"This isn't a bar Sis, this is some primeval cave. I mean, they've even got wild animals too." Kurz glanced around at the inebriated US Marines around him.
The woman beside him turned to face him, her jagged locks bisecting the blush on her cheeks. "Whuzzat Weber? Ya don't come to a bar to look at the scenery. Drink already!" She slapped the blond man on the back. Melissa's tankard was already empty. Looking at it mournfully for a moment, she flopped her hand on the counter.
"Barkeep! Gimme a'nuther one!"
The USO bar at Okinawa was a spacesaving design, the ceiling, about 7 feet high, seemingly squeezing wallets dry and postures flat. A gray mist of nicotine, tobacco, and sweat clung stubbornly to the air.
"Rather busty for a marine, aren't ya? How about you leave the fag for the Army pukes." A man that Kurz could only describe as top heavy had taken the seat next to Melissa.
Making a circuit on her stool, she eyeballed the Marine, her chin still on the counter.
"I didn't know they let Gorillas join the Marines. From the looks of it…" Melissa tilted her head to the left "It looks like your dick is small enough though. You get estrogen as a kid, ya fairy?"
"Why you-" His retort succumbed to the treaded sole of Melissa's boot as she brought her leg up in an arc. The man collapsed, an empty sail, his fist stopped in mid-swing.
Ignoring the clamor around him, Kurz took one last draught of his DAB traditional, and chucked it at someone in the crowd. Eventually, shore patrol arrived to cart the bruised and sloshed patrons away.
Somewhere between the shore patrol arriving, and their subsequent incarceration of everyone wearing a service uniform, Melissa had glommed onto Kurz. He looked down, and saw that his right arm was enfolded by both of her arms, and her head rested in the crook of his shoulder.
'Like having a seriously sexy python wrapped around your arm'
Surprisingly, during the transfer to the van, and to the local district office, Melissa remained attached to his shoulder. Despite his impending incarceration, Kurz felt…buoyant.
At the station, the officers were separating prisoners. Kurz was further surprised at Melissa's answer to the officer's insistence that they separate. An abrupt kick to the solar plexus, and the man had no problem with the arrangement. Doubled over in pain, the man watched as his subordinates shoved the pair into a cell.
"You're a good guy Weber. I know where most of your salary goes, even after she dumped you for that doc."
She traced the outline of a bruise on his face. He met her gaze, concern reflected in her lavender eyes.
She wrapped her arms around his torso, and rested her head on his left shoulder.
If Kurz didn't know any better…Melissa was cuddling?
"Before you get any ideas, know that I'm only using you for a pillow. You make a pretty good one, and you still have a cute face."
She lazily patted his cheek.
'Not exactly the best of accomodations, Sis, but I've bunked in far worse places. In terms of quality roommates, this one is a cut above, for sure. '
He could see the tangerine sunrise through the bars.
Kurz grinned. Sometimes happiness was simply knowing someone cared…