Author's Note: Welcome to To Be Loved By You! I'm so glad you're here. I'm also very nervous! This is a new genre for me as I usually write romance with a large serving of mutants, supernatural beings, and world-ending antics. Romance with a side of more romance is not exactly my forte (other than the two very short stories posted here).

Also, I don't know much about the Navy, so I tried my best based on what I can learn on Google and what I know of military life (I was an Army Brat growing up), and what we see in the Top Gun movies.

So while I do love comments and a little constructive criticism, please do go easy on me!

This story takes place just a few years before the events of Top Gun: Maverick. I don't own any characters you recognize.

I really do hope you enjoy the story, guys!

The sun beat down on Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw's back as he walked through the parking lot to his truck. It was summer in Texas and the ocean breeze blowing in from the shore did nothing to alleviate the heat on his skin. It had been a long day of drills and the pressure in the cockpit had been cooler than any time spent standing on the tarmac.

Although he'd enjoyed an adrenaline rush all day, thanks to the advanced G's his fighter jet had reached, he was glad it was over. He needed a drink and a piano.

Unfortunately, he'd have to settle for just the drink, as he had yet to find a bar in the area that could provide him with his musical fix.

He'd only been in Texas for a couple of months and didn't go out often. He spent most of his spare time on base, sifting through every piece of source material he could find on his aircraft and maneuvers. Maybe if he hadn't made it into the naval academy so late, he wouldn't feel so behind. Maybe he would feel like he was able to cut loose more often.

He did enjoy going out to get drinks with his fellow pilots once a week but he hadn't found the time to go out on his own and find a spot he truly enjoyed. The other guys liked the party bars on the island, where the drinks were cheap and the girls were plenty. Brad preferred a more laid-back environment. Somewhere he could enjoy a conversation with a stranger without the sickly sweet promise of one night just because he was a naval aviator. Somewhere with oldies on the radio and a piano he could play against the will of the other patrons.

"Hey," he heard a voice calling from behind him. "Hey, Rooster!" He turned to see Logan, one of the catapult officers in his squadron jogging toward him. Logan was a lanky man, standing a full head above Brad, with floppy raven hair and blue eyes framed in wire glasses. He was a hell of a soldier and Brad enjoyed working with him on drills.

"Hey, Logan. What's up?"

Logan stopped in front of him. "You going out with Robbie and the guys tonight?" Brad had noticed that Logan was one of the few soldiers that played with the line between flight deck personnel and pilot. While the two groups usually stayed apart outside of service, Logan seemed to go where he pleased without question.

"Uh, yeah. I was planning on it. I could really use a drink after today."

"I hear ya, man." The other man drawled. "Well, I'm heading out to meet my girl here in town at a great little place. It's on the beach and it's not full of groupies. You're more than welcome to join us."

Brad found himself biting back his agreement. He didn't really feel like driving out to the island that night, but he didn't want to impose on Logan's time with his girlfriend. "Naw, man. If it's just you and your girl…"

Logan cut him off. "There'll be some other soldiers there, too. Besides, a friend of ours is joining us."

He heard Robbie whistle behind him, signaling to those heading to the island that it was time to go. And Brad found that he just didn't want to. Turning back to Logan, he asked, "Do they have a piano?"

—

Music filled the room as Thea moved behind the wooden bar, wiping glasses and placing them beneath the counter. A small group of men crowded around the jukebox and she recognized them as some of the flight deck soldiers her friend Logan hung out with. They were the only people in the bar so far, but soon it would be full of soldiers looking to blow off steam after a long week.

She turned to the barback on duty as he filled the shelves behind the bar with bottles. "You good, Ryan?"

He didn't stop his task as he answered, "Yeah, I'm almost done here." He did stop to look at her then, as she cleared the last of the glasses from the sink. "You're dad's gonna put you to work for real if he catches you back here."

"Eh," she replied, shrugging. "I'm done here."

"Good," a deep voice came from the other side of the bar. "You can go get the lights on the deck and set it up for the night."

"Told ya," came Ryan's voice from beside her.

Thea looked over to see her father walking up to the bar. He grabbed a clean towel and threw it over his shoulder, where it would remain for the rest of the night. Her father was a large man, standing well over six feet tall with a broad torso and a keen look in his green eyes. Though he had retired from the Marines years before, he remained a menacing sight and could match wits with any soldier that came in the bar.

"Well get going. Crowd will be here soon."

Thea leaned against the bar and smirked up at her father. "I don't work here, you know?"

"Sure looks like it."

"Mom!" She yelled across the bar.

A sable-haired woman looked up from where she was wiping down tables. "Leave her alone, Bill." Her green eyes sparkled as she watched them from across the room.

Thea beamed up at her scowling father. "Yeah. Leave me alone, Pop."

"You're a pain in my ass, girl." His voice was gruff but he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Get out there."

The bell above the door rang as more soldiers walked into the bar. She made her way around the bar and met her mother by the barstools.

"When will your friends be here, honey?" Her mother's sweet voice rang in her ears as she took a seat.

"Soon, Mama. They're both coming from work." She pulled a book from the bag resting on the bar and sat it next to the Rum and Coke her father had set in front of her. "I'm just gonna read 'til they get here."

"She comes to a bar and she reads. It just ain't right," her father mumbled.

Her mother popped her towel over the bar to hit her father's arm. "Oh, Bill."

The two shared a smile before going their separate ways, her father staying behind the bar and her mother heading across the room to greet the soldiers now piling through the door.

She looked around the room. Not much had changed since her parents opened this place over ten years ago. Warm lights were strung against the ceiling of the mahogany room, and the walls were covered in pictures; some were of her and her brother, Charlie and others were of her Pop and his fellow soldiers. She had spent much of her young adulthood in this room and it never ceased to bring her a sense of comfort. It felt like home.

Turning back to face the bar, she picked up the book and began to read, a happy smile on her face. It wasn't long before she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a familiar, "Hey, you!"

She turned to see her friend, Stef, taking a seat next to her. "Hey. How was work?" She shoved the book back into her bag and leaned over the bar to stow it.

"Hi, Mr. Bill," Stef said as her Pop placed a drink in front of the girl and mumbled back a greeting. "It was alright. Couldn't wait to get out of there and start my weekend though." Taking a drink, she looked around. "Is Logan here yet?" It didn't surprise Thea that the other girl was asking about Logan. The two had only recently started dating and spent most of their spare time together.

Thea shook her head. "Haven't seen him." The pair turned to face the room and Thea leaned against the bar with her drink in her hand.

"It's already busy tonight," Stef observed. Thea's attention turned back to the woman next to her. She was small in both frame and stature with long raven hair and large brown eyes. Her friend was definitely a beauty, even if Stef didn't think so.

"Oh, it's because it's summer." Thea shared, looking back to the growing crowd. Summer nights were always busy, especially on the weekend. "Everyone's trying to escape the heat."

Stef hummed her agreement and the two girls started talking while they waited on Logan. Stef shared the latest office gossip and Ryan joined them for some jokes between his work duties.

"Oh, there he is!" Stef exclaimed as she waved toward the door.

Thea turned her attention to the door and saw Logan waving back. Thea sucked in a breath when she saw the man walking next to her lifelong friend. He was tall, although not as tall as Logan, with dirty blonde hair that curled against his forehead and a mustache perched above his top lip. Aviators covered his eyes and he wore jeans paired with a bright Hawaiian shirt.

A gentle jab to her side was meant to bring her attention back to the girl next to her, but the aviators sliding down the bridge of the man's nose and his eyes locked on hers kept her attention captured. "He's cute, Thea!"

"Sure is."

The two men made their way through the crowd, coming to a stop in front of the bar. Logan wasted no time wrapping an arm around Stef's waist and placing a kiss on her cheek. "Hey, babe."

Usually, Thea would love to tease the new couple, but she found she couldn't tear her eyes away from the man standing in front of her.

She heard Stef giggle and ask, "Logan, who's your new friend?"

"Bradley Bradshaw, ma'am." His eyes lingered on Thea's a moment longer before he turned his attention to Stef and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

His voice ran along Thea's spine like silk and she had a feeling she was in trouble.

Stef gave Thea a knowing look through the corner of her eye as she took Bradley's hand. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Stef." She pointed toward Thea and added, "This is Thea."

Hazel eyes found hers again and her skin suddenly felt warm. "Nice to meet you, too, Thea." His large hand took hers and her thoughts temporarily wandered to what those hands would feel like on other parts of her body.

She cleared her throat, trying to shake the thoughts from her mind. "Yeah. Nice to meet you." She smiled up at him and had to admit she was interested in the turn her evening had taken.

"I've told you about him, Stef. That's Rooster," she heard Logan say.

"Rooster?" Thea asked.

Before Bradley could respond, Logan answered, "Yeah. He's one of the pilots on base. That's his callsign."

Thea's eyes widened. She'd heard stories from Logan about some of the maneuvers he'd seen pilots pull off. "Pilot, huh?" He nodded and smiled proudly. "Well, that sounds…"

"Exciting!" Stef interjected, laughing.

"I was gonna say terrifying, actually," Thea smirked up at him.

Bradley laughed, returning her smirk. "Oh, it's both."

"I'm sure it is, Rooster." She turned to the bar behind her, needing to catch her breath under the weight of his gaze. "You guys need drinks."

Logan chuckled next to her. "You working tonight, Thea?"

"You're not the first person to think that," she joked, leaning over the bar again. "Hey, Pop!" She waved to the man behind the bar and he nodded to let her know he'd be there soon.

"Pop?" Bradley questioned.

"Oh, yeah, man. Thea's parents own this place. That," Logan pointed to the other end of the bar where her pop was serving someone, "is Mister Bill." He followed her finger to the door that led to the deck. "Oh and there's Miss Gwen." His hand raised in a wave as he yelled, "Hey, Miss Gwen!"

She returned the wave with a warm smile, then turned back to the order she was taking.

"Don't yell in my bar, boy," her pop grumped as he put down a bottle of Logan's favorite beer.

"Sorry, sir," answered Logan with a smile, knowing he wasn't really in trouble. A perk of practically being raised together was that her pop gave Logan a hard time but never meant it.

Her pop turned his attention to the man now standing behind her. He was close enough to feel his warmth against her skin. "What can I get ya?" her pop asked.

She decided she didn't mind his close proximity when he leaned down so his lips were close to her ear and asked, "What're you drinking?" He pointed to her nearly empty glass.

"Oh, um, rum and coke." She turned just a little to look at him. She was close enough to see how the colors in his eyes mixed together and the scars along his cheek and neck.

"You want another?"

She could only nod.

His eyes left hers. "Another rum and coke and a whiskey neat, sir."

Her father nodded and turned away to get their drinks, but she saw the impressed look in his eyes before he did. It took him only a moment to put their drinks down in front of them. "You need anything, Stef?" he asked, turning to the other woman.

"I'm good, Mister Bill. Thanks." With that, her pop walked away to serve incoming soldiers.

Swiveling back around to face Bradley, she lifted her glass to her lips. "Thanks."

He smiled down at her. "You're welcome."

Still smiling, they both turned their attention to Logan and Stef. "It was hot as hell out there today," Logan complained.

Laughing, Bradley joined the conversation. "Try being in a cockpit."

Stef and Thea looked at each other and shrugged. "I didn't notice," Stef said.

"Seemed fine to me," Thea added, laughing at the face Logan threw her. The four of them fell into easy conversation after that, laughing and cracking jokes with each other. She didn't even realize how much time had passed until her mother came around to ask if they needed refills.

"Thanks, Miss Gwen. We both need another," Logan told her after asking Stef if she wanted another drink.

"And you, Thea?" She asked. "Do you and your friend need anything?"

"Just a coke for me this time," she replied, looking up at Bradley, who had remained close to her throughout the night. "You ready for another?"

He looked at the glass resting on the bar behind her and nodded.

"And a whiskey neat, Mama." She watched as her mother moved behind the bar to get their drinks. As she was making the drinks, her pop moved from his perch at the end of the bar to place a gentle kiss on the woman's cheek.

"They're so cute," Stef gushed.

Miss Gwen laughed as she brought their drinks to them. "I think we're a little old to be cute, dear." Her mother handed Bradley his drink last, her full attention on him. "Now, I haven't seen you in here before, have I?"

"No, ma'am. It's my first time."

"Oh, well you're having a good time, I hope."

He looked down at Thea and she felt heat pool in her cheeks. "Yes, ma'am, I sure am."

"Well.." Thea could swear her mother blushed with every ma'am Bradley gave her. "And what is your name, sweetheart?"

"Bradley, ma'am."

"Bradley, how'd you meet these kids?"

"I work on base with Logan. He invited me here tonight and I have to say I'm glad he did."

Her mother gave her what Logan had dubbed the 'Oh honey' look. I know, Mama Thea thought to herself. "Well so are we." She placed a hand on Bradley's shoulder. "It's nice to meet you Bradley, sweetheart." She began moving back to the bar room. "You kids have a good time tonight."

"Hey," Logan said once Miss Gwen was gone. "Let's get a table out on the deck. One just opened up and it should be plenty cool out there now." They all nodded their agreement and started making their way through the crowded bar.

"Logan," Stef stopped him. "I love this song. Let's dance!"

He looked between the small dance floor and the deck. "You mind taking these out there while we dance?" He motioned to the drinks in both his and Stef's hands.

"Nope," Thea replied, taking Stef's glass while Bradley took Logan's bottle. "Come find us when you're done."

Stef dragged Logan away from them. Laughing, Thea led Bradley through the bar to the deck.