21 Marine Salute: 21 Always a Marine Tales (58 page)

Mary grinned. “And you made a million bucks?”

“Yeah. She apparently got behind in the bookkeeping that year. I was buried in classes and design and didn’t notice. She took a long weekend and caught it all up and then gave me an earful about being more on top of what I was doing. We got a lawyer and an accountant the next day.”

His mother was the best thing that ever happened to him. She worked two jobs and put herself through school. She bought a house for them during junior high just to get him into a better school and the mortgage half killed her. Paying off that house was the first thing he did with his income and buying her a better one came next.

“That’s—funny as hell actually.” Mary laughed. “I can’t imagine having a million bucks and not even realizing it.”

“It’s never been about the money. I like designing software and I always tried to make the next one and keep my grades up. People actually liked them and apps got popular in the last few years—that made a huge difference.”

“Okay, tell me a program you wrote. Let’s see if I know it.” She propped her chin in her hand and stared at him, her deep black eyes like pieces of the starry sky plucked down to glimmer at him.

He considered it and took a long drink of the coffee. “VerifyIt.”

“Fact-checker software—you wrote that?”
How hot is it that she actually recognizes the little program that could
?

“Yep. Started off as just something I wrote for myself to help with papers, later it turned out to be pretty lucrative. I modified it last year after all the reports about bad facts in the news and political speeches. You input a statement and it looks it up, runs a Boolean search on about four different search engines, collates the data and gives you results.”

“But how does it know that it’s found ‘facts’ and not just an op ed piece or a fauxpedia entry?”

Her tongue skated across her lower lip and his blood drained south. It actually took him a minute to remember the answer.

“It has an algorithm. It compares the websites it locates to a table of data from location to meta entries, to number of visits, to sources used by the page. For example, if it’s a dot org, because most of those are far more regulated than a dot com, it will give it more weight. If it’s a dot edu it will give that more credibility, too. It can’t tell you that a fact is absolutely true, but it can tell you where to find the information that supports or debunks it.”

“No wonder you made a fortune on that. That’s so cool. Go you.” She drained the last of her coffee and stood. He rose with her and sighed. She probably wanted to return to her run, but he could sit there and talk for hours.

“Thanks. Hey, before you go—” He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Call me before you leave? Maybe we can grab dinner and catch up some more.”

“Got a phone on you?” She took his card and slid it into her sports bra. Yeah, that didn’t help his scrambled thought process any.

He pulled his phone out and she rattled off a series of digits. “That’s my cell. Call it and not my house and yeah, I’d love to get dinner.” She pressed her fingers to her throat and slipped her iPod back into its snap at her waist. “It was good to see you, Kyle.”

“You too, Mary.” Uncertain whether a hug would be appropriate, he held out his hand and she gave it a quick squeeze. Electricity sizzled through his nervous system. She winked, tucked her earbuds into place and jogged off.

She didn’t have her cell phone on her…so he dialed the number. He listened to the quick message that answered as he watched her run down the street. “Hey, Mary, it’s Kyle. What are you doing tonight?”

“So he called you before you were even out of sight?” Jazz’s tinny voice echoed from the speaker phone. “Not sure whether that’s creepy or sweet.”

“Sweet.” Mary checked her appearance in the mirror. The buttercream silk dress drifted against her skin like heaven. She skipped jewelry completely, preferring to wear a watch. But she gave a concession to the dress and chose a gold watch. The overstuffed jewelry box on her dresser offered her a wide selection. She didn’t recognize several pieces. Her mother had been shopping again. “Definitely sweet.”

Smoothing a hand over her hair, she shifted sideways to check her silhouette. She’d bought the dress three years before on another leave, but never had an excuse to wear it. The sleeveless top and gathered bodice made it an ideal evening casual dress. Fortunately, it seemed she’d lost a few pounds rather than put any on. Not that she dressed to impress anyone.

“You like him.” Masculine laughter burst out in the background and faded as though Jazz moved away from her fiancés—
two of them
. Just the idea made Mary laugh. She would settle for one guy, and her best friend had two.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I do but it’s not a kink thing. It’s a he-was-a-decent-guy-in-high-school thing.” She chewed her lower lip. “Lipstick or no lipstick?” She couldn’t quite decide.

“You planning to kiss him?” The bed squeaked and Jazz let out a sigh. She still went to physical therapy three or four times a week. She didn’t have all of her mobility back and occasionally her calls were punctuated with swearing about her leg, but if she didn’t bring it up, neither did Mary. Jazz lived—that’s all Mary cared about.

“No. It’s two people getting together for a meal and to catch up, not one of your sex dates.” The prim note in her voice reminded her of her mother and she winced.

“Hey, my sex date turned out freaking awesome and you asked me for all the details. And if you’re not going to kiss him, wear lipstick so he wants to kiss you.”

The advice made sense, and the laughter in the other Marine’s voice warmed her. “Yes, your sex date was awesome. But this isn’t the same thing.”

“You can still sign up. I have all the info and the referral if you want it.” She must have covered the phone, because her words muffled. “Out, this is girl time, boys. We can play strip poker later.”

Another soft burst of laughter washed over the end of her words.

“Sorry about that. Anyway, what was I saying?”

“You were trying to hook me up. Maybe you’d like to share one of yours—you know since you have two,” she teased.

“Yeah, no.” Jazz replied, cheerfully. “And I mean it. I know it sounds weird, but that 1Night Stand lady—she knows what she’s doing.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. In the meantime, I’ll settle for my vanilla dinner date with the hot millionaire who knows how to treat a lady—” She cleared her throat and glanced at her watch. She ran well ahead of time. She’d told Kyle she would meet him, but he really wanted to pick her up. Capable of getting herself from point to point, his insistence flattered her.
And it doesn’t hurt that having a man pick me up will get my mother off my back
.

“Millionaire? I thought you said he sold his company.”

“Hence the millionaire, although I have no idea how much money he made.” Mary crossed over to the frilly window seat and sat down. She eased her feet into strappy sandals. She hated heels—she’d spent too many years strutting across a stage in stilts. She’d prefer to wear her boots, but they definitely didn’t go with the dress.

“You don’t care either.” Ever practical, it was one subject she and Jazz agreed on wholeheartedly. Money made life easier, but it sure as hell didn’t make a person worth knowing.

“Nope. He’s really cute—I tried to find my yearbooks to see if he showed that potential back then. I mean he was always smart and polite and sweet, but
dayum
. He got fine.”

Jazz laughed. “Well then get off the phone with me and go knock him dead. Are you wearing lipstick?”

She lied. “Yep.”

“S’okay, let him kiss it off. I bet it looks better on him anyway.”

“Bitch.”

“I love you, too. Oh, fine. Logan, don’t turn on the football game. Anything but that.”

The mock horror in Jazz’s voice sent another ripple of laughter through Mary. The phone disconnected and she sighed.

After damn near losing her to that IED, she liked hearing Jazz’s voice on the other end of the phone. She would love it more when she got a good look at her in person, and in two weeks she would. She glanced at her watch again…ten minutes until he picked her up. Would he be punctual or annoying?

Kyle turned the car in a quiet U-turn to slide up to the valet stand in front of the Nucleus. It was a blues-meets-jazz-meets-modern club that had opened the year before. The laid-back mood inside seemed perfect for chatting and they often featured local musicians, but the food—yeah, he chose the place for the food.

Mary studied the blue electric lights illuminating the club name. “I don’t remember this place.”

“It’s new.” The valet opened her door and another came around to take his keys. She waited on the sidewalk, looking better than a million bucks. “But I think you’ll like it. You remember that old drive-in that used to host Freaky Friday movies?”

“Oh, the Gemini. Yeah, I heard they shut it down.” The last of a dying breed, the lingering holdout to a bygone era couldn’t compete with the move to digital and multiplexes with their one hundred-and-twelve screens. “Which is sad. The sound quality sucked, but it was a great place.”

“Exactly.” He grabbed the door of the club and opened it. She gave him a bemused smile and strolled inside. “The guys that own this place? Owned the Gemini.”

“Oh, God.” She stopped. “Please tell me they serve—”

“Green chile chili fries? Oh yeah, baby. Yes, they do.” Her delight made the surprise completely worth it. The fire hot chili fries tasted beyond excellent and the most popular item served at their little snack shack on the Gemini property.

Mary put a hand over her heart and beamed. The wattage in her smile sent electricity zinging through him. “I think I love you.”

“Just wait till you eat them. You’ll be mine.” He winked and her laughter buoyed him. They didn’t have to wait long. As soon as he’d decided to ask her out, he called in a reservation. The club décor—like the music—mingled classic with the modern. They had a booth near the stage and she slid right in, scooting around so they sat near the center of the horseshoe.

They gave their drink orders to the hostess and Mary reached for the card on the table advertising the evening’s entertainment. “This is nice.”

“I like it. When I heard they planned to open it, I checked it out for nostalgia. But I come back because it’s worth it.”

She ran her finger down the center of the card. Her teeth scraped across her lower lip and for a moment, he envied their ease of contact. What would it be like to kiss her? His dick stiffened and he shifted.

“So, tell me about you and life in the Marines.”
Yes, remember she is a Marine and can kick your ass with a hand tied behind her back
.

“Well I—” She paused while the waitress delivered the drinks, wine for her and a rum and coke for him. Since he drove, it would be his only drink of the night. “Do we want to order or wait?”

“I think we can agree the green chile cheese fries are a must.” He lifted his eyebrows at the gleam in her eyes. Her thumbs up made him chuckle. He looked at the waitress. “Double up the order if you please.”

“And napkins. We’ll need more,” Mary tacked on. She crossed her legs under the table and his gaze dropped to the flash of cocoa thigh and he sighed a little. Glancing up, he met her bemused gaze. “See something you like?”

“Very nice muscles. You can probably crack me like a walnut.” Ten years ago, he’d have probably turned redder than ketchup saying something like that, but now he just smiled.

Her very inelegant and unladylike snort cracked him up. “We may yet have time to test that theory.”

“I can hardly wait.” And he meant it. “But you were going to tell me about the Marines.”

“What do you want to know?” She sipped her wine and amusement crinkled the corners of her eyes.

What did he want to know? “Not to be blunt but Marines seems a little butch, all things considered.”

“Absolutely and part of the appeal. I wanted to be more than the sum of my parts. I wanted to engage my brain and be used for more than just a pretty face strutting across a stage.” Her mouth twisted. “Don’t get me wrong, you can raise a lot for charity and put the spotlight on a lot of worthwhile issues when you have that tiara on, but I got tired of being ‘just that girl.’ You know, the one who won that beauty contest.”

He nodded. “I’m guessing rocking a swimsuit didn’t help your bid to enlist?”

“They didn’t care. Oh, they gave me crap in boot—I was Combat Barbie for years—but, I didn’t care. I proved myself. They had my back, I had theirs.”

His rum and coke went down the wrong windpipe at the Barbie comment. “Okay, forgive me, but I can’t picture you in uniform.”

Twisting, she opened her purse and brought out her phone. Flipping through the images, she held it over to him. She stood in front of a sandstone building, the yellowish landscape a barren backdrop to the three women in the center, all dressed in fatigues, helmets and carrying very big guns. He enlarged the image with a swipe of his thumb and forefinger. “Wow, it’s hard to tell which one is you, but I think you’re the tallest one.”

“Yep. That’s Jazz on my left and on the other side of her is Roxy. We were part of the same FET.”

“FET?” He passed the phone back reluctantly, curious about what other pictures she might have stored on it.

“Female Engagement Team. We work with the women and girls in the outlying villages and in the cities. We offer them opportunities, listen to their concerns, get them feedback and answer their questions. We’re liaisons for the U.S. forces there and do our best to help them get the aid they might need.” She thumbed across the camera and held up another image. “Those are some of the girls now enrolled in one of the schools we helped build.”

“Cool.” It deserved far more than just a ‘cool,’ but bowing down with an ‘I’m not worthy’ seemed like overkill.

She flicked to another one. “And these are their mothers.” Pride and respect filtered through her voice. A quiet sense of awe slipped through him. “They’re enrolled, too. And that was no easy task, let me tell you. This one here? Sovra is studying education so she can actually teach the children in her village as they get older, and Johnara wants to specialize in women’s medicine. She’s already a midwife, so it’s actually just a matter of giving her access to more information.”