Disclaimer: all the usual apply
Chapter 5
Naval Yard, England
Arlene POV
"How long still?" she asked Jessica over her shoulder as she studied her reflection in the narrow, full length mirror.
"Should be any moment now. We've been docked for over an hour. They just need all the soldiers to disembark before we can."
She nervously ran her palms over her skirt, trying to smooth out creases that weren't there. On the one hand she couldn't wait to get off of the ship, but on the other she wanted to stay here until all the men were long gone. Well, really only one man.
She'd been able to avoid Joe easily. She wasn't supposed to be above deck during the day and most of the men had to be below deck late at night. When she did venture out, or when Jessica dragged her out, she was anxious at the thought of seeing Joe, constantly looking over her shoulder just in case. Ironically enough though, when they got back to their cabin she was disappointed that she hadn't seen him.
Stupid. That's what you get for acting without thinking, she berated herself for the hundredth time.
As if reading her mind Jessica remarked, "Even if he's still out there when we disembark you probably won't see him. There are hundreds of them milling about. Now Aldbourne, well that's a different story."
She pulled a face at her friend in the mirror only to be rewarded with a naughty smile.
"Now are you done faffing so I can use the mirror? For a woman that doesn't want to see a man, you sure are taking your sweet time getting ready."
She gave herself one last look in the mirror and nodded approvingly. Often she and Jessica wore civilian clothing when they weren't working, it was just easier that way, fewer questions. On the ship they wore basic Army issue clothing in order to blend in us much as possible, but now that they had arrived in England it was time to make a statement.
They'd donned their dress uniform of a pencil skirt and jacket that were such a dark blue it looked black in the dim lighting of the cabin. The skirt stopped just below the knee and the jacket snugly closed at the waist with three gold buttons. The uniform was completed with a crisp white shirt, a pair of silk stockings she'd kept hidden for months, kitten heels and their dark blue caps. She put her hair up into a neat knot and completed the look with a flick of mascara, some blush and a crimson lip.
"Yes, fine. I'm done," she finally said, giving herself one more cursory glance as Jessica moved to take her place.
She took a seat on the edge of her bed and watched as her friend turned around so she could look at herself from different angles. Their uniforms and styling were identical, but it always surprised her how different they still managed to look. She was a good inch or two taller than Jessica with a long, slender frame that wouldn't look out of place in a ballet recital. Her friend on the other hand was of an average height for a woman, but her bone structure made her look more petite than she actually was and she had the most wonderful curves in all the right places.
"I which I had your legs," Jessica would often say and she'd reply with, "I wish I had your breasts."
There was one sharp rap on their door and John shouted, "Be ready in 2 mins," from the other side of the metal.
She took a deep breath hoping to settle the nerves that had flared up again.
"You'll be fine," Jessica said.
She looked up to find her friend watching her closely, arms folded over her chest and head tilted a fraction to one side.
"I know it's silly. I only knew Joe one night, but I swear he crawled underneath my skin and now he's refusing to budge."
Her friend's face softened. "I'm sorry for pushing you to spend time with him. If I'd known he was going to affect you this much I would have left well enough alone."
She scoffed "How the hell could you have known? I'm usually the Ice Queen's cold hearted step sister."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "That seems a bit harsh."
"Not if you ask my ex-boyfriend."
"That ass! The only thing I'd ask him is where's the nearest cliff so I can push him off it."
She shook her head and smiled, only 50% certain Jessica was joking about the last part.
The door screeched open and Alex's head popped around the corner. "Ready?"
"Ready," she replied.
"A porter will take your bags," he added.
She looked to Jessica who shrugged. "Fancy."
She followed Jessica out the door and followed the men down the long corridor and up and out into the sun.
Joe POV
Sitting on top of his pack and smoking a cigarette he half listened to the conversations going on around him. They'd disembarked an hour ago already but were still waiting on their transport to take them to their final destination.
Hurry up and wait should be our fucking motto.
He'd been in a dark mood since leaving New York, picking fights with the other men every chance he got. Most of them ignored it, he had a short fuse and they knew it, but Bill kept giving him sideways glances. This in turn pissed him off even more because it reminded him of his last 24-hours on US soil.
"So, did any of you actually see them?" Luz repeated the same question he'd asked every day since they'd set of.
"It was just some bullshit story a drunk sailor made up Luz. You lost the bet, so pay up," he responded through the cigarette dangling between his lips.
Their second day at sea was the first time they'd heard the rumour that two women were on-board and from there it quickly changed to twenty girls put on-board to make sure no one died a virgin. No one knew the truth, or if they did they weren't telling.
Frankly he didn't give a damn if it was true, he couldn't look at a woman right now without having the urge to drink and break something.
Get a grip. She was only one broad. Stop being such a goddamn sissy.
"Hey, where there's smoke there's fire," Malarkey came to Luz's defence.
"Whatever Private Bullshit, pay up," Bill sneered, holding out his hand for his winnings.
Of course they'd taken bets, and now the winning side was collecting.
The losers begrudgingly started reaching inside their pockets when a murmur ran through the gathered soldiers like a wave.
"What the fuck now?" he grumbled but still stood to see what all the fuss was about.
"Ha! Pay up boys!" Luz exclaimed.
There, walking down the gangplank were five officers and two were distinctly female. He recognised the one woman without even having to think about it, he'd seen that walk every night in his dream, or nightmares, depending on how you looked at it.
Her head moved in his direction and he felt her eyes run over the crowd before her gaze settled on him. His heart had stopped beating when he'd spotted her, and as her eyes held his, his heart started beating again, working overtime to make up for the seconds lost since he'd spotted her.
"Fuck," he swore, throwing his half smoked cigarette to the ground and stomping it out with more force than necessary before turning his back to her.
He'd spent the entire trip telling himself she meant nothing and now he was back to square one.
Nixon POV
He was leaning against the side of a jeep as they waited for the order to move out. He hated waiting, for an Intelligence Officer patience really wasn't his strong suit.
"I still can't believe you didn't see her again," he casually remarked to the man standing next to him.
"I blame Sobel. I swear he knew I had a reason to be out of my cabin and decided to give me all his paperwork to do out of spite."
"Fucking Sobel," Harry chipped in his two cents from his other side.
"Besides Nix, you're the Intelligence Officer and you couldn't find her," Dick added.
"Not for a lack of trying. Whoever knew where she was wasn't talking. I couldn't even find the people she was travelling with. I swear it would be easier to find a virgin in a brothel."
Dick shot him a disapproving look. His friend never was a fan of colourful language.
"You'll see her in Aldbourne. So there's that at least. Sobel can't keep you busy all the damn time," Harry said.
"Don't say that out loud. He doesn't need any more ideas," Dick mumbled, his head turning up to soak up the little bit of sun peeking through the clouds.
"Sobel ain't your problem Dick," he said, "you are."
"Really?"
"You had a woman alone on freezing deck and did nothing but talk. Jeez, the least you could have done was be a gentleman and kept her warm."
From the corner of his eye he saw Dick shake his head.
"I give you one month. If you haven't made your move by then I'm making mine. We can't let her get away," he added.
"Try," Dick retorted but it sounded awfully close to a threat.
A murmur went up in the crowd and he felt everyone turn their attention to the ship.
"Holy hell," Harry said as he was turning to see what had caught everyone's attention.
There, strolling down the gangplank were five soldiers, two of them women and one was without a doubt the blonde that had Dick in knots.
Both women looked immaculate in their uniforms, somewhere between sexy and intimidating. Who was he kidding, they were sexy because they were so damn intimidating.
A lone ray of sunlight flashed off of two distinctive bars pinned to Jessica's jacket collar. "Shit, she's a Captain," he blurted out.
"Highly decorated one," Dick added, noting the array of commendations pinned to her uniform.
He glanced at his friend, his mouth hanging slightly open as his eyes remained trained on the blonde officer walking down the plank.
Placing a hand firmly on Dick's shoulder he said, "You sure know how to pick 'em."
Jessica POV
She slipped into the back seat of one of the cars that were waiting for them at the bottom of the gangplank.
"I cannot believe they sent cars to pick us up. We could have driven in the standard jeeps," she complained, irrationally irritated at the special treatment.
"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist doll. Before you know it you'll be belly crawling through some Kraut infested field with a rifle strapped to your back just like everyone else," John retorted next to her.
"Johnny, you shouldn't talk about things you'll never get close to," she snapped back.
"I've seen your knickers."
"You've seen my bare ass but that still doesn't mean you're getting close to either one."
An awkward cough from the front seat reminded them they weren't alone and she shot John a withering glare. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, a quirk he used on her when she was annoyed because he knew it would earn him a smile.
As her lips moved up involuntarily she cursed him and herself.
He smiled smugly.
She turned away from him to look out the window. They'd passed the final waiting soldiers and were quickly putting the belly of the naval yard behind them.
She'd hoped to spend some more time with Richard before their arrival in England, but it seemed the man had vanished off of the face of the earth. A part of her brain kept asking if he was avoiding her and no matter how much she dismissed the thought she couldn't keep the insecurity at bay.
There was a gentle tug on her sleeve and she turned to find John staring intently at her.
"What?"
"I know I'm not the most sensitive of men, but what's really eating at you? I've seen you wear ball gowns to pubs and not flinch."
"They were not ball gowns."
He just stared at her with those annoying puppy dog eyes that made you drop you guard every damn time.
"You know I saw Richard on the boat."
He nodded.
"Well, I'd said I'd see him around and like an idiot I went to the deck every night. He never showed. It's absurd I know, but I can't help wondering if he avoided me on purpose."
She'd almost mumbled the last part, her inner self shouting at her to stop sounding like some love struck teenager and pull herself together.
John stared at her for a while and she could see him deciding what to say. "For all your talk about Arlene having to get out there more, you're even worse than she is."
She started to respond but he ignored her and simply ploughed on, "No Jess, you'll flirt and dance and maybe even give the lucky bastard a kiss at the end of the night, but if I asked you now, what any of their names were, you wouldn't know. Because you don't want to know."
"Gee thanks Johnny. I sure do sound like the girl you wanna take home to meet the folks," she remarked.
He reached over and took one of her hands in his. "I've told you a hundred times I'd love for you to meet my folks, but that's a different conversation."
Her eyes dropped from his as shy smile crossed her lips.
"Listen, I get it. You've been doing this for so long, longer than most, you've had to find a way to protect yourself. Just promise me you'll remember this guy's name."
She met her friend's eyes. "Fine, promise."
He rewarded her with a lopsided grin. "Good, we'll need all the information we have on him if we need to hunt him down and kick his ass if he hurts you in any way."
She bent forward, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "You're a good friend."
"I know," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Cocky bastard" she said, squeezing his hand and sitting back in the seat as the English countryside slipped past outside.
Arlene POV
Driving through the English countryside she tried, and failed, to wipe Joe's dark expression from her memory. She'd glimpsed him as they'd left the ship, her eyes drawn to him even as he stood amongst a sea of American soldiers.
She could still feel the flutter of her heart followed by the sharp pain when he'd turned from her, his eyes hooded and dark.
"You want to talk about it?" Alex ventured tentatively.
Alex was sitting next to her and Clark turned in his seat in the front to look at her.
"About what?" she asked.
"About you not saying a word since we got into the car."
"So?"
Alex sighed loudly and looked to Clark, who in turn said, "We're nearly at Aldbourne. You've been quiet for hours. Now, I know you don't talk as much as Jess, but clearly something is going on with you."
She looked between the two men, trying to decide what to do. On the one hand she wanted to unburden to them, but on the other the whole situation sounded ridiculous in her head, she didn't even want to dare say it out loud.
"It's nothing. I made my bed, and rolled around in it, now I have to sleep in it. Don't worry, I'll be able to work."
"Christ Arlene, you think we're worried about your ability to do your job? We're worried because your sitting there like someone killed your puppy." Alex exclaimed, he always was less tactful than Clark and John.
She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when Clark stopped her. "What he's trying to say," he started, shooting Alex a disapproving glance, "is we just want to make sure you're okay."
She relaxed her shoulders. They both meant well, although the execution needed some work. "I'll be fine. I was just caught off guard today, but that won't happen again. And before you ask, no, you don't need to go kick someone's ass. This is my fault. I'm the one in the wrong, I suppose."
Clark eyed her for a moment before he gave up and turned back to face the front. Alex nudged her arm gently. "Sorry."
She nudged him back and replied, "That's okay," before turning to the look out the window just in time to see the first quaint houses of Albourne slide into view.
Clark POV
As soon as their car came to a stop outside the barracks he thanked the driver before climbing out. He was anxious to finally meet the new recruits in person; all they knew was what had been in their files.
Their unit was a close knit little family, being whittled down from the eight original members to four over the last few years of fighting had only intensified the bond, so they needed to be sure the newcomers would fit in. He wasn't 100% sure John hadn't been a fluke. He'd accidently been assigned to them after their first year at war, a clerical error which turned out to be a miracle since one week later they lost another team member.
If he was being honest his major concern was how they would interact with Arlene and Jessica. All the applicants had known there were women in the unit, but he knew from personal experience it was one thing to read it and another to see it.
He still cringed when he thought back to his first few days training with them. The things he'd said and assumed, he'd never stop being mortally embarrassed by.
He quickly did the math in his head. Shit, has it been 5 years already? No wonder I'm so goddamn tired of this fucking war.
A light touch on his upper arm drew him back to reality. Glancing to his right he found Jessica standing next to him, her crystal blue eyes intently focused on the hut their new recruits were waiting in.
"You ready for the show?" she asked without looking away from the building.
"Let's go see what we have to work with," he replied, staring for the building.
She fell into step next to him and the others followed, it was time to meet the people who would soon hold their lives in their hands.
As he neared the door he could hear muffled voices coming from within, excitedly talking over one another.
He took the two small stairs leading into the barracks in one big stride, throwing the door open with such force that it slammed against the wall. There were a few seconds of mad scrambling as the five soldiers got to the front of their bunks and stood at attention.
He waited at the door until you could hear a penny drop and then slowly strode into the building, walking along the line of soldiers, eyeing each one critically.
He could hear the others entering the building but his eyes remained focused on the new recruits and none of them dared glance in the direction of the door. Reaching the end of the beds he turned back to the door but held his position, drawing out the moment a few heartbeats longer.
"At ease," he said and he could hear the collective breath of the waiting men.
"My name is Captain Clark. I'm the commanding officer of this unit. That," he continued, pointing to Jessica, "is Captain King. She's the second in command. Those other officers are Lieutenants Walker, Marsh and Green."
He gave the recruits a few seconds to scan the faces of their new officers before continuing. "Once we've determined whether or not you'll be staying with us, you'll each be paired with an officer on a rotational basis."
He was happy to see they all kept their expressions neutral, not one daring to steal a glance at the two women.
Without having to signal to Jessica she moved forward, the click of her heels on the wooden floorboards marking her pace. All eyes turned to her as she commanded the full attention of everyone in the room.
"We are the best gentlemen, and that means we only work with the best. Congratulations on making it this far, but your assessment isn't over yet," she said, coming to stand next to him, her hands clasped behind her back. "If you are found wanting, you will be out."
He saw the two men closest to him swallow.
Good, he thought.
He walked back to the front, this time looking ahead to his team, not saying a word.
From behind him he heard Jessica say, "Over the next 72 hours you will be pushed like you've never been pushed before. We will assess every aspect of your performance. For the first 12 hours you'll be supervised by one of the officers as they put you through your paces. At 06:00 hours you'll have thirty minutes to eat and change before we'll all be joining you for training," she paused and no one moved. "Then the real fun begins."
She walked across the room, reaching the door in a few quick strides since this building was smaller than most, designed to only house ten men at the most. Pausing in the door, the late afternoon sun silhouetting her figure, she said, "You have 5 minutes to change into your OD's with a full pack and meet Lieutenant Green outside."
The soldiers snapped to attention and saluted the officers. In perfect unison they all returned the salute before turning sharply and exiting the building.
He could hear the mad dash going on behind them as they gathered near the door.
"Right, John. You ready for the first shift?" he asked their youngest lieutenant.
He smiled. "Should be fun. I'll warm them up for the rest of you."
They all smiled.
"You all remember the rest?" he asked the group.
"We each take a two-hour shift. The running order is John, Arlene, Alex, you and then me. Once we've all had a turn we start again," Jessica answered for the group.
He nodded. "Good, be here ten minutes before your shift starts to hand over. Headquarters sent us that jeep," he said, pointing to a jeep standing close by, "you can use it today. From tomorrow morning we'll be training with them."
"What do you wanna bet they can't wait for Arlene and Jessica's shifts?" John asked.
Alex smirked. "They probably think they'll go easy on them. Biggest mistake of their lives."
Both women laughed, a devilish giggle that sent chills running up his spine.
God help those boys.
Jessica POV
She double checked the details a clerk had hastily scribbled down for her on a piece of scrap paper to the house she was standing in-front of.
Looks like a home, she mused.
It was a small, dark brown face brick two storey building with a dark green front door. There were two large upstairs windows standing guard over the narrow walkway and rose bushes that led from the road to the door.
Satisfied this was indeed the place she'd be billeted in for the duration of their stay in Aldbourne she crumpled up the piece paper, shoving it into a pocket and walked to the door.
Since they were all officers they'd all been billeted with local families. Clark and Arlene were sharing a house one block from where she was staying while Alex and John were living with two separate families quite close to the barracks.
She'd been informed she'd be staying with a family who were also housing an officer from the Airborne. It suited her well enough, they would be training with some of the Airborne Companies so the sooner she got to know the men the better. Her only concern was whether or not the family had been informed their second house guest was a woman.
Stopping at the door she braced herself for the potentially awkward encounter before knocking on it with two quick raps. There was a moment's silence followed by quick footsteps on wooden floors and the rattling of keys.
She took a small step back and plastered a friendly smile on her face.
"I don't know! I haven't opened the door yet!" a deep voice billowed from behind the door just before it swung open to reveal a very tall, thickly set man with balding grey hair and kind eyes.
She extended her hand and said, "Good evening sir. My name's Jessica King. I've been billeted with your family."
The man enveloped her hand in his. "We've been expecting you for some time Captain. We were worried one of the nosy neighbours had high jacked you."
"Oh yes, the lady across the street with the Maltese poodle seemed particularly dangerous."
He laughed, a deep rumbling sound that reverberated through his hand into her chest.
"Come in," he said, letting go of her hand and taking a step back so she could enter. "Oh, and call me Harry."
"Harry it is," she replied, taking a step inside.
The entryway was narrow with four hooks put into the right wall for coats and umbrellas. The distinctive aromas of lamb and roast potatoes floated up to meet her nose making her mouth water.
"Follow me, Jane is in the kitchen with our other guest."
She followed Harry down the hall, passing a comfortably furnished living room to her left with a fireplace already crackling in the corner.
She smiled to herself, she knew where she'd be spending her time off. Curled up on the large brown sofa she'd spied, the fire humming in the background.
Harry continued down the hall and passed through a door which she assumed led to the kitchen. She couldn't clearly see the room past Harry's large frame and whomever was in there was well hidden from her sight.
"She's here," Harry announced to whomever was waiting.
Stepping through the door she was met by the beaming face of her hostess. If Harry was tall and imposing, Jane was incredibly petite with mousy brown hair curled tightly and ruby red lips.
She extended her hand to the older woman but she simply brushed past it, instead embracing her in a surprisingly strong hug considering her size. Jane smelled like roses and bread and her hair tickled Jessica's face. All in all it was one of the best hugs she'd ever received.
Still holding onto her Jane said, "We're so glad you're here Jessica."
"Thank you for having me ma'am. This is far better than a barracks."
With a final squeeze Jane let her go, a little scowl on her face. "Jane, please. Ma'am always makes me feel terribly old."
She laughed. "Funny, that's usually what I say."
"Nonsense dear, you're still far too young to feel old. Now, let's introduce you to our other guest and then we'll eat."
Jane was about to introduce the soldier leaning against the counter when Jessica said, "Nixon. Well, this is a lovely surprise."
"Jessica, always a pleasure to see you."
"You two know each other?" Jane asked, a perplexed look on her face.
"We met State side, just before shipping out. Jessica here made quite the impression," Nixon answered on their behalf, his signature charm shining through.
"Oh well then, didn't this work out well," Jane said as she busied herself bringing food to the table.
"Can I help with anything?" she offered, scanning the countertops for something to do and coming up empty
"No dear, not tonight, but I'll take you up on the offer soon."
"Please do."
They all took their seats around the table as Jane placed the final platter of food down and Henry poured red wine into the waiting glasses.
"So Jessica darling, if you don't mind an old lady prying, how did you get involved in the war? I know our English girls have had to get stuck in, but even then it's mostly as nurses or the like," Jane asked as she piled their plates high with food.
Buying herself some time she took a drink of the wine before replying, "I was volunteered for a training programme when I was younger. It came with an excellent education and I suppose no one expected another war to break out so soon." She glanced around the table. Harry and Jane were listening politely, nodding between forkfuls of food, but Nixon hadn't touched his food yet, he was intently focused on her. "Anyway, when the war broke out we were ready to fight."
"How long have you been doing this?" Nixon asked.
"Since it started I suppose. We've worked with various Resistances, but most of our time up until now has been spent with the Red Devils."
"It did take the Yanks long enough to get their hands dirty in the fight," Henry remarked.
Nixon smiled politely around the rim of his nearly empty glass of wine, she was sure he'd heard similar comments before and now that they were in England he was going to hear it again.
"Will you be joining Nixon at the local pub tonight dear?" Jane asked.
"Yeah, you should definitely come along. I can think of at least one good reason," Nixon remarked with a smirk.
She suspected and hoped he was referring to Richard, but either way it didn't matter, she couldn't go out drinking and still be able to put their new recruits through their paces in the early morning hour. "Thanks for the invite Nix, but I'll have to rain check. I've got work to do tonight."
"What, but you only just arrived. Surely you can have a day or two to settle in," Jane exclaimed.
"We have a few new recruits we who need to be put through their paces as soon as possible. I'll be looking after then from 02:00 to 04:00 this morning, so I need to get as much sleep as possible before then. Which reminds me, I'll be away for long stretches over the next three days, but after that the training should become more regular. I'll do my utmost not to bother anyone."
"You need some more food then dear," Jane replied nonchalantly, scooping another roast potato onto her plate.
"Oh, um…thank you," she replied, a little bewildered by the sheer amount of food on her plate. "Rain check Nix?"
"You bet. You owe me a night on the town now."
"Deal."
Winters POV
He had a firm grip on Nixon's one elbow as he did his best to steer his friend to his billet while keeping him upright and quiet. They'd spent their first night on English soil in an English pub and his friend had been on a mission to show the English how it's done.
"Can you believe it Dick? 'Coz shit I couldn't believe my eyes when she walked through the door," Nixon said as he turned to look up at him.
He guessed Nixon was referring to the fact that he and Jessica were stationed at the same house. He'd been going on about it all night, using every possible opportunity to bring it up just so he could get a reaction out of him.
He'd done his utmost to hide the jealousy which ate at him whenever he thought about the fact that his best friend would be seeing her on a daily basis. At least it was Nixon and not some other officer. For all his talk he knew his friend wouldn't go after the woman he had feelings for.
Christ, feelings? Let's not get carried away Richard.
He almost chuckled to himself. He was known amongst his friends and men for being as straight-laced as they come. He didn't swear, smoke or drink. But something about that woman made him seriously consider doing at least two out of the three.
Maybe it's for the best. I don't think I'd be able to sleep knowing she was in her bed with only a wall between us.
"C'mon Nix, there's your place," he said when he spotted Nixon's billet a few yards away.
His friend reached up and gently slapped his cheek. "Don't worry Dick, I won't steal your girl."
"She's not my girl."
"And whose fault is that?"
Mine.
Not waiting for his reply Nixon said, "Speak of the devil and the bastard will find you. Look who's there."
He turned his head to follow Nixon's line of sight. A slender figure, dressed in a dark green uniform, was walking from the front door to the sidewalk. He knew it was Jessica, even with her long blonde hair tucked underneath a cap he recognised her instinctively.
"Jessica!" Nixon exclaimed, throwing his free arm in the air as if he was going to embrace her.
Jessica turned to them, a smile on her lips. "Hey there Nix. I see you had a good evening."
"Damn right I did. Would have been better if you joined us. Hey, you remember Dick, right?"
"Why yes I do. It's nice to see you again Richard."
He felt awful for thinking it, but he badly wanted the earth to swallow Nixon whole so he could be alone with her and avoid anything embarrassing his friend may say in his drunken state.
Hoping to keep Nixon quiet by talking he said, "I'm good, thank you. Nixon tells me you have to go supervise training now. I hope you were able to get some sleep."
"Oh, so you and Nixon were talking about me?" she replied, a twinkle in her eyes.
"Oh,umm….well…it came up," he stammered.
She gave them a lopsided smile. "I better head out. His room is the first door on the left. The second step from the bottom creaks like you would not believe, so try and give it a miss if you can. Good luck.
He glanced at his friend who was smiling like an idiot. "Thanks, I'll need it."
"Night Nix. Drink loads of water."
"Will do Jess."
She smiled and shot him a wink before turning and melting into the dark.
XXXXXXX
Hi! Sorry for posting a bit late, it's just been one of those week. Hope everyone is having a really good one!
Thanks to everyone that's added my little story to their alerts and favorites! And to my amazing reviewers, you all rock.