#
We drove back to base Monday morning and pulled up in front of the barracks. I leaned over and gave her a kiss.
"Thanks, Holly. That was an incredible weekend. Maybe we'll do it again sometime."
Her jaw dropped. "What?"
"You know. Maybe our paths will cross again sometime?"
"Of course our paths will cross again. We're like a couple now." She beamed.
"Umm…a couple, huh?" I wiped my palms on my pants. "Don't you think we should take it a little slow for now?"
"Take it slow?" Her eyebrows knitted together. "We just spent the entire weekend together. I don't even usually put out on the first date. If we were taking it slow you would have never seen the inside of my bedroom…Mr. Slow-poke. I don't know what you're thinking, but we are so like a couple now." She scowled at me for several moments. "I'm not interested in just getting my brains screwed out. I don't do…you know…it…unless the guy is boyfriend material." Her nostrils tightened. "I'm not a slut."
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "No, I'm not suggesting you are. I thought we were just having a bit of fun."
"Are you dumping me? Because if you are—"
"No, not at all," I interrupted. God. Show a girl a good time and they start planning the silver wedding anniversary.
She stroked my forearm and smiled. "No, of course you're not dumping me. You're not that insensitive—or stupid. Look, Tyler, I know it's probably a big step for you to date an older woman. And a higher ranking one as well." She scrunched her nose and leaned in. "Just think of me as the naughty older woman."
Holy crap. She would have never even been old enough to be my babysitter, but she thinks she's Mrs. Robinson. "No, you're right, Holly. I'm probably too young and immature for you. You need an older, more sophisticated guy. Someone who understands older women." I longed to hear her sigh deeply and say I was right.
She stroked my cheek. "Don't worry, I can teach you. Most older women wouldn't bother with someone as young as you. But you can be my toy-boy. I'll sophisticate you." She put her index finger between her lips and slid it in and out.
I swallowed hard and nodded. "Wow. Would you really do that for me? I mean, I don't want to cramp your style or anything." She made me nervous. She must have been playing hard to get, and now she wasn't going to let go.
“Hey, we're boyfriend and girlfriend. I'll be patient. And gentle." She giggled. "I only see you, you only see me. Most guys would love to have someone like me hanging on their arm. Don't worry. I'll teach you to act older and no one will be able to tell you're my toy-boy." She raised her shoulders together. "You're a lucky guy."
"Umm…yeah." My eyes darted around the inside of the Mustang. "I'm the lucky one here."
"Damn right you are. You know how many guys try to get in my panties and fail?" She looked at me like she expected an answer.
I don't know. Fifty-one? "Lots I bet."
"Hundreds. But I let you, so start showing your appreciation and show some gratitude." Her eyes pierced through any defense I may have offered.
I needed time to think. "Of course. I'll try to do better." I forced a smile, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. I got out of the car and watched her drive away.
I stood there with my head hung, staring at the ground. How the hell did that happen? Fifty bucks and a weekend of jamming the best looking girl on base. I was on such a high. Now I was practically engaged.
Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around.
"Hi, Tyler. Rough weekend? You look like shit."
"Debbie. You got a minute? I really need to talk."
Chapter 5
Debbie walked with me back to my room. We sat side by side on my bed. She looked at me as I stared at the black and white floor tiles.
"Well, you know I had a date with Holly," I said.
"Yeah, with my tickets for Friday night, and I just saw you get out of her car on Monday morning. So, I take it things went well from your point of view."
A corner of my mouth turned up. "Yeah, I guess it did, until about fifteen minutes ago."
"She dumped you, huh?" She held a faint smile. "Well, I told you to stay away from her, Tyler. If it makes you feel any better, sorry." She patted my back.
"Dump me?" I stood up. "No, she wants some kind of committed relationship. I'm not ready to be monogamous." I paced the floor. "You must've noticed she's a bit flaky."
Her smiled flattened and she stood up. "Yeah, but I loved her. People in love overlook things. You mean to say she's not the little gold nugget you thought she was?"
I pulled out a cigarette and lit up while I paced. "I only did it for a bet."
"You what? Oh, come on." She crossed her arms. "She's not ugly. Are you trying to tell me you only went out with her to win twenty bucks?"
"It was fifty, and that's not what I'm saying."
She rubbed her chin. "So…you fucked Holly to win some money. Now that mission's accomplished, you want out."
"No, look, Debs, it's not like that." I walked over and put my hand on her shoulder. "It was fun, and I would've taken her out again, but she's a bit whacko."
Her eyes blinked rapidly. "Thank you very much. The woman I loved and you tell me she's a nut job. What the hell does that make me? Debbie the loony lezzy?"
I took a drag. "I'm just saying she's not my type."
"Then tell her." Her eyes held a look of pain.
I sighed and threw my eyes toward the ceiling. "I tried to tell her. Kind of."
"Sorry, Tyler, but I'm not the person to be giving you advice on my ex-girlfriend. Holly really hurt me, but I'd still take her back if given the chance. As long as you're sticking your dick in her, that's not likely to happen, is it?"
"Debbie, don't be like that. Help me get away from her and you can swoop in and be the hero, give her a shoulder to cry on. Hell, you two can sit around and bad-mouth me and go back to your lesbian ways. Just tell me how to get her off my back."
Debbie chuckled. "Hey, that's pretty good, Tyler." She put her arm around me and looked me in the eyes. "Forget him, Holly," she said sarcastically. "Dump Tyler and let's go back to being lesbians. You know that little switch you have that says gay/straight." She touched my crotch. "Just switch it to lesbo, darling, and come back to being a flaming dyke." She stood up, kicked me in the shin and leaned toward me with her hands on her hips. "It doesn't work like that, Ty-Ty. I gave you the advice to stay away from her, but you ignored it. So figure it out yourself. I have to go."
As she turned toward the door, Mark came in wrapped in a towel and wearing flip-flops, his hair still wet from the shower.
"Hi, Deb—" he started.
Debbie bowled past him, pushing him out of the way and nearly knocking him over.
Mark looked at me and grinned. "What the hell was that all about? Don't tell me you did the double."
I threw my arms in the air. "Why can't a woman just have sex without some deep emotional tie attached to it?" I walked over and sat on the bed.
Mark pulled on his dungarees, grabbed a chair, and sat down facing me. "Okay, start at the beginning. What happened with you and Holly? You score?"
"Oh, man." I gave a little fist pump. "That chick's even better in real life than what you could ever fantasize about. She was sex on legs, all fours, back, knees, you name it."
Mark whistled. "Good job, man."
"Yeah, but…" I stopped to light a cigarette, then noticed the last one still burning in the ashtray. I lit a fresh one anyway. "I took fifty bucks off you and banged the best looking girl on base. When she dropped me off, she made it clear that we're in a relationship. Exclusive kind of thing."
"So? What's wrong with that? You said yourself the sex was good, and you'd have a hard time finding anyone better looking than her." He shook his head. "Good looking pussy on tap and you sit here moaning."
"Boooring. Besides, my dad used to tell me the thrill of the chase was the best part of a relationship. Well, I chased, she thrilled, relationship done
, right? I don't need the drama of a full-time girlfriend." I fell back on the bed and kicked my feet in the air.
"I don't get it, man. What's your problem?"
"Man, she thinks she's Joan Collins or some old bitty and I'm a little Jimmy Osmond." I took a drag. "And she bugs the crap outta me. Oh, she's little Miss Efficiency in the office, but it's like she leaves her brain in a desk drawer when she punches out."
He leaned in. "Bugs you? How?"
I sat up. "She's so full of this Valley girl bullshit talk." I put my finger on my jaw and tilted my head. "Like, oh my God, Tyler," I said in a singsong voice. "You like so have to take me to the mall to get my hair and nails done."
Mark's eyes widened. "Like, dude, I get it." He laughed. He cocked his head to one side. "Like, is she totally into astrology, because it's so awesome to know the future from the horoscopes?"
"Probably. I bet she's a Cancer." I took a drag and shook my head. "And she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the box. She wanted to know why they make cars in Detroit and not in California. Because there are like so many people in California, they wouldn't have to ship them as far if they were made there. Yeah, she's good looking, and she knows it. And she has this annoying habit of tak—"
Mark put his hand up. "Okay, I get the picture. Well, she gave you a good weekend, but you're gonna have to dump her. She's going to drive you crazy by the sound of it. Buy her a dildo and tell her that's her new playmate.” He smiled. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, I think I pissed Debbie off too. I just told her I'm banging her ex-girlfriend. You're right, I gotta give Holly the elbow. She's schizoid. I'll stop by her office after work, take her down to Dolphin's, and tell her it's over. Thanks, bud."
"By the way." Mark got up, walked over to my chest of drawers, picked up some papers off the top of it and held them up. "I saw these forms laying here. You planning on moving off base?"
"Oh, the COLA forms. No, I just needed an excuse to go see Holly so I could ask her out." I stood up. "I could hardly go in there and say," I grabbed my crotch. "'Hey, baby, want some of this?'."
He smiled. "Don't know. Might have worked."
#
I stood outside Holly's office a moment taking deep breaths. I was already nervous and I wasn't even dumping her yet. That would come later in the day.
I walked in and Holly sat at her desk typing, wearing small-lens glasses perched on the end of her perky nose. It gave her a new, sexy kind of look. Like the sophisticated teacher who gives the naughty schoolboy a spanking. Mmm…Stop it, Tyler. You're here to break up with the broad.
She stopped typing and looked up. "Tyler," she whispered. She took off her glasses and raced around to stand facing me in front of her desk. "I was just going to come find you in a minute. I need to talk to you. It's like real important."
I wiped my sweat-soaked palms on my dungarees. "Yeah, I need to talk to you too."
"I'll pick you up at your barracks at 1700 and we'll go back to my place."
Shit! It's a long walk back to base from her place. "Can't we just meet at Dolphin's?" I asked.
"No, this is like super important. We can't let anyone else hear this."
I sighed. "Okay."
#
On the drive to Holly's apartment, I decided to bring up the subject of our future, or non-future as it was about to become. The sooner I told her, the shorter the walk back to base would be.
“Umm…Holly, I think you're a great gal—"
"Get outta the way, you chowder-head!" Holly screamed as she shook her fist at the little old man in a Ford Pinto in the lane next to us just before she cut in front of him. She glanced over at me. "Sorry, you were saying?"
I gripped the armrest on the door and checked to make sure my seat belt was latched. "Well, I was just sayin'—"
"If this jerk thinks he cuttin' me off, he's got another thing comin'." She looked in her side-view mirror and gunned the Mustang, pushing me further into the seat. "Sorry, you were saying?"
She had enough going on without her 'boyfriend' dumping her while she was driving down a busy highway. "That's okay. It can wait."
We walked into her apartment, and I sat on the black leather couch while she went into the kitchen to get us a drink. She flipped on the radio and the new number one song Don't You Want Me Baby by the Human League played. How fitting. Although I had been in her apartment before, my last visit focused on big, brown, bedroom eyes. This time, I noticed several brightly colored pieces of furniture around. A big red round chair occupied one corner; a blue bean bag chair rested against one wall; and a green leather chair was centered across from the couch with a brass and glass coffee table in between them. Hardly matching, but it offered a retro look. The ceiling fan blew the scent of spring flowers around the room from a big bowl of potpourri sitting on the coffee table.
Holly returned with a bottle of Merlot and two wine glasses. After pouring the wine, she sat.
"I think we both need a drink before we talk," she said as she raised her glass. I raised mine and took a drink, having to stop myself from downing it in one gulp.
I held up a cigarette. "You mind?"
She shook her head, went in to the kitchen and returned with an ashtray, placing it on the table in front of me. I lit up and took a deep drag.
"Holly, there's something I need to say."
"Well, it'll have to wait. There's nothing that could be more important than what I have to tell you." She stopped, downed her drink then refilled it.
My heart skipped a beat. Maybe she was going to dump me. Yes! Should I cry? A few tears probably wouldn't hurt. Yeah, I'll think about that movie when the dog gets shot in the end. That always wells me up.
"I had to see the division officer and the assistant D.O., Lieutenant Johnson and Master Chief Steele today," she said. "They wanted me to do some research about you." She reached over and clutched my hand. "Baby, they want to kick you out of the Navy."
"What?" My mind went wild, frantically searching for stupid things I had done. I came up blank. "Kick me out? I haven't done anything." I grabbed the bottle of wine, topped my drink up, took a big gulp and had another puff.
She turned toward me, kneeling on the couch. She rested her elbow on the back of the couch with her cheek pressed against her hand. "How many times were you arrested before you joined?"
"What difference does that make?"
"Like, a lot. Everyone working on submarines has to get a security clearance. That's why you haven't been allowed down on the subs yet. They go back and re-check everything, and dig a little deeper into your past. Apparently, your police record shows that you'd been arrested four times, but your enlistment papers only document two. What gives?"
"Shit." I leaned forward and slumped my head, studying Holly's orange shag carpet. I leaned back again. "Shit, shit, shit." I drew a deep breath. "The recruiter didn't think I'd get in with four arrests. He said two should be okay. He said if they accepted me, that would be the end of it."
She fiddled with her necklace. "Like, it probably would've been if you never had anything to do with submarines. But now that they know, the charge you're looking at is fraudulent enlistment. God, you are so gonna get busted. After some time in the brig, you'll be dishonorably discharged." Her big brown eyes focused on me as she sipped her wine.
"Well, it's his fault. He said that's what we needed to do, so I went along with it." I took another drink and a puff and forcefully stubbed my cigarette in the ashtray.
"Like, you signed it." She stared at me. "Ever heard of falsifying government documents?"
I dropped my head in my hands. "So that's it then. My Navy career's over before it ever got started. Shit. Now the judge is gonna throw me in the slammer for not doing four years. I'm totally screwed."
She put her hand on my back and rubbed. "Not necessarily." She took a sip of her wine. "It gets a bit boring typing up the same old papers day in and day out. I'm too smart to go brain dead. I need to have adrenaline rushes by doing risky things
. I have an idea. I have to write to the recruiting office in Fort Wayne to get further documentation. When they write back, I'll type up a phony addendum." She took another sip of wine. "It's a form IP2601. I'll make it look like the recruiter's office sent it. Then, I'll copy their letterhead, and using that, type a new letter saying that you did tell them everything, but they didn't put it all down as they should have. That's why they have this addendum. The letter will say they failed to put it in with the rest of the paperwork."
I looked at her in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"It won't be easy, but I think I can do it. I'm pretty good with paperwork. We'll have to backdate everything to before you joined, you'll need to sign it, and we'll have to forge the recruiter's signature." She finished her wine and refilled our glasses.
"So, unless you want to go back to working in your dad's bicycle empire," she said, "this is your only option."
Oh, yeah. Some empire. A pokey shop in some backstreet trying to sell reflectors to middle-aged women who take up cycling before they get fat. Now I was stuck. I raised my eyebrows. "Aren't you taking a risk if you do this?"
"Like, that's what girlfriends do for their fella. Besides, I'm a risk freak. Let's put it this way." She slid closer and put her hands on top of mine. "We'll stay in together, or get kicked out together."
She moved her hand behind my head and pulled me toward her. Her soft lips touched mine in a long, lingering kiss.
She eventually backed away and winked. "Deal?"
My mind flashed back to Mom giving me one of her 'you're useless' speeches. Then I slipped into a vision of me sitting in a jail cell with Tyrone smiling at me. I studied Holly's stunning good looks. I couldn't wait to sell my story to Hollywood. Tyler Chambers starring in 'Fucking for Freedom'. If that's what I had to do to stay in, I consoled myself that at least Holly was good-looking enough to make it bearable. Even enjoyable. If only she didn't have to talk. "Doesn't look like I have a lot of choice."
"Good. I'll start working on it tomorrow morning." She patted my hand. "Now, what did you have to say that's so important?"
Trouble Triangle (Tyler's Trouble Trilogy) Page 4
