Next chapter! Yay! :D Still thanking Hardy Sleuth, who has been a wonderful beta for this fic... :)
Disclaimer: Still only own my OC... :(
24 Hours Earlier
Pete stood with Joanie Rogers. He was in his uniform and she was wearing a pretty light-tan suit. They stood near the doors and watched as several couples were swaying on the dance floor. The wedding party for Lt. Larson was in full swing.
"When's Jen going to get here?" Joanie asked.
"Any minute." Pete glanced at his watch. "She said she'd probably be a little late. Andy should be here soon, too."
"Andy?" Joanie raised an eyebrow.
"He's really nice. You'd like him..."
"Pete Emmett," Joanie frowned. "You'd better not be-"
"There he is." Pete turned. "Hey, Andy! Where ya been? It's an all-hands function."
Andy walked over to them, his hat under one arm.
"Hey," Andy said flatly as he shook Pete's hand.
"C'mere, I want you to meet Joanie." Pete led him over to the young woman. "Joanie, this is Andy Tyler. This is my best friend."
"Hi." Andy smiled
"Hello." Joanie politely returned the smile.
"We went to NATLAS together." Pete continued.
"Nice to meet you, Joanie." Andy reached out and took her hand.
"Nice to meet you." Joanie shook his hand.
"Hey, I got you one of Larson's stogies." Pete pulled the cigar out his pocket and tossed it to Andy. "To our Navy's next sub skipper."
"Thank you." Andy nodded and pointed the cigar at Pete.
Pete grinned as Andy walked away. He turned back to Joanie. She had her hands on her hips.
"How many of your friends are you going to introduce me to?" Joanie frowned slightly. "Are you and Jen trying to play matchmaker, or something?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Pete quickly turned back around and scanned the crowd.
"That's what I thought." Joanie sighed. "Jen's always trying to find a guy for me; she's been that way for years. And now I can see that's something you have in common. I guess that's one of the reasons why you two are in love..."
Pete felt the blush creep into his face at the last sentence. He did love Jen, but it felt awkward when the subject came up. Andy was always telling him to hurry up and marry Jen, before someone else came and swept her off her feet. Pete did want to marry Jen, but he could never find the right time to ask.
Seaman Charles Clemens, or 'Tank', walked up to Pete and Joanie. He cleared his throat nervously and looked at Joanie.
"I was wondering if-" Tank cleared his throat again. "Would you like to dance?"
"Um.." Joanie seemed genuinely shocked, but she quickly recovered and gave Tank a broad smile. "I'd love to."
Pete couldn't help but smile as Tank offered Joanie his arm. Still smiling, Joanie took his arm and they walked onto the dance floor. Their dancing was awkward at first, but it quickly smoothed out.
"Hello, Pete..." Someone placed their hand on his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts.
Pete turned to see who was behind him and broke into a grin.
Jennifer 'Jen' Lewis stood there, a smile on her face. She wearing a simple navy blue boat neck dress that contrasted sharply with her cream-colored complexion. Her clear blue eyes shone as she looked at Pete. Several strands of her wavy, jet-black hair curved around her face, and the rest hung down to the middle of her back in a loose ponytail.
"Wow, you look great..." Pete said slowly.
"Thanks." Jen smiled shyly. "You look good, too. Where's Joanie?"
"Dancing with Tank."
"Tank? You sent her with Tank?"
"Actually, he's one of the only ones I didn't introduce her to." Pete smiled slightly. "He came up and asked."
"How'd Joanie react?" Jen moved to stand beside Pete.
"I think it spooked her a little." Pete motioned to where Tank and Joanie were dancing. "But she seems to be okay with it now."
"Of course she is." Jen grinned when she spotted them. "Anyone would be when they're in the strong arms of a Navy man."
"Is that so?" Pete smirked and slipped his arm around Jen's waist.
"Only while dancing." Jen returned the smirk.
"If he won't dance with you," Henry Klough walked up to them. "I will."
"Henry." Jen smiled and held her hand out.
"Jen." Henry took her hand and shook it. "Care to dance?"
"Of course." Jen nodded. "That is, if Pete doesn't mind..."
"I think I can trust you two..." Pete said.
So, what did you think? Leave a review, if you can... :)
