Once the USS George Washington ported, all sailors and crew disembarked. It was a beautiful day in Guam. Not too hot, not too humid, just the right everything.
Some of the sailors were stationed in Guam and were greeted by family and friends.
As Javy, Jake, Bradley, and Natasha passed by a sailor reuniting with his girlfriend or wife, she smiled.
"Now Jake, tell me that is not something you want."
Jake shifted his attention and gave a quick look. The couple was kissing and hugging. It was obvious they were in love and happy to be together.
"Nope."
She frowned. "How is that even possible? Who could not want that?"
He shrugged. "It's just not who I am."
"It's obvious you have trust and attachment issues. Who screwed you up?"
Jake ignored her and kept walking.
Bradley took off his sunglasses and grimaced.
"What is Cyclone doing here?"
They all shifted their attention to where Bradley was looking and stopped walking.
"Maybe a new mission?" said Natasha.
"Either that, or our worst nightmare," replied Javy.
Jake resumed walking towards the main building to get his barrack assignment.
"Ain't no one raining in on my parade, not even Cyclone."
Javy followed him as Bradley and Natasha staid put watching Cyclone talking with a few officers.
"Well, I guess we'll know soon enough," replied Bradley.
He gently touched Natasha's elbow to get her attention.
"You want to go out and grab a bite to eat later on tonight?" he asked when she looked at him.
"You mean off base?"
"Yeah. We've been confined on that aircraft carrier for two months, don't really feel like being confined here on base tonight."
She shrugged. "I'll think about it and let you know. Right now, I just want to get settled in."
"Sure," he replied as he nodded and resumed walking.
Javy and Jake walked inside Jeff's Pirate Cove. It was a bar and BBQ place located in the southern village of Ipan-Talofo. They wore civilian clothes because they had been sick and tired of being in uniform and even if sometimes the uniform attracted women, they preferred at least to start the evening and stay in Guam being low profile.
They walked up to the bar and Javy smiled at the barmaid. She was about their age and had long black hair and amazing green eyes.
"What can I get you guys?" she asked as she wiped the bar with a towel.
Jake looked at the menu.
"I'll have a Budweiser," he said as he put the menu back down on the bar.
The barmaid nodded then shifted her attention back to Javy. He was looking at her still smiling.
"I'll have the same."
"OK, two Buds coming right up."
She headed down the bar to one of the fridges and took out two bottles. She uncapped them then brought them over.
"There you go. That'll be 13 dollars."
Javy leaned in on the bar. "We're going to be here for a while. Would you agree to open a tab for us?"
"Sure. What's your name?"
"Javy. What's your name?"
She wrote his name on the receipt and placed it along with the others already open.
"Kiley."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kiley."
She laughed. "Well, if you don't pay your tab before you leave, it won't be so much of a pleasure."
"Not what I had in mind."
"Good," replied Kiley before heading over to another section of the bar and took care of some other patrons. Javy turned and placed his back against the bar, just as Jake was doing and scanned the room.
"I need a plan B," said Javy still scanning the room and assessing the possibilities. "Just in case Kiley ends up being a dead end."
He turned his head and looked at Jake. "You've got a plan A?"
"Not yet," he replied as he scanned another part of the bar. "But the night is still young."
"Let's go play darts," said Javy.
"Yeah, good idea."
They walked over to where the dart board was and started to play.
The advantage of its location was that it was in direct view with the bar and every chance he got, Javy made eye contact and smiled at Kiley. Luckily for him, she seemed to respond each time, but he was wondering if it was because she was interested or if it was because she was simply being forthcoming.
They were on their second game and a few women had tried to get Jake's attention but even if he was looking at having a good time with no strings attached, he wanted there to be at least some sort of attraction and it wasn't the case. Maybe in the end, things would have been easier if they had stayed on base and stuck to 'their peers' he thought to himself.
"Hey Kiley, can I have a Blue Moon?"
Jake who had been aiming at the bull's eye, lowered his dart and shifted his attention to the bar. Even though there were a lot of people and quite some noise, for some unknown reason, the voice had reached him and gotten his attention.
He moved his eyes up and down the bar and stopped once he saw her. She was stunning. She had long brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders and encircled her face almost like the mane of a lioness, even though only lions had manes, but who cared. Her almond shaped eyes were the color of cinnamon, maybe a bit darker when not directly in the light, he'd have to see it to confirm. And her smile… wow, it was captivating and communicative, as he smiled just looking at it.
He watched as the barmaid brought over the beer bottle.
"Here you go Liv."
"Thanks. Place seems busier than it's been for a while."
Jake kept looking at her, the dart frozen in mid-air. Her voice… it was soft, melodious and music to his ears. It was indeed what had gotten his attention first and he was happy to see he liked everything else she had to offer.
Kiley leaned on the bar. "Yeah, ship ported so I think a lot of sailors are out looking either to decompress or have a good time."
"I guess that would explain it."
She took a sip of her beer.
"How about you? What's on your agenda for the night?"
"Me? Nothing. Just winding down a couple of extremely busy days… I won't stay long."
She scanned the room. "Where is Jeff?"
"You know him. Any chance he has at working the floor and speaking to everyone, he's doing it… so he must be around. You should try to hunt him down; I know he'd be disappointed if he missed you."
She smiled. "I don't see him here, so I'll go have a look in the back section. See you later Kiley."
