Author's Note: Sorry it's a short one! I'll post the next one really soon I promise! Happy Reading. Dark rolling sea.
CHAPTER NINE
Jesse sat at the bar getting pissed off. She knew she was too drunk to drive but they were trying to get her to go somewhere, anywhere but where she was. They had already managed to get her keys, check that Tex's keys, from her. She told them she didn't have anywhere to go and that was mostly the truth.
She could return to the base and pretend like nothing happened, but she wasn't sure that was possible. She could return and tell Slattery off or fuck him again. But she wasn't ready for either of those either.
She didn't have anywhere else to go for now. And she sure wasn't ready to face Slattery. She could hide in the barracks but there was still a chance she'd run into him. She was staring into a beer when the door to the bar opened, and she looked up to see Tex walk in. Great. She looked at the bartender and glared as the man was pointing to her with his chin. Tex walked up and sat down next to her. She ignored him.
"Hey, Sweetheart," Tex drawled out. Jesse pointedly ignored him. "Time to come back to the base."
"I don't want to," she said with a sigh. She drank more of the beer. Tex put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's going to be okay," he said gently. She finally looked at him and saw understanding in his eyes. She wondered how much he knew and how he knew it.
"I can't go back, Tex," she said shaking her head.
"Yeah, actually, you can. Be a big girl and face the music."
"Fuck you," she said and fought the tears from falling.
"Nope not me," he said with a smile, and she knew he knew what she had done.
"Fuck, he told you?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah, because he's hurting really bad, and he knows I know you. And I'm his friend. He was looking for advice on how to fix it and why he fucked it up so bad."
"I can't believe this," she said as the anger seared in her chest.
"Jesse," Tex said, and she lost her control on the tears. He never called her Jesse anymore. She looked at him as the first tears slipped down her face. "You can't be afraid of life."
"I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I lost control like that," Jesse said thinking about everything.
"Was it bad?" Tex asked with a grin on his face. Jesse punched him in the arm. "Ah, so it was really good."
"Shut up, Tex," she said with a small laugh.
"Man, really good. So, want to do it again?" Tex asked and Jesse hit him for real this time in the arm. "Ow," Tex whined grabbing his shoulder.
"Stop," Jesse said rolling her eyes.
"Okay. But, hey, he's a great guy if you just give him a chance and get to know him."
"I wasn't looking for anything and now…shit. How do I face him now?"
"That's up to you, but just know, he's hurting, but I didn't tell you that. Now. Ready to go home?"
"Not really," she groaned.
"Well, if we don't get out of here pretty soon, someone you don't want to face will come in looking for us," Tex said with a shrug of his shoulders. Jesse's eyes went wide.
"What?"
"He's in the parking lot sitting in his truck. I came in to get the keys to my jeep and you."
"What the fuck you bring him for?"
"Well, he's the one that told me you were here. I guess the owner of the joint called and asked if you belonged to us."
"Fuck. This is bad, Tex."
"Eh, probably not as bad as you think. He just wants you to get home okay."
"I'm drunk."
"Yeah, we know. He was last night. Come on. Let me get my keys then we'll go back to the barracks, and you can decide how you want to handle Admiral Slattery."
"I don't want to," she protested.
"Well, I'm at least taking you back to the barracks," Tex said as he motioned to the bartender and got his keys back. "Come on, Kiddo, let's take a ride on home."
Jesse reluctantly got up. She was having a little trouble with her balance and Tex wrapped an arm around her to stabilize her. She let him lead her out of the jeep. She looked around the parking lot on the way across and spotted Slattery sitting in his truck watching them. She felt a rush of mixed emotions run through her as she heard his truck fire up and pull out. She was sure he was going to confront her but instead he just made sure Tex had her before he left.
Jesse was grateful that Tex kept his mouth shut on the drive back to the barracks. Once they were on base, they passed Admiral Slattery's quarters and she saw his truck parked outside. She closed her eyes and sunk further into the seat. Tex dropped her off and made sure she got inside okay before he headed to his own barracks.
She crashed down onto her cot and pushed her face into her pillow. She wanted to scream but she kept it to herself and just laid there for a while. Soon she felt the pull of fatigue take her and she gave into the darkness of sleep.
To Be Continued…