by Zoe Blake
“Private Sims here offered to fix your door and watch over your place until we could return.”
“Why?” blurted out Sage.
“I don’t understand, ma’am?” said Private Sims casting a look in Conner’s direction.
“Please forgive me. I don’t mean to sound rude or ungrateful. I just don’t understand why you would go through so much trouble for someone you don’t know.”
Private Sims just smiled. “I don’t have to know you, ma’am. You are Major’s girl and you needed help. That was enough for me.”
Conner leaned in close and whispered into her ear. “Respect.”
Chapter 7
“You’re messing with me,” giggled Sage as she took another sip of her café mocha.
“I promise you. I’m not,” responded Conner as he continued to absently stroke her shoulder with his fingertips.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Scout’s honor?”
“I was never a Scout but on my honor. Yes!”
It had been two weeks since they met. Two weeks since that night with Ricardo. Melissa had taken some vacation time off from work and was spending it with her father. It seemed like it took a near-death tragedy, but they were finally connecting.
Meanwhile, that left even more time for Sage to spend with Conner. The more she was in his company, the more convinced she became she was falling in love with him. It sounded crazy. Stupid. Juvenile even. Who fell in love this quickly? Apparently her! It was just so easy to be around him… well, when you got past the whole-Neanderthal, over-protective thing which was still in hyper-drive since her kidnapping. They could talk for hours about music, books, and their families. Turns out they also both loved bowling. He openly. She secretly. Last Saturday, they ate awful, greasy bowling alley food, drank beer and bowled for hours. She loved every minute of it.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have his sophisticated side too, like when he stunned her with tickets to the annual Corcoran Fundraising Gala. She would have stayed all night among the paintings, soft music and candlelight, if Conner hadn’t looked so handsome in that tuxedo.
Now they were relaxing with their coffees on the lawn of the Smithsonian gardens, a half-eaten Starbuck scone between the two of them.
“There is seriously something called Jane Wayne Day?”
“Yes. It’s a day for Marine Corps spouses and girlfriends to get a taste of what it’s like to be a Marine.”
Girlfriend. It still gave her a little thrill to hear it. Probably because usually it was the woman who pushed a relationship along, but that was not the case with Conner. He had confidently claimed her as his woman from the beginning. Almost willed it so. And lord help her, she liked it. Loved it really. One frilly apron and a gin martini coming up!
They still hadn’t talked about what would happen long term. Conner refused. Sage realized it was probably silly to try to have such a conversation after only a few weeks of dating anyway, regardless of how they both may feel, so she finally adopted his life’s short mentality and decided to enjoy every moment she could with him regardless of the possible outcome.
“So what does that mean? Like I would fire a gun and stuff?”
“Something like that,” smiled Conner. “Are you in?”
“I’m in!”
“That’s my girl.”
Seated on the passenger side of Conner’s 4Runner, Sage couldn’t help but feel a little anxious as they crossed the gate onto the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. She was on a fucking military base! This was so scary cool!
As if sensing her trepidation, Conner reached down and grasped her hand while giving her a reassuring smile.
Instead of seeing large, imposing cement bunkers, there were sweeping green farm fields surrounded by trees. Finally, as they went around a bend in the drive, they came upon a cluster of buildings.
“That is where we let the FBI train recruits,” said Conner.
Sage smiled at his phrasing.
“What is that?” asked Sage as she pointed to what looked like a burnt out city.
It was about the size of a city block with two and three story cement structures with only holes for windows. There were black soot burn marks along all the walls.
“Training for urban warfare.”
“Oh.”
“And that?”
It looked like a beat up old motel. The kind you would never, ever stay in and only see in horror movies.
“FBI uses it for training. Pretty common to find criminals you are tracking in motels.”
Just then there was the sound of thunder in the distance.
“Live fire of a M777A2 Howitzer,” explained Conner. “You’ll get to see it in action later.”
They parked and went into an auditorium where they were greeted warmly by the Commanding Officer of Quantico. He spoke sincerely of the important role all the wives and girlfriends and husbands and boyfriends played in the lives of all Marines. How their sacrifice on the home front was vital to the role America played on the world stage. He thanked them for doing their patriotic duty.
Sage looked around at the faces beaming with pride. The misting eyes. The love of country and of their spouse or partner. It was all incredibly moving… and a little overwhelming.
They were all ushered outside.
Waiting for them were four massive vehicles. They were covered in green and brown camouflage paint and looked like a tank only without the big gun.
“This is an Assault Amphibious Vehicle used to transport troops inland during amphibious operations. We will be using it to transport you to the Small Arms Range, but first, Marines if you will suit up your partners,” announced the Captain who was acting as their guide.
Sage turned to Conner, her brown eyes bright with excitement. “Is he serious? Are we seriously going to ride in that thing?”
“Yep. First, we have to get you in the proper gear.”
Conner went over to a table and selected one of the smaller flak jackets and Kevlar helmets.
Sage put her hands up and started to back away. “Oh no! Those things look dirty!”
Conner stalked her with a determined look in his eye.
Sage took another step back till she bumped up against a folding table of snacks laid out for the guests. “Seriously, Conner!” argued Sage as she waved a hand in the direction of the amphibious vehicle. “It is literally a TANK! Why do I need to wear all that stuff? It’s not like I’ll get injured riding in it.”
Conner raised an eyebrow and stated simply, “Because I said so.”
Sage’s lower lip protruded in a mock pout as she let Conner place the heavy flak jacket over her shoulders. It weighed a ton! Next he placed the Kevlar helmet on and buckled the chin strap under her jaw.
Sage wrinkled her nose. “Does it come in pink?” she teased.
Conner gave her little nose a tweak before leaning in close to whisper huskily in her ear, “I’m going to pink that impertinent bottom of yours if you keep behaving like a brat.”
Sage blushed from his seductive teasing.
The guests were loaded into the vehicle. It felt like sitting in the back of a windowless van. Conner would meet her at the range. The vehicle roared to life and they were off. It felt like the bumpy part of a roller coaster ride without all the up and downs.
“So who are you with?” shouted one of the woman over the din.
“Major Conner,” shouted Sage back.
“Lucky girl! My husband served with him. Good Marine!”
Sage smiled, feeling a warm sense of pride. It did seem he was a good Marine and an even better man in her estimation.
Ten minutes later, they were being herded out of the vehicle over to the small arms range. Sage searched for Conner in the crowd. It sounds like movie tripe but her heart literally skipped a beat when she found him.
He was striding directly towards her with purpose. Dressed in his utility uniform with those cargo-like pants that hugged his hips an
d strong thighs. The laced-up combat boots. The hat pulled low over his eyes which only emphasized his lips and strong jaw. Add in the big, menacing looking gun he was carrying that made him look like an action hero, and she was a goner. He was too damn sexy! This whole testosterone environment just sent the whole image into hyper-drive.
“Are you okay?” asked a concerned Conner as he placed a curved finger under her chin and lifted her head. He looked deeply into her eyes, searching.
“I… I’m fine,” stuttered Sage, slightly embarrassed at her train of thought.
“You sure? You didn’t get too jostled in the amtrack did you?”
“No. Really, I’m good.”
“That’s my girl,” he said with a quirk of his lips. “Now, have you ever fired a gun?”
Sage shook her head yes. “A .22 with my dad.”
“Okay, well this is going to have a bit more kick.”
“You mean I get to shoot that thing?” Sage was incredulous. It was huge! Like real military gun huge.
“Yep. It’s an M4 carbine. Let’s get you setup. Lay on the ground here.”
Sage looked down at the dirt. “Do you have a yoga mat or something?”
At Conner’s warning glare, she laughed. “Just kidding! I kid!”
She knelt down in the dirt and then laid fully on her belly. In front of her was a small sandbag. Conner placed the gun in front and along her side with the muzzle resting on the bag.
“You’re going to fire off one round. Be prepared for the kick. The casing will eject to the right. Don’t touch it. It’ll be hot.”
Sage gingerly held the gun. It felt warm to the touch. There was a strong, metallic scent which radiated from it.
“Do I aim at anything?”
“Nope. Just squeeze the trigger.”
Sage looked down the range. It was just a long span of dirt which ended in a larger dirt mound. As the other guests fired at will, little sand clouds puffed into the air. Sage hooked her right index finger. Nothing. She pulled on the trigger harder. Then harder.
Boom!
The gun kicked backed. It felt like someone punched her in the shoulder.
“Did I hit it? Did I hit it?” she asked, excited as she stared up at Conner who towered over her.
“Did you hit the large dirt mound the length of a football field? You sure did, baby!” laughed Conner.
Sage stuck her tongue out at him in response.
To say lunch was an interesting affair was an understatement. They sat in a field and had their choice of MREs—Meals Ready to Eat. This is what they took with them out into the field. It was an entire meal packed into a small plastic brown bag. According to Conner, she got a good one because she chose mac n cheese with a brownie. Tearing open the heavy plastic, Sage was surprised to see how much food was packed inside. There was the mac n cheese and brownie, of course, but also some crackers, tiny packets of peanut butter and jelly, packets of coffee and tea, salt and pepper, and tobacco sauce. There was even gum!
Conner showed her how to open up the green packet and add water which created a chemical reaction which heated the mac n cheese within the original brown plastic container. It was all very efficient.
“So when you’re out in the field, do you have to eat like fifty of these before you’re full?” asked Sage as she finished off her “meal” and collected the garbage.
“Unfortunately they are rationed, but surprisingly, each one is about twelve hundred calories so they do the trick.”
“What!” exclaimed Sage. “That tiny amount of pasta was just a whole day’s worth of calories, and you just sat here and let me eat it!”
“I’m sure we can think of ways to work it off later,” he said with a wink.
Sage threw her balled up MRE trash at him anyway.
“What makes you think I’m going to sleep with you tonight anyway?” she taunted as she ran her hand up his inner thigh, careful to make sure none of the guests could see. It was all just silly teasing. She couldn’t wait to get him home. He was driving her crazy in that uniform. “Maybe I had other plans.”
Conner leaned in close till his breath skimmed her lips. “You’d sleep with me because by the time I was done tearing your clothes off with my teeth, you would be so hot and bothered, I wouldn’t give you a choice in the matter and… who says I was talking about sex anyway. There is still the obstacle course left.”
Conner gave her a quick kiss on the lips and jumped to his feet to get rid of their trash.
It took Sage a moment to recover from the seductive promise of his words. “Wait, obstacle course?”
He couldn’t hear her. He was already chatting with a few of the other officers a few feet away.
“So are you married or dating?” asked another one of the guests.
“Just dating,” answered Sage.
“You seem really cute together.”
“Thank you.”
“I remember those days. When it was all about how hot he was in his uniform and how cool it was to be dating a badass Marine. Course, that was before the reality crept in.”
“The reality?” asked Sage, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“You see it’s kind of like being married to a cop but worse because at least a cop comes home each night so you know they are okay,” chimed in another woman.
“The deployments. The months alone. The fear. The worry. The not knowing. I mean why couldn’t we fall in love with boring accountants?” joked a third.
“I’m sure the internet helps,” offered Sage. “Decades ago they only had letters.”
“You can’t fuck a computer screen, honey,” laughed the first woman.
“Stop. You’re scaring the poor girl,” chided one of the older woman. “It’s not all that bad. You get used to the deployments and it is always extra special when they come home. Besides, we all have to do our part. This country doesn’t protect itself.”
Just then, the Captain who was acting as their guide, announced it was time for the next activity. Sage placed her small hand in Conner’s warm, protective one and let him lead her across the field. The women’s words still spinning in her head.
The obstacle course wasn’t the real one the Marines usually used but rather one set up for the occasion. It consisted of some tires, a small sand pit, a wooden wall to climb over and a rope to climb up.
Conner observed Sage. “Nervous?”
“Of this? Hell no! This is nothing compared to the Bridal Booty Boot Camp I had to do last year when I was a bridesmaid.”
“Well then. Have at it, Spitfire!”
Sage made it through like a champion. She didn’t even complain about the dirt on her knees or the rope burns on her palms.
Conner grabbed her around the waist. “I knew you had it in you to be a Marine’s girl!” he exclaimed. He was so very proud of her. Despite her teasing, she had been a real trooper throughout the day. Diving into each activity. Asking thoughtful questions about how what they were experiencing today related to what he did out on deployment.
Sage hugged him back but she could not help but wonder, did she have what it took? She thought back to the conversation with the other women. The deployments. The months alone. The fear. The worry. It wasn’t like they were in a time of peace. America had troops deployed in some pretty nasty places. Fighting enemies who didn’t exactly follow the long-standing rules of war. The world was a scary place, and men like Conner protected society from it, but did she have what it took to stand by a man like Conner?
Right from the very start, he seemed so confident about her… about them. Like a true Marine… charge ahead! What if he was wrong about them… about her?
Chapter 8
She was avoiding him. After dropping her off yesterday afternoon, she hadn’t answered a single phone call and had ignored all his texts. Sending only one response.
Really busy with work. Call you tomorrow.
At first, he had been occupied all day finding another place to crash and meeting up w
ith old friends so he didn’t think anything of it, but now, it was closing in on evening, and he still hadn’t heard from her.
If he were a less confident, less arrogant man, he might take it personally. Might take it as a hint. He knew better. On the way home from Jane Wayne Day she was uncharacteristically quiet. He just assumed she was tired. It was why he insisted she spend the night alone soaking in a hot bath and maybe hitting the sack early. He knew if he was there, the very last thing she would get was a good night’s sleep, not after he had spent the day watching his woman fire a gun and run an obstacle course. He couldn’t have been more turned on if she had done the whole thing in lingerie… well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true! Still, he needed to show her he wasn’t some selfish boar ready to pounce on top of her, so he gave her space.
Apparently that was a mistake.
She was fighting their attraction. She had her reasons. He just refused to acknowledge any of those reasons were valid. With time she would get over it, unfortunately he didn’t have time. There was only one week left to his leave, and he wanted to spend it with her, not chasing her around DC!
“You’re the dumbest bitch I know,” groused Melissa.
“Gee, I love you too,” sniped Sage.
What was worse? Receiving relationship advice from a friend who had the worse track record in the history of man and woman? Or, knowing she was right?
“I’m not kidding, Sage. You are a real stupid bitch,” repeated Melissa. “Do you know how much I would kill to find a great guy who was awesome in bed?”
“I should have never told you about that part,” grumbled Sage.
Knowing she was right. That was definitely worse. She was being stupid. Conner was an incredible guy. Intelligent, sweet, protective… and yes, amazing in bed. Sure, the suddenness of it all kind of freaked her out. Sure, the whole Marine shipped off into battle thing freaked her out even more, but wasn’t Conner the type of guy you waited for? Sacrificed for? There were just so many what ifs. What if he got sent back to Afghanistan? What if he got deployed somewhere else even more miserable? What if he were killed? Wouldn’t she be better off cutting off the relationship now before she was in too deep? Before she was crazy, head-over-heels in love with him?
