For Winterhalt and capsarchic. A romance story challenge featuring Low Light in ten chapters. Rated T to M

Chapter Seven

All's forgotten now

0500

Sharon Dixon let Clayton Abernathy enter her again. She was half awake and half asleep. She had her back turned with the General holding her to his chest. She lifted her leg and put her arm around to feel his face. He was slow and gentle this morning. He made love to her with familiarity. His head rest on her shoulder as he kissed her neck. They held hands in a grip at her waist. When he came he grabbed her chin and kissed her mouth. She felt him shake and breathe on her shoulder. His morning beard scratched her skin. When she rolled over he moved over on his side until they could see each other. He yawned.

"You're up early." Sharon teased. She moved her arms until she could feel him with her hand. His abdomen flexed. He swatted her hand away. She smiled. She had her head on his shoulder. His body was warm on her skin. His arms held her close. She put her thigh on his hip. "Any reason why?" She asked.

"I'm just used to being awake by now." The General said.

He yawned again. He rubbed her back. He had his eyes closed. He didn't want to move. He was too content. He looked over at the bedside clock. It was almost six AM. The Joes were already up. Beachhead would be running drills by now. The recruits would either sink or swim. Clayton Abernathy wasn't worried about it. As the General to the Joe team he trusted his chain of command. He wouldn't need to be at base until nine AM. He had another three hours to spend with Sharon Dixon. He made the most of it.

When they were finished again Sharon laughed. She lay under him with her hands behind his neck. He was wet with sweat. She played with the hairs making curlicues with her fingers. Clayton pushed himself on his forearms to look down at her. When she smiled up at him he smiled too. He dipped his head and kissed her.

"A woman laughing isn't what a man wants to hear after making love, Sharon." He said.

It made her laugh more. Sharon was even more beautiful when she laughed. "I'm laughing because I'm happy." She said.

Clayton Abernathy rolled off of her and stood up. His back was broad and muscled for a man in his fifties. He exercised regularly to keep in shape. He couldn't expect his soldiers to be fit if he didn't lead by example. Sharon turned on her side to enjoy the view. Her knees shook when she closed her legs. She put her hands between them to stop. She was pleasantly sore. When Clayton turned around she was leaning on her elbow with her head in her hand and her head tilted. The sheet dropped to her waist. He also had a view of her. She looked like a woman that had been thoroughly and completely fucked. He smirked at himself and went into the bathroom.

Sharon heard the shower start but stayed in bed. Shower sex was for the young with better balance. She didn't know if she could tolerate another encore. She sighed and started picking up clothes. Some she had to search for. Such as how her shoes ended up across the room. She turned on the TV. The two camera ready military experts were in a heated argument about Defense cuts. Sharon used it for background noise. She put her nightgown on.

In the bathroom she heard Clayton. "Call down and see if they can send a razor and shaving cream." He said.

Sharon stared at the door. That was Clayton. To the General everything was an order. There was not the standard polite 'could you please' or 'Sharon can you call'. It was 'call down' as if she were a soldier following orders. Sharon hated being told what to do. If he were Michael she would ask him what the magic word was. She sighed. She went to the phone. It was such a stupid thing to be irritated by. She brushed it off. By the time she hung up the phone Clayton was drying his hair and had a towel wrapped around his hips. He crossed the room and turned off the TV.

"I was watching that." Sharon said.

"I have to listen to that crap all day every day. I don't want to hear it now." Clayton said. He dried his hair and threw the towel on the bathroom floor. It made Sharon stew inside. When he came back out he had his corduroys on.

She met his eyes. There was a fire in them that made him stop. "What?" He said.

She pointed behind him to the bathroom. "Aren't you going to pick that up?" She asked.

"Pick what up? You mean the towel? That's what they have room service for." There was a knock on the door. Sharon grit her teeth. She picked up the towel. By then Clayton took the razor and shaving cream.

Sharon threw the towel at the hotel employee. He backed up in surprise. He barely caught it. "We need more towels." She said. She closed the door hard. In the hallway she heard the employee say "Yes Ma'am."

Clayton stared at her. "What the hell was that all about?" He said.

"Isn't that what we have room service for?" Sharon said. "To be good little soldiers and do as they're told? Not everyone is a soldier Clay." She said. She walked past him to the bathroom and closed the door.

It didn't stop him. He opened the door and stood against the frame. Sharon turned around. There was still a flash in her eyes. "Do you mind? I'm trying to take a shower." She said. She held her pajamas up against her like a shield.

Clayton snorted. "Not until you tell me what's going. And good grief Sharon I just saw you naked not more than half an hour ago. Something has you in a tizzy." He said. It didn't take his secondary specialty in Intelligence to know. Sharon Dixon spoke her mind. He flicked his eyes at her pajamas. "Now what are you so upset about?" He put his hands in his pockets. He leaned on the wall.

That was his final decision. Sharon knew he wouldn't leave unless she told him. She sighed and dropped her pajamas. She turned around to start the shower. She put her fingers through her hair. "I'm just tired Clay." She said. "Someone kept me awake last night." She walked up to him and put her hands behind his head. She kissed him. "That's all."

Clayton Abernathy kissed her back. "Good. I wanted to go out to breakfast before I have to be on base. I've heard of this place that has the best pie." He grinned. Sharon stepped naked into the shower.

The diner was a twenty minute drive from the hotel. They talked as he drove. It was new scenery for Sharon. Missouri was three fourths Mark Twain National Forest. The desert fascinated her. It seemed as if the sky was as big as the world. Clayton shifted and down shifted along the winding road. The closer they came to Thompson the more military vehicles they saw. Some allowed General Hawk the right of way. He passed salutes at stop signs. Everyone seemed to know him. Thompson had one downtown area. It was split into four traffic lights. At the opposite end past the bars was the Do or Dine. Most of the locals and the military ate there. It was best known for its pies and breakfast. At this time of the morning there were several eighteen wheelers and work trucks on the side. It was the busiest time of day. Parked in the front was a black Harley Davidson sitting between two Army jeeps. Sharon recognized her sons' car and squeezed Clay's hand.

He looked over. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Sharon nodded. "Yes Clay I'm not ashamed of what we did." She said. He kissed her finger tips. He held the door open. She took a deep breath when she entered.

When they walked in Cooper MacBride was talking with Charlie the waitress. Michael Dixon sat on his right side. He smiled wide when he saw his mother. Cooper was obeying his orders. He didn't leave the snipers' side at any time. It was Dixon's down time. They decided to have breakfast in town. Janack didn't want to go with them. Cooper was only glad to be off base. It felt good.

There was a very large and very muscular man on Coopers left. His arms were like hams. On them were various tattoos covering the top of his shoulder to his wrist. It was a Japanese tattoo known as the horimono. Contrary to amateur tattoos they enhanced his skin instead of marring it. It was body art. He had his hair cut military style with a long thick black beard that hung to his chest. He was watching Charlie. They were talking.

General Hawk walked up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. The man turned his head. "You don't salute your General Bernice?" He said. It came out as an order.

The big man stood up and smiled. He had deep dimples beneath his beard. His teeth were straight. He had green eyes that sparked with humor. He gave a half salute that ended in a sharp edge on his thigh. He laughed and shook hands with General Hawk

"It's good to see you Bernice." General Hawk said.

Next to them Sharon heard Michael. "Bernice?" He said. He blinked.

The big man faced Michael in a glare. He narrowed his eyes. The smile disappeared into a hard look. "You got a problem with my name boy?" He growled. "Because it looks like you got a problem." He said.

Michael shook his head furiously. "No Sir." He said. The man wasn't even military. Nor was he an Officer.

Butch laughed and winked at Charlie. She punched at his arm playfully. In her other arm was a pot of coffee. She poured two. One was for General Hawk and the other one was for Sharon Dixon. Cooper MacBride looked over.

"You scare little kids for Halloween don't you Butch?" He grinned.

Butch shook his head. "Fuck the candy. It's the best part of the holiday Coop." He laughed.

He stood up and pulled out a twenty. Charlie came out from behind the counter. She was small but next to Butch she was tiny. Her belly protruded like a tumor. She looked like she was giving birth to a watermelon.

"That's all going to end once the baby is born Butch." She said.

The man frowned down at her and put his hands on her abdomen. His disappointed was feigned. Anyone could tell the man was thrilled. Butch enjoyed everything about his wife's pregnancy. He looked tough but he would be an easy father. He leaned down and kissed her.

"I'll pick you up at two." He said. He patted her stomach "And you too little one. Bye-bye baby."

Charlie laughed.

General Hawk and Sharon Dixon sat down next to them. General Hawk was laughing. Sharon waved at her son. She sat next to Hawk. They bent their heads together and shared a menu. It was more intimate than what friends would do. They relaxed.

It didn't go unnoticed to grey eyes.

Cooper MacBride took a sip of coffee. He looked up. He couldn't say that seeing Sharon Dixon with General Hawk came as a surprise. Cooper knew enough to know that when the big dogs came sniffing around he backed off. It was written on them. Next to him Michael was clueless. He was smiling. Cooper clenched his teeth. The only outward sign was white knuckles around his coffee cup. He didn't blame Sharon. He was a low ranked Private. He was lower than her son. General Hawk commanded the most elite soldiers in the world. He came from West Point. Cooper MacBride came from a junkyard in North Dakota. It couldn't have happened if it were predicted.

He calmed himself but did not meet their eyes. He was angry. Sharon had nothing to do with it. Cooper MacBride made self loathing into a subspecialty. He hurt himself before anyone else could. Most alcoholics did. It was behavior that went back decades.

He looked back up. Sharon Dixon was staring at him. Cooper MacBride knew she was more than just a casual encounter. Sharon Dixon deserved more than that. It was all Cooper could give. He knew the General was an honorable man. When he lay with her she would be safe. The opposite was true with Cooper. He could never guarantee what he would do when he was asleep. He wanted to leave and spend the rest of the day in a foggy blur. When he set his cup down the two of them were looking at him.

General Hawk coughed. The color was out of his cheeks. Cooper never thought of General Hawk as the kind of man that would be easily embarrassed. Then again he never thought General Hawk was the kind of man to sleep with Sharon Dixon. He didn't think about the General's sex life. They were finished with the menu. There was an uncomfortable silence. Michael Dixon ate pie as if nothing was going on.

In the end it was Sharon that spoke up. "That doesn't bother you?" She asked. She flicked her hands at Charlie.

Cooper followed her hands to where Charlie was talking with a group of truckers. "Charlie's been doing it a long time. She can handle truckers. They're regulars of hers." He said. He went back to his coffee. He was still waiting on breakfast. He had to be back with Michael in an hour.

"And" Sharon paused "You're a regular of hers too?" She asked. "Isn't that hard?"

"No I've been coming for years."

"But I saw you give her a hundred dollar tip." Sharon whispered. She had her face down. She didn't look at him. "I can't believe this." She murmured

Cooper leaned over. He didn't want to look her in the face. "Charlie earned it. She worked hard for it. If anyone deserves it Charlie does." He said.

"But what do you think about Butch?" Sharon asked.

"Oh Butch doesn't care. I try to help them out when I can. It's the least I can do. Charlie likes it. She could use it." He said.

General Hawk had coffee go down the wrong pipe so hard that it blew a spray of black on the counter. Sharon inhaled and pulled a wad of napkins from the dispenser so fast that she pat him on the back. By then Charlie was over with her own group of napkins.

"General Hawk? General Hawk? Are you OK?" Charlie said.

End Chapter Seven

All's forgotten now

A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a sense of humor.