Chapter 5

Sydney lifts her shirt over her head and tosses it in the sand. When she turns around, both Jake and Bradley, who are facing her direction, promptly look away. She smirks smugly, adjusting the straps of her bikini top, and then runs over to join her father and his trainees as they start tossing around a football.

It's late in the afternoon and the sunlight hits at an angle, casting the beach in golden hues. The ocean sparkles like it's covered in diamonds and the water over rolls the sand invitingly as they run back and forth drenched in sweat.

Jake spends the game trying to get closer to Sydney. He brings his arms around her when she catches the ball and she laughs. "This is touch football!" she yelps. "You can't just tackle me!"

"Oh," he says in a low tone, his mouth hovering near her cheek. "You want me to touch you?" His lips spread into a teasing grin and she pushes him away. Jake winks at her, flexing his muscles.

Sydney shakes her head, smiling. But despite his attention, she catches herself admiring Bradley's sculpted physique as he shows off his dance moves after scoring a touchdown. His body is glistening and sunlight catches on the beads of sweat gleaming on his forehead. Sydney stares at him for a moment, and she probably would continue to if not for Natasha, who blatantly bumps into her from the side.

Sydney blinks, glancing over at Natasha in a daze. Natasha is grinning. "Admiring the landscape?" she asks, raising her eyebrows.

Sydney presses her lips together. "It's a beautiful sunset," she replies.

Natasha chuckles, taking Sydney by the shoulders and rotating her to the left. "The sunset is that way," she says quietly.

Sydney giggles. "So it is."

...

"You looked like you were having fun."

Sydney looks up to see Bradley approaching her as he pulls a shirt over his head. "You too," she remarks, straightening her own top as it sticks to her sweaty body.

"You know," he says. "I was thinking of hitting the showers but" – he glances at the sparkling ocean twenty feet away – "a dip could work just as well."

Sydney smirks. "Brad Bradshaw, is that an invitation?"

He grins. "Depends on your answer."

Sydney laughs and starts removing her shirt again. "Race you!" she yells, dropping her shorts and hopping out of them at a run.

Bradley scrambles out of his clothes and sprints after her.

Sydney crashes into the waves and they nearly knock her over with their force. But the water is warm and pleasant, and after staggering from the collision, she falls forward, letting her body sink into the water.

Bradley splashes in behind her and she turns to see him swimming toward her as she wades backward away from the shore. Out on the beach, her father and Jake are standing facing the ocean, both wearing stern expressions with their arms crossed.

She smiles as Bradley nears her and he grins back at her. "Very refreshing," she says, panting.

"Indeed," he agrees, leaning to float on his back, his arms spread out and his eyes closed.

Sydney follows suit, feeling her body lift and then dip with each wave. She extends her arms, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes to block out the sunlight.

For several moments, they drift aimlessly side by side in silence. Then, Sydney feels something brush the fingers of her right hand. She turns her head and sees Bradley's hand floating right beside hers, his fingers occasionally grazing hers as the waves swell.

Bradley, who remains two arm lengths away, still has his eyes closed, and Sydney wonders if he's even noticed the touch that's sent a rush of exhilaration through her entire body.

...

"You had a good swim?" Jake asks, leaning into the bar at the Hard Deck later that evening.

Sydney twists her wet hair up into a bun and smiles. "I did."

Jake licks his lips, hailing the bartender with a couple of fingers. "I'll take a beer," he says. "And whatever the lady wants." He nods toward Sydney.

"Ice water, please," she says.

He looks at her questioningly. "Ice water?"

She shrugs. "I've still got a paper to write."

He grins and, when the bartender brings their drinks, he says, "You up for a round of trivia?"

Sydney looks over at the host of officers gathered near the back of the bar. "Sure," she replies.

She follows Jake toward the group and immediately notices Bradley, as if her eyes instinctively seek him out wherever she goes. He's standing near the back wall with Natasha, throwing his arms around enthusiastically as he presumably demonstrates a series of aerial ambushes with his hands.

Natasha takes a sip of her drink, her gaze wandering the room despite Bradley's epic movements and, when her eyes land on Sydney, her mouth twitches as she tries to control her widening grin. Sydney quickly looks away, returning her attention to Jake.

When Jake clears his throat to announce their presence, Bradley looks over at them with a drawn expression, lowering his hands.

"Captain!" Jake proclaims, taking Sydney's hand in his.

Maverick looks over at him wearily, setting down his drink.

"I'd like to ask your permission to take your daughter out," Jake continues. "Sir."

Sydney looks at Jake with an unimpressed expression.

Maverick stifles a laugh. "Uh," he says. "Did you ask my daughter?"

Bradley watches Sydney carefully, studying her reaction, but she tries her utmost to avoid his gaze.

"Figured I ought to ask you first, Cap," Jake says. "Don't want there to be any surprises."

Maverick glances at Sydney. "I don't know, Seresin," he notes. "She sure looks surprised to me."

Sydney notices Bradley and Natasha exchange looks and she gives Jake a tight smile. "Sure," she says. "I'll go out with you, Jake."

Jake grins triumphantly while Maverick squints his eyes at Sydney before letting out a resigned sort of sigh. He picks his drink back up, briefly glancing over at Bradley who is glaring at Jake from under his eyebrows.

"Are we going to play or what?" Natasha asks, quickly changing the subject.

"Let's do it!" Sydney says, ignoring Bradley's reaction. He's had multiple opportunities to ask her out so, as far as Sydney is concerned, this turn of events is on him. "Girls against boys?"

"Sounds good!" Natasha says, holding up her hand to give Sydney a high five.

"No!" Jake exclaims at Sydney. "I wanted you on my team!"

"C'mon, Hangman, quit the whining," one of the officers claps Jake on the back.

"Fanboy, she's a fucking scientist." Jake points at Sydney. "I don't want to go up against that."

"I'm not a scientist yet," Sydney clarifies.

Bradley eyes her with a small smile but looks away the moment she catches his gaze.

Maverick chuckles, shaking his head. "You know, I was going to head out, but I think I might want to stick around to watch this."

"You can play, you know," Bradley mutters irritably.

Maverick makes a face. "On the losing team? No, thanks." The men look over at him in surprise but Maverick just laughs again. "You'll see," is all he says, giving his daughter a knowing look.

"This is going to be fun." Natasha smirks, hooking her arm through Sydney's. "Halo, you're with us," she calls to a woman at the bar. "You go first, Sydney."

Sydney approaches the table where Jake has placed one of his dog tags.

"Alright, the rules are simple," Jake says loudly as Bradley approaches the table to stand opposite Sydney. "If you know the answer, grab the tag first. Then you can respond."

Sydney eyes the tag nervously clutching her hands to her chest. "Oh no," she says, looking up at Bradley and then at Jake. "I don't want to do that! He's going to break my hand."

Bradley stares at her in amusement. "I'm going to break your hand?"

"In the moment, you're just going to go for it. You're not going to pause to think, 'Oh, I should be careful; Sydney's hand is smaller than mine.' How about each of us get a separate tag to pick up so that our hands don't collide?" Sydney suggests.

Jake shakes his head. "Sorry, your team's advantage is intelligence. Mine's is speed."

Sydney scoffs. "This is so unfair."

Bradley is smiling at her. "I'm not going to break your hand, Sydney," he says.

"Fine," she says. "Let's do this."

"Alright, first question," Jake says, holding up his phone. "What mountain range runs along the western coast of India?"

Sydney lifts her hand hesitantly, holding it over the table. Bradley watches her with raised eyebrows. He's not reaching for the tag.

"Are you going for it?" she asks.

"No, I'm not going for it," he replies. "I don't know the answer."

Sydney picks the tag up tentatively. "It's the Western Ghats."

"Fuck," Jake says.

Bradley shakes his head. "How do you know that?"

Sydney bites into her bottom lip. "I know all the mountain ranges," she says, shrugging.

Jake and Bradley stare at her in bewilderment. "In the world?" Jake exclaims.

"Is that not a normal thing to know?" she asks.

Maverick chuckles. "Ask her how," he says from a distance.

Sydney throws an unamused glance in his direction.

"Now you have to tell us," Bradley says with a grin.

Sydney lets out a sigh. "I used to read the Atlas in Spanish class."

Jake narrows his eyes. "What?"

"I got in trouble for it, too. Because the Atlas was in English."

Bradley starts laughing. "Wow," he says. "You're a real rebel."

Sydney covers her face with her hand.

"Alright, alright," Jake says, glancing between Sydney and Bradley impatiently. "Who's next?"

...

After twenty more questions, the teams are tied with one round remaining. Sydney steps up to the table and Bradley joins her there.

Sydney holds her hands together in front of her mouth anxiously. Bradley's gaze meets hers across the table.

"You ready to lose?" he says.

Sydney scoffs. "Bring it, Bradshaw," she replies.

He smirks, holding his hand out, ready to grab the tag on the table.

Jake clears his throat. "What is the smallest country in the world?"

Sydney goes to grab the tag just as Bradley reaches down for it. Their hands nearly collide and Sydney squeals, pulling her hand away. Bradley looks up at her with a concerned expression and takes her hand in his, pulling on it gently. He places his other hand on top. "I'm not going to hurt you," he assures her with a smile.

Sydney watches him carefully, her eyes fastened on his. Slowly, she pulls her hand out of his grasp. "Promise?" she says quietly.

Bradley's smile falters. "Of course," he says, his eyes searching her face.

Sydney takes advantage of the diversion and swiftly reaches to grab the tag off the table.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Bradshaw," Jake hangs his head.

Bradley looks at Sydney, stunned. "You played me."

Sydney smirks. "Always play the man, not the game. My dad taught me that."

Maverick nods from the sidelines with a proud smile on his face. He claps his hands to acknowledge the victory and Bradley throws a sour glance in his direction.

"You're a good guy, Bradley," Sydney continues, bringing his attention back. "That'll bite you in the ass one day." Then, she looks up at Jake. "Answer is Vatican City, by the way."

...

A/N: Thank you so much for the follows and reviews, you guys are so wonderful!