so than that, he was loyal. And right now, I was going to need all of the loyalty that I could get.

'Enough sentiments, asshole. I'm going to jump in the shower before she gets here. If you're still here, let her in. If not, leave the door unlocked.' I ripped my shirt over my head, turning to walk to my own bedroom.

'No need, she's here,' he said, looking out of his bedroom window.

My heart rate escalated. Why I was so nervous to have her in my house was beyond me, but I was.

And I had the perspiration filled brow to prove it.

The doorbell rang, and I stood frozen, letting Riley answer it since he was closer anyway. He flung the door open, greeting her while moving aside and letting her walk into the living room.

'Hey, Cassie,' he said, trying hard to be casual.

She looked at him and nodded, her eyes averting his while looking back to me.

'I'm off to take care of that job,' Riley sputtered, looking from me to Cassie and then back to me. He was always awkward, so it didn't shock me, but Cassie's eyes shifted to him in surprise, probably unsure of what the job was and why he seemed so at ease.

I rushed her, taking her in my arms and squeezing like it was the last time I would get to hold her. She reluctantly hugged back, not nearly matching my intensity. It worried me.

'Are you okay?' I asked, my eyes searching and trying desperately to get a good read on her.

'I don't know. I don't know what's okay anymore.'

I pulled her back into me, holding her head to my chest. Something had happened in that room after I left, and my feelings from earlier came back, haunting me in droves, driving home the point that I had fucked up. I had fucked up by being in there much too long, and I had doubly fucked up by leaving her.

'Hey! What's wrong?' I asked, taking her delicate hand and leading her into the kitchen. She took a seat at one of the stools at the island. I sat down on the stool next to her and turned her around to face me. I held on to her hands as I peered into her eyes, trying to find any trace of emotion, but coming up empty.

'What happened after I left?'

She looked at me with something, I couldn’t place it, but it was more than the barren gaze that she gave off since she'd set foot in the house.

'Sgt. Riley knows about us? What are you thinking?'

Confusion and anger seemed to be taking over, and the longer I let the thoughts fester, the more they grew.

'He's good to go. He’s on our side.'

'How can you be sure? I don't trust anyone.' The inflection on the word wasn't lost on me. She was sending me a message, and it came through loud and clear. My jaws tightened at her words. I swallowed hard, shutting my eyes and cracking my neck to relieve the tension that had suddenly lodged itself inside. This was going south in a hurry.

'What the fuck does that mean?'

'Exactly what I said, Alex!' she shouted, raising her voice and pulling her hands out of mine. Even though she was mad, she was arousing me and had no idea. 'A little over a week ago, I was heading to Comm School to learn a trade, and now I'm worried every single second of every day that I'll be pulled in and read my rights. The stress is killing me.'

'So what are you saying? You want to squash this? Because you and I both know that’s un-fucking-realistic. We've been down that road and turned right back around. What's next on your list?'

She stood in a hurry, her petite yet muscular arms flailing, sending that decadent vanilla aroma straight for me and teasing my senses. I slowly breathed it in, hoping to never lose the trail of the scent that had somehow become my latest addiction.

'Alex, you have no idea. You have protection. I don't.'

'What are you talking about?' I asked, my eyes thinning into two tight slits as I moved closer to her. She put her hands up to keep me away, which I painfully obeyed.

'Your side chick, Castillo.”

The purse of her lips and the roll of her eyes sent rage flurrying through me. I wasn't sure what was about to come out of her mouth next, but I already knew it wasn't anything good.

'I saw her when I got off duty. She was down by my truck, you saw her. What are you talking about?' Annoyance was filling me faster than water on a sinking ship. It wasn't making sense, and it was pissing me off more and more by the second.

'She stopped by my room and made sure to let me know that you're the world's best Marine and that me and my bullshit career can be chucked out with the latest garbage.'

The thick sarcasm laced in her words gutted me, making me want to find Castillo and check her ass right along with Ruiz. Threats to Cassie weren't going over well with me. I found myself easily offended every time I heard one, and little by little, they were breaking my will power to give a shit about what people knew-- or thought they knew.

'Fuck that shit. I'll be backing her off of you. Don't worry about it.'

'Don't worry about it?' she shrieked, backing further away from me. 'You don't even know what it's like to be in my shoes, Alex. I'm a nothing. A nobody. It won't be hard to get rid of someone like me.'

I grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to me. 'Don't ever fucking say that about yourself. You're a goddamned Marine. You've earned that shit! You are somebody. And, I don't think it's as easy or as hard as you think it is. We're in this shit together, whether you want to believe that or not. Word gets out about this, and they'll be chewing off their own fucking fingers to get rid of me. I'm an NCO, an instructor, and I'll be looked at like a predator. I've seen it happen.'

'And yet you're still willing to keep going with this?'

'I sure am. Because when I want something, I don't give up. I'll fight the entire goddamned Marine Corps to be with you.'

A bone chilling laugh crept out of her, freezing me on the spot. Confusion passed through me before I regained my bearings. She was baffling me with every statement, every movement. I had no idea what she was thinking.