SEAL Endeavor (3 page)

He was almost stiff with excitement. Fredo was shaking his head retreating to his bed, where he promptly rolled over onto his side.

In the filtered light coming through the bedroom window, Coop stroked the smooth white plastic surface of the drone. He felt her power. Her lovely lines like creamy thighs of a good bedmate. But no bedmate had ever made him feel like this before. He held the drone, depressed the recessed button on her belly and felt the whir of the motor, vibrating his hand.

You dumb frog. Get a grip, Cooper. It’s not a woman.

No, he realized. It was even better.

Cooper was dancing around the room with it high above his head. Fredo finally sat straight up and, with earplugs still ensconced in his ears, bellowed, “Cooper, would you stop your fucking playing around and put that thing away?”

Someone banged on the wall next to them. They could hear the occupant next door  complaining through the double sheetrock.

Cooper instantly became self conscious.  He carefully wiped down the machine with a hand towel and laid it to rest inside the plastic foam packing material, like it was Snow White.

Fredo was right, of course. Putting the case back on the cheap dresser next to the TV with rabbit ears, he patted the top and said good night to it.

He dove into his bed, which sent the headboard into the wall and earned him another bang on the wall next door and some choice comments. It made him smile, as he lay back with his hands underneath his head. He was happy. Really happy.

Then he did what he always did. Made up a story, a little erotic romance of what that tasty brunette looked like in the flesh. It was how he used to fall asleep over in Afghanistan, now that he no longer drank himself to sleep. Fantasy ladies made way better dreams.

He closed his eyes and could see every square inch of her. He felt the reddish brown curls over his lap as she gave him a blow job. Those red pouty lips on his unit, lolling him to sleep. It was his idea of being tucked in.

She wasn’t wearing a thing. All her perfect pinkness spread out for him to examine. To kiss. To taste. He’d make her scream for release and yes, he knew how to do that very well. After all, he was part of the Navy’s finest, trained to perfection. Waiting for him to open her up and turn on her motor just like the drone.

For just a second, he almost forgot how much he’d wanted the drone.

He might have wanted her more.

What the hell’s up with that?

Chapter 3

Libby and Megan got to the Monterey Bay Aquarium a half hour before it opened. A small café nearby served them coffee, yogurt and homemade granola. They passed the time by people watching before a small line began to form at the Aquarium entrance. That was their cue to go. Libby pulled her hair through the back of her Giant’s baseball cap into a ponytail and donned her sunglasses. They walked downhill in the bright morning sunshine, to the entrance.

“Can’t believe you’ve never been here before, Libby. You’ve been at Santa Clara what, five years now?”

“Yup. You know me. I’ve been practically a nun, too.”

“That’s for sure.” Megan glanced at her from the side. “You and Dr. Gerhardt are getting kinda chummy, though.”

Libby wrinkled her brow. “Nothing to that.”

“You know everyone talks…”

“About me?” Worry dampened what had been a nice morning doing something just for fun. “He’s not interested in me that way, and I sure as heck aren’t—“

“Shush.” Megan slapped her forearm. “I can keep a secret, Libby. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“That’s not it, Meg.” This was beginning to irritate her. “We aren’t sleeping together, and I wouldn’t believe it if anyone else says they did. He’s just a very kind man, a great mentor, and someone I trust 100%.” She did feel a shadow creep around her shoulders with what she’d felt last night during dinner. Had he pushed the envelope a bit into the arena of adult recreation?

Maybe it was because she hadn’t dated much, been pretty focused on her double degree. She was hoping Dr. Gerhardt would get her an intern position at his clinic after she completed her Masters in Psychology and got her MFCC license. He had hinted a bit about it, but never came out and offered her the position. It was still early.

If Megan saw the doubt on her face, she did a good job hiding it. “Don’t let them get to you. Just rumors. The guy is so gorgeous, I think people just like to make up stories. No worries, Libby. I think he’s smart enough not to do anything unwise.”

“Not only unwise, it’s against the rules.”

“Well, there’s that, too. Certainly.”

Libby searched her feelings and couldn’t find any jealousy at the mention of possibly other girls. Nothing there but a business relationship, mutual respect between two people who had to work closely together.

“Meg, tell you what, I’ll tell you first if he becomes available, okay? He isn’t my type.”

“Oh stop it.” Libby noticed how easy she and Megan reassumed their places as friends, although their friendship wasn’t particularly deep. It was all that she needed.

They were one of the first few members to walk through the door. Libby went for the world famous Kelp Tank, wanting to see it before the crowds started to grow.

The blue three-story glass room was even more striking than she’d expected. Huge silvery fish in a variety of shapes and colors sliced through the water, surrounded by schools of smaller fish that darted around the artificial reef. Sea ferns the size of a man, twenty-foot kelp plants and other greenery swayed back and forth in rhythm to the tidal current.

Megan sat down next to her on a metal observation bench and leaned into Libby.

“I just love looking at this. Could do it all day,” Libby said to her friend.

“Can you imagine swimming in there? They have times listed when they send divers in to feed them,” Megan said.

Something had been stirring inside her. The blue liquid pulled her into a fantasy and for the minutes she sat and watched all the life teeming before her, she began to feel a new adventure was just beginning.

Coop and Fredo stood in front of the large window behind a family with children. The little ones had their hands on the glass and were asked by an attendant to remove them.

“Dang. And I thought the one in Florida was nice. This is incredible,” Fredo said.

“I think the biggest one is in Bahrain. Not that I’ll ever get there to see it.”

“Not that you’d want to.”

“Not while being on active duty. No, probably not.”

He watched a large silvery torpedo shaped fish break up a school of hand-sized yellow and black striped angelfish. Through the clear blue-green water Cooper could see the larger window on the other side. People had begun to gather, their faces pressed close to the glass. Just before a crowd of teenagers advanced into the window opening he thought he caught the sight of a beauty with auburn hair. Her pale skin made a perfect canvas to the ripples of green and blue coloring reflected from the waters of the tank.

Her hair reminded him of the lady he’d seen last night in San Jose.

Get a grip, you horny squid. Only been a day and a half since Daisy’s enormous boobs and expert tongue had worked all the kinks out of him. Even though his wrist was sore today from the new handcuffs she’d brought. He pressed his forefinger onto the red mark, which hurt. He searched for the auburn hair and couldn’t find her.

“Coop, I’m real glad you’re having a peaceful Zen moment, but there are other exhibits,” Fredo said, nodding toward the dark passageway.

“Uh hum.” He continued to search the crowd of people that had gathered in the room across the tank. There she was. All he could see was that she had wisps of hair tucked under a dark baseball cap. She’d picked his team too, the Giants.

Something stirred inside him. Only part of it was his small brain.

“Come on. Let’s go look at something else,” he said to Fredo as they backed up. Immediately, a group of onlookers, grateful for the departure of the giant and his little friend, consumed the hole they had left behind in the crowd.

Around the corner, Cooper traced the doorway he had seen her walk through. But he couldn’t figure out which way she went. They walked past smaller porthole-sized tanks with sea life ecosystems made from old hubcaps, tennis shoes and old glass bottles.

Fredo was delighted when they came upon the Penguin exhibit. It wasn’t hard for Cooper to see why the little birds delighted him so. They were like miniature cousins of the diminutive Mexican SEAL the rest of the team occasionally called Frodo.

Not that Fredo liked it one bit. But as long as one was willing to run fast, the Team guys could use that moniker. If they ever made the mistake of getting caught, Fredo would wrestle and successfully pin down any of them, even six-foot-five Calvin Cooper.

The penguins were playful, dipping in and out of the water and sliding on their bellies over imitation icebergs. Their antics picked up speed as an attendant arrived with a bucket of fish. They attempted to outdo one another for the chance at a tasty sardine. Fredo was busting a gut, guffawing and slapping his knee.

“Remember, you’re in mixed company,” Cooper leaned over and counseled him. Fredo had a habit of launching into some choice language when he got excited, which was often.

Fredo didn’t acknowledge Cooper’s comment and continued laughing.

“I’m heading back downstairs to look at the shark tank.”

“I’ll find you,” Fredo answered.

Coop walked down the wide metal stairs, scanning the lobby, the hallways leading off in three directions. Lighting on the ground floor was low and it took him a bit for his eyes to get used to the darkness.

The shark tank was not quite as big as the Kelp Tank. The massive predators and some smaller fish that were compatible swam in figure eights. Coop watched their powerful movements. The best swimmer on the Team, Cooper had been told if he had started at a younger age, he could have had Olympic prospects. A natural athlete, he hadn’t learned to swim until he decided to go for the Teams. He knew what it felt like to slice through water like that. Just like Cooper, these giant killing machines looked docile, but were ever vigilant.

A reddish brown glint caught his eye to the right.

It’s her.

She was walking with another dark-haired girl. The two of them were chattering, appearing not to notice the number of men whose attention they were getting. Cooper started to get a little jealous.

Turn around, little one. He spoke to the auburn lady with the long legs and the sweet little ass so tastefully revealed in tight-fitting jeans.

They turned to the right. The baseball cap shadowed the girl’s face, but he could see those bright red lips, the pouty ones he had seen yesterday. He remembered lips like a savant. Hunger to taste her made his mouth water. Coop could feel how hot and soft they’d be as she brushed against his mouth. The touch of her flesh against his would—

“Bro, there you are.” Fredo slapped him on the back.

The brunette swung around with a start and looked from side to side to find Fredo’s voice. Her head remained down and then she returned her attention forward. Her full face was obscured, but what he saw of her profile was pale and smooth like a porcelain statue. Her shiny ponytail kissed the tops of her broad shoulders. Her arms were well-defined, muscular but not overly developed. He wanted them wrapped around his neck, as she pressed her breasts into him. He’d hold her trembling body like the delicate creature she was.

Fredo was whistling as he stood next to Coop watching the girl. “Nice, bro. You about done?”

“Not quite. Something over here I want to follow.”

“I got your drift,” Fredo said as he followed the two lovelies in front of them. He began to speed up and Cooper touched his arm to make him slow down.

The girls sacheted into an auditorium show arena just as the doors closed behind them. Coop tried to pour on the charm, begging the attendant to squeeze in two more lonely sailors, but she wasn’t having anything to do with it. Her dry face demonstrated how immune she was to anything Cooper could skillfully dish out. The two men were told the show would let out in forty-five minutes.

“Coop. Can’t we get on the road now?”

Cooper examined the closed metal doors of the auditorium and knew he wasn’t ever going to see the lovely lady again.

Timing. Everything’s timing.

His cell phone went off. The caller I.D. showed it was his mother, calling from Nebraska.

“Hi, mom.” The connection was poor. Confusing metallic gibberish shouted in his ear. “Hold on, I’m going to go outside.” He headed for the exit, Fredo in tow.

“That’s better, Mom. What’s up?”

“Just calling to say hi, and to see if you are going to be able to come home for Thanksgiving.”

“I’d love to, but we’re going to start working up for our next deployment. I’ll get out there before we leave, but they’re sending us someplace far away to train this time. Not sure we’ll be around.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” She paused and then added, “Bay has been howling at the sunsets lately. I think that dog misses you something fierce.”

A little pang of regret uncoiled in his stomach. His childhood best friend, the mutt who greeted him every day he came home from school as a teen, and who watched the boy become a man, was who he missed seeing the most.

“Tell him I’ll be home before we take off. May not be for Thanksgiving, though.”

“You tell him yourself,” his mother said.

“Hey there, Bay. You being a good boy?” Cooper knew she’d put the phone down into the dog’s ear. He heard a whine and a bark, as Bay understood whose voice he was hearing on the other end.

“He sits out on the kitchen stoop, watching the bus stop like you’ll be coming home one of these days. Kinda breaks my heart,” she said. Her words trailed off and Coop knew from the waiver in her voice she had teared up.

“It’s okay, Mom. I miss you guys too. Maybe after the next deployment, if I get a house or apartment, maybe I can take Bay out to San Diego.” He knew Bay’s advanced age was a factor.