"Baby!"
"Baby!"
"I need your looove!"
"Need your love! Oooooo!"
Bradley had pulled a reluctant Bob onto the stage with him. Bradley was the better singer of the two, but Bob matched him in enthusiasm. Everyone joined in on the last chorus.
"Bring back that lovin' feelin', oh-oh, that lovin' feelin'. You've lost that lovin' feelin' now it's gone … gone … gone, whoa-oh-oh …"
Halo convinced Natasha to sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with her after promising to buy her a glass of sangria. She had started out a little awkwardly, but as the music swelled and, encouraged by Halo, she hammed it up by the time they got to the chorus.
When they finished the group burst into enthusiastic applause. Natasha and Halo made little bows. "Alright, where's my sangria?"
Bob was still applauding Natasha when Seresin flung an arm around his shoulder. He flashed him a saccharine smile. "Bobbyyyy, Bobberino, how ya doin'?"
"What do you want, Hangman?"
"Nothin', just wanna catch up."
"I saw you this morning."
"And I've missed you, buddy. Here, have a drink with me." He was already steering him to the bar.
"No, thanks, I'm not a big drinker, but I'll have a Coke."
"Aw, come on, just one little drinky-poo?"
Bob saw Coyote sidle up to the bar beside Jake. The other pilot flashed him an encouraging smile. Bob gave him a tentative smile. Maybe they were actually trying to be friendly …
Bob was missing his teammates back at Lamoor. Maybe this was a genuine overture of friendship. And if it was … one little drink to lubricate the wheels of social progress wouldn't hurt.
"Ok."
Hangman cheered and Coyote howled.
"What's your poison?"
"Just a shot of Johnny Walker, please."
"Whiskey? Ooo. Goin' for the hard stuff right away? I underestimated you, Bobby."
Bob winced internally. The only people who called him Bobby were his mother, sisters and very old friends, and he liked it that way. Only Hangman could take a familiar nickname and make it into a mockery.
"Just because I choose not to drink doesn't mean I can't handle it."
Jake raised his blonde eyebrows, affecting mild surprise, then he smirked.
"For a PK you surprise me—or maybe I shouldn't be surprised given the reputation of most PK's …"
"You're a PK?" Coyote exclaimed, stifling a chuckle.
Bob's heart sank. Jake must've been somewhere nearby in the gym and he hadn't noticed. Bob prided himself on being hyper-observant, it was part of what made him a good WSO, but he had allowed himself to get distracted by a beautiful, raven haired pilot punching a sandbag.
"My family comes from a long line of Alabama moonshiners," he said.
Coyote raised his eyebrows even further, looking genuinely interested. "Really? I used to watch that reality show on the History Channel, 'Moonshiners'—is it like that?"
"Well, that's in Appalachia. Their whiskey is primarily made with—"
"Aaaaaabsolutely fascinating," Jake cut in as Penny slid three shot glasses of amber liquid to the three airmen. She looked narrowly at Jake and glanced concernedly at Bob before turning to another customer.
Jake lifted his glass, Coyote and Bob followed suit.
"Cheers."
At the dartboard Rooster nudged Natasha.
"Hey, can I have a little more focus, please. I'd like to feel like I genuinely beat you. What do you keep looking at?"
"Jake got Bob to drink and now he's talking to him."
Bradley turned and gave the men at the bar an uninterested glance. "So? Bob's a big boy,
he can take care of himself."
"I know that, it's just … it's Hangman. You know how he is."
"Yeah, he's a bully … but I have a feeling Bob's used to that sort of thing."
Natasha turned on Rooster. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Rooster shrugged. "Well, I mean, look at him."
Natasha was.
"But this isn't high school."
"With Jake, everything is high school."
Natasha smirked. "True."
"Now, come on, focus."
Natasha turned back to the dartboard but after her throw she looked back at the bar.
Bob's face was relaxed, fixed on Jake, but his body was tense.
What was Jake saying to him?
……
"So what's it like when you two are up there? Whaddya talk about?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just making conversation. Must be kind of nice sitting behind Trace. Too bad that big ol' crew station is between you two. I bet it'd be real nice and comfortable being right up against her …"
Gimme tone …
Bob looked calm but Jake's eyes flicked down to see the WSO's fingers whitening around the shot glass …
…..
Natasha began to move but Bradley put an arresting hand on her arm.
"This is between men," he said softly.
Natasha shot him a death glare mixed with hurt.
"What?" Her voice was dangerously low.
"Hey, I'm all for women's lib and all that," Bradley said in an equally low tone, "but these are just facts of life. If you go over there now and get involved you're going to hurt Bob's pride. And besides, Bob's not the real target, anyway."
Natasha watched as Jake turned his head and purposefully locked eyes with her; a slow, smug smirk slid across his fox-like features.
Damn.
Going over there was exactly what Jake wanted her to do. She and Bob were a team, and that's what Hangman was banking on.
Her eyes slid to her tense WSO.
Screw it.
She went to move but Rooster kept his hand on her shoulder. "Put the dart down first."
……
"… You could practice maneuvers on the ground, get a little spooning action in there … just reach forward and grab that ass."
A muscle jumped in Bob's square jaw. He had been staring at the beer taps, but now he turned to pin Jake with a pitying look. "You're really pathetic, Hangman, you know that?"
"And you're blushing. How adorable."
Bob knocked the rest of his whiskey back then slid off the stool. "I don't have to sit here and listen to this. I'm not stupid. I know you're just tryin' to get a rise out of me to harm Phoenix."
"I know she already gets a rise out of you." Jake waggled his eyebrows.
"You can't stand the fact that she's a woman and just as good a pilot as you—better even, because she didn't have to step on others to get there."
"No, just screw the right people."
Even Coyote gasped at that. Bob's hand snapped out and grabbed Seresin's lapel.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bar erupted into cheers and Bob, startled back to his senses, let go of Jake.
"Your round, Lieutenant Seresin!" Penny declared with a wide smile.
"What? What did I do?"
"You disrespected the Navy."
"But, I'm in the Navy."
Penny raised an eyebrow and put her hand on the bell rope. "Yeah, and?"
Jake held up his hands in mock surrender and gave her his most charming smile. "Point taken." As he went for his credit card he spotted Natasha bearing down on them.
"Oh! Here comes mama to the rescue, Baby-on-Board."
Bob's flush of anger became a blush of embarrassment. He turned, intending to escape out the back door, but Natasha put a hand on his back and turned him around to face Jake again, then she draped a casual arm around his shoulder.
"I'll have a gin and tonic." She addressed Penny while staring Jake down. "So what BS has Hangman been slinging now?"
"Oh, the usual," Coyote said with a careless shrug, hoping Phoenix would leave it at that. Jake gave him a "really, man?" kind of look, but let it be. He turned back to Phoenix and Bob and smirked placidly. "Yup, just my usual BS. Your WSO takes everything so seriously."
Natasha gave the tall pilot a brittle smile. "Which is why he's the best WSO." She took a gulp of her gin and tonic. "Thanks for the drink, Bagman. Come on, Bob, let's blow this popsicle stand." Arm still around his shoulder she steered him towards the door.
Bob looked back at Jake and, with a smug grin, he adjusted the bridge of his glasses with his middle finger.
Coyote smothered a laugh. Jake gave a wry chuckle. "Well, well …"
Rooster sauntered up behind Jake and Coyote. "You just never let up …"
Jake flashed him an irritating 1000-watt grin. "I can't help it, button pushing is the Seresin family love language."
"And you always go for the big red ones."
"Oh, I'll find yours soon enough, Bradshaw, don't you worry."
"Whatever, Bagman." He began to make his way toward the piano when Jake spoke again.
"Word of advice …" Against his better judgment, Bradley paused. "You may think you got a lock on her," Jake continued, "but you don't. You'd better make a move on Phoenix before she gets taken by a stealth pilot."
"What? You mean Bob?" Scoffed Bradley.
"It's always the quiet ones you gotta watch out for."
……
The moment they stepped outside Bob's smile faded. He ducked out from under Phoenix's arm, putting distance between them.
"Why did you let Hangmen get in your head? I warned you about that."
"I know, but you didn't hear what he was saying—" Bob swallowed, "—about you."
I can just imagine.
"I've borne the brunt of locker-room talk for a long time without you, Bob, I don't need you to protect me now. A public fight with Seresin would've sent you back to Lamoor and I'd have been paired with another WSO. All our training together would've been wasted."
Bob ran his fingers through his dark blond hair. "I know, I know. I'm sorry."
For a few moments they let the roar of the surf and the night insects do some talking for them before Natasha broke the silence.
"That said … even though I don't need your protection … I appreciate it. Thanks, Bob."
Bob's blue eyes flickered in surprise and then he gave her a gentle smile. "Anytime."
Phoenix looked away, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy. She stretched to cover her discomfort and said, "Well, we got dawn patrol tomorrow, so we should probably head back and get some sleep."
"Yeah."
"You mind giving me a ride back? I came with Rooster and …" strains of "Tutti-Frutti" came floating out of the bar. Phoenix smiled to herself. "… I doubt he's ready to go just yet."
"That's fine. Let me just check with Fanboy and Payback. They rode with me and I want to make sure they have a ride back."
"Should I go with you to make sure you behave?" She asked as he began to walk back to the bar.
Bob rolled his eyes and shot her a rueful grin over his shoulder. "I'll behave."
Natasha watched him step back into the Hard Deck. She folded her arms and sighed; a fond, indulgent smile twitched on her lips.
Who you naturally are is what I like about you, Bob. Don't lose that.
