Signs Along the Road
Standard disclaimer is standard.
Finn lied on his back, still trying to catch his breath. He felt the warm body next to him move and, for a second, the olive skin and dark hair in his peripheral vision interrupted the slowing of his heart. Then the form next to him stretched out too long, rolling over to reveal full breasts and hazel eyes and he pushed other thoughts to the back of his mind.
"Damn, boy! You love to pick up the pace on the encore performance don't you?"
"Yeah. I'm kinda selfish like that, I guess."
"Anytime, Hudson. Anytime."
"I'll remember that."
Carmen propped herself up on her elbow and looked him in the eyes.
"I mean that. We shouldn't take this too serious but there's no reason not to enjoy it, you know? We can be real good friends."
"Good friends, huh? Good friends with benefits?"
"Yeah. Look, I think you've figured out that I'm not looking to get dragged from one base to the next with a string of kids for the rest of my life. But that doesn't mean I picked you out of the blue."
"No?"
"There's no such thing as a 'three night stand,' Finn. You're only the second guy I ever brought home from the bar and the first one I already had my eye on from classes."
"Really?" Finn watched Carmen's one eyebrow raise, both questioning and bordering on annoyance. She thinks he thinks she's a slut. Damnit! "Uh . . . not that I thought you. . . I mean. . . all the guys you meet probably . . . you know they all fall all over themselves trying to talk to you and all. You could pick any guy in the place."
"And I took you home because you're not so bad yourself. A lot of you soldier boys come into the bar. Some of them tall and cute. Not many sing like you do. You got soul, Finn Hudson. And you manage not to stare at my chest the entire time we talk."
"Thanks." Finn turns to face her. "So what do you want out of life?"
"Wow. Really? You're going to get all deep on me?"
"I'd like to know some things about my new friend. I don't go home with chicks from the bar, either."
"Oh well then this 'chick from the bar,'" she slapped him with a pillow for effect, "plans on leaving the desert behind and putting my degree to good use. I have another two semesters at UTEP and I'll be looking to do physical therapy anywhere but here."
"Why not here? The college has athletics and the base is here."
"More interested in hospitals, working with kids and old people. And I need to get out. I mean, do you have anything pulling you back to Ohio?"
Finn breathes out heavily. "No. No, I don't."
"See? My folks sold their rental properties and had enough money to bounce before the market crashed all the way through. I may follow them to Florida."
"Never been there."
"Really?! Never been to Disney World?!"
"My mom didn't have a lot of money or time to spare when I was a kid. When I got older, I was older."
"Just you and mom, huh? I didn't know."
"She got remarried when I was in high school. Great guy. Got a stepbrother. He's probably the best man I know."
"He anything like you?," she asked with some interest.
Finn chuckled. "If he were in your shoes, he'd probably marry the first guy he brought home from the bar."
"He could try. This is still Texas, though."
Finn traced his fingers over the cross and burning heart tattooed on her hip. "Story?"
"I grew up going to church. Very traditional. Quinceanera and everything."
"Quinceanera?"
"It's like a bar mitzvah or a sweet sixteen for Latin girls. At fifteen, they dress you up like you're getting married and give you a doll after you change into high heels."
"That's . . . cool."
"Not really. I hope, if ever have a kid, I have a boy. None of that."
She looks over Finn's body, taking in his tattoos. "You've got a couple of stories, don't you soldier." She stroked one, "Ezekiel 18:20," on the inside of his arm. "You religious, too?"
"Not really. I tried but I don't what to believe in. That's something I looked up a while back."
"And I know about the bar codes you guys get. The tribal?"
"Just a tribal. My first tat before I went down to Georgia. Thought it would look cool."
"And all covered up by a spring uniform. You going to be an officer one day, Finn?"
"I don't know. They said they saw something in me at infantry school and sent me to ranger school. They said they saw something in me again later and sent me here for JTF North. Now, they're seeing things again."
"And what's the deal with this one?" She puts her finger on a red number five inside a black and gold bordered star on the right side of his chest.
"My old high school number. Quarterback."
"In a funny place."
"I wanted it close to my heart."
"Your heart is on the other side."
"I know." He sits up and grabs his pants from the floor.
"You could stay."
"I have to be on base, dressed and in my chair at oh-eight-forty-five."
"I'll set an alarm."
"You don't want me to go?"
She smirked at him. "I think I'm going to want a friend in the morning."
And he hesitated a moment before giving a sad half smile back and dropping his pants before sliding back alongside her.
