Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

Jen

" I have to admit, the range was way more fun than I thought it would be," I said to Laura. Sheppard had dropped me off by the barracks and I met up with Laura to get lunch. "Although…"

"Although what?"

"Nothing, it's probably nothing," I amended

"I knew that you'd have fun or your date." Her grin was downright predatory.

I choked and spit my food out. "No! Not a date. Don't say that." I must have turned six shades of red.

"I knew it! It was a date! You want this, want him. The ‘let's be friends' crap is just bullshit!" She looked at me smugly while making a circle with one hand and sticking her finger from the other hand in and out. She was grinning maliciously at me. "It wasn't just a wham, bam, thank you, ma'am."

"Pervert," I said, throwing a piece of food at her. "Stop it, before someone sees or hears you."

Laura leaned in conspiratorially. "Come on, it's okay. He likes you too. Clearly."

I put my head down and did my best to look unimpressed. I held out for about four seconds before I broke. I practically whispered, "You think? I didn't blow my shot?"

"Do you see him kidnapping anyone else and dragging them to the range?"

"No," I muttered. "He better not." She had a point there. I tried to convince myself that it was the sex, that maybe there wasn't something under all this. I wasn't buying it.

"Was he the one giving you all the instructions?" I nodded, still looking down. "So, not the Green Beret firearms instructor, but the pilot, was the one running you through the drills?"

I looked up at her and started to fidget. A dangerous feeling was spreading in my chest. Hope. "Ty stayed behind under the awning, it was just me and Mark."

"Do you really think…?"

Laura nodded smugly. "Now are you going to tell me that you didn't like it?"

I looked left and right to make sure no one else was nearby before leaning in. I tried to contain myself and talk evenly, instead I blurted out, all at once, like a gushing schoolgirl, "It was hot . Like, really hot. The way he grabbed hold of me and manhandled me into position. That's never happened to me before."

"Aww, congratulations honey, you're a real woman now."

"Fuck you."

"I told you, once you drop those adult boys and get with a real man, things change. When a real man gets a hold of you, you know." We both laughed before she continued. "So…tell me the rest."

How does she always know?

"I might have…moaned. A little. Loudly." Laura's eyes about popped out of her head, her eyebrows shot up, and the smile she was repressing looked like it might burst through at any moment. I ducked my head, avoiding her gaze. "And I might have, definitely, rubbed my ass against his crotch. Accidentally. On purpose," I amended.

"You fucking tease."

I buried my face in my hands. "That's not all. When I did, I- I felt… I woke up… He…poked…" I stopped stuttering and took a breath. "He was standing so close I could feel him brushing up against me. It was sexy.

Laura mocked me, "Must have been one hell of a poke." She was enjoying this way too much. I could feel my cheeks heating up again.

Laura just laughed at me.

"Seriously. What am I going to do? There's no way he didn't hear me or feel me. He definitely felt me rubbing against him. I can't let this happen. I shouldn't have let it get this far. We're supposed to be working on being friends. Friends don't grind back against friends," I groaned with embarrassment.

"Grow the fuck up. You're an adult. And you deserve this. You deserve someone who makes you this happy. Four seconds ago, you were as excited as a teenager with her first crush. Now you're doing that thing you do where you analyze yourself into misery. For once in your life have some fun."

I sat, shocked at her words, until they really registered. She was right. I was an adult. What was a little flirtation shared between adult friends? It made the time pass more quickly and it was fun. I just needed to be careful that I didn't let it progress past that. At least, not here.

Feeling better, I listened to Laura launch into a full blown rant about something Ross had come to her complaining about.