The Lieutenants' Online Love

by Caro Carson

  * * *

  “You are out of your mind, Lieutenant Carter.”

  Thane stood at attention before the brigade commander’s desk. This full-bird colonel, the highest-ranking military police officer on post, the provost marshal of Fort Hood, was the last man standing between Thane and his chance at happiness.

  “You somehow got your CO to sign off on this. You got your battalion CO to sign off on this. But now it’s on your brigade CO’s desk, and the buck stops here. My answer is no.”

  Thane did not flinch outwardly. Inwardly, he did not flinch, either. He exploded—but his military bearing did not change.

  “What do you have to say, Carter? How are you going to handle that?”

  “There is nothing to say except ‘yes, sir.’ There is nothing to handle. I will continue to obey all lawful orders and execute the mission.”

  I will continue to delay happiness.

  The colonel let the silence go on a good, long while. “Close the door, Carter. Have a seat.”

  That was a lawful order. Thane obeyed it. It was a rare occasion, a very rare occasion, when a brigade commander sat down for a one-on-one talk with a platoon leader. Rarer still to have the door closed.

  “You are one of the sharpest lieutenants I’ve seen in my career, Carter. You are being sent to the captain’s course at the earliest possible date. You have been recommended for company command by your entire chain of command, including me. I’m doing you a favor here. Never give up your life because some girl strikes your fancy. Nothing that goes on in a bedroom is as important as your career.”

  “I appreciate that, sir.”

  The colonel sat back in his leather wingback chair. “Good, good—”

  “And I would never do something so foolish. That is not the situation here, sir.”

  The colonel only raised an eyebrow in question.

  Thane took that as permission to speak. His best shot at happiness was in the brigade commander’s hands, and every word counted.

  “My time as a platoon leader will end the day I make captain. There’s a five-week gap between that promotion in May and the start of the captain’s course in June. Colonel Stephens told me he’d planned to assign me to the battalion S-3 shop with Major Nord. I’m not derailing that career path, sir. I’m just asking to make that move twelve weeks earlier.”

  “That’s what Colonel Stephens said to you, is it? Guess what he said to me. He asked me to clarify the definition of ‘unit’ as far as fraternization goes. Two officers in the same company are obviously in the same unit, but he asked if I thought there was enough of a degree of separation if one officer is in a company and the other is on battalion staff. I have a feeling you’ve brushed up on the details of fraternization, so you know that’s decided at the brigade level. Right here, by the man sitting in my chair.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’ve already told you no.”

  Thane fought the disappointment. June was far away. Missouri was even farther, but he was going to have to make them work.

  The colonel wasn’t done with him. “I’ve got another question for you, Carter. Is Lieutenant Michaels going to be able to keep serving as a platoon leader with you when I send you back to the 584th? Should we call her in here to ask?”

  Thane had not and would not draw Chloe into it. “I have not said that I’m interested in Lieutenant Michaels, sir. I have not said she’s the reason behind my request.”

  “Don’t play games with me. It’s obvious you’ve got the hots for someone in your company, and Phillips and Salvatore aren’t it. The only female officer in the 584th is Michaels. She’s new. You’re the XO, the senior platoon leader. It would be a hell of a lot easier to move her instead of you.”

  “That would be grossly unfair to her, sir, since none of this is her idea. She doesn’t know I’ve made this request. She’d be rightfully shocked if an order came down that made her move.”

  “Shocked? You expect me to believe you two haven’t already canoodled around and decided it’s love?”

  Thane came close to laughing at that one, laughing in disgust. “Sir, we barely manage to be polite to one another. We only succeed in being civil about every third day.”

  The colonel seemed genuinely curious now. “You’re going to all this trouble for a woman who doesn’t even like you? What do you think the odds are that you’d ever win her over?”

  “Optimistically, sir? I’d say about fifty-fifty.”

  “You’re willing to upend your career for a fifty-fifty shot at a woman who may not even like you?”

  “There’s zero chance of success if I don’t try, sir.” Thane decided to take a risk and walk that line between disrespectful and bold. “But I can tell you where there is a one hundred percent chance of success. That’s the S-3 shop. If I work for Major Nord more than sixty days, he can give me a rating, and I can guarantee I’ll have given him nothing to say but good things. It won’t hurt my career to add one more good review to my file before I hit the captain’s course.”

  The colonel leaned forward, managing to get in Thane’s face without leaving his seat. “Well, that isn’t going to happen, Carter. You’re not moving to the battalion S-3 shop.”

  Damn it. Thane had taken one last swing, and missed.

  “Because you’re moving to the brigade S-3 shop. This week. You’ve convinced me you aren’t being stupid about your career, but I’m keeping my eye on you.”

  “Yes, sir,” Thane answered automatically. The relief was dizzying, the happiness staggering.

  “You’re dismissed.”

  Thane stood, amazed he was still steady on his feet. “Good afternoon, sir.”

  “Before you go, let me make my policy clear. An officer on brigade staff is not in the same unit as a platoon leader in a line company. I’ve decided there is no conflict of interest there.”

  “Yes, sir.” Thane headed for the door while he still had some semblance of military bearing.

  “Oh, and Carter?”

  He wiped the smile off his face before turning around. “Yes, sir?”

  “Apparently my brigade is full of a bunch of sappy, damned romantics. Everyone seems to think you and Michaels would make a perfect couple. They’re all rooting for you.”

  To hell with it. Thane smiled.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He walked out of the office and down the brigade staff hall, but that was the end of his self-restraint. He slammed out of the entrance door and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

  Yes, Ballerina, let’s meet. ASAP.

  * * *

  Today, I am desperate for sanity.

  Chloe wasn’t going to get it.

  The entire week had been crazy. Thane had been tapped to move into the brigade S-3 office even though he wouldn’t make captain until May. It was a shock to everybody except Thane, apparently. The platoon leaders and platoon sergeants had hastily passed around a card to sign and had taken him to a restaurant in Killeen for a farewell lunch. Sergeant First Class Lloyd had proposed a toast that had choked everyone up.

  Then they’d gone back to work. Thane had parked the chair with the squeaky wheel at his empty desk and left her with a rather intense, “I’ll see you around, Chloe. I’m not going far.”

  But he was far, no longer part of the company. No longer part of the battalion. His office wasn’t even in her building.

  She sat at her desk, alone, and missed him like crazy.

  But the craziest thing of all was that, in just a few hours, Drummer was going to become more than just a man stuck in her laptop.

  She wasn’t ready. She’d tried to stall. I can’t get to Austin until Sunday at the earliest.

  Then I’ll come to you, Ballerina. Give me your address. I’ll take you on a picnic. Thursday after work?

  It was lucky that Drummer had chosen Thursday, because troops were dismissed at three instead of five every Thursday. Those extra two hours were supposed to be devoted to family time. Hers were going to be devoted to
a picnic with Drummer.

  She didn’t have a thing to wear.

  She looked over her civilian clothes, deliberately passing over anything blue or pink. She wasn’t going to do that again. She had some pride left, plus enough self-preservation that she’d stopped just short of telling him her address. She’d told him to pick her up outside the complex’s swimming pool, a safer area in public. He’d never know which apartment in which of the six buildings was hers, unless she decided to tell him.

  Chloe dressed, then went out to her balcony and looked down at the pool. It was as blue as always, but empty. Even in Texas, the water in February was too chilly for swimming. The afternoon was warm, though, seventy degrees. She’d decided her yellow sundress would work with a navy cardigan over it. Her navy ballerina flats were practical for a picnic, but she did not wear her hair in a ballerina bun. She wasn’t going to spend an hour on a floral updo again; Drummer had missed his chance to see that. She’d blown her hair dry and left it down.

  It was time. She headed down to the pool, perhaps with a bit of military stoicism on her face. That was how she got through nerve-racking occasions, after all. Drummer should understand that she’d fall back on what had always served her well.

  She waited outside the pool’s chest-high fence and looked for...someone. Drummer had refused to give her any description of himself. You’ll know me when you see me, he’d written.

  As she waited, she heard the growl of an engine built for power, excess power for the size of the sports car that held it. Thane’s Mustang came in the complex’s entrance. Pulled up to the pool.

  And parked.

  She wanted to die. The last person she wanted to witness this meeting with Drummer was Thane Carter. If Drummer turned out to be someone flaky, it would be humiliating. If she got stood up again, it would be too humiliating to explain why she was standing around in a dress. If Drummer—

  Thane got out of his car. It was awful to have such a handsome nemesis. He looked fantastic in a burgundy knit shirt that clung nicely to strong shoulders, to his ripped arms—she did watch the man do push-ups every day at PT, which wasn’t exactly a hardship. At least if Drummer turned out to be a creep, she knew Thane would pummel the guy. Of course, so would she, but if Thane got to him first, there wouldn’t be much left for her to pummel, more’s the pity, and oh, my God, I am so not normal. What kind of girl thinks like that? What is Drummer going to say when he finds out I’m a soldier and a cop?

  “You look terrific, Chloe.”

  She pasted on a polite little smile. “Thanks.”

  She’d been hoping Drummer would hurry up and get here, but now she prayed he’d be late, just late enough to let Thane clear out of the parking lot and head up to his apartment.

  Instead of walking away, Thane popped his trunk and took out a wicker suitcase. A picnic basket. He carried it right up to her—no, right past her, and he went in the gate to the pool.

  She felt a little dazed, like she had when she’d gotten a concussion once. She was fine, only she was not, and the world seemed a little surreal. She turned to watch Thane as he carried the basket to that table, their table, the little one in the shade, and set it down. He undid the latches and opened it up, and from here, she could see the champagne bottle and the glasses neatly strapped into the lid.

  A picnic basket. She should be thinking something significant right now. She knew she should, but it seemed she couldn’t think at all as Thane walked back toward her.

  He opened the gate again and stopped a little too close to her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Hello, Ballerina.”

  Her knees buckled.

  “Whoa.” He was quick, grabbing her upper arm to keep her from falling, but she’d caught herself. She didn’t faint. Of course she didn’t faint, because she’d never fainted in her life and she wasn’t going to start now. She shook off his hand and took a step back.

  “It takes some getting used to, I know.” He pushed the gate open. “Come and sit down. You’re a little pale.”

  She was numb. Her lips felt numb, her fingers felt numb and tingly, and she let him escort her to the table like she was some fragile flower, a spun-sugar princess who might break.

  “At least we know why the app matched us up. Under careers, I checked ‘military officer.’ You must have, too.”

  The reminder penetrated the numbness. She was a military officer, not a woman made out of spun sugar.

  Instead of sitting down, she squared off with Thane. “What do you mean by saying you know ‘it takes some getting used to’? How do you know that?”

  He looked, for the first time, serious. Chagrined. He took a breath, ready to explain.

  “You knew before I gave you my address yesterday. How long have you known?”

  But again, she didn’t wait for his answer. “The Nutcracker. You were there. You were there because you’re... Oh, my God. You came, after all.” She thought she might choke on the lump in her throat. Her eyes teared up. He’d come, he’d come, and she hadn’t been a fool to believe Drummer would come.

  The tears gave way to horror. “You came, but you didn’t tell me who you were. You—you—you sat next to me in that lobby. You laughed at my pain. Oh, you incredible jerk.”

  She didn’t realize her hand was in motion until Thane caught her wrist before her hand connected with his cheek. She gasped, shocked that she’d even tried to slap him.

  She’d never felt so emotional, never been so out of control. No military training could prepare her for this horrible, horrible feeling. Her heart had been broken, and the man who’d broken it had sat next to her on the most miserable night of her life while he drank his whiskey.

  She looked into those eyes, those same blue and gray irises she’d noticed that night. The same eyes she’d glared at over the roof of a police cruiser. The same eyes she’d laughed with when they’d pranked their platoon sergeants.

  Thane closed his eyes and kissed the palm of the hand he’d captured. “I didn’t laugh at you. I was as upset as you are now.”

  He let go of her wrist but clasped her fingers and held her hand as if she were a lady in a historical movie, and he, the gentleman. He kissed the back of her hand. “I didn’t know what to do at first, either.”

  She instinctively tried to pull her hand back. They were in public.

  He lowered her hand, but he didn’t let go. She watched as he ran his thumb over her knuckles, a caress so innocent, so intimate.

  “You kept pretending to be Drummer.”

  “Your letter. I couldn’t ignore it. And I am Drummer.”

  “You’ve known for months. I didn’t know who I was talking to. All those things I said about my coworker...” Her cheeks felt hot. “I called you arrogant. And things. Are you angry?”

  He squeezed her hand gently. “It was a gift, really. What a gift it is, to see ourselves as others see us.”

  He smiled, looking at her expectantly. He was so handsome when he smiled, she almost forgot why those words sounded familiar. “Did you just quote Robbie Burns?”

  “Ay, my online lass likes her Scottish poet.”

  Chloe’s heart pounded. She couldn’t sort out all her feelings. She could almost laugh, but she was mortified, too, a little sad that Drummer was not what she’d imagined, perhaps, and amazed that her very best friend all year could be this handsome man before her, an officer she had grudgingly admired even when she didn’t want to.

  He reached for her other hand and brought both of her hands up to kiss, watching her with those gray-blue eyes as he did.

  “Thane, don’t.” He couldn’t kiss her hands. He couldn’t kiss her anywhere. She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming up the walk.

  “It’s safe, Chloe. I did know what to do about that, at least.” His smile turned a little devilish, so intimate, her fingers trembled in his. “The brigade commander has made his fraternization policy very clear. He said officers in line companies are free to date brigade staffers.”

>   “He said that?”

  Thane smiled at her and raised her hand not to his lips, but to the side of his face, gently drawing her knuckles along his cheek. He must have shaved recently, just for this. Just for her.

  “You asked him,” she breathed, though it was hard to breathe. “You asked the brigade commander. Oh, Thane, you didn’t lose your position because of me?”

  “Nope.” He winked at her with a little of that arrogance she’d once lied and told Drummer she found unappealing. “I was going to be sent to the battalion S-3, anyway. He just promoted me to brigade S-3 instead and let me start twelve weeks early.”

  “Twelve weeks.” She was absolutely mesmerized by him, by the way his hand felt warm and strong, by the way his mouth formed words, by the way his eyes never, ever left hers. “What do you need those twelve weeks for?”

  He let go of her fingers to capture her whole hand and pressed the palm of her hand against the side of his face. “Do you realize we’ve never touched before?”

  “That’s not true.” Her heart was still pounding, but it was steady. She was getting used to it, breathing through it. “The day we met, we sat side by side right at this pool with our feet in the water. Our feet brushed against each other. I nudged you with my shoulder when you made me laugh.”

  He looked so tenderly at her, she thought she would melt. “Such a little touch to live on, wasn’t it? Such a little touch, but it kept us going for three months, here at Hood. Eight months online. Do you realize you’ve been my favorite person in the world for eight months?”

  She didn’t wipe the tears that trickled down her cheeks, because she didn’t want to let go of Thane’s hands. It was okay to cry a little; only Thane would see, and he would understand why she cried for a silly, wonderful, online love.

  “We’re really, really good at keeping up a long-distance relationship, Baby. That’s a really, really good trait for a military couple to have.” He tugged her closer, then let go of one hand so he could slide his arm around her waist and pull her close. The impact was exciting, energizing, awakening a whole new awareness. He felt as hard as he looked during PT, strong arm, hard thighs, but he felt warm and giving, too, a body she could press into, lie upon, rest against.