C. Brown - Fraternizing

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied with a smile.

Angelica was pissed at me from Friday, her Latin temper flying off of her tongue as she chided me, crying about how she'd seen that guy first and how I'd snuck in and stolen him away. But I hadn’t. He seemed to have chosen me. Plain and simple.

Standing in front of the mirror, brushing my long, blonde hair back and laboriously working it into a sleek bun, I added a light spritz of hairspray to tame the loose strands, then grabbed my cover, or the Marine Corps equivalent of a cap. Angelica finished up whatever she was doing and made her way to her side of the room and threw on her blouse, then we walked out the door.

Standing in formation, the scalding heat from the desert morning was hitting my face, making me painfully aware that we were, in fact, stuck in this poor excuse for a town for the next six weeks. I stood next to Angelica, waiting to get our day started.

I was ready.

Going through thirteen weeks of hell for bootcamp, four weeks of combat training, and now finally Military Occupational School—MOS school— I was now one step closer to becoming a fleet Marine.

"Attention!" a female voice called out, prompting all of us to stand rigid and erect. Nerves began swirling around inside of me as the next chapter was slated to begin. This dream of mine was finally becoming a reality.

I’d dreamed of becoming a Marine ever since I screwed myself out of college. When my mom came down on me, telling me how much of a disappointment I was to her, and how I would never amount to anything, I took that as a challenge and set my sights on becoming one of the best. Even then, she told me that I’d never make it; that it would be too hard, and I would quit.

But I didn't quit.

I proved her wrong every step of the way, and now there was only six weeks until I was out of school. Then I’d be able to finally flip her my pretty little middle finger while smiling and telling her, "I told you so."

"At ease," the woman said, striding out front and center. "I am Sgt. Castillo," she belted out, her cold, dark eyes scanning the rows of students standing before her. "I work in the admin section here at Comm School. Any and all paperwork will go through my section. If you need something, let your instructors know and they will get it taken care of for you."

She was a short Hispanic woman—young, probably slightly older than me, but had obviously joined straight out of high school. The confidence she exuded while speaking to a group of new Marines who towered over her was on par with what I had grown accustomed to in bootcamp. It was remarkable.

"I'm turning you over to your instructors now. Welcome to Twentynine," Castillo said, making a sharp turn and walking away from the formation.

Standing there waiting, even if it was only 7AM, was torture in the morning heat. Fire bearing rays raced down from the sun and connected with my long, thick cotton cammies, inducing a sweat worthy of an intense workout session. And I hadn't even exerted an ounce of energy.

 A tall, slender man walked out, followed by two other males. They took their spots in front of the formation, glaring ravenous eyes at us all as if they were ready to pounce and eat us for breakfast. I had been warned that even though we'd made it through bootcamp and were now Marines, to the veterans we were still a bunch of nobodies.

    "Attention!" he barked out, his low, gruff voice startling me out of my sweating pity party. I swallowed and stood straight, looking forward but at no one in particular.

"I am Sergeant Newsome, one of your instructors here at Comm School, and this is Sergeant Jensen and Sergeant Cruz," he said, pointing to the two men behind him. The rest of whatever he said fell on deaf ears as I fixed my eyes on the two accompanying instructors, instantly recognizing them as the two guys from the bar on Friday night. My heart sank and a heavy, throbbing lump lodged in my throat, making me stifle a choke as I immediately remembered that Cruz--now that I knew his name--was my bump and grind, tongue twirling, lip smacking partner from that excitement filled night.

"Shit. Better you than me. I ain't mad anymore," Angelica whispered to me, smirking as she said it.

If I could have, I would have smacked the smirk from her face. I was slowly sinking in my own embarrassment and lust.

The feelings I’d felt on Friday came crashing back like tidal waves. Cruz was sexy as sin at the bar, dressed in jeans and a tight fitting t-shirt, but in uniform he looked good enough to taste and then go back for seconds. His cover was pulled low on his head, hiding his beautiful hazel eyes, and his face was held tight, probably trying to appear rough and unapproachable. His bulging arms stood out from his rolled up blouse sleeves, showing just a slight hint of a tattoo underneath the material. His posture was of a stocky bulldog, waiting to be unleashed on a bunch on unsuspecting students who all appeared firmly afraid.

I wasn't afraid of him, per se. I was afraid that he would remember me and that this would instantly turn awkward and somehow wreck my budding career. Of course, he was about three sheets to the wind that night and quite eager to get into my pants, so chances were good that he wouldn't remember me from any other girl he normally went for.

I could only hope.

"In the next six weeks, you will go through a series of coursework, tests, and field trainings. If you fail Comm School, you will be recycled to a new MOS not of your choosing," Jensen barked. He was tall and quite good looking. He was also very stiff, never once relenting on the deep scowl that seemed to be permanently embedded into his face. I remembered him as the one who broke our earth shattering kiss just before I was sure that I was about to be whisked off somewhere and fucked until my brains spilled out. We never got that far.

And now I was certain that we would never get that far again.

"I'm Sergeant Cruz, lead instructor for Alpha company," he said, his perfectly plump lips moving with each word spoken, further drawing me in. He walked forward, with perfect posture and a stoic face. His voice rumbled as he spoke, instantly taking me back to the bar where he gruffly said, "You're mine tonight," in my ear, sending tingles aggressively shooting up and down my legs He didn't know it in that moment, but I would have gladly surrendered myself to him if we had gotten the opportunity.

"…sound off as I call your name," Sgt. Cruz commanded, throwing more force behind his already intimidating voice.

My mind began to wander again, wondering how I would make it through the next six weeks unscathed by my thoughtless actions. If even half of my brain had been with me that night, I would have never allowed myself to go to places I didn't normally go. I would have never allowed that dance session to take place, and I certainly wouldn't have allowed myself to get swept up in that kiss that I swore took my breath away. What the hell was I thinking? Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but in a military town I should have known better.

"… Private First Class Cassie Bennett." My name came out of his mouth, and I lifted my head ever so slightly to meet his hardened gaze, silently praying that I was unrecognizable to him.

"Here, Sergeant," I sounded off, turning my head away and catching a glimpse of Sgt. Jensen's face. Dammit. He recognized me almost instantly. His eyes lowered, and his face twitched, making me nervous as sweat beads began trickling down the back of my neck. I tried hard to remain calm, not wanting to look like a total ass in front of the entire class, but Jensen's gaze seared me on the spot, indicating that Sgt. Cruz would be next.

Now my heart was pumping overtime, beating to a very erratic drum. As I stood with my hands clenched, the sweat began pouring out, and I felt the sudden urge to pee.

Only I couldn't move because I was stuck under the watchful eye of Sgt. Jensen.

When I finally gathered up the courage to look back to Cruz, he was fixed on me, furious lust filling his eyes. My eyes locked with his, and even though they were hooded by the brim of his cover, I could feel the intensity his gaze poured into me, damn near stifling all of the air from my outdoor surroundings. I didn't know what to do or what to say as he stood there like a hungry wolf, ready to devour its prey. He had definitely recognized me, and all I could hope for was that we could move on like mature adults.

Cruz swallowed hard, accentuating the large Adam's apple poking out in his throat. He cleared his throat and continued on.

"Private First Class Angelica Ruiz," he bellowed out, annoyance seeming to seep into his voice this time.

"Here, Sergeant," Angelica called out, her smirk slowly creeping back in.

Cruz quickly moved on, not even bothering to look at her a second longer than he had to.

My skin began to tingle as parts of my body went numb, and I felt the color drain from my face. This was not a good situation I had found myself in, and I just wasn't sure how I was going to work my way out of it. I hadn't slept with my instructor, but I’d got pretty damn close.

"Be back here at zero eight with your binders," Cruz roughly commanded. The brashness of his tone brought feeling back to me, even though it should have done nothing of the sort.

"Yes Sergeant," we all yelled in unison, only I barely contributed since I was feeling weak and feeble. I mouthed it to make it look believable.

"Dismissed," he barked, standing almost directly in front of me with both hands behind his back. Our eyes locked again, only this time a sinister, seductive gleam went off in his, almost like the gaze he gave off at the bar. He didn't look away, and neither did I. His tall, muscular body was highlighted in his cammies, causing dark, enticing thoughts to scour my brain.

Sgt. Jensen walked up behind him and whispered something into his ear, finally breaking our stare down. He slightly turned his head to listen to what was being said then nodded, looking back at me with narrowed eyes before turning and walking off in the opposite direction with Jensen.

"Well, damn. If you haven't been fucked twice by Sgt. Cruz in only a matter of days," Angelica said, laughing wildly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid. You've been dry fucked and eye fucked by that man."

"That doesn't even matter. We have jobs to do."

"Right. We have jobs to do, and none of these lustrous feelings you two have are going to get in the way." She laughed again. "Like I said, glad it was you and not me. For once, I'm happy I didn't get the guy."

"Right. Because your attitude all weekend proves how badly you didn't want him," I sarcastically retorted, annoyed by the fact that she seemed to be taking pleasure in my torment.

She rolled her eyes and walked off, leaving me standing there, pissed at myself and turned on at the same time. I looked at my watch and realized it was 7:30AM, leaving me only thirty minutes before I had to be back.

All feeling had come back to my body, leaving my nipples standing so hard from our intense stare down that they were beginning to throb. I kicked the cement pillar next to me, my boot making a low thud, hoping to let out some of the sexual tension and frustration that had crept into my body just a few minutes before. I ached with need, hunger and want.

And none of the three looked like they'd be quelled anytime soon. 

Alex

"Fuck!" I yelled, anger touching on every nerve ending in me. How the fuck did I allow myself to get into this situation? As soon as I was back in my shared office, I yanked my now sweat slicked cover off of my head and heaved it onto the desk before violently thrusting my body down into my chair. Leaning my head back and shutting my eyes, I thought about that night and how I missed the fact that she was a Marine because I was too fucking drunk for my own good. Nothing good comes from being that plastered. Nothing.

"Shut this shit down now!" Jensen snarled, removing his cover and slamming the door behind him. His eyes were full of fury, and I couldn't blame him. I felt the same way. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking," I bit back, finally sitting up in my chair. "It doesn't fucking matter anyway. It didn't go very far, and that's where it ends."

"You're damn right about that," he quickly responded, taking a seat in his own chair.