“I am being honest,” she quickly retorted.

“You’re omitting, and that is not being completely honest.”

The more I looked at her, the more I wanted to know exactly what was going on here. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like tension in her body where this guy was concerned, and I damn sure didn’t like that I couldn’t get a straight answer out of her.

“Why are you withholding?” I asked, eyes narrowing, voice growing more husk.

She swallowed. “I’m not. I just know you get all crazy over the smallest little things. I don’t want any issues, Alex.”

“Issues? You don’t think you have a fucking issue already on your hands? I don’t even know what it is, but it’s written all over you.”

She rolled her eyes and looked away.

“I’m telling you right now. I’m going to find out what this is because I don’t like the feeling I get when he’s around. He’s a loose fucking cannon, and I don’t get why you’re protecting him.”

We stared at one another for a minute when Cassie finally broke the silence.

“I need to get some chow. I’m starving.”

I didn’t want to let her go. I could tell she was upset, but sadly, I didn’t care. Her evasiveness where this Allen guy was concerned was ammunition for me to find out exactly what was going on there, and deep inside I knew none of it was good. I reluctantly stood and walked her to the back door.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I reached in and grabbed it, seeing a text message from Smith light up on the screen.

Smith: Sgt. Major. Thomas wants to see you.

“Fuck!” I called out. She stood staring at me, wanting to know what had come through.

“What happened?”

“I have to go and see Sgt. Major. Thomas.”

Her breath caught. “Do you think—“

“No. She’s not calling me in for this.” I kissed her. “And… I will be digging around, and I don’t give a shit if you warn Dalton either. I’m going to find out what the hell is going on. I’ve already told you, I don’t play fair. I’ll get my information one way or another.”

I pushed open the door and let her out before throwing on my cover and straightening myself up. I cracked my knuckles as I walked toward Sgt. Major’s office, the tension building up in me like cement blocks on a wall. Cassie was hiding something, and what it was I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but I was more determined than ever to find out. 

Cassie

We were so close to the end of school that I didn’t want Alex going ape shit and everything that we had to come unraveling. Allen had been a sore subject for me since the very beginning, but I felt like I could hold my own when it came to him. Now my nerves were on edge. Alex wanted to know what was going on, and the Sgt. Major was calling him in. There could have been a whole host of reasons that she wanted to see him, but when you have a guilty conscience it automatically jumps to the negative, and that is exactly where I was wallowing.

I walked across the street to the mini mart, grabbing a bag of chips and a Gatorade since there wasn’t going to be enough time to walk all the way to the chow hall, eat, and get back. I sat under the tiny bit of shade created from one of the pillars as I lost myself in thought. Alex, for as much as he saw Allen as a loose cannon, was just as much a loose cannon, if not more. I had to find Dalton and talk to him because I knew he would be the first person that Alex would interrogate. I didn’t want to be babied. I could handle Allen on my own. Even if I had to keep going at him here and there, he knew he would have a fight with me, and usually didn’t cross that line.

I took out my phone and texted Dalton. The last thing I wanted was for him to be caught off guard by Alex.

Dalton: Need to see you ASAP. I’m in the courtyard.

I waited for a few minutes but didn’t get a reply. Instead, I heard footsteps. Dalton came running, and the sight of him, red faced and breathing hard, had me laughing a bit.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, trying to catch his breath.

“You. You look like you came to put out a fire.”

“Well, when you put ASAP, I didn’t know what the hell was going on. Anyway, what’s up?”

I scooted over and tapped the seat, inviting him to sit down. “Alright. Alex knows something is up with Allen. We were working on radio systems in class today and had to do it in pairs. Allen called me out and offered to be my partner and I froze, totally disgusted. Well, Alex saw that and went haywire. He asked me what was going between us and I wouldn’t tell him.”

“Why? The guy is a douche. Maybe letting Alex kick his ass is what he needs.”

“Dalton, wake up. If Alex goes after him, which he will if he finds out some of the shit he’s said to me, everything will be blown, so you have to keep quiet. He already said he was coming to you, so please, do your best to not say anything. I know you think I’m crazy, but it’s for the best.”

“I do think you’re crazy, and I would love to see Allen get his ass kicked, but I get it. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Thank you,” I said, finally able to smile. “Anyway, how was your weekend with Ben?”

A dreamy look spread across his face. Whatever happened, it must have gone well.

“It was awesome. We went to Palm Springs and stayed in a resort hotel. Played some golf, ate at amazing restaurants, did some shopping and had amazing sex. He said he’ll be back out for graduation in a couple of weeks.”

“That’s awesome. So are you a couple or what’s the deal?”

“I don’t know about that part. I mean, he’s super sweet and all, but I still don’t even know where I’ll be stationed, and long distance relationships rarely work out.”

“Well, I wouldn’t automatically rule it out. It sounds like he really likes you. What does he do?”

“He’s a paralegal.”

“Good job. I’m just glad you had a good weekend. You were so worried about it.”

“I know. Anyway, what about you. How was your weekend?”

“Oh, it was amazing. Alex took me to Huntington Beach. I’d never been to a beach before. He taught me how to boogie board, then we had a bonfire, cooked out, made s’mores, made love—“

“Whoa. Made love? Do tell.”

I laughed. It did sound a little strange for me, too. “Yes. We learned a whole lot about one another that night, and rough sex just didn’t feel appropriate. It warranted so much more.”

“Wow!”

“I know. Kind of shocked me too. So anyway, the next day, he took me sailing, and then-“

“And then?”

“And then, he shocked the hell out of me by taking me to meet his family.”

“What the fuck? Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“That’s huge. How did that go?”

“Well, I was nervous as hell, but it went well. His mom and sister are awesome, but his grandma, hmmmm, not so much.”

“Yikes. Did she say anything rude to you?”

“No, but she said it about me. She asked him, ‘who’s the white girl?’” I raised the pitch of my voice, mimicking the sounds of hers.

Dalton laughed, prompting me to finally laugh about it.

“Sounds like Grandma is old school.”

“Oh, she is. His sister told me that. It was a good visit. He has more people in his family than I’ve known in my entire life.”

“Glad you had a good time. So, are you two a couple?” he asked, slightly turning his head and scrunching his eyebrows.

I blew out a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess you can say that. And we’ll just have to make this long distance thing that you say never works, work.”

He laughed again.

Busy chatter filled the hallways as everyone began filing into the courtyard. Lunch had flown by, and now all I had to do was keep Dalton inaccessible for Alex.