C. Brown - Compromising

“Son of a bitch,” Alex muttered. “I don’t know why I didn’t fucking see that.”

“Because you’re a guy. That’s what I’m here for,” I answered, trying to lighten the mood. “Why is his grudge so strong? What is the problem between you two?”

Alex met my gaze but didn’t answer. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to get into it in this chow hall. “I’ll tell you about it later on. I can’t dig into that shit right now. Come on, let’s go.”

Thoughts swirled around my head. We all had a past, some more unpleasant than others, but whatever happened with Vernon required my full and undivided attention, in the privacy of our own home.

I knew it was heavy.

I knew it was ugly.

I knew I wanted to hear it.

I knew I didn’t want to hear it.

Whatever the case, I needed to empty the nauseating feeling settling within me, and walking out into the stifling morning heat was doing nothing to help that sentiment.

“If I can get out at lunch, I’ll swing by and pick you up,” Alex said before quickly kissing my cheek.

I placed my cover on my head and smiled, hoping he couldn’t see that my mind was on overdrive and that I was getting lost in all of the conundrum twisting and turning my insides, but it was too late. He’d seen it, and his eyes were pinned on me with grave curiosity. I pulled my cover even lower, then turned and headed off in the direction of First Sergeant O’Hara’s office knowing that the sickening feeling that I felt would only amplify once he was in my presence.

Riley and I stayed up that night thinking of ways to deal with Vernon. Sadly, I couldn’t do much since the looming court date was fast approaching and Captain Hedlund didn’t want any undue attention focused on me. It was killing me not to tear into Vernon and rip him a new asshole. He was trying to get under my skin, and it was fucking working.

Vernon’s little stunt in the chow hall got Cassie’s attention, and she’d asked me numerous times that night what his deal was. I knew I needed to tell her, but the complexities of my unfortunate circumstances of knowing him were too much to deal with on the phone. Cassie was sure to have questions, and it would be better for the both of us if I could sit her down and give her the scoop on that dick.

When I walked into the chow hall the next morning and spotted her, she was sitting and chatting with Dalton and some other guy who I’d never seen before. I hadn’t seen that type of smile on her face in quite some time, and it stung just a little to see that she was back to her happy, carefree self, and I wasn’t the one making her feel that way. I walked over to their table, meeting Dalton’s eye before she noticed me, then placed my hand on her shoulder before taking a seat next to her. She looked up to me, smiled, then looked back to the prick sitting across from her. I wanted so badly to kiss her, to show this asshole that she was mine, but I quickly remembered that we were in uniform, sitting in a very crowded chow hall, so I’d have to send him the message another way.

“Good morning, babe,” I greeted, hoping this dude was taking notice. His eyes locked with mine, and he studied me, but didn’t have anything to say.

“Good morning,” Cassie greeted in return. “This is Lance Corporal Johnson. He’s Dalton’s new roommate.” The guy stuck his hand out, still studying me. “Johnson, this is—”

“Sergeant Cruz, Cassie’s fiancé,” I quickly interrupted, letting this guy know that she was spoken for. Cassie gave me a questioning glance, but I went on to shake Johnson’s hand, then gave a quick head nod to Dalton before focusing my attention back to her. “We need to get a move on. We have to stop and see Captain Hedlund before he leaves for the weekend.”

Cassie nodded her head, then turned to Dalton and said goodbye. I did the same, then turned with Cassie and walked out of the chow hall and out into the blistering morning heat. We’d only walked about thirty feet away from the hall when Cassie stopped and glared at me.

“What was that about?”

“What?” I asked, gauging the level of anger that she was studiously trying to withhold.

“Your pissing match in there. You acted as if Johnson groped me or something.”

I didn’t want to get into this out here. “Cassie, I don’t like fucking strange guys. It damn near killed me that you stayed in the barracks last night. I wasn’t here to fucking protect you, and we both know what happened the last—”

“Stop right there. Yes, a crazy fuck attacked me, but I’m a big girl, Alex. A Marine. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can. That doesn’t mean I want you to.”

Emerald green eyes pierced my soul—a mix of frustration and admiration swirling through them, her face overzealously working to hide the smirk that was making its way to the surface. The longer I stood there, waiting for whatever reaction she was about to let loose, the more fucking turned on I got. Cassie was intoxicatingly beautiful, even when she was stewing. It was moments like these, when she didn’t back down and take my shit that I found her the most attractive. She was a definite challenge, and in every way that mattered, I loved that about her.

“Look, we have a lot to sort through, but first we need to get to Captain Hedlund’s, then later you get to fill me in on Vernon.” Her eyebrows rose with the mention of that prick’s name, and I was reminded that she wasn’t going to let that go so easily.

I hated all of the shit that seemed to be circling us every which way that we turned. At some point, I was going to need a reprieve because, at the moment, I was getting swallowed by nagging bullshit. I snuck a quick kiss as the absence of her touch was becoming too much for me, then led us in the direction of the Captain’s office.

++++

“Take a seat, Sergeant Cruz, Pfc. Bennett,” Captain Hedlund instructed as we walked into his office. “As you know, O’Hara moved your pre-trial hearing up to Monday, so I have my team working through the weekend to make sure that we’re ready. Now, I was informed that a pair of Sergeant Cruz’s dog tags were found in your wall locker, Pfc. Bennett. How did those dog tags make it there?”

“I put them there, sir. They were a gift from Alex.”

Captain Hedlund shut his eyes and exhaled, then rubbed his hand over his face before speaking again. “As far as any incriminating evidence they may have gotten from your phone, Sergeant Cruz, I will be asking the judge to disregard it since your phone was taken before proper authority was given to do so.”

I nodded in appreciation. My phone was probably the most incriminating piece of evidence besides my own given confession.

“I will be away from base this weekend, but my team will be hard at work and I will only be a phone call away. You two need to report to my office at zero seven on Monday morning, and we will go over any last minute details before the hearing. You are to wear Service Alphas. Do you have any questions?”

I looked to Cassie who shook her head, then back to Captain Hedlund. “No questions, sir, but I wanted to let you know that Cassie and I will be getting married this weekend.”

His eyes landed on me, shifted over to Cassie, then back over to me. Disapproval shrouded his face, and he sat still, almost in disbelief. “Why are you rushing a wedding?”

“It’s not just a wedding, sir. For starters, I want to be married to her. And furthermore, being married could significantly impact our case. If the judge sees that this wasn’t just some instructor trying to get off on a student, then that might help us, right?”

He sat stoic, taking in what I was saying, but still not uttering a word.

“Also, I know how bad First Sergeant O’Hara has it out for me, so if he tries to ship me off somewhere, I want to have a fighting chance to have Cassie with me, and I know that will only happen if we are legally married.”

I watched as Captain Hedlund opened and shut his mouth, trying to find the right thing to say. “I’m not convinced that you two getting married is the best thing for you right now. The judge could look at it like a contract marriage which is frowned upon, and if the judge thinks you are only trying to marry for benefits, it certainly won’t work out in your favor.”

I didn’t like what he was saying. I didn’t want to wait any longer to make Cassie my wife. After everything that we had been though, putting a ring on her finger and attaching my last name to her first name was the only thing that I saw in front of us. It was the only thing that would make things right in our world. And regardless of what Hedlund thought about it, I was going to make that happen.

“With all due respect, sir, I’ve been through too much to wait for this. Cassie and I want to be married, and we’re going to do it. I just wanted to give you the heads up.”

I glanced over to Cassie who lightly smiled.

“I can’t stop you two from getting married, but I need to know where you’re going and how long you plan to be gone.”

“I will call you this evening with all of that information, sir.”

His tightened expression never wavered. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Cassie and me jetting off to get married, but honestly, if I were about to go down for loving this girl, I wanted her to be mine. They could punish me all they fucking wanted, but as long as Cassie was my wife, none of that shit would matter.

We walked out of the legal building and over to the walkway that split in two, sending us both in opposite directions. Cassie’s thoughts were written all over her face, and the look she wore worried me, worried me much more than anything Captain Hedlund had said in his office.

“Alex, Captain Hedlund might be right. Rushing into marriage could backfire. We’re drowning in this shit storm, and we don’t need to add anything else to the mix right now.”

My heart began pounding in my chest hard enough to break free. What was she saying? Had Captain Hedlund successfully planted the seeds of doubt in her mind and she was backing away from—from us? Words were a jumbled mess tumbling around in my head, and I couldn’t string a sentence together. I couldn’t even think.

“Alex—”

“I’ll pick you up this afternoon,” I reminded her before sneaking another quick kiss and turning to walk away. I just had to get through one more day, then we could put this shit behind us, even for the weekend.

++++

Castillo was hovering when I made my way into the Admin office that morning, acting extra fucking sweet as she asked about Cassie and her well-being. Every time something came out of her mouth, it irked me. I knew she was asking to be fucking nosy instead of actually caring about how Cassie was doing. I could see right through her charade, and if I weren’t tied to this piece of shit Admin office, I would let loose on her already and make sure that she stayed the hell away from me. I hadn’t seen Vernon all morning, and oddly, I was a bit disappointed. If I were going to lose my shit on anyone, consequences be damned, it would be that pencil dick. I had no idea where he was, and watching the doors, waiting for him to walk through, made me nervous with anticipation.

“Are you okay, Alex?” Castillo asked.

“I’m fine. Where the fuck is Vernon?”

Her eyes gazed at me, almost with alarm. “Why are you asking? You two don’t get along.”

“Precisely,” I answered.

I walked away from her without another word. She had something up her sleeve, I could feel it, and the fact that Vernon a source of contention brought the unmistakable realization that the common denominator was once again standing before me. How I’d allowed myself to get caught up in her was beyond me. Pussy was pussy, unless it was Cassie, and if I had known then what I knew now, I’d have passed Castillo’s up and never caused myself such headache.

The rest of the day I handled all of the errand running, making sure I could get out of the office and away from the bullshit that was surrounding me. I didn’t give a shit that it was well over one hundred degrees and that the errand running had me sweating like a fucking pig. It was a million times better than being cooped in that office, having to contain irritation while staring at paper after paper. When the work day finally ended and we secured for the weekend, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Nothing and no one was going to hold me back. Every asshole here at Twentynine would just have to wait until after the weekend when I was a married man with a clear head, ready to tackle all of their shit head on.