Chapter Text
I woke up sometime in the early morning by the sun filtering through the gap in my curtains and a shiver wracking my naked skin. In the near darkness, I patted my hands around the bed to feel for the duvet and jumped when my hand brushed against the warm skin of someone equally bare as me.
Welcomed heat flooded my body as the memories of last night snaked their way across my skin in all the places that held the remnants of his touch.
After his performance last night, I could forgive Bradley for being a bed hog and a cover thief. That man had more than proven that he was far from selfish when it came to having my needs met.
I looked closer and saw Bradley sprawled across the bed, face down on the pillow. Trying not to wake him, I slowly pushed against him to get him to move over while trying to grab the bits of duvet wrapped around his lower half. I had just pulled out enough to wrap around myself when I heard his sleep-thick voice call out.
"You okay?" Bradley flipped over onto his side and cracked open an eye as he lifted the covers to welcome me into his cocoon of warmth. "You're freezing." He murmured into my ear as he wrapped his arm around me once I had snuggled into the crook of his chest.
"Better now," My eyes fluttered shut as his body wrapped around my own and lulled me into a peaceful slumber. I had never fallen back asleep faster.
When I awoke again, what felt like five minutes later to the blare of my alarm, I had forgotten that we had made a mutual decision to try and wake up to go to swim practice. As if we both hadn't gotten enough of a workout last night.
I groaned as I crawled over Bradley, who was still sound asleep and reached over to turn off the alarm. Five in the morning sure came early when you were up half the night, even if those activities were nothing but spine-tingling bliss.
I hit snooze and rolled back onto Bradley, straddling him and resting my head on his chest.
"Are you awake?" I prodded as I ran my fingers across his shoulders and down his arms. While his eyes were still closed, something pressed against my stomach, indicating that at least one part of him was wide awake.
"What are you trying to do to me, woman?" Bradley's eyes snapped open as he grabbed my hips and rolled me over onto my back, so he hovered over me.
"We promised to make it to swim practice this morning; I believe that was a condition of round three?"
"You're seriously going to hold me to the promises that I made in that state?"
"Oh yes," I leaned in to give him a long, slow kiss before somehow managing to wiggle out from underneath him and slide off the bed, leaving him flushed and panting as he collapsed on the sheets with a groan. "It's important to start our day off right." I scolded as I tiptoed around Bradley's crumpled mess of a flight suit on the floor beside my bed. Thank god that thing was nothing but zippers because there was no way it would be in a usable state this morning, considering the way I practically ripped it off him last night.
I picked up his T-shirt off the floor and tossed it to him, which he snatched out of mid-air and threw back at me, making me dodge behind my closet door. "Come on, old man ," I said, even though I looked down and admired his things all over my bedroom, thinking how everything about this felt so right. When Bradley told me last night he was going to be thirty-six this year; I couldn't help but be a bit surprised. I had always figured he was around my age, not much older than thirty. He responded that avoiding troublesome women like me his whole life kept him young. Though, I didn't hear a single peep of retort last night when my creative ways of getting into all sorts of trouble kept proving him wrong.
"That is if you can still move," I taunted as Bradley crawled off the bed and walked toward me. No matter how smitten I was with him, he couldn't smirk and flex his way out of this one.
"You're going to get it," he snapped as he leapt forward. He chased me as I ran squealing into the washroom, spinning out of his outstretched fingers as I slid behind the glass doors of my walk-in shower.
#
" Now we're going to be late," I panted as I slid my arms down my shower wall and turned around to face Bradley's flushed-cheeked grin.
"Consequences," he tutted, rinsing himself off as I left the shower to towel off. Bradley stepped out soon after, and I tossed him a towel before I went to brush my teeth.
"I'll go make coffee." Bradley swept past me, his hands grazing my backside, making me grin wide enough to slop toothpaste down my chin. If it were anyone else, I would've been embarrassed enough never to want to invite him over again. But with Bradley, every insecurity seemed to melt away, and soon after, I joined him in the kitchen just as he passed me a cup of glorious dark-roast coffee.
"What's your schedule today?" I asked as I opened up my snack drawer that looked like I stuffed an entire Trader Joe's into one cupboard.
Before responding, Bradley lit up as he eyed the contents. If he came over more often, I'd have to remind myself to keep this thing stocked as he helped himself to some peanut butter pretzels, two fancy protein bars and a banana off the counter. I grabbed a bar for myself with a full heart as I watched him pick his duffel bag off the hallway floor.
After he stuffed in a couple of his things, he lifted his head, "I've got to work until six tonight, but then there is a team meeting at the Hard Deck."
I grabbed my bag from the hallway closet to join Bradley in the doorway. "A very official place for a workplace event,"
"Want to meet me there for a drink? What do you have to do today?"
It felt so natural for us to discuss our plans for the day together, and while I was nervous about having to be introduced to all of his colleagues, I didn't want to miss a minute with Bradley.
"I'll be there," I said as I followed Bradley through the door and into the pink sky morning.
We each walked to our cars as Bradley had to leave for work after swim practice.
"Don't think I'll take it easy on you today, Bradshaw," I said as I leaned in to kiss him before reaching my car.
"I wouldn't ask you to." He winked and kissed me once more before opening my car door so that I could slide in.
In my bliss, I didn't even think about the fact that Bradley and I had only a week and a half to enjoy mornings together as easy as this. Thankfully, my brain let me revel in my happiness long enough that as I sped away to the beach, I didn't think about the red-circled date on my calendar that marked the day we were to go our separate ways.
#
The first thing that came to mind when I stepped foot into the Hard Deck was I couldn't believe I had avoided it for so long. Once I walked into the cedar shake shack nestled on the sand, the music and conversation hummed through the room as it began to fill up with a mix of people in civilian clothes and military duds. I was a bit early, having gotten ready with a glass of red wine and got bored of waiting around watching the clock. Bradley had texted me while I was on the way over in my Uber that he was going to be late but promised to make it up to me. I couldn't even be annoyed at him once I posted up on a bar stool underneath the rows of ceramic pints dangling from the ceiling and read the chalkboard listing the hand-crafted cocktails that seemed made for me.
Penny was working the bar when I arrived, and even though an older-looking pilot locked her in conversation, she came over and served me up an on-the-house drink. I had just finished my first drink when Penny glanced over at me and broke off from her conversation with the same man.
"Hey, Liv. I'm glad to see you finally made it around. Meeting someone special?" The sparkle in her eye was hard to miss.
"Yeah, you could say that." giving her an equally knowing look. "We were supposed to meet up half an hour ago, but they got held up."
"Is everything okay?" Penny replied, not to me, but to the man she had been talking to, who had shifted a few seats down the bar, so he was now sitting beside me.
"The kid didn't like how he flew the course today. Stayed behind to run it another time." The tone of his voice implied an undercurrent of pride mixed with exasperation. Whoever he was, he obviously knew what was going on with Bradley's unit, even though we hadn't said his name yet. Penny looked between the pilot and me and smiled, her eyes going to my empty drink. "Want another?"
"Sure," I responded gladly, happy to have something to say as I felt the man's green eyes bore into me. There was something I was missing here.
"Liv, this is Pete," Penny said as she shook up my cocktail and poured it over a highball glass filled with ice.
"Nice to meet you," I grabbed his outstretched hand, accompanied by a movie star smile. "Do you work at North Island?"
Penny snorted, and I looked back at her with narrowed eyes. "Sorry," she laughed as she slid me over my drink and shot Pete a dubious look that seemed like he'd been on the receiving end a time or two.
"Pete is the lead instructor for the mission the squad is training for," Penny added as she pushed over another bottle of beer to Pete, who took it willingly.
The tension that bloomed around us was thick enough for me to know something was simmering under the surface.
I shifted in my seat as if it had heated up underneath me, and again I spouted the first thing that came to mind. "Oh, are they doing a good job?"
"He's getting there." Pete's eyes moved from Penny's back to me, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I don't know if Penny came to my rescue when she filled the silence.
"Liv and Bradley met at swimming, Maverick." Penny started, and only then did it kick into place that I had heard, or rather, seen his name before popping up on Bradley's phone that day in the hospital. I remembered how uncharacteristically pissed he seemed to have this man intrude into his life. I was confused because Bradley didn't seem to be the type to clash with anyone, let alone his boss. My curious nose would have to fight hard to stay out of this one.
"That boy has always loved the water." Pete smiled, giving me a tidbit I could take to innocently steer the conversation in a direction that would placate my curiosity.
"You knew Bradley before he was in the navy?"
"I'm his godfather."
I nearly choked on my cocktail as I processed the information. Bradley had led me to believe that he had been on his own since his mom died, with no other family members left that he was close to. It didn't make sense that he would leave out the fact that his boss was also his godfather.
"But based on your reaction, he hasn't mentioned as much." He added with a self-deprecating laugh that eased the bubble of anxiety that was growing around us.
I tried to keep my voice as casual as his. "We try to keep work at work."
"Smart, but the reason why he's never mentioned me probably has nothing to do with work."
"Pete," Penny chided, "I told you he'd talk to you if you approach it the right way. You can't crash into everything and not expect it to burn."
I kept my mouth zipped and melted into my chair, keeping my eyes on the door in case Bradley entered a conversation he wasn't meant to hear.
"I've tried to talk to him," Pete shrugged, polishing off his beer and getting to his feet.
"Try harder," Penny leaned across the bar and kissed him on the cheek.
"It was nice meeting you, Liv." Pete smiled at me before putting a twenty down on the bar top and headed for the front door.
I turned back to Penny after Pete was far enough out of earshot. "That's douchy Peter, isn't it?"
"What?"
"Bradley's middle name. He's named after him, isn't he?"
"He takes more after him than just a name, honey. They need to get that through their heads to move on. But that's only this old lady's prescription." Penny winked as her eyes moved to the door. "Looks like you've got a pilot coming in hot."
My eyes shot to the door as Bradley entered, his head on a swivel as he searched the bar that was slowly filling up. One look at him, and I didn't think I would make it through the night without taking him out to his car. Instead, I decided to let him look around a little longer, and after a few seconds, he began to head to the back of the bar, almost walking right past me before I caught his attention.
"Are you passing through, Lieutenant?" I said from the bar stool with a whisky sour in hand just as Bradley passed by me in his jeans, white t-shirt and that stupid Hawaiian shirt that I had come to love.
He turned around on his heel as I slid one smooth leg out from underneath the thigh-high slit of my floral sundress. A low whistle escaped his lips as he looked me over from head to toe, making my stomach clench and send a tingle straight from my core to every cell in my body.
"I'm staying for as long as you are, that's for damned sure."
"Good because Penny has been serving me doubles, and I know I will need a ride home."
"I can do that for you,"
"I guess I'll keep you around then."
Bradley took off his sunglasses and slid them into his pocket, taking one long step to settle between my legs. I wrapped my arms around his waist and stared up at him.
"I missed you today." I had missed his kiss too, and I melted into him as his lips pressed against mine.
"How did your extra training go?" I asked after we broke apart. Bradley took my hand and leaned against the bar with his elbow.
Bradley raised his eyebrows and searched the bar at my comment, but his attention quickly settled back on me. "Nailed it."
I smiled back at him. "That's my man,"
"Thirsty, Bradley?" Penny, who had been waiting down the bar made her way over and slid over a pint to him.
"You read my mind." We clinked our glasses together just as I heard an eruption of laughter from the bar's back room, where a group of pilots had filtered in a few minutes before Bradley arrived.
"Are you going to introduce me?" I asked Bradley after taking another quick sip to steady my nerves which I realized had dissipated substantially now that Bradley was here.
"Yeah, you want to?" He said, the excitement evident in his voice as he straightened up from the bar.
"Only if you promise they won't bite."
Bradley leaned down and brushed his lips against the small bruise on my shoulder that suspiciously matched the shape of his mouth. "I'm the only one."
I intertwined my fingers in his and let him pull me out of my seat, knowing that my face was glowing with the heat of how Bradley's comment shot right from my core and down between my legs.
He kept my hand wrapped in his as we walked to the back room where a few round hightops, a pool table, and a dartboard were all happily situated beneath the impressive displays of model aircraft hanging from the ceiling and military stickers that papered almost every inch of the walls.
Bradley led me by the small of my back to a small table in the corner and pulled out the chair for me to sit.
"Hiya, darling. Nice to see you again."
I couldn't miss the Texan drawl that made my skin crawl with the reminder of that horrible morning his mouth put me through two days ago.
I looked up from my drink and caught an eyeful of that white-toothed grin as he pulled a chair to our table and sat backwards so that his arms draped over the top as he looked me up and down.
"What's your name again?" I remembered it, of course, but I didn't want him to know that.
"That's Hangman to you, doll,"
"More like Bagman , ain't that right, Jake?"
A pixie-faced woman wearing her short brown hair in a neat slick back bun appeared behind Jake and plucked his shirt sleeve to pull him out of the way. "And you will be until you stop leaving people out to dry. Liv here included." She reached out to give me a high five. "Don't give him an easy out, Liv." She side-eyed Jake, who was still wearing that easy smile as if he lapped up every word.
"I won't."
"Good. He needs to be held to high standards." She reached down, plucked the whiskey glass from Jake's fingers, and took a long sip.
"Liv, this is Nat, also known as Phoenix." Bradley piped up as he put his arm around the back of my chair.
"Nice to meet you," I said with a wave, feeling tight and anxious as I shifted in my seat. The way she looked between me, Bradley and Jake made me feel like she knew everything about me. I instantly found that she was someone I never wanted to disappoint.
"Do you want another drink?" Bradley asked as he got to his feet and took my empty glass.
"Sure, thanks."
"Go easy on her, Phoenix." Bradley tossed over his shoulder as he walked back to the bar.
"Outta the way, Phoenix. It's my turn." A man came careening into Nat and hip-checked her, and she responded with a swift punch in his arm, making him cry out and rub the spot.
"Bradley said only two at a time, and this guy," he pointed at Jake, leaning back in his chair with a toothpick lazily hanging from his lips, "doesn't seem to be going anywhere."
"No, I am not, Payback. You are right about that."
I saw Payback scan the bar where Bradley was chatting with Penny. "Eh, he's busy." He conceded as he crossed his arms and smiled at me. "So Liv, what's the biggest shark you've swum with?"
"Here I thought I was a stranger,"
The three pilots laughed together, and I felt like I had missed out on some inside joke.
"That guy hasn't shut up about you," Payback said as he pointed his finger at Bradley. "Anyways, I already think you are hella cool; I could never jump in the ocean knowing there was a shark underneath. At least in the sky, I can mostly see what's coming for me."
"Unless it's me," Jake interjected, to which Nat rolled her eyes.
"I'm outta here; got to kick Fanboy's ass at pool. I'll catch you later." She added as she nodded, drained the rest of Jake's whiskey, and slammed the empty glass in front of him.
I hadn't seen such an impressive display of sibling-style rivalry and ribbing since last Christmas when Jackson and I were opposing team captains of our annual cousin beer Olympics held at my Aunt and Uncles chalet in Tahoe.
"Are you guys always this friendly?" I asked Jake.
"This is tame, sweetheart. Wait until the real fun begins."
"Bradley did say this was a work meeting."
"Too right, you are. Mickey, you ready?"
Payback pulled a few pieces of paper from his pockets and smiled back at us. "Let's do it."
"Promise me you won't freak out?" Jake asked as my eyes snapped back from Bradley, who was still locked in conversation with Penny and looking better than any man had a right to as he leaned against the wooden, beer-slick bar with a pint in hand.
"Over what?"
"You'll see," Jake said with a raised brow as he nodded to Payback, who cleared his throat loudly before shouting out across the bar.
"Gather round, folks. It's time for the main event." Payback screamed over the music as he began handing out small slips of paper to all the pilots sitting at the small round tables around the dart board.
"You can use my pen, honey." Hangman grinned as he slid a shiny, silver pen engraved with his initials from his front pocket onto the table in front of me.
"What is this for?" I asked Payback as I took the small paper from his outstretched hand.
He hesitated and looked at Hangman, who smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm keeping my mouth shut on this one. I'm already in enough hot water around this stuff." I followed Hangman's gaze toward Bradley, who was walking back to our table with our drinks.
Bradley took one look at Payback and Hangman and froze in place. His eyes drifted from them to me, to the dartboard and back to me, a look of panic shrouding his eyes.
"What's wrong? "I asked Bradley after he slammed the drinks down on the table and wordlessly snatched the pieces of paper from the table out of Hangman's hands with a miffed groan.
He stood behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, squeezing me gently before he responded to the others. "It's not happening tonight. I think you should know better after our conversation yesterday."
"I didn't start it," Hangman responded with his hands in the air.
Bradley slid his hands off the back of my neck and sat beside me, his eyes glued on Payback, who was still loitering beside us. "Read the room, Mickey."
I shifted in my seat and took a quick sip of my gin and tonic as everyone's eyes looked at me.
"Sorry, Rooster. I figured it was tradition… pilots' superstition and all that… but you're right. Sorry."
I caught Bradley's eye, and he reached over to take my hand under the table, but I could tell something was off.
"What is it?" I laughed off, looking at all three of the pilots around me, who now looked like they wanted to be anywhere else other than at a table with Bradley and me.
"It's just something stupid. Don't worry about it." Bradley added as he let go of my hand to take a swig of his beer that probably amounted to half the bottle. "You wanna go play pool?"
"Ah, the old ignore and deflect strategy, I see."
"Rooster, she's onto you. Knew she was a smart one." Hangman quipped, and he took a drink that matched Bradley's enthusiasm.
"Can I just tell the damn woman?" Payback groaned.
Bradley took another deep swig of beer and got to his feet, pulling his fingers through his hair in a silent battle with himself. Before he responded, he quickly looked at me as he let out a huff of air. He obviously saw how uncomfortable I was feeling, like I was the odd man out. "I guess we might as well."
Payback didn't wait a second before launching into the explanation. "So you see, Little Orphan Annie here doesn't have any official next of kin. So we, as his ever-loving squad, organized a game to help him pick the beneficiary of his life insurance."
That was not was I was expecting at all. Bradley let his friends pick where almost half a million dollars would go if he died on a mission? It was such a ridiculous thought that I almost started laughing. Almost.
"As I said, it's just a silly tradition. Don't read too much into it; I don't want to spoil tonight by talking about stuff that doesn't matter." Bradley quickly added, his eyes darting to mine as he weighed my reaction.
"It matters if it's tradition. We're not messing with a soldier's superstition, that's for damned sure."
I picked up the pen and took out the piece of paper from Bradley's front pocket that he had shoved in there when he sat down. "How does it work?"
"She's in?" Payback asked with a hopeful grin.
Bradley looked at me with his brow raised, but I could see the slight smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "You know it's all fun and games, right?"
Of course, I did. But I also knew that soldiers developed a pretty sick sense of humour around death; it was an essential part of how they learned to cope with the stressors that were a reality in their job.
"I can pick anything I want?"
"Anything."
"So?" Payback lingered as he looked between Bradley and me.
"Alright, Get it going." Bradley conceded as he dipped his head and began writing something down on the paper in front of him.
The corner of the bar reputed into cheers as Payback began handing out the papers to the group of pilots around them. I stared at the paper, trying to stifle the significance of what it meant if this "game" ever came to fruition but pushed it out of my mind.
With a sigh, I wrote down the first thing that came to me and covered it with my hand as I looked at Bradley.
"That was quick." He said as he clicked his pen and set it down beside him.
"What's next? Do you pick the one you like the best?"
"You don't think we're that boring, do you?" Hangman said as he stood up and straightened his shirt before walking over to the dartboard. Payback joined him at the front and shushed the crowd around them.
"As your chosen convenor of the Bradley Bradshaw memorial games, I welcome you all to another round as we prepare to set off at the end of the week." After his introduction, Payback clapped Hangman on the back and shoved him forward. "My Vanna White will now choose the first contestant."
Hangman made a show of scanning the crowd, getting everyone laughing when he grabbed Nat by the hand and pulled her in front of the dartboard.
"Ah, the lovely Phoenix. What do you have for us today?"
Nat held up her paper and read it aloud. "Feeding America."
The room erupted into cheers, and she tacked the paper to the dartboard and rejoined her table with a bow.
"Next up," Payback roared as Hangman selected a pilot beside Nat, who I hadn't met yet.
He adjusted his glasses as he cleared his throat. "Protect Our Winters." I was surprised he would know the charity where hardcore skiers were fighting climate change, but I must admit he rose a few rungs up the ladder in my books because of it.
Hangman dragged up six more people, and by the time they were done, the dartboard was nearly covered in pieces of paper.
At last, Payback stepped forward and presented his slip of paper to the hushed crowd. "Mickey Garcia."
An ensemble of boos and groans drowned out the music around the room as Payback stuck his paper on the board.
"He can't nominate himself!" Phoenix screamed from the crowd.
"I'm looking at beachfront properties, guys. I need all the help I can get."
"I'll allow it!" Bradley cheered over the commotion, and I laughed along with him.
Having humour surrounding heavy topics like this was essential to them. It may be time I started playing along.
"Thanks, buddy." Fanboy yelled back as he held up his beer to Bradley. After taking a swig, he spoke again. "Now, we can't forget our new addition. Liv, get on up here." I looked at Bradley, who smiled and nodded toward the dartboard, his voice drowned out by the whistles and claps that erupted around us.
I made my way to the dartboard and scanned the faces in front of me, feeling like I was about to be out through some sort of rite of passage.
"Hi," I said as I looked at my feet and quickly held up my paper, wanting to get this over with as fast as possible. “Surfrider Foundation.” I could hear the satisfied cheers of the other pilots as I pinned it on the board, relieved when I turned around to see Bradley already standing beside me.
"I picked the Shark Research Institute. I heard they got a new hotshot biologist taking on the project in Tofino."
"A noble cause if I do say so myself," Jake said as he stepped in and pulled a tie out of his pocket while Fanboy grabbed Bradley by the shoulders.
I stood back while Jake tied the blindfold around Bradley's eyes and walked him about ten feet from the dartboard.
"Give him some encouragement, folks!" Payback yelled from the sidelines as the pilots got to their feet and slammed their fists on the table. At this point, every single eye in the bar hand stopped what they were doing and stared down this strange ritual in the back.
"On three, Rooster," Jake said, patting him on the back as he lifted the dart to eye level and did a few practice shots.
I counted down with the rest of the bar, and Bradley released the dart. When it hit with a plunk on the board, Payback ran and ripped the piece of paper that the dart landed on and handed it to me.
Bradley had landed a perfect bullseye.
"Read it out, girlfriend!"
My eyes roved over the paper as my heart clenched at the choice of Fanboy's words. It felt pretty damn good to be known as Bradley's girl, even if we hadn't discussed the explicit use of titles.
"Shark Institute," I said with a smile, my eyes going directly to Bradley's as he pulled off the blindfold and marched right over to me.
"You got lucky," I whispered as he hugged me.
"No such thing; that's all skill," he said as he wrapped his fingers around mine and brought my hand up for him to kiss. "But don't get too excited; I promise you'll never get a cent of that money. Over my dead body."
I swatted him away, the ghost of a laugh in my voice. "Stop it! You drive me crazy; you know that?"
"I recently found that out." Bradley snaked his arm around my waist and lightly pinched the dip in my flesh he had discovered last night, making me twist and squirm beneath it.
"Are you pilots done being fucking weirdos yet?"
Bradley held me against his chest as I looked up and saw Jackson standing there with a beer.
"I see you've settled your debt with Penny, then?"
"You know it." He quipped as his eyes turned to Bradley. "Rooster," Jackson nodded at him, his eyes set in a way that indicated he was giving him the size-up of the century. After a beat that made me hold my breath, Jackson held out his hand.
As they shook hands, I couldn't help but notice that by the look in their eyes, this handshake held more weight than a typical greeting.
"Y'all have a good night. Look after her for me; this place is crawling with assholes."
"You don't have to worry about that, Tanker. I got her."
I wasn't typically the type of woman who felt the need to have any man look after me. Still, I didn't pipe up with a usual smart-ass comment if that meant Bradley was going to keep his arm wrapped around my waist all night — especially if there was going to be a chance that my ex, Leo, was in the bar somewhere smooth- talking some poor woman.
Once Jackson had disappeared into the crowd, Bradley gestured to the pool table. "Ready to take me on?"
I hadn't told Bradley my dad had a pool table in our basement since I was a baby. But wasn't there joy in letting your new boyfriend discover all your hidden talents by kicking his ass at something?
Bradley called over Jake and Nat, and they picked their sticks first. It took about ten minutes for Bradley and me to whittle down the pool table to our eight ball, and I can't deny that it felt good to put Hangman in his place — again.
"Rooster, when you said she was a shark girl, I don't think you meant at the pool!" Jake whined as I drained the eight ball with one smooth stroke.
Bradley came and stood behind me and rubbed my lower back as I began to stand up.
A deep gravelly voice reverberated in the air behind us and made me pause with my heart plummeting into my roiling stomach acid.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Rooster?"
I froze with my hand on the pool stick, my mouth dry as the familiar voice sent ice-cold shivers down my spine.
Bradley's hand slipped off my back, and I stood up to come face to face with Leo, who loomed over Bradley with a beer in hand and an expression that looked like it could set the room on fire.
Bradley stood up straight and grabbed my hand, putting his body between myself and Leo.
"Leo, just go, okay." I croaked from behind Bradley.
"You think I'm going to stand around and watch this guy manhandle you all night?"
Bradley looked down at me and tightened his grasp on my hand as I wrapped my arm around his waist.
"Are you serious, Liv?" Leo scoffed as he looked between Bradley and me.
I squeezed Bradley's hand, slipped from behind him, and took a steadying breath. "Yes," I began, swallowing any trepidations I had as I looked up at Bradley before turning my hardened eyes on Leo. "It's serious."
"There's no use making a scene, McLaughlin." Bradley finally spoke, his voice even and calm. Unruffled.
"Good luck, man," Leo barked, polishing off his beer and taking a step towards Bradley with his hand outstretched. Bradley looked at it as if it was a stringer from a Mantaray but shook it anyways, not breaking his stare. Leo jutted Bradley's hand forward as they shook, pulling him into his chest. "Be careful; she's a clinger."
Bradley flinched, and you could see Leo's hand turning white as Bradley held firm as he leaned into Leo, "only men who don't know how to give a woman what she needs worry about shit like that, McLaughlin. And looking at us tonight, do we look unsatisfied?"
Everything about the exchange mortified me, standing there caught between the fox and rooster, unsure if they could unleash claws or spurs any second.
"Glock, just let them be. Let's get back to the guys." Jackson appeared out of nowhere and placed his hand on Leo's shoulder, which he shrugged off.
"You want to tell me what you're thinking, Tanker?"
Leo must be drunk off his face to take on Jackson and Bradley in a bar filled with their comrades.
"It's not the time or the place."
"Come on, Jackson. Say something. I know you've been biting your tongue for years."
"Don't make me do this, Glock."
"I want to hear it!"
Yep, he was beyond drunk to taunt my brother like this.
"Fuck off for once, Leo! He's been better to her these past ten days than you were in five years."
"There it is!" Leo slurred through a sloppy smile. "I always knew you never thought I was good enough for her."
As quick as Leo appeared out of nowhere, Hangman, Payback and another pilot, who I remember as Fanboy, came and grabbed him by the arms.
"You're finished, son," Jake growled as he nodded at the other pilots and began dragging Leo past me to the back door and hurled him into the sand.
I staggered against the pool table and grasped the wooden rails with two hands as the noise and chatter kicked up in the bar again after the Leo spectacle. I tried my best to avoid all the eyes of the pilots around me that were burning holes in my skin. I fought to stuff all the feelings that threatened to bubble to the surface, the first and foremost being that this was not the way I wanted Bradley to find out about my past relationship.
My eyes dodged my brother's and Bradley who hovered wordlessly in front of me, shielding most of the other prying eyes around me.
"I'm going to run to the washroom." I put on my best fake it till you make it smile and glanced up quickly between them.
The way Jackson called out my name and Bradley reached for my arm as I staggered past them proved they didn't buy the act in the slightest.
I pretended I didn't hear them over the Jukebox blaring some 90s cover song and a surprisingly volatile game of quarters that was taking place just in front of me as I rushed into the washroom.
I hadn't realized how stifled I was until I ran in and hovered over the sink to gulp a few deep breaths. The cool water from the tap reinvigorated my skin as I sloshed a few cupfuls from my hand across my neck and let it dribble down the low-cut back of my dress.
So… that just happened. A little laugh escaped my lips as I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and leaned down to slurp some water from the running tap.
Leo's face was priceless when Jackson finally let him have it. But I would have paid a million bucks to see what it looked like when Jake slammed the door in his face after that mouthful of sand. As for Hangman– maybe he had risen a few notches up the douchebag ladder after that one.
My mind circled through the probable reactions of just about every person in the bar– even the ones who weren't even in earshot– before I landed on Bradley. Lauren might have once referred to me as the gold medallist of jumping to conclusions, but picturing him making out with another woman who wasn't as complicated as me didn't fall into that category, did it?
He'd seen it all now. I mean, my ex-boyfriend had gone out of the way to confirm it to him. All our conversations since my meltdown were probably out the window now that he saw me for who I really was. A woman who couldn't handle the pressure of being in a relationship with anyone, let alone someone in the navy.
I would clean myself up and tell Bradley I had changed my mind. Simple as that. I could probably even still count on Jackson to give me a ride home, even after I had essentially made him throw a nuclear bomb on the relationship with his best friend.
The sound of the door opening made me look down and fumble to open my purse to avoid eye contact with whoever was coming in. I pulled out my lipstick, looked in the mirror to apply it, and immediately locked eyes with Phoenix, standing at the sink next to me, looking back at me.
"You realize we all know that Leo was totally out of line back there, right?"
I froze as I went to unroll my lipstick, and the slick tube dropped out of my hand before I could get the lid off and rolled into the sink with a metallic clunk.
"Uh– yeah, it's no big deal." I shrugged, ignoring my lipstick and fighting to keep my smile.
"That means you don't need to hide in the washroom."
Her words were like a slap in the face — a loveable one— but they stung nonetheless.
"I'm not hiding–"
"You are. But that's okay. That was a pretty shitty thing that happened. But dust yourself off. Nobody thinks lesser of you. Bradley included; trust me on that one. If I had known you were dating Leo the last time we were on an aircraft carrier together, I would have thrown him overboard myself."
I admired her confidence, I rarely encountered a woman with a no-bullshit attitude, and it began to rub off on me for some strange reason. I felt my shoulders start to relax as I turned to face her. A knowing curve to her smile took the edge off her sharp brown eyes as she peered at me under the fluorescent glow of the lights above the sink.
"I didn't get the chance to tell Bradley about Leo yet,"
"So what? That won't matter to him. Bradley is like a brother to me, and based on what he has told me about you, I don't think there is going to be a lot that is going to come up that will shake him off you."
"Oh, well– that's good, I guess. I like him too." I finished lamely as I reached down to grab my lipstick, this time successfully uncapping it.
Nat sighed and clapped me on the back as I reapplied my lipstick and put it away in my leather side bag. "Take it from me; when you're around these guys, having thicker skin doesn't hurt. But you have to let them know when they've crossed a line, keep them in check and all that. Don't let them make you feel like you don't have a seat at the table because you've got it going on!" She smiled as she reached over and fixed a bit of lipstick I had overapplied with a tissue.
When did this turn into the most intimidating, badass fairy-godmother pep talk I never knew I needed? Somehow the name Phoenix seemed to make sense now. I could imagine this woman coming back stronger through any flames thrown at her.
"Thanks, Nat; you didn't have to come in here, but thanks all the same."
Her grinning face revealed a hint of the softness underneath her shell, "Of course I did; you're in the squad now, kiddo."
Through the closed door in the bathroom, there was an abrupt end to the music and a chorus of groans circulated through the crowd. Nat's eyes sparked with excitement that lit up her face. "Come on, you won't want to miss this," Nat said as she grabbed my elbow and began to drag me toward the bathroom door.
"Miss what?"
"You'll see," she winked as she held open the door for me.
When we emerged from the washroom and over top of the hushed mutters were the gentle tinkling keys of a piano coming from somewhere in the middle of the bar.
Phoenix steered me through the crowd, and when we came around one of the wooden support beams, she stopped and grinned at me. "You're going to want to stand here," I followed her gaze, and my heart fluttered in my chest as I saw Bradley sitting on a stool with his face poking over the top of the piano.
I leaned against the beam and crossed my arms, a giggle full of anticipation escaping my lips.
"I'll let him know you're here," Nat said over her shoulder before walking up to Bradley and whispering something in his ear. His head perked up, and even through his sunglasses, I could tell he was looking right at me. With one finger, he lifted his hand and pulled his sunglasses down just enough so I could see the twinkling amber of his eyes glowing in the fairy lights as the pilots gathered around him. When he gave me a little wink, good thing I was still propped up against the post because I felt my knees buckle.
I somehow managed to blow him a kiss, and his smile was bright enough to light up the whole room even if somehow we blew a fuse and all the lights went out.
You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain. His fingers dashed across the piano keys, the muscles in his jaw and neck pulsating with every note he sang out as the rest of the pilots chimed in on the background vocals. I found myself singing along under my breath, all the noises and other people fading into the background as time slowed around me, and all I could see was him .
Goodness gracious, great balls of fire
Everything seemed so clear now, so easy. Like nothing bad had ever happened or will happen to me in my lifetime. That was what Bradley did to me. He made me feel the power of possibility, the idea that there was much more waiting for us in the future. I felt like I was flying down an open road with the wind in my hair and an amazing soundtrack coursing through my veins. I wanted him beside me every mile of the journey.
The song ended, and Bradley jumped to his feet, immediately swallowed up by the pilots who chanted his callsign. I waited patiently as I took in the scene of the unreserved display of camaraderie and found myself smiling as another layer of Bradley revealed itself. The way he carried himself and the way his fellow pilots responded and acted around him all spoke highly of the man she saw in front of her now. One that commanded respect earned through his equal treatment of others. I couldn't imagine any other pilot here being able to lead this mission in the same way that Bradley could. I found that I could process that better, knowing that Bradley was the type of leader who would make sure everyone, including himself, made it home. I couldn't take my eyes off him, especially as he extracted himself from the group and shouldered his way through the crowd directly to me.
He walked up close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his glistening chest as he swept a piece of my hair off my face, pulled me into the sweeping kiss, and broke away, pushing me against the beam.
"You set me on fire, Liv."
A current of electricity sparked through every cell in my body, and I was rendered speechless from the surging magnitude of my want for him. I was looking at him in a new light than when I first saw him in the parking lot on the beach almost two weeks ago.
"Holy shit, you're a Tom Hanks, aren't you?" I had never been so happy to be so wrong about something in my entire life.
"What?" He shook his head with a glow in his eyes. "You gotta work on your timing."
That would be hard to do if Bradley kept saying things that made my tongue turn to mush. "Don't worry about it; it's all in the mustache."
"Tom Hanks doesn't even have one,"
"I'll prove you wrong someday,"
"Whatever you say, gorgeous. Right now, all I need to do is dance with you." He held out his hand, and I slid my fingers through his and let him lead me onto the dancefloor that had emerged as the night wore on.
There was some crappy top forty pop song playing that everyone was dancing to, but Bradley pulled me into his arms and moved me into a slow two-step as if a crooning Etta James song was playing instead.
"You're not worried that things are moving too fast?" I asked in a small voice. Bradley let out a disparaging laugh and guided my head to rest on his shoulder. "What's so funny?"
"It's been a while since anyone has told me I'm moving too fast. I like the change of pace."
"I don't think my feet have touched the ground since I've laid eyes on you, Lieutenant. I'm rocketing along right with you,"
"I don't know how to begin to tell you how badly I want you." He reached out and placed his hand on my face, fingers running alongside my jaw as his thumb swept across my cheek.
"You just did." I kissed him like no one else in the room, our bodies and lips moulding together as my flesh sang underneath his yearning touches. "Take me home?"
"I thought you'd never ask,"