"I'm fine. He's loud and obnoxious, but I'm not letting him ruin my night."

"Alright. Sweet." He flashed a school boy grin, my facial muscles forming into a tight smile, trying hard to reciprocate the gesture.

We strolled up to the ticket window, standing in line when we caught Allen's attention. He made his way over to where we stood and I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to deal with him or any of his antics.

"You two on a date?" He looked us over, and I could see why he thought that. I was still holding on to Dalton's arm.

"Nope. Just enjoying a night away from the barracks with a friend," Dalton calmly answered.

"Well, good, because I think you should totally go out with me, Bennett. I'll show you what a real man is like, and I'll turn you into the lady that you need to be." He smiled, but there was no sincerity behind the smile. Only malice.

"That's okay. If I want to go out with a real man, I'll just have to keep looking. I don't think you're it." I smiled back, wiping the smug look of asshole right off of his face. He lowered his eyes then cracked his neck before Dalton pulled me up to the ticket counter with him.

Allen reminded me of the chauvinistic pricks who my mom often dated, and I couldn't find one single appealing thing about the guy.

"He's got some serious issues," I told Dalton as we walked into the lobby of the theater, making our way to the concession stand line.

"Yeah. He's just a prick. He's harmless, though. I'm telling you, he just has an issue with women in the Corps, but he doesn't hate women."

"Well, he might as well. I'm in the Corps. I'm not going anywhere."

"True. Just avoid him."

"I try. He hates me. There are other females around here, why me?"

"I assume because you don't back down, and you're top notch. He probably sees you as a challenge or something." He stopped and placed our food order. "Look, I don't want to get into his head. It's too fucked up, from what I can see. Just don't talk to him."

We grabbed our food and walked into the theater, making sure to avoid Allen and his caveman crew.

The movie was mildly entertaining for me, but Dalton, even though this was his third time watching it, was engrossed in it, reciting lines and cheering on the Autobots. I had picked up a few things here and there, but I wasn't pulled in the way he was.

Nearing the end of the movie my phone began buzzing in my back pocket. I took it out to find a text message from an unknown number.

Unknown: Hope you enjoyed that movie. I'll be coming by to see you tonight.

"What the fuck?" I whispered, apparently not low enough as I caught Dalton's attention. He looked over to me and I quickly stuffed my phone between my legs, looking up to him and smiling.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Just a surprise text, that's all."

Dalton turned back to his movie, but I couldn't focus. What little focus I had before the text was gone now. I knew who it was from, but I couldn't find the right words to respond to him.

"I'll be right back," I whispered to Dalton, grabbing my phone and hurrying out of the theater. I walked into the bathroom and stopped just inside, leaning back against the wall before pulling my phone out and sending a text back to him.

Me: How did you get my number?

Almost immediately, a response buzzed in.

Unknown: Don't worry about that. I have it, and I want to see you. Don't go anywhere else with that pencil dick either. I'll be coming by.

His earlier interaction with Castillo popped back into my head and frustrated me all over again.

Me: Don't you have a dinner date?

Unknown: NO!

I didn't know what to make of that response.

I tucked my phone back into my pocket, then grabbed a few paper towels, wetting them and dabbing the small bits of moisture from my face. Staring at myself in the mirror, I searched hard for my will power. I needed it desperately. I didn't need Cruz crashing back into my life when I was finally able to recognize that I had lost my focus and needed to get it back. I was ready to do what it was I came to Comm School to do-- to learn and move on.

I walked back into the theater without another thought on him or his text messages.

Instead of going straight home, Dalton and I walked over to the food court and had an ice cream cone, then stopped at the mini mart not far from the barracks to grab soda, chips, and candy before making our way back to our rooms. Walking to the stairs that led to the upper floor rooms, we passed by the duty room again.

"That was made from scratch, with love. My tia taught me how to make those carne enchiladas. There's more where that came from."

"Thanks, Leti," I heard Cruz answer. "I haven't had a home cooked meal in a long ass time." I inched a bit closer and saw that Leti was, in fact, Sgt. Castillo. She was dressed casually, her hair down and make-up on her face. She was already an attractive chick, but seeing her out of uniform, looking more done up that usual, struck me with a pang of jealousy, making me falter on my goal of forgetting all about him.

"There's more where that came from." The smile on her face was anything but innocent and Sgt. Cruz smiled back, making my stomach turn.

She was leaning over to him as she sat in the seat next to him, both of them laughing while their bodies rubbed up against one another. My hands were beginning to ache, so I cracked my knuckles, and Dalton made his way over to me, concern etched on his face.

"You need to talk to Sgt. Cruz?" Dalton asked, breaking me from my bitter thoughts.

"No," I quickly answered. "I just smelled that delicious food, and it lured me in." I spoke up at that part, stepping further into their view, making sure that my voice could be heard.

Castillo, or, Leti, as Sgt. Cruz so casually called her, looked up and saw me. Her menacing eyes seared into me, but I stood my ground. My inner fighter wasn't about to take her shit lightly, even though she was my superior. Cruz looked up and saw me standing there, looking like I was ready to pounce.

"Can I help you, Bennett?" Cruz asked, his voice harsh but his eyes inviting.

"No. I just smelled that food, and it pulled me in. Smells good, Sergeant. We don't have anything like that around here." My gaze was stuck on him, but I managed to sneak a peek over to Castillo who looked like she would charge at any second.

Dalton moved further into the door frame beside me, much to Cruz's dismay. I couldn't find a reason to stand there any longer, enticing and infuriating my body at the same time, so I turned to Dalton, nodding my head and signaling for us to make our way out.

"Have a good night, Sergeant. Enjoy that meal." There was an undercurrent of sarcasm in my voice that was well intended. As I looked back to Sgts. Castillo and Cruz, they both seemed to have caught on to it. Cruz looked as though I had just given him the green light to come and fuck me while Castillo looked ready to rip my eyeballs out.

I walked up the stairs with Dalton, internally smiling as we walked.

"What the hell was that?"

"What?"

"That bitch fest."

I laughed at the accuracy of his terminology.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Keep saying that. You know exactly what I'm talking about. If Castillo could have, she would've bitch slapped you, and I think you would have done the same."

"Well, I don't know. You know how male Marines treat you guys like shit? Well, she's kind of doing the same with me."