“That’s awful.”
“Yeah. Poor Benito. It would do him good to see his family.” As they neared a hidden cove, the sun glinted off the water, almost blinding Leo.
“Wow, how’d you find this place?” Audrey asked.
“Ah, CS told me about it,” Leo stammered. “He used to come here…with my mom.”
“Oh.”
Once he stepped into the shade of an overhanging ridge, Leo’s eyes adjusted, and he saw Benito. Leo recognized the midshipman manual Reef Points in his lap.
“Whatcha studying, buddy?”
Benito jumped to attention, his voice mocking. “Sir, the Honor Concept of the Brigade of Midshipmen is ‘Midshipmen are persons of integrity; they stand for that which is right.’ Brigade Honor Committees are composed of elected upperclass midshipmen, responsible for education and training in the Honor Concept — ”
“Okay, okay,” Leo interrupted, laughing. “Sorry I asked.” He drew Audrey closer. “Benito, meet Audrey Rose.”
“Hi, Benito.” Audrey smiled shyly.
“Well, you’re even prettier than your picture.” Audrey blushed.
“Es una langosta hermosa,” Benito told Leo, admiring Audrey as she brushed past Benito to step inside their hideout.
“Thanks for calling me beautiful, but I’m not a lobster,” Audrey replied, turning to face him. “Lobsters swim backward.” Benito bit his lip, startled.
When it clicked for Leo, his chest tightened. “Take that back,” he said, crossing toward Benito.
“I’m sorry Leo. I didn’t mean it.”
“What’s going on?” Audrey asked. “Why are you mad, Leo?”
“Tell her why you called her a lobster.”
“No, just forget about it, hombre. It was stupid.”
“Tell her!” Leo barked.
Audrey flinched.
Benito looked down. “We sometimes call girls lobsters.” He sighed. “Because all the meat’s in the tail.” After a moment of awkward silence, the lovely sound of Audrey’s laughter filled the air. She shook her head. “Leo, chill out. I already know the Navy is testosterone city.”
“Didn’t that upset you, what he said?”
“I thought it was funny.”
“I really am sorry,” Benito insisted, looking miserable. “Restriction’s making me loco, and that was a dumb thing to say.” He scooped up his books and muttered, “I’ll be in Mother B — give you two some privacy. Whiskey’s probably hunting for a plebe to humiliate.” He slunk away.
Audrey laced her hand into Leo’s, unfurling his fist. “You’re scaring me again. I hate to see you so mad. It wasn’t a big deal.” Leo covered his face with his hands. “I guess I’ll have something to discuss in therapy this week,” he said from behind his palms. He crouched to sit cross-legged on a tattered tarp and thumped his hands in his lap, looking down. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“Stop being so hard on yourself, Leo.” Without thinking he said, “Yes, ma’am.” Audrey giggled.
“Oooh, I like that.” She snickered. “Call me ma’am again.” A mischievous smile surfaced. “I misbehaved, ma’am. I should be punished, ma’am.”
“We can arrange that,” Audrey countered. “On your feet, Midshipman Scott!”
Leo scrambled back to standing. Audrey prowled around him, sliding one finger across his chest. “You’re so hot in that uniform, Mr. Scott. You’re even fitter than the last time I saw you, which is hard to believe.” Her finger slid up and caressed his face with the lightest touch. She gave a dramatic sigh. “My boy is becoming a man.” She tossed her hair. “But how could you almost golpear Benito? Make love, not war.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She leaned in close, her mouth inches from his ear, and he could smell the hint of sweetness in her perfume. “You’re the hottest plebe I’ve ever seen. Caliente. Sizzling hot. You’re forcing me to break all rules against fraternizing.”
“I won’t report you, ma’am.”
“You better not report this, either,” she added, and shoved him down on the tarp.
He smiled, surprised by her aggression.
“Remove your camisa, Mr. Scott.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He yanked off his tunic.
“Now lay back.”
She climbed on to straddle him. The places where their skin touched grew warm. Audrey unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it aside, leaving only her lacy bra.
“Eyes forward, mister.” She crawled up to hover over his face.
Holding her lips tantalizingly close to his, she whispered, “Now kiss me.”
Leo lifted his head and once their lips locked, the force of Audrey’s longing pressed his head back to the tarp. Their legs tangled as he drew her body to his, making it hard to breathe. But he didn’t care.
She was his breath, his life.
Audrey lingered in their kiss as he kneaded the fine muscles of her back, stroking her silky skin.
“Keep…doing…that,” she ordered, between kisses.
“Yes, ma’am.”
His hands slowly traveled south, cupping her bottom as she rubbed against him, making him crazy with desire. Her mouth lowered to press soft kisses on the expanse of his chest, and he could feel his heartbeat skip.
“We have to make this last till Thanksgiving, ma’am.” She paused to look up at him with a smolder in her copper eyes.
“Then you better make it good, sailor.” The tarp transformed into their reunion cruise, and they christened its maiden voyage with tender caresses.
“I’m great at following orders,” he whispered a while later, stroking her back.
“Then I order you to love me like this forever,” she said. Her body had responded to his, sensuous and warm. “I order you to never let me go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He closed his eyes, pressing her to his chest, reveling in their closeness. Obedient to a fault, he vowed to follow her wishes.
59. Hazing
Stationed on the deck plate in the middle of his dorm passageway, Leo shouted a rapid fire chow call on his designated day. “Sir, you now have seven minutes until Noon Meal Formation! Noon Meal Formation occurs outside. Firsties carry swords. The uniform is summer working blues.”
Ms. Nevington stood about fifteen feet away, observing him with her arms crossed over her chest. Those upperclassmen not scurrying to their rooms congregated in the passageway around Leo.
“The menu for noon meal is roast beef and turkey sandwiches, coleslaw, crackers, bread, milk, and apple and rhubarb pie. The Officer of the Watch is Midshipman First Class Viva Nevington, Second Company Commander. The Midshipman Officer of the Watch is Midshipman First Class Tom Sour, Honor Officer.” The second class midshipmen, responsible for training plebes once the school year started, flitted around Leo like wasps over nec-tar. He eyed them warily as he spouted the meticulously rehearsed details. He was determined not to forget one word or pause one second. “The professional topic of the week is aircraft carriers,” Leo continued. “The key events of the Yard today are: sixteen hundred men’s soccer versus Maryland, nineteen hundred mass in the chapel, and twenty-one hundred glee club concert in Alumni Hall. You now have five minutes, sir!”
He began his fourth repetition, each time less intimidated by the predatory midshipmen, who had nothing on his father. CS had made him rehearse chow call on the track until he was hoarse. The number of midshipmen mulling about dwindled as the time ticked down. “Sir, you now have three minutes until Noon Meal Formation!” As Leo continued, the last remaining youngsters turned away, looking dejected. Leo hadn’t made one error. Ms. Nevington smiled at him before she departed.
“Sir, you now have two minutes until Noon Meal Formation!” Leo executed an about face and double-timed it to the stairs. When he came across an upperclassman, he yelled, “Go, Navy, sir!” as he navigated the labyrinth of Mother B.
Sliding into formation just as the music began playing, Leo sighed with relief.
“That was close, estúpido,” Benito
whispered. The roommates had mastered the art of speaking while barely moving their lips, so they often carried on entire conversations in formation.
Leo glanced at his roommate’s neat black uniform. Benito had slimmed down considerably once he was able to resume physical training, and his muscular chest and shoulders now cut a strong yet trim profile. And their superiors had stopped picking on him.
“What, no Arabic?” Leo jabbed.
“You can’t keep up with me, hombre.” Benito’s gift for languages had led him to major in Arabic, and he’d taught Leo a few words and phrases. “Wanna walk to practice together?”
“Can’t,” Leo whispered. “Got therapy today.”
“Sucks.”
“Yeah.” Leo put on a big show of disliking the mandated counseling, but secretly he looked forward to meetings with Dr. Ina. It was kind of cool to talk about his life at the Yard, and for the most part he’d successfully staved off her attempts to delve into his family.
“Hey, what’s for dinner tonight? I forgot.” Benito ran down the menu while they marched, and Leo committed each item to memory. He couldn’t imagine Audrey fil ing her mind with this meaningless drivel every day, though she surely faced her own set of challenges as a student-athlete at FSU. Though Leo loved the Academy, he did miss his girlfriend.
The tour bus pulled away from the curb and began the four-hour trip to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Audrey clasped her hands in her lap. This would be her first college swim meet.
In the seat across the row from Audrey was her roommate, Tatiana Goreva, a delicate freshman butterflier from Belarus. Tatiana put on a tough act, but Audrey knew she was miserably homesick. She’d cried practically every night in their room for the first few weeks, but she seemed determined to stick it out. Thankfully their coach had insisted Tatiana meet with the athletic department’s psychologist. After just a few sessions, Tatiana already appeared to feel better.
“What are you swimming?” Audrey asked.
“The two hundred butterfly and the one hundred freestyle.” Tatiana enunciated each word with care. “You swim the individual medley and breaststroke, yes?”
“Yep. Alabama’s got a really good breaststroker, from what I hear.”
“Do not worry,” Tatiana assured her. “You will kick her ass.” Audrey grinned, amused by Tatiana’s expanding vocabulary. As she reached for her Psychology 101 textbook, she saw one of the team captains whisper to her coach, then approach the front of the bus, grasping the seats for balance.
Morgan turned on the microphone and tossed her thick black hair to the side. “Okay, Lady ’Noles, time for some entertainment.
Tatiana Goreva, come on down!”
Tatiana shot Audrey a worried look. But Audrey could only shrug. Tatiana made her way down the center aisle amidst claps and cheers. When she arrived at the front of the bus, Morgan slung her arm around her shoulders.
“We have a little tradition on this team called Seminole Idol. Each freshman sings for the whole team.”
Audrey’s eyes widened, and Tatiana’s cheeks immediately matched her maroon team sweats.
“You’ll listen to my iPod while you sing into the microphone,” Morgan explained.
Audrey gripped the seat. This sounded awful.
Tatiana squirmed, and Morgan messed around with the dial on her iPod. Then she whispered in Tatiana’s ear.
“But I don’t know Katy Perry song!” Tatiana protested.
“That’s okay.” Morgan smiled as she unfolded a piece of paper.
“Here are the lyrics.” Morgan waited while Tatiana put on the headphones and adjusted the volume.
The team was already laughing by the time Morgan handed Tatiana the microphone and sat, surrendering the spotlight. Not only did Tatiana miss about half the first verse, she was horribly off-key.
Some of the swimmers laughed so hard they snorted.
Though initially horrified, Audrey couldn’t help but giggle at Tatiana’s musical stylings.
Aware of her teammates’ laughter, Tatiana cast aside her nervousness. She swayed her hips, licked her lips, and reached down to caress Morgan’s hair. The swimmers howled.
Morgan yanked back the microphone. “Tatiana Goreva, everybody!”
Tatiana returned to the rear of the bus after thunderous applause.
Audrey rolled her eyes at the captain’s next words: “Audrey Rose, come on down!”
Morgan had the song al cued up by the time Audrey arrived.
When she heard the title she knew it instantly: a ballad about separated lovers. Audrey narrowed her eyes. “But that’s a slow song!”
“You’ll be fine — I overheard you in the locker room,” Morgan said. “We want to hear those pipes, girl.” Audrey felt sick. She put on the headphones and was engulfed by violin, guitar, and drums. She stealthily decreased the volume so she could hear her own voice. Closing her eyes, she pictured Leo: his piercing blue eyes, smooth skin, long and fluid muscles, closely cropped black hair.
Audrey swayed to the music as she sang, aching for Leo. Her arm wrapped around her middle, pressing against the pain of his absence.
She could almost smell him next to her.
When the song ended, Audrey opened her eyes, expecting to see her teammates laughing. Instead a few swimmers wiped their eyes.
When she removed the headphones, the bus was silent.
“That was beautiful, Audrey,” said Morgan, reclaiming the microphone. She winked. “I hope you get to see him soon.” Audrey nodded and returned to her seat.
“Okay, so showing up to the meet with all of us crying just won’t do,” Morgan announced. “The next song’s a hyper dance number — just for you, Jacki! Get your butt up here.” Sinking into her seat, Audrey felt Tatiana’s hand on hers for a reassuring tap. Her warm smile brought tears to Audrey’s eyes. Tatiana was homesick, but Audrey was lovesick, and they comforted each other as best they could.
Once the five first-year swimmers had endured their hazing, the team settled into their seats to watch Pride, the true story of a swim coach who rebuilt a dilapidated swimming pool in inner-city Philadelphia and started the first all-Black swim team.
The moment the coach appeared onscreen, Audrey was riveted.
Terrence Howard’s beautiful hazel eyes reminded her of Leo’s father, and thoughts of Leo and CS plagued her for the rest of the trip.
She pictured Leo at the Academy. Are you where you want to be?
Are you doing this for yourself, or for your father? Will you ever be free?
Audrey sighed. She wished she knew the answers, but Leo himself probably didn’t know.
60. Secrets
Leo snuck a glance at the pamphlets on the waiting room bookshelf: Are You Depressed? … When It’s Not Fun Anymore: Alcohol Poisoning… Dysfunctional Families 101.
He quickly turned, worried the plebe in the chair across the room could read his mind as he looked at the pamphlets. He felt exposed — like his past problems, his secrets, were easy for others to see and judge. He was damaged goods.
He sighed with relief when Dr. Ina turned the corner. He returned her smile until he took in her crutches. Now she reminded him even more of his mother.
Rising and saluting, Leo pointed. “What happened, ma’am?”
“It’s a long story.” She shook her head.
He was supposed to tell her everything, but she barely shared any personal details. He followed her slow crutching down the hallway, and once they reached her office he tried to help her to her chair, but she shooed him away. He settled into her soft microfiber sofa and waited for the questions to begin.
“How was your weekend?”
“Good, ma’am. We had an intrasquad meet — plebes and second-class midshipmen against firsties and third-class midshipmen.”
“How’d you swim?”
“Not great. I’m pretty tired.” He grinned. “We won, though.”
“Good for you. Is your roommate back swimming after his shoulder surgery?�
��
“Benito? Yeah, he’s back in the water, but it’ll take him a long time to get up to speed.” Leo squirmed, glancing at her bandaged knee and the crutches resting on the arm of her chair. “Crutches suck, huh?”
“They do.” Ina watched him closely. “You ever been on crutches?” Thinking back to his hellish wheelchair experience, Leo refused to meet her eyes. “No, ma’am.”
“Leo, when you mentioned Benito, you seemed to know what you were talking about — how long it takes to get back up to speed in swimming. Have you ever been injured?”
“Yes, ma’am.” His eyes remained glued to the floor. Why couldn’t they just discuss plebe life?
“What happened?”
Leo reached for a stress ball on her end table and squeezed it.
His eyes darted around the room.
“That scar, for example.” She pointed to his forehead. “How’d that happen?”
He decided to redirect the conversation. “My brother emailed me. He just got engaged.”
“I see. He’s your older brother, right?” Leo nodded.
“You said your brother’s girlfriend — now his fiancée — is the daughter of a man who was murdered?”
“Yeah, Cameron’s dad was murdered about a year ago.”
“And your girlfriend’s father…” Ina squinted, appearing to concentrate. “He’s in prison after he was convicted of that murder?”
“Yes, ma’am. Audrey’s dad is in the brig.” Ina tilted her head to one side. “The brig? Audrey’s father is in the military?”
Leo realized he’d revealed more than intended.
“That sounds potentially awkward, if I understand this correctly…
Your girlfriend’s father murdered your future sister-in-law’s father?”
“It’s not awkward. Cameron’s fine with Audrey. They both were, um…They have something in common. And, uh, Cam doesn’t think Audrey’s dad is guilty.”
Her brows knitted together. “Why does Cameron think that?” Leo ran his hands over his stubbly hair. “Does this information go anywhere?”
“I can’t see how this might relate to your fitness for duty, so probably not.”
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