Chapter Two * Monica was so far into the training manual that she didn't hear or sense him approach. She thought she had felt eyes on her a couple times, but that was earlier when her mind and her senses weren't so fatigued. She didn't even know he was there until he spoke, bringing her out of her study. "Could you use a break?" he asked softly. Jarred out of her reading by his sexy voice sending shivers down her spine, she looked up into those intense yet familiar - what seemed to be anyway- eyes. He was tall-had to be 6 ft or so. His long blond locks were pulled back into a ponytail. He appeared to be cut and ripped in the most perfect places. "Excuse me? Oh yes, sure I suppose I should give my eyes and my brain a rest." Having received permission he slid into the seat next to her in one smooth movement. She closed the training manual and set it on the empty seat to her right. "Thank you for the distraction. My name is Corporal R. I mean Monica." "Thank you for allowing me to be your distraction. Pleased to meet you, Monica, I'm Adam." His comment made her blush just a bit. It had been awhile since she had gotten anything resembling a compliment, even from her 'significant' other. She was a pretty girl, but she wasn't used to certain types of men being interested in her. This one definitely fit into that category. Adam noticed her cheeks redden and said "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. You are a very pretty lady and I've been wondering about you." "No, you didn't embarrass me. I'm just not used to this type of attention." "What? You mean to tell me that your boyfriend doesn't tell you how attractive you are every day?" "No, but he's not technically my boyfriend." "Husband?" "Negative." It was hard to maintain a military bearing upon seeing the next expression on his face. "Well what is his problem?" "I wish I knew. Anyway, what about you? Wife? Girlfriend?" "Not anymore. My fiancé called it off a few months ago." "I'm sorry." "So what's taking you to Minneapolis?" Adam wasn't ready to divulge his heartbreak to a stranger so he deftly changed the subject. "I'm supposed to be meeting the 'man' in question. He's leaving for Japan in a few days." "Japan? Wow, that's going to be some long distance relationship. And I thought my being on the road was bad." "Maybe not. I believe he is going to end it, so I am really not looking forward to this. What do you mean? You being on the road?" "You don't know who I am?" "Negative, are you in a band or something?" Adam couldn't help but chuckle at the suggestion of him being a musician. He noticed the look on her face and immediately scrambled to apologize "No, I'm not laughing at you-I'm laughing at the thought of me being any type of musician. Well, I do play the kazoo rather well!" "Kazoo?" she was confused "I'm a wrestler- you know the WWF? The kazoo is just part of my gimmick." "Oh, ok I understand, I think." "The guy up there is my in ring partner. I've known him since we were kids." "How often do you travel?" "Well we are on the road almost every day. We have a live show on Monday nights-for television and we tape 2 shows on Tuesday night. Then there are the house shows on Saturday and Sunday." "So you get liberty, I mean a break then in the middle of the week?" "Not all the time. Usually there are signings and appearances scheduled for us." "Wow, and I thought being a Marine was a 24/7 ordeal." "Ah so that's it. I was trying to figure out your uniform without asking Jay. He'd give me a hard time if he'd have known earlier I was curious about you." "I understand about the 'being on the road messes up relationships' deal." "So, if you think this guy is going to call it quits, why put yourself through that? You should go and find something fun to do." "I'm not from Minneapolis, so he's the only person I'll know upon arrival, or else I'd consider some rest and relaxation." "You know me now and Jay, do you want me to call him over so you can interrogate him until you're comfortable?" Monica just laughed, "Do I look that harsh?" "Well, I'd have to say, I'd like to see you in a pair of jeans with your hair down." "I appreciate the offer, if I read you correctly, unfortunately I really can't. He's going to be waiting for me when we land."

Monica sighed. Adam really seemed to be interested in her and she was beginning to feel comfortable in his presence. He was gorgeous. Just as he was saying he'd like to see her let her hair down, she wondered what his looked like when it was free from the binding rubber band. He wasn't intimidated by her-at least he didn't act that way. There were times when she had been out of uniform, at clubs and men had hit on her. Asking her what she did for a living, and upon finding out the answer they just became speechless. They didn't know how to talk to her from that point on. It had been awhile since a man had been this attentive to her. For the most part, the men she worked with and encountered on the base treated her the same- just one of the guys.

Adam watched her facial expressions. He didn't want to seem overbearing and push her away. It wasn't everyday that he got the opportunity to just sit and have a decent conversation with a woman. This was an unusual situation in that, seeing as how she hadn't already known who and what he was. He was happy that he wasn't dealing with a ringrat. Jay interrupted both of their musings when he joined them. He hopped right over both of them and planted himself in the window seat. Adam made the introductions and Jay proceeded to take over the conversation. The two of them together were hilarious. She had never laughed so much in her life. They were definitely entertaining, making the remainder of the flight seem like a matter of minutes.