Double Threats Forever (6 page)

“Damn, we’re winning again. That looks hot!” Josh says.

“Where did you disappear to again?” I ask. His smile says it all. “Did you tell Shayna to cheer for us?”

“What do you think?” he asks, his palms to the air.

“I’d be surprised if you said anything at all. You have lip gloss all over your face,” Keesh teases him.

He scrubs his hands all over his mouth. “Do I really?”

We all start cracking up. Keesh points to him and says, “Gotcha.”

“Looks like I’m the mac daddy again,” Josh says, tossing an arm around both me and Keesha.

“You wish,” Keesh says, removing his arm.

He puts it back, then gathers her in a headlock before he makes a loud kissing noise to the side of her head.

“Don’t fight it, girls. You know you want a piece of this. I’ll take care of you while your men are away. Wouldn’t want you to be lonely.”

I scoot away from him, and go to Keesh’s side and pull her away from him. “Oh, we’re not lonely.” Stepping face to face with my friend, I slowly slide my hands down her sides to her waist and then rest them on her ass. She hangs her hands around my neck and we inch closer together little by little, creating the ultimate suspense as we lean in for a kiss. But just before our lips touch, we both back away. “Just kidding,” I say as we walk past Josh.

“Oh my god. You guys are killing me.” He jogs to catch up with us. “Do it again. Please.”

“Shut up, horndog. Let’s go dance and maybe we’ll put on a show for you later.” Keesh tugs on his hand and leads him to where everyone’s dancing in Eric’s backyard.

“I’ll do whatever you want if you do that again.”

He’s such a guy. Watching him and Travis kiss would
not
make my panties wet at all. But watching two girls together makes a guy want to blow his load. I don’t get it.

I lift my hands in the air as I shimmy on the dance floor mixing with all the people who are already sweaty from getting their groove on. The song switches and Pitbull blares through the speakers. Oh yeah. Time to get this party started.

Everyone starts rapping, “I party like a rock star … ” My body immediately responds to the familiar beats. By the time the song is over, Keesh and I are in the center of a circle of dancers. Everyone is watching and yelling, “Go girl, go girl,” as we break it down, getting low to the ground and rising back up again with each thrust of our hips.

I step away from the crowd to catch my breath as a new song starts.

“I knew that would get you going,” Eric says, holding out a red plastic cup to me.

I take it and look inside. “Beer?”

He nods.

“Hey, great game. Three field goals. You’re kicking butt.”

“Thanks.” His smile widens. I’m sure I’m not the only one to compliment his game. “Where’s the rest of the gang?”

“Date night for the couples.” I feign gagging with a finger to my mouth.

“That’s okay. You look like you’re having fun without them.”

“I am. School’s been insanely difficult. I miss Ben like crazy. So it’s nice to just let go and dance.”

“You haven’t heard from him yet?” I shake my head. “Has Alex?” A little shake again. “He’ll get in touch as soon as he can. Finish your drink so we can dance.”

I drain my cup and set it down on a nearby table.

Eric holds out his hand and I take it. With his other hand he pulls his iPod out of his pocket and runs his thumb through a bunch of songs. “Got it.” He taps on the screen.
The Anthem
begins as he pushes his device back in his pants. He lifts his hands and starts clapping to the beat. “Let’s see what you got, Meggie.”

Chapter 6

While the school days seem to go by so slow, it still doesn’t feel like I have enough hours in the day to get more work done. I’m killing myself with the math homework to ensure I get extra credit on the tests. I need as much help as I can get. I’m sure I failed the last one. I haven’t gotten anything higher than a C on any of the ones before.

I drag myself to physics. Alone and feeling sorry for myself. I basically have back to back math classes. And it’s getting on my nerves.

The door opens almost knocking me out. I put my hands up just in time to catch it and I slide past other students on their way out.

And that’s when I see him.

“Hey, Meg.” Brody sucks me into a tight embrace pushing our faces together. I throw my arms around him and kiss his cheek. My day just got better.

“Omigod. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you. I missed you all summer.” And I really did. My geeky lab partner from chem last year totally grew on me. And I kept wondering how his love life was working out. I expected him to text me all break with questions about what to do in the girl department, but he didn’t. I can count on one hand how many times we connected.

“I missed you too. That’s why I switched classes. Shit’s been crazy busy so I figured this would be the ultimate Megster-Brodster time.”

“How did you manage that?”

“Mr. Dunhill loves me. He even let me sit next to you, lab partner.” His smile reaches all the way to his eyes.

“Get a room,” Amy sneers as she pushes past us.

I look at Brody and realize we’re still locked in each other’s arms. He shrugs.

“A room? Why? When I could do it Amy style and drop my pants in a dirty restroom.”

“Amy. Megan. That’s enough,” Mr. Dunhill says as he enters the room from the other door that leads to his supply room. “Keep it up and I’ll send you to see Mrs. Flores.”

“No, thank you,” Amy protests.

I step away from Brody. “Sorry, Mr. D. But I don’t mind. We go way back. We’re her regulars.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he says. “Just sit down and be quiet.”

Brody and I retreat to our desk in the back of the room and spend the rest of the class catching up by writing notes back and forth in my notebook.

Now, if only he could be in my calculus class too, everything would be perfect.

After checking the mailbox when I get home from school, I stop in the kitchen and drop a stack of ads and envelopes on the kitchen counter.

“Anything?” Mom asks.

“Nope.”

Dad puts a hand on my shoulder. “Just keep writing him. He’s reading your letters and I’m sure he appreciates them. He’ll write when he’s able to and when he’s ready.”

“I know. But it sucks. I thought it was hell when Alex left the first time but at least I could still talk to him. I can call him right now if I wanted. But I can’t call Ben.”

“Honey, you have no idea what the military is like. The little time he has to himself, he’s probably just trying to recover from all the training, both mental and physical. You need to stop moping and think about him. Be supportive.”

Oh great. Now my dad is giving me a lecture. “I am supportive. I didn’t throw myself at his feet and hold on to his leg while he was leaving.” Though I considered it. I even thought about running him over with Josh’s truck. Just to break his leg. Nothing serious. Just enough to deem him disabled and unfit for war.

“I bet you wanted to,” Mom says.

My dad and I chuckle. “I did.”

“Next time you write, just make sure to tell him you’re proud of him and you’re honored to have him as a friend. Tell him you feel safer knowing he’s out there protecting you.” My dad runs his palm down the back of my hair. I look up at him and he gives me a sympathetic smile.

“Thanks, Dad. I will.”

Dear Recruit Ben Calloway,

Hey! It’s me again. Remember me? Haha. How could you forget? How many letters have I sent you? Like one a day, and twice on some. I should just send you a book. But that’s not allowed, so little notes will have to do.

No packages? What if I wanted to send you nudie magazines? Or what if a girl wanted to send you her panties sprayed with perfume? No fun! But I guess you’re not there for fun. Don’t worry though. I’ll take up a collection of worn chonies from the girls at school and they’ll be waiting for you when you get to visit. Ok. Maybe not. That sounds gross.

Anyway, you’re about half way done with boot camp, right? So are you studly hot now, with ripped abs, and hulking biceps? I bet you’re saying, “I wasn’t before?” Yes, I know you. And no, you weren’t. Hot, maybe. Studly, no. Haha. JK.

I won’t tell you I miss you. Because you know I do. I just wanted to tell you that I’m proud of you. I haven’t said it before but I don’t want you to think I’m not. It takes a lot of guts to do what you’re doing. And I for one am glad that I have you to thank for protecting my freedom. You’re one of the smartest, most caring people I know, and you deserve to be happy. If this is what does it for you, then I’m thrilled you found it.

Semper Fi, Marine.

Love ya,

Your Little One

“Since when do I have a doctor’s appointment?” I ask my mom as I slide into the passenger seat of her car. She’s never taken me out of school early before.

“Since you got this in the mail.” She hands me a letter sized white envelope with my name scrawled across the front. “I didn’t want you to have to wait any longer.”

I reach across the console and squeeze my mom to death. Tears flood both our eyes. I’m so happy I can hardly think. “Thank you. You’re the best, you know that?”

“Hey, I do what I can.”

She pulls away from the curb and flips a bitch to go towards our house. I hold the letter in my lap, studying Ben’s penmanship. I’ve never been so excited to see my name in print before. But here it is.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” My mom glances at me with concern.

I’m still smiling. “Not yet. I’ll wait till we get home. I wanna sit on my bed and concentrate when I read it.”

“Dad was right. He said letters wouldn’t start coming until he was more than half way through training. Even though he’s training to protect our freedom, he doesn’t get much of his own.”

“Yeah, I know that. It’s just that I’m not really known for my patience.”

“You got that right, sister.”

Hey Lil 1,

Thanks for all the letters. I feel like a celebrity around here. You guys are all keeping me entertained with your stories. I’d say I miss you all but it’s like I haven’t missed anything. I thought you’d be the one to tell me EVERYTHING, but Josh is killing me with his version of truths about all your parties and what-not. You didn’t really kiss Keesha, did you? Because if you did, and I didn’t get to see it, I’m gonna be pissed. Take a picture for a Marine next time, would ya?

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write. It’s just that every time I’d start a letter, I’d get all sappy and girly like a homesick little kid. And I didn’t want you to have to read that. So I didn’t send them. I have a bunch of them. Maybe when I’m out of basic training, I’ll let you read them so you can laugh at me.

I’m good now. I’ve settled in and things are finally becoming habit … a routine so it’s starting to feel normal. Your last letter helped. It means a lot to me that you get it and support what I’m doing. I know it was hard at first, but hopefully it’s getting easier for you like it’s gotten easier for me.

College deadlines are coming up. Next time you write, I want to know where you’re applying. Remember, make the best decision for you. Not other people. And you can tell my bro I said that too. I know he wants what’s best for you too, but don’t let him sway you. So where’s it gonna be? I can’t wait to found out.

Hey, do me a favor and pass these messages along. It’s easier than sending a bunch of individual letters when I don’t have much time.

Keesha: Take a picture next time!

Steph: I can’t wait for your cookies either. Thanks for the photos. I look at them every night.

Travis: Go to college first!!!! We’ll talk more when I’m done with basic and have access to the internet.

Andi: Dude, thank you for all the sketches. I look hot in pencil, oils, and watercolor. You have some serious talent. Keep drawing, girl.

Josh: Seriously! Take a picture. Have your camera ready!

Dom: Gotta follow your heart. We’ll talk soon.

Jon: Now I know how it feels to be away.

Alex: You get your own letter. But later. Meg’s more important. Haha.

Okay, little one, I gotta go.

Have a Slurpee for me. And some Aftershock!

Miss you.

Be good.

Love ya too,

Ben