A/N: I'm describing the Pensacola Officer's Club as I remember it pre-Hurricane Ivan. The building was essentially destroyed given its bayside location and has since been rebuilt around the original structure. I haven't been back inside since 2003.
Eugene Burton Ely was an aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing, in 1910 and 1911 respectively. The Navy just finished celebrating the Centennial of Naval Aviation, honoring Ely's accomplishment. The main event was The Parade of Flight over San Diego Bay on 2/9/2011 which included a massive fly-over of more than 40 aircraft.
Cool video:
www. youtube watch?v=UnS7910EAtk&feature=related (remove spaces)
Seville Quarter: night club complex in Pensacola
Golden Tee: Classic video game that revolves around golf. They have a Golden Tee machine in Seville Quarter. Most fighter pilots are obsessed with this game in my experience. Even more so than with cleavage, which is saying a lot.
Sammy's: Somewhat classy strip club next door to MacGuire's in Pensacola. Girls are not even topless, so pretty lame, depending on your point of view. Being the only girl in the group, I've been there more than I care to admit, although last visit was in 2005. They did serve Shiner Bock, which was a plus, and I usually ended up chatting with the strippers, learning about their life stories (this tends to annoy the guys).
Chapter 10
Edward and I crossed the parking lot toward the main entrance of the building, and I repeatedly reassured myself that there was nothing wrong with agreeing to grab some dinner. It was dinnertime, we happened to be together, and neither of us had other plans or places to be. It was natural and normal to just eat together. No biggie.
When we reached the door, Edward stepped in front of me in gentleman-like fashion to open it for me. He made a gesture for me to enter and followed me into the foyer. I was having trouble meeting his eyes.
I could see that the banquet room at the end of the main passageway was in use. Several officers in dress uniform milled around with civilians in cocktail attire. It was undoubtedly one of the many awards ceremonies held here on a regular basis.
Edward and I made a quick right into the little pub I vaguely remembered visiting as a flight surgery student. The room was dominated by a large U-shaped bar made of dark, polished wood. Liquor bottles lined the shelves behind it, along with the requisite mirrors bearing beer logos. The walls of the room were, of course, cluttered with various aviation memorabilia, but this pub was a little different than the many others found on countless Navy bases. For one thing, there were original signed photos of Ely's flight off the USS Birmingham. I guess this was the birthplace of Naval Aviation after all. I kind of wanted to browse the wall decorations, but I figured Edward would think that was nerdy.
Small tables edged the rest of the room, and Edward headed toward one. I shrugged and followed him; I probably would have chosen the bar. It seemed less intimate. Since it was only about 1800, the room was dead. The after-work crowd had already headed home, and the pre-party Friday night crowd hadn't yet arrived. There was only one other occupied table, and two guys in flight suits at the bar (I guess they were a bit heartier than the rest of the after-work drinkers). No one glanced at us; I had to admit everyone else was pretty casual. I fit in wearing my PT gear just fine.
The bartender/waitress appeared silently at our table and presented two laminated menus. She was tiny and Asian with way too much make-up and impossible breasts shoved into a tiny white T-shirt. The pink lace bra underneath left little to the imagination. Her shorts barely showed below her black apron. I sighed as she eagerly eyed Edward, completely ignoring me, to ask, "Can I get you anything to drink?" Edward didn't answer and stared questioningly at me, forcing her to turn to me and unwillingly take my order first.
"I'll have a Blue Moon with an orange slice," I told her, "and a glass of water, too." I added as an afterthought. I had just run four miles. Probably shouldn't just re-hydrate with beer. She whipped her head away from me like I was Medusa and was back to ogling Edward.
"Sierra Nevada, please," he requested, barely looking at her. She batted her eyelashes and looked disappointed.
"Okay, well, I'll get your drinks and give you time to look over the menu. Let me know if I can get you anything else," she finished her voice heavy with innuendo. Edward looked pained but didn't respond. He grabbed the menu and stared at it like it held the answers to the universe. I picked mine up, too, and stared at it without really reading it. An awkward silence descended over our table, and I wondered for the hundredth time if this had really been such a good idea.
"Do you want some jalapeno poppers?"Edward finally asked me, the strain in his voice evident. The question just struck me as so ridiculous somehow that I started giggling uncontrollably. Edward looked confused.
"Would you rather have stuffed mushrooms?" he asked mystified. I laughed harder. Amber returned with our drinks, spilling mine a little when she slammed it on the table. She looked at us expectantly. Edward ordered jalapeno poppers and a burger with fries, since he hadn't been able to get a coherent answer out of me. I choked out a request for chicken fingers. Amber looked at me disapprovingly before departing to give our order to the kitchen.
Edward rounded on me as soon as she was gone. "What is wrong with you?!" he demanded, still looking confused. I forced myself to curb the giggles and calm down.
"Oh, I don't know, jalapeno poppers are such ubiquitous bar food, and it seemed like such a normal thing for someone to say, and our interactions have been anything but normal…it just struck me as funny." I held up my hands and shrugged, indicating that I didn't really have a great explanation. Edward huffed but smiled at me.
"I guess I can see the humor in that," he agreed, "but, I'd like for us to have some normal interactions. Didn't you enjoy the run?" I smiled back at him.
"Yeah, it is nice to have someone to challenge you once in a while," I hedged, but he called me on it.
"Oh, whatever, Doc, you know you loved it," he smirked provocatively, and I liked his teasing banter. I reminded myself not to like it too much, but I did relax a little bit. I could block out the physical attraction, and I had already agreed with my subconscious to allow this friendship. So, I took a deep breath and let it happen.
"Okay, fine, subject change," I told him laughingly. "I guess you'll be glad to get back in the cockpit next week?" He nodded vigorously, his face alight, and launched into a series of anecdotes about flying. He had me alternately laughing and cringing with some of the wild tales he told. At some point, our food arrived, but our conversation was so riveting that I barely noticed the passage of time. We each ordered another beer, and I was shocked to realize it was almost 20:00 when I finally finished the second drink.
Edward noticed me checking my watch and paused in his story. "I'm sorry. I'm totally dominating the conversation. You're probably bored with my stories."
"On the contrary," I argued. "I find your description of what it's like to fly 500 ft above the water at 500 knots quite interesting." I tried not to sound too impressed (I didn't think his ego needed any help), but I couldn't keep all of the awe out of my voice. "Your experiences with the Hornet have been so different from mine in the helos." He chuckled at the understatement.
"You should really try and get a Hornet backseat sometime," he encouraged. I just smiled back at him, knowing how unlikely that was ever to happen.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked, dropping some cash on the table before Amber could approach us again. I nodded, and we rose together and headed toward the exit.
"You know, I'm going to have to pay you back for dinner. I can't let myself owe you," I informed him. He just grinned at me, The Dazzler again.
"I guess that just means we'll have to do this again," he replied smugly. I looked away from his face, again reminding myself to fight the physical attraction. I deserved another friend, and I wouldn't ruin it with nonsense. We continued to walk silently across the parking lot towards the sidewalk which would return us to the BOQ. It was dark now, and the few streetlamps did little to illuminate our path. He was really just a shadow next to me.
"So, you're doing Water Survival on Monday with Emmett?" he inquired. I started just to nod but remembered he probably couldn't see me well in the darkness.
"Yes, my qual is expired. I'm a little nervous about it. I remember being pretty scared the first time." I admitted reluctantly. He made a sympathetic noise.
"Remember though, that when you go through the course initially, no one has done it before, and everyone is scared. That's a lot of apprehension in one room. The refresher is much more chill. Plus, you'll have Emmett for entertainment. You won't have a chance to get nervous," he said reassuringly.
"Thanks, I hope you're right," I told him sincerely. "What do you know about this physiologist that Emmett claims to be in love with?" Edward snorted indelicately.
"Well, her name is LT Rosalie Hale, and she transferred here sometime last year. Apparently, Emmett took one look at her one night at Seville Quarter and decided she was it for him. According to him, he hasn't dated since, but she has so far refused to go out with him. I certainly haven't seen him with any girls in the last several months, and I hang out with him quite a bit." Edward mumbled something else at the end of this explanation that sound like, "We're alike that way," but I couldn't be sure and just ignored it.
"He asked me to help him win her over," I informed Edward. His chuckles turned into full on guffaws, and I once again reveled in the sound of it. He had such a pleasant, calming laugh; it made me want to be able to say things funny enough to hear it again. Pathetic, Swan, I rebuked myself.
"Well, I certainly can't wait to hear the debrief on that. You'll have promise to fill me in," he requested, grinning. I felt a little thrill at the thought of us getting together again. We were under a street lamp in the BOQ parking lot, our walk passing almost as quickly as our dinner together. So, I nodded in answer to his request, not trusting my vocal response.
We were at the bottom of our stairs, and Edward started to get fidgety. He paused and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and then through his hair, taking a few deep breaths like he wanted to say something. I also paused and looked at him questioningly with my foot on the bottom step.
"So, would you want to run again tomorrow?" he asked tentatively. I wanted badly to say yes, but I had already made plans with Jacob. I briefly considered canceling but quickly realized that was not something a friend did to one friend for another friend. Did that even make sense?
"I'd love to, but I made plans to hang out with Jacob at Perdido Key tomorrow. We'll probably run on the beach." I answered reluctantly. He swallowed hard and nodded his head a bit too vigorously.
"Sure, sure, of course," he stuttered, maybe embarrassed, and I felt really bad. "Another time, maybe?" he added, looking up and into my eyes. His eyes confused me. They were intense, but I couldn't understand the emotion.
"Yeah, I'd love to jog another time. I had a great time tonight," I conceded sincerely. I got The Dazzler in return. We headed up the stairs together. I fumbled discretely to pull my room key and ID out of my sports bra. I had the key ready to open my lock, when Edward spoke again.
"Goodnight, Bella," he said softly. I turned to return his sentiment, but before I could answer, he had looped his right arm around my shoulder and was pulling me in for a quick hug. I ended up with my face pressed into his right pectoral. He smelled fantastic, even after a long, exhausting run. I caught myself inhaling deeply from his T-shirt. He released me, and I felt unsteady on my feet. We looked at each other, and I could swear that he looked almost as bewildered as I felt.
We both looked away quickly and busied ourselves with our door locks, disappearing inside and away from the awkwardness.
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I slept well that night, exhausted after my vigorous run and several nights of lying awake in the past week. I met Jacob a little after noon at his condo, and we did, in fact, jog on the beach. The weather was typical for mid-March, sunny in the high 60's, but not quite warm enough for sunbathing. We stayed in our PT gear and dragged lounge chairs out into the sand. Jacob had some psych journals to peruse, and I tucked into a Southern Living magazine, reveling in the relief of being back in the region. The wind blew gently, and I felt peaceful and happy relaxing on the wide, white sand beach, gazing out over the azure waters.
We spent a few hours like that in companionable silence, chatting only sporadically. I didn't bring up my evening with Edward, and the topic of Sam and Leah did not arise again either. But, it seemed peace and contentment was not to continue in our future. We ran into Leah and her monster dog as we were bringing our beach chairs back inside.
Jacob's face lit up, and he jogged ahead of me to reach her. I followed more slowly and arrived at their location after they were already engaged in an animated conversation. The dog was straining on his leash, obviously fed up with the hiatus in his beach walk. Jacob turned when I came abreast of them.
"Bella, this is Leah Clearwater," he introduced. Leah smiled at me shyly and offered her hand. I took it, not able to help noticing how really beautiful she was. She had dark, silky hair that fell to shoulder length and lovely olive skin. I smiled back at her.
"Nice to meet you, Leah, I'm Bella Swan," I replied, then held my hand out flat to the dog for him to sniff. He sniffed and apparently approved because followed that with a big lick. "And, who is this?" I asked her, but addressed the dog in one of those high, baby voices that people use to talk to animals. Hey, I like dogs. Sue me. Leah broke out into a sociable grin, obviously feeling anyone who liked her dog was a friend.
"This is Seth," she replied for Seth, who obviously couldn't answer, "He's a Great Dane." Jacob, who had been grinning stupidly at Leah, throughout this whole exchange, finally collected himself.
"Leah is an ER nurse over at the hospital," he informed me proudly. Leah ducked her head in embarrassment, obviously hearing praise in his comment.
"Yeah," she agreed with him. "I'm a contracted civilian now, but I was active duty until a little over a year ago. I got attached to the area and didn't want to transfer anymore, so when my obligation was up, and I just applied for one of the civilian positions." I thought I could hear a touch of bitterness enter her tone at the end of the statement. Her explanation was loaded given what Jacob had told me about her and Sam.
"I know a lot of nurses, who do that," I told her to ease any tension that might come up. She nodded at me, smiling again.
"I was just telling Leah about how you and I were planning to go to Seville Quarter tonight and hang out," Jacob informed me, widening his eyes at me. Hmmm. First I'd heard of this, but I decided to see where he was going with it.
"Yeah, I'm all about…Cougartown." I said stiltedly, glaring at Jake, waiting for the punch line. Leah seemed nervous and kept ducking her head.
"I don't know, Jake," she hedged. "It might not be the best idea," she told him. However, I could see that she wanted to go. I was worried for Jake; I didn't want him in the middle of some sort of love triangle. But, Edward didn't hang out with Sam much, and from the little information he had provided, it was possible that Sam was a bad guy, the stereotypical fighter pilot. I decided to give Jacob the benefit of the doubt here and help him out. I'd known him for years, and he'd always had a good head on his shoulders. Plus, Leah seemed nice and harmless.
"C'mon, Leah," I said with as much gusto as I could manage, "There are seven night clubs in there. We can surely find one that will suit you. If you're into the quieter stuff, well, Jacob and I are quite the Golden Tee aficionados. We could probably teach you. It's really fun." I finished half-heartedly. Jacob was doubled over with laughter after my Golden Tee reference. Leah looked dubious. This was why I only hung out with Angela. Girls didn't get me. Well, maybe Alice did, I reminded myself.
Leah cracked a grin, and I could see we were wearing her down. She probably felt safe hanging out with Jake if there was another chick present, which was probably the angle he was playing, now that I thought about it. I wondered if he had planned this before I even came over today.
"Okay, you talked me into it," she agreed. "I just can't stay out too late," she emphasized. Jake and I readily agreed that neither one of us had any intention of staying out to a ridiculous hour. My agreement was especially hearty since I never intended to go out at all. Suddenly, Seth gave a great huff and flung himself on the ground. We all laughed.
"OK, Seth, I know you're anxious to run. Let's go," Leah placated the giant dog. She was cute, I decided. I'd do what I could for Jacob. Bella Swan, matchmaker; that would sound good on my resume. It was definitely a theme now that I had also agreed to aid Emmett in his nefarious wooing.
"What time do you want to go?" Jacob tried to pin her down before she left. She shrugged and looked at me.
"I don't know," I admitted. "How about you guys pick me up about 21:00? Is that what time the kids are clubbing these days?" I joked. They both nodded in agreement. It only made sense for them to cut through base and pick me up on their way to Pensacola. Now that we had a plan, Leah and Seth took off down the beach. She appeared to be just as accomplished a runner as I was. Jacob was smiling wonkily after her. I smacked the back of his head.
"Why didn't you just suggest Sammy's while you were at it?" I demanded angrily (but not that angrily).
"God, I'm so sorry, Bella!" Jacob began rambling. "Thank you so much for going along with me. It's just that Sam has her under his thumb so thoroughly that I never get to see her. He's so controlling, and I can't even rule out that he is physically aggressive with her." I blanched at this admission and redoubled my thoughts about assisting Jacob in his quest for Leah.
"Anyway, Seville Quarter could be fun. I haven't been there in awhile…" he trailed off sheepishly. I scoffed.
"Yeah, since we were flight surgery students and in our twenties!" I complained. He hung his head in shame but not repentance.
"C'mon. You were getting excited thinking about Golden Tee," he joked. I rolled my eyes and relented. Golden Tee did rule.
"Okay, but you owe me big time," I hedged. He nodded fervently.
"Anything, Bella," he agreed, "I need to do anything I can for this girl. She's special," he concluded. My heart constricted for him.
Anyway, now I had several hours to go home and prepare for my night club humiliation. I did not dance at all; I had white girl rhythm. But, I could compete with video games and possibly pool depending on the skill and drunkenness of my opponent. I had to admit that I hadn't been out for awhile. It could be fun.
It was almost five when I pulled into the BOQ parking lot. I spotted a shiny silver Corvette idling a few spots down from mine. I can't explain why I shoved my car into park and exited the vehicle in record time. I was lounging nonchalantly behind my car when Edward finally got out of his car carrying a Taco Bell bag.
"Hey, Edward," I greeted him casually. I may have imagined that his eyes lit up when he saw me, but I decided to keep it.
"Hey, Bella, how was your day at the beach?" he inquired, smiling at me. Not quite The Dazzler but still quite effective. I held up the copy of Southern Living I was clutching and waved it in front of my face. There were a few recipes I wanted to save.
"Just catching up on local flavor," I said indicating the magazine, "and we went running like I thought." He shuffled awkwardly at that reference.
"What have you been up to?" I politely asked in return. He grimaced, and I laughed at his reluctance to tell me.
"What did you do? Rob a bank?" I teased. He glared at me with his lips pursed.
"No, I just went for a run early this morning, and then I've been hanging around reading a book. I heard you leave for the beach, by the way." He added, trying to deflect.
"The Bell for dinner, I see," I ribbed. "Dinner of champions, for sure!" I crowed. He continued to glare at me in a very non-threatening way.
"What were you reading?" I demanded. He flicked his eyes side to side furtively, like he could escape, but I wasn't having it. "Tell me!" I commanded. He huffed out a self-deprecating laugh and caved.
"OK, OK, I finally finished Damned by Chuck Palaniak," he admitted, mumbling his words as if I wouldn't hear.
"What?!" I crowed. That had been my favorite book of the last year. Well, besides the Hunger Games Trilogy, but who was counting. "I loved that book, but I wouldn't peg a Blue Angel as someone who would relate to a sarcastic druggie teenager," I said mockingly. Edward began to walk toward the stairs. It appeared he'd had enough of me.
"Stop, stop," I called placatingly. He halted readily, more readily than I expected and turned towards me. I thought his eyes looked eager, but I must have misinterpreted the emotion. Anyway, I was annoyed with Jacob for pushing me into this possibly unpleasant evening, and I had just thought of a way to make it more palatable. If I promised myself I'd keep the physical attraction under wraps, I'd have another ally there to help me through a painful evening of clubbing in my mid-30's.
"Edward," I said, narrowing my eyes calculatingly, "I've agreed to go with Jacob to Seville Quarter tonight." He flinched with this information, and I second-guessed myself. If he was so opposed to the place, maybe he would turn me down. But, I had turned him down for the jog today, so I figured it was fair to ask. "Leah Clearwater is coming too, so I thought it might be fun if you also came along." My words hung in the air for several minutes, it seemed. He seemed stunned, deer-caught-in-the headlight stunned. My cheeks heated as I waited for his answer.
Then, he broke out into a beatific smile. It was more than The Dazzler, and I momentarily lost my train of thought. I stared like an idiot into his brilliant face. He called my name a few times, and I came back down, once again feeling like an idiot.
"What was that, Edward?" I asked warily. He continued to grin blindingly at me.
"I'd love to hang out with you guys. What time are you going?" he asked for clarification. He turned and started walking toward the stairs to our rooms, beeping his Corvette locked.
"Jake and Leah are picking me up at 21:00," I told him. He laughed and revealed that he thought the same way I did.
"Oh, we're doing this old school, then, going out at the same time the cool kids are," he teased. I shrugged sheepishly.
"I think this whole thing is ill-conceived," I admitted. He frowned at that, but lightened again in another moment.
"Well, if Jacob is behind this, then I'm siding with him. We'll have a great time," he promised, keying himself into his room. "Come over at 20:30, we'll have a pre-beer," he ordered and disappeared into his room before I could argue.
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