:) :) I know it's been a while but I have exams, seven of them (/collective gasp) and truly horrible stuff like physics (which of course I haven't studied...writing this instead) and chemistry but I missed writing so here we are! Hope it meets expectations and I'm definitely looking forward to next chapter! ;) Review! It's been scientifically proven to safe endangered species of seals :) :)
Disclaimer: Don't own these guys...I know, it breaks my heart too
"I was waiting for you."
5.
I forgot how to breathe. Just for a moment because Emily Fitch was waiting for me but then I thought about it logically. She probably just didn't want to have to wake up again when I came tromping in and maybe she might have been a little worried about me. We did get back awfully late, even for cadets.
I went to open my mouth to tell her she shouldn't have waited up, that she should have been sound asleep ages ago because now she'd be tired tomorrow but instead, in a tiny small voice I barely recognised as my own, came out, "My sleeping bag got drenched, can I share with you?"
What the hell! I yell at myself because I definitely wasn't meant to say that. Sure I had thought of what would happen if I did on the ride back to HQ but it was a stupid question and an invasion of privacy and she was looking at me so indescribably and making me feel like I had just downed a litre of coke before hula hooping; fizzy and light but at the same time slushy and sick.
Would she just say something already?
Her silence was making the thoughts in my head scream louder and louder until I had to turn away from her eyes, her eyes which usually held so much emotion but now, when I wanted a bit of a reaction, held nothing.
The unzipping of her sleeping bag made me fling back around to face her.
"You coming in or not?"
I forgot how to breathe. Just for a moment because Emily Fitch was waiting for me to get into her sleeping bag. With her. With her sleeping right beside me. I shook my head as I wondered how my life had seemingly changed to much in two lousy days; I would have never been this nervous to jump into bed with anyone before her. But it wasn't anyone, it was Emily Fitch, the girl who I kissed yesterday and the girl who made me feel like my lips were on fire. In a completely good way of course. She wasn't anyone, she was Emily Fitch and I was going to sleep with her...next to her.
I was shivering as I climbed in beside her and I can't tell if it's because of my still wet clothes or from her being so close to me. I peeled my jumper off, laying it out on my pack and hoping it would dry out, groaning as I realised my shirt was damp too. I slowly undid it, feeling like I was stripping myself completely by the way I could feel her eyes burning my skin even though I've got another tight t-shirt on under it.
With everything laid out, I went to zip up our sleeping bag but it was so much smaller than I had thought and I heard her breath hitch when my hand hit bare skin as I shuffled closer.
The bare skin of her leg.
I knew that technically you were supposed to wear as little clothing as possible in the sleeping bags to make you warmer but even though when I spaced out on the drive back I was thinking exactly this I really wasn't expect her to not be wearing pants. It didn't mean I wasn't enjoying it though. I must have been a saint in a past life to deserve this.
I tried to ignore my harsh breathing as I zipped up the sleeping bag, forcing me even closer to the red-head beside me. I was effectively spooning her now and while the feeling was amazing, like every nerve in my body had spontaneously caught fire, I didn't think I would be getting much sleep. Her bright red hair rested on the sleeping bag right in front of me and I couldn't physically resist the urge to lightly drag my fingers through it, feeling how soft it was and looking at the colour of it next to my pale hand. I definitely wasn't getting any sleep.
"Reveille!" started echoing around the hootchie site but my mind and body were too groggy to do much. As my senses slowly woke up one by one I breathed in, my head instantly filled with the smell of Emily and my hand felt extra warm as I realised it was resting gently on the pale skin of her arm. Christ that had been a good sleep, I don't think I'd been that warm my whole time at cadets and waking up to the smell of Emily, her red hair brushing my face and making my itch? Well that was just a bonus.
"Oi girls," a voice way to close to be good for either of us said. "It's reveille..." His voice trailed off as he peered into the hootchie, seeing me shooting up from where I had been spooning Emily seconds before. "What are you two-"
"Emily," I said harshly, cutting off anything he might have said to shake her awake. I didn't want to be late for reveille. "You have to wake up now."
She was too adorable and I had to look at the guy who was still staring mutely into the hootchie or else I wouldn't have been able to keep the smile off my face. "Can I help you?" I said harshly to the poor guy who snapped out of shocked state and quickly walked over the reveille spot. "You ready yet Ems?" I asked, my gaze flicking over to her and the breath getting knocked out of me as I saw her pale legs on display. "Christ," I whispered, hoping that it was quiet enough for not to hear but the tiny smirk on her tired face told me otherwise. It was insane that Emily had me captivated by something like that.
"Nearly," she said, the huskiness usually present in her voice increased a tenfold in her sleepy state and it pulled on something inside me. Something deep inside me and my mind flickered back to the kiss and the feeling of her tongue sliding smoothly across mine. I stumbled out of the hootchie hoping that the cool morning air would clear my mind of stupid things like that.
It didn't.
It wasn't even five-past six and already I couldn't control my mind. It looked like that day was going to be even longer then last night.
The sweat was literally running down my back and it was disgusting how hot it was especially after it being so cold the night before. Sand blew into my face in a giant cloud and for the thousandth time I cursed that I was so much stronger than the fourteen year olds around me. Lifting hundreds of sandbags across dusty ground was not fun at all.
As usual, as I trekked across the short space between the pit and where we were meant to be building some sort of improvised town, I kept an eye out for red. Knowing she was somewhere near me but not knowing where was sending my nerves to pieces and every time I caught a flash of red out the corner of my eye my head whipped around to look closer. Most of the time it was a leaf of some sort but occasionally I caught a glimpse of something that was definitely her and it was those glances that kept me looking each time.
When the officer called stopped us all for a break I stalked off into the bush to take off my undershirt, certain parts of my anatomy preventing me from stripping off right there like the rest of the guys were doing and it was with mild fascination and confusion that I realised, even though there were some older fairly cute guys in our section, I wasn't at all interested in perving on them despite their various states of six packs. I was only thinking about when Emily's group would rejoin ours for this break.
When I was far enough away that the pervy bastards wouldn't be able to see me I quickly undid my camo shirt, only pausing to feel the cool air move past my body when I had my restricting black t-shirt from underneath removed.
Now I know what you might be thinking, she just stood in the middle of the bush in her bra? It sounds mad but I was far enough away from the group to be worried about them and the scrub was thin enough that I could see if anyone was coming. Plus I had on my really cute bra with stars on it.
Everything was so much more bearable when you were wearing a pretty bra.
But back to me half naked in the bush. With no one around for a good one hundred metres I really didn't expect to be running into her but of course fate was having a great time screwing with me and it was only the burning feeling across the whole of my body that made me whirl around, not completely startled to see her standing there, camo shirt hanging undone to reveal a small yellow singlet. Of course someone like Emily wouldn't be in the usual black, green or brown under her army gear. Of course someone like Emily would have to splash a bit of colour somewhere and of course Emily would have to be wearing a top that was going slightly see through from what looked like half a canteen of water over it. My attempts to cool down suddenly backfired and I was hotter than ever.
"Sorry," she said, her voice so low it was like she knew what it did to me. "I didn't think anyone was here." Her cheeks were nearing the colour of her hair and I watched spellbound as the flush ran down her neck until it disappeared down the yellow of her vest top.
I cleared my throat and my head, looking back up at her brown eyes. "It's fine," I replied, pulling the green and brown shirt on quickly and trying to do up the buttons with shaking hands. "I'll be out of your way in a second."
My whole body was burning and it looked like she was going to say something but I was on my way back to everyone else before she could say anything. How could I sort out what I was feeling when she looked at me like that? How could I sort out my feelings when she looked like that?
I abandoned my lunch break after that; unable to keep unwanted thoughts away unless I was back working hard. I carried sandbag after sandbag until the officer came up to me, half yelling at me to sit down or at least do easier work. I resisted for as long as possibly could but when he finally barked out 'that's an order“ I grumpily trudged over to the pile of empty sandbags and, like he requested, started laying them out of folding them nicely.
I nearly shot myself in the head as I watched fourteen year olds half my height try to lug the sandbags and I only sat down folding until the officer was watching someone else before I grabbed a bag off a little kid right before he was about to fall over.
Red.
That's all I was focussing on and it wasn't until a shout from my corporal got me moving again, my eyes not obeying my brain and straying back towards where she was walking, a whole line of cadets behind her that I couldn't even see; only her.
Only red.
