Emmalin picked me up the first day of school. She sat in her parents car, listening to a jazz CD. I slid into the passenger seat, looking at her with an odd expression. The brunette shook her head.

"Not my choice but it was the only option besides stations that are all static."

I opened my backpack and pulled out my CD case, handing her a Madonna disc. Emmalin looked at me, stunned. "Really now?"

"I can take your present back to the store." I threatened. No one insulted the queen in my presence. She laughed, slipping the disc in as we pulled out of the parking lot. We managed to get through 'Like a Virgin' and 'Papa don't Preach' before getting to the school parking lot. I looked at my watch, seeing we were half an hour early. "We can organize lockers?"

"Awesome!" Emmalin stated sarcastically. We got out and walked to the school as the brunette tried to recall the lyrics from 'Papa don't Preach.' I laughed at her as she lead me through the gym, claiming it was a shortcut. A ball almost hit me in the face. I blocked it and picked it back up, shooting it to James as he ran my way.

"Nice arm, Jordan!" He rebounded it back to the team when Jake caught my eye. I walked with Emmalin along the bleachers, ignoring him as she tried to recall the lyrics, frustrated.

"Can I borrow that CD from you? I'm going to listen to this stuff until I can memorize"-

"Hey Jordan!" Jake was running towards me as the rest of the team headed for the showers. I kept going and Emmalin followed me. We made it to the doors when I felt hands around my waist stop me and spin me around.

"Jake, let go of her!" Emmalin barked like her mother. The inheritance of the Nazi gene was welcomed.

"Holden, don't you have a teachers ass to kiss?" He snapped, looking down at me. The brunette's cinnamon scent filled my nose and I bit my lip. Was a week away form him really doing this to me? "Can I talk to you without your human chastity belt?"

"I don't appreciate people who insult my friends." Jake swore, his green eyes pleading.

"Damn it, All-Star please?" He put his hand in my hair, breathless. I tried to push him away but he didn't seem to be getting it.

"Jake, back the hell off her. Now." Emmalin snapped, grabbing my arm and pulling me from his grasp. "We have things to do. Go talk to Sheridan or McKenzie's sisters. They make sacrifice makeup time to let you get it on the court."

We left Jake standing there, face red with frustration. When we were further down the hall, I stared at her. "That was epic, Holden. Like the Virgin Mary admitting she slept with Joesph nine months before Christ was born."

"I guess he just pisses me off. The world always seems to revolve around him and it's time for him to get a wake-up call." Emmalin blushed. We found our lockers, side-by-side, and opened them to start unloading textbooks and school supplies. I took out my phone and saw fifteen texts from Jake and sighed, deleting them. The brunette looked at me, a brow raised. "So why'd you forgive him the last time he made you jealous by messing with Lynette?"

"I wasn't jealous." I lied. "Just annoyed. I don't like having Lax's leftovers in my bed."

"Then why do you let them in?"

I looked at her, a brow raised. Someone was overly bold today, that was for sure. Emmalin blushed, sitting crisscross-applesauce. "High school's bad enough without the drama that comes with sleeping around."

"Not the way I like to do it." I set up a book rack and put notebooks on top, books on bottom. "One claim, one time. You don't have to get along or even like each other, as long as the sex is good."

"That seems like dating without attachment." She commented, watching me awkwardly.

"Pretty much." I told her. "Everyone has an itch that needs to scratched. Mine is sex.."

"My Mom occasionally sneaks dark chocolate and she's diabetic." I laughed as Emmalin played the with strap of her backpack. "Have you ever developed feelings for your 'claims'?"

"No." I told her, pulling a sharpie out to label notebooks.

"Even Jake?" I bit my cheek, looking up at her.

"Jake's respectful, treats me decently and gives society the facade we're dating. It's all an act for the base so they stay off our asses while we continue our arrangement."

"How do you know it's a facade on his part?" She shot.

"I've lived on military bases all my life. With Bianca, I had to learn how to decipher the difference the two." I put my now labeled notebooks aside and began on textbooks.

"I've known Jake since kindergarten." Emmalin shot. "The look on his face in the gym... are you completely sure it's only physical?"

"A hundred percent." I lied. She wouldn't understand my doubt on this matter. Briana walked in at that moment, saving me from the interrogation. The Holden daughter looked up at her, a brow raised at her smug face.

"James just texted me the cutest poem." She smiled opening her locker and beginning her move in. Apparently Emmalin had succeeded in getting them together. Briana pulled out her schedule and put it on the ground. "Compare!"

My sidekick and I pulled out schedules followed Red's order. I had Pre-Calculus and Anatomy with Emmalin, art and P.E. with the Southern Baptist. We finished organizing as the school became more crowded. A Sophomore with braces in the locker next to me kept gawking at me until I looked at him and licked my lips suggestively. I seriously thought he was going to lose his juices right there.

Emmalin and I walked to Anatomy, taking a table behind two guys we recognized from the basketball team. The boys looked back at us, smiling. One of them took a double take and sighed, disappointed.

"Your Williams girl, aren't you?"

"Not at the moment." I stated truthfully. He turned completely around, suddenly giddy. Talk about willing rebounds. Emmalin frowned as the guy began pulling his phone out for my number.

"Jake's in here too." The Boy Wonder himself walked in and spotted me. He tried to look sober, taking the front table in the class with a kid with thick glasses.

The bell rang and the kid in front of my had unsuccessfully gathered the gentiles to ask me for my number. Our teacher, Ilene Robinson, went around the class to have us introduce ourselves and our family members ranks, living and deceased. She was obviously a new teacher still spazzing out over 'military schooling'.

"Jake Williams. Major Richard Williams. Mother and two brothers are civilian." The class spoke in this pattern until they hit me. I looked up, speaking evenly.

"Mary Jordan Richmond-Sherwood. Grandfather LTC Carlton Richmond at the Pentagon; Step-grandfather Lieutenant Micky Roseland at Fallon Naval Base; Mother LTC Bianca Richmond at Meridian Naval Base, deceased; Father Major Frank Sherwood; brother, Private first-class Jeremy Sherwood."

"Her dad's the one that screwed around on his wife with the dead Navy J.A.G." I heard one boy say as people began to stare at me. I'd expected this to come. By the end of class, Robinson had assigned us lab partners.

"And last, Richmond-Sherwood and Williams." Cut-my-wrist-now. The woman motioned for me to move up. Emmalin smiled sympathetically. I moved, sitting at the indicated table. I didn't look at Jake, hoping a pipe would burst and school would be cut short for the day. "Okay, open to page ten in your textbooks!"

I felt a hand land on my thigh. I didn't respond to it, grabbing my notebook. It slid down to the hem of my skirt and pushed it up. I bit my lips, trying to keep a straight face as his warm hand caressed my cold skin. Goosebumps began to form allover my body. I looked at the page in my textbook and began the 'textbook scavenger hunt'. After about five minutes of trying to get a rouse out of me and failing, Jake pulled back and focused on the page, gripping his knuckles. He was apparently getting the message.

***

"Seriously! It just took you fifteen minutes to get across the school yard!" Emmalin shot at me as I walked up to her car with a handful of numbers a few days later. "How many?"

"Seven, eight... eleven." I told her, tossing all of them into the trash bin next to her passenger door. "What are we getting tonight?"

"Party decorations. I have a hundred dollar limit." She told me as we were about to slid in. At that moment, a car pulled up behind Emmalins. "Is that Major Sherwood?"

"Hold on." I told her, walking to the car. The passenger window rolled down and I looked in at the militaryholic. "What's up?"

"I was told you had therapy tonight?" He informed me sourly, obviously exhausted. I had the feeling Denise was assigning him this duty to try to force us to bond. She might as well have given money to drug whore for condoms.

"I totally spaced. Let me talk to Holden."-

"What were you two going to do?" He asked.

"Shopping for her decorations for her party on Friday." I told him, snippy at his nosiness. "Why?"

"Tell you what," He sighed, grabbing his wallet. "I'll give you twenty for whatever, hang out with Emmalin tonight and we'll skip therapy. I just pulled a double shift and I don't want to pass out in that waiting room. Be home by eight and keep this between us?"

I suddenly realized where I inherited my ability to come up with excuses to events I wanted avoid. I took the bill from him, nodding. "Sounds like a plan, Jumping Jack Flash."

"I'm to tired to even try to figure that out. See you later, Jordan."

Emmalin's eyes widened as I slipped into her car, stunned. "He let you off? Major Sherwood? Tough ass that used to drive Jeremy nuts?"

"I guess we both finally found something we can admit we have in common."

Three hours later, we entered the Holden's home with large bags and Chinese. The Post Commander sat in the kitchen, reading a book. "Need any help, Ladies?"

"No Dad, we're good." Emmalin smiled, putting the bags on the counter. She looked back at me as we continued our conversation. "But seriously, he offered to have his brother go out with me just so you'd give him a chance?"

"Yeah, it was a total move of desperation." I told her, pulling out one of the three egg rolls I'd ordered. I took a bit and decided it wasn't too bad. "I hate being around high school boys who want to date you because their parents work with yours."

"Trust me, they want to date you for more than that." She laughed, her face red when she glanced at her father. The General seemed oblivious to us. "You're number three on a list."

"What list?"

"The lists the quarterback of the football team keeps on his blog." The older man told me, not looking up from his book. Talk about being informed about what happens on your base. "He's also the school newspaper editor. There's a list for Most likely to Succeed, Future Armyholic, Most likely to Marry and Most Attractive."

I raised a brow. "And you haven't shut this down?"

"It's backed by a survey done by the students of the high school." Emmalin explained to me as her father lowered his book. "It's called Freedom of Speech, History Geek."

"And what list am I on?" I took another bite of egg roll, my stomach moving with discomfort.

"The description says you have a butt that Madonna would envy." I raised a brow as the brunette girl laughed. "At least we know Jake didn't start a fight with Frank Veracruz for no reason."

"He what?" General Holden and I said in unison. I went silent as he continued. "Williams is fighting with Veracruz again! I thought their fathers worked this out last year?"

"I did too. According to Haley Jensen, Frank was getting fresh about Jordan when James told him to shut up because Jake had claimed her." The girl explained, blushing at the attention her father was giving the subject. "Someone commented about the argument we had on the first day of school and Frank told Jake that you were free game then. Jake slammed him into the locker and threatened to pop his eyes out of his head if he even looked at you."

General Holden shook his head. "Jordan, you should stay away from Williams. He's always in trouble when it comes to his temper."

"They broke up, Dad. Ready to go home, Jordan?" Emmaline stated quickly. I nodded, packing up my stuff as she headed out the door. I headed to follow her when General Holden stopped me.

"I'm glad you've found a friend in Emmalin, Jordan, but I also know you have issues of your own. Don't let her get mixed up with them." He told me sternly.

"I won't, Sir." I promised. Emmalin was the first friend I had that wasn't a silently agreed 'kid with issues'. Despite the fact Emily would be my best friend for life, it was nice to have the change in venue.

***

There were thirty-five girls at Emmalin's birthday party: all which were staying the night. The Holden's had moved all the furniture out of their living room except for a china buffet for food and drinks for the event. I moaned when everyone was packed in. Large social interaction... bad. I walked over to a corner where Briana and a heavy, Asian girl talked.

"This is crazy." The red head told me, irritated by the lack of attention she was getting. "I hate that they invite the entire base. She only knows twenty of the people here and hangs out with seven from that. The other fifteen are daughters of women her mother's trying to get to know. Politics are a bitch, and I would know. My Granddaddy, brother, two uncles and a fourth cousin I dated when I was eleven are all lawyers."

I smirked, looking at the other girl as Briana introduced her as Eleen Harmon. "Your the daughter of Private Harmon? You're the Korean kid?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yes. You are?"

"Jordan Sherwood-Richmond, the bases supposed slut." I nodded, noticing her English was as good as mine. Someone turned on music and I moaned. "Did this have to be a dance party?"

"Last year it was worse. Claudia Joy insisted we play in the sprinkler." The red head moaned. "Just what I want, the entire female population of our high school gawking at my cellulite."

"Hey guys, food's out." Emmalin walked over, flushed. At least she was having a good time. "Hey Eleen, are you having fun? Mom said you were having adaptation issues?"

What was she, a cobra in Canada? The girl nodded and we all followed her action, not wanting to spoil her day. I was sure Eleen was adapting just fine to our ways.

By nine o'clock, I had stepped on enough cheese puffs and cake to make me puke. I ran upstairs to the bathroom to get rest from the noise, locking the door. I sat down by the unbelievably clean tub and texted Emily, a headache coming on.

'These girls are crazy. I am not playing spin the bottle while someone with a flatiron does my hair!'

'Smart move.' Emily replied back. 'My God, these cramps are killing me!'

'Better than not having them?' I shot. Her reply of swear words made me laughed as my phone rung. LTC Richmond's caller I.D. shinned before me. "Hallo Opa."

"Wie gehts, Jordan?"

"Nicht so gut. Du?"

"So lala..." He told me, coughing. "I have an assignment in Charleston next week. I thought I could take you out in my free time, max out my credit card on shoes you'll grown out of in a week and spend time with my only granddaughter. For it?"

"Defiantly. Is the business here at Fort Marshal?" I asked, smiling. LTC Richmond was always busy. He couldn't even show up to Bianca's funeral because he was at the U.N.

"Yes. I'm suppose to be staying with General Holden but I've spoken to Major Sherwood and I'll be staying with you instead." When I didn't reply he went on. "Unless you want me to put up with my favorite fan?"

"You never told me you talked to the Major." I informed him.

"I've known Frank since he was in basics, Jordan. It wasn't a conspiracy, Honey, trust me. Is that you beeping?"

"Yeah. Wiedesen, Opa. Ich Liebe." I switched over the other call, not checking the I.D. What else had the Major told LTC Richmond? And why was he coming to Fort Marshall? The Navy liked him overseas because of his diplomatic reputation. "Hello?"

"Thanks for picking up, Miss Maturity. I'm so glad you're showing some willingness to not act like a pig-headed bitch." Jake snapped at me.

"Really now?" I hung my phone up, placing it in front of me. Did he think I was going to take that crap? Three minutes later my phone rang again. I debated not answering it but picked up, realizing how painful the withdrawal from his voice made me feel. "What?"

"I'm sorry, All-Star." He whispered, sounding agitated. I figured he was really horny. "You've been avoiding me for a week and I don't know what I did wrong."

"I don't know if I can do this anymore." I bit my lip, sighing. Leave it to him to make me feel bad about this. But I couldn't tell him I was, once again, jealous of Lax. In this ball park, two was a home run. Admitting that would send off instant signals that I was emotionally involved in this, which I wasn't. At least, that's the line I refused to drop. "I think it would be best if you found another claim."

"No. I refuse to take this over the phone." He told me sternly, his voice like sandpaper to my stomach. "Say it to my face."

"Jake, I'm at Emmalin's party." I sighed, hating that he was making this so hard.

"Meet me in the forest by Holden's in thirty." He hung up, making me gasp. God damn him! Someone knocked on the door. I opened it as someone ran past me, puking from an overdose on cake. I walked down the stairs to see it was nine forty-five. Emmalin waved me over to a group of girls already in pajama's.

"This is Jordan. You okay? You were up there awhile." The brunette asked.

I nodded, watching as three blond's stared at me like I was a new species. "Just feeling a little sick."

"Oh... if you want to lay down in the guest house out back, you can." The blond's glared at me, making me want to die my hair. I was obviously an outsider on their territory.

"Sounds good. I'll see you later."

I walked out back and opened the guest house, slipping into the branched off room. I turned on the light and closed the door, seeing a window with clear shot to the woods. I sat on the bed, pulling my phone out as Emily sent me pictures from a party she was at. The African American girl smiled in the photographs, looking totally wasted. I wished I so badly I could be in her position.

"Can I tell you a secret, Em?"

She nodded, watching me. Emily was my best friend in the world and I knew she would never repeat my following words. "Bianca lets Mickey in her bed sometimes, usually when she's drunk and mad at Rose."

Her brown eyes bulged. "Wow, your grandfather?"

I bit my lip, shaking my head. "Step-grandfather."

Jake turned around as I walked up to him, the dark hiding his expression. I stopped and opened my mouth to speak and he grabbed me, pulling my face to his. I sighed into his kiss, smelling his cinnamon scent and marveling in it. He pulled away seconds later, nibbling on my lip.

"Don't, please." The brunette begged, running his hands through my hair. "Please Jordan."

I leaned into his touch, unable to pull myself away. "Jake, I can't"-

He kissed me again, his kiss more tender than he'd ever given me. What was this? His last attempt to stop a break up? Wait... I pulled away, pushing his hands away. Jake dropped his arms, watching me. I shook my head, stepping back. "I can't."

"Would it matter any if I told you I can't stop thinking about you? That it hurts whenever I'm away from you?" The brunette asked, his voice ragged.

I nodded, feeling my chest strain. It had never been this hard to break off a claim before.

"It would make it worse."

"Jordan, please." Jake took a step towards me. "Tell me how to fix this. Please."

"Just back off, okay?" I asked, my throat tightening up. I stopped, feeling my stomach lung. Jake stared at me, worried. "Just..."

He held my hair back as I started vomiting, running a tender hand over my back. Ten minutes later, I rose, steeping back from the pile. I leaned against a tree, pulling a breath mint from my jacket pocket. Jake watched me, his hands in fists in his windbreaker. It realized how chilly it was and shook.

"I'll walk you back to Holden's."

An awkward silence filled us as we walked to the guest house. I wanted to break this off before it became any more messy, but Jake was obviously not for it. I knew if I succeeded, it would be a week before I was back in his bed. The sex was that amazing and I wasn't going to drag drama into my life at the Sherwood's by getting a new claim. The other boys on this base were too simple minded to understand how this worked for me.

Jake climbed into the window after me. I sat on the bed, hearing laughter coming from the house. There was a knock on the door and Jake stilled. I motioned for him to go in the closet and rose, opening the door.

"Hey Jordan, how are you feeling?" Claudia Joy walked in with a rag, bowl of water and a salad. "Emmalin said you weren't well. Denise told me about your stress reactions and I decided to come check on you... why do you have your jacket on?"

I shrugged as I sat on the bed, glad Jake had closed the door. "I'm a little chilly. I was about the crawl into bed though, so I should warm up."

She smiled gently, sitting next to me. I swear, if she attempted to give me 'the talk, I would O.D.!

"Micheal told me LTC Richmond's coming in. That must be tough since your mother passed only last March." I shifted uncomfortably as she nodded. "I get it. Be sure to eat. If you need anything, let me know. Micheal's volunteered to drive you home if you want him too?"

"I promised Emmalin I would curl her hair in the morning, but tell him I said thank you."

Claudia Joy closed the door and I locked it behind her. Jake was looking at me as I turned back to the room, his face clear in the light. A black eye and scarred cheek shinned stood out on the right side of his face,along with braided abrasions on his neck. They all looked new. "Jake, are those rope marks?"

"Dad's heading for the clinic in the morning. He's been diagnosed with PTSD." He looked at, shaking his head. "It's not as bad as it looks, Jordan."

"Yeah, it is." I had used that line how many times? I walked over to him, looking at his sad eyes. I wished I could sink into water and see the vibrant vision I had seen at the beach. "Lax said you two were together."

"For a week." He admitted, looking at me. "She was a bad mistake. When I told her to move on, she followed me to the beach and threatened to kill herself. I told Major Lynette and it stopped."

I nodded, feeling relieved. Lax had pulled that in Meridian last year. Jake took off his windbreaker, sitting on the bed. He motioned for me to come over to him. I did so, letting him pull me on his lap. He pushed my jacket off, attacking my shirt. I watched his fingers undo the buttons quickly, shaking his head.

"Dad found your pictures on my phone and lost it. All I can think about is getting back at him. It feels like he stole something from me."

I nodded, aware of that feeling. I let him push my shirt off and pulled his up, noticing the forming bruises on his chest. I remembered how spiteful I was before I became used to Bianca's marks. Knowing the character, Major Williams would come back and pay Jake off like Bianca had me. Money, clothes, a new car: payment for using you as a punching bag.

Jake kissed me, his touch tender. He was at least twice my size and he seemed so fragile and weak right now. I pushed him back, not breaking the kiss. I wanted him to stop feeling this. I didn't want Jake to feel this again. Ever.