After breakfast he dropped her off at her house. From the outside, it looked lovely. It was made of concrete and was apparently two-stories high. In the driveway was parked an Audi SUV and he imagined it was hers.
"You're not far from base here," he said as he turned off the ignition.
"No. The base is a fifteen-minute walk from here."
"Good to know," he answered. "What time can I pick you up?"
It was nearing 10 and she was exhausted. She also knew she had things to do around the house.
"I'm going to go to sleep for a couple of hours, then I need to run some errands. How about 7?"
"I'll be here."
She grabbed her things from the backseat, opened the door and stepped out. She closed the door and then smiled at him.
"Thanks for breakfast. I had a nice time."
"So did I. Sleep tight and I'll see you later."
"OK. Bye."
"Bye."
He watched her go up the stone path that led to the front door and waited for her to disappear inside before starting back up the car and driving back to base.
He walked into the barracks smiling and whistling a tune he had no idea of.
He settled on his cot and took out a book and started reading. After an hour, he realized he kept reading the same page repeatedly. His mind kept wandering to Olivia, their conversation and how she had agreed to go out to dinner with her.
He stood, changed, and headed to the gym for some cardio. After what seemed like an eternity, he glanced at his watch. It was noon. Damn, another seven hours of waiting… what the hell was he going to do with them?
He headed back to the barracks, showered, and changed back into his uniform so that he could head to the mess for lunch.
Javy waved him over once he had placed his lunch on the platter.
"You were up at the crack of dawn," he said as Jake sat down across from him.
"I was on a mission."
"Oh, shit, man are they flying us out? I really like being here and don't really feel like putting an end to my activities with Kiley."
"Not that kind of mission. It was personal."
Javy raised a curious brow in his direction.
"What did this personal mission entail?"
"Getting Olivia to have breakfast with me."
Javy looked around the room. "You mean Cyclone's woman?"
"I think that may be a bit too formal."
"I'm confused. Is she or is she not with Cyclone? Who I want to remind you is a Vice Admiral."
"Vice Admiral or not, I don't think he's what she really wants."
"And how have you come to that conclusion?"
"We talked over breakfast. Did you know that she doesn't even know if they are exclusive or not?"
"No, but what's your point?"
"You don't see it?"
"No. Humor me."
"A guy like Cyclone manages to land himself a doctor and he doesn't even make it somewhat official after six months?"
Javy shrugged. "Maybe it's understood, and he doesn't feel the need to say it because it seems logical."
Jake shook his head. "No… not buying that. If I were in a relationship with someone like her for more than a month, I'd make sure she knew it was exclusive and I'd want the same from her. Heck, six months in, I'd probably ask her to marry me."
Javy' eyes shot wide open. He leaned over the table and placed the back of his hand on Jake's forehead.
"What are you doing?" asked Jake as he brushed Javy' hand away.
"I'm making sure you're not running a temperature."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because in the space of two sentences you said the word 'exclusive' and alluded to marriage."
Jake smiled. "You're right, I did."
Javy shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know this girl, but she's got you turned upside down."
"She's amazing."
"You hardly know her."
"That's why I plan on getting to know her more."
"And how do you plan on doing that, exactly, without Cyclone knowing about it?"
"Lucky for me, Cyclone is, as of this morning, on board an aircraft carrier for an undetermined period."
"You are one lucky SOB, you know that?"
"I know. And even more so since she agreed to go out to dinner with me tonight."
"Well, if you plan on winning her over, you better make it memorable."
"That my friend, is the plan."
