Nine Marines' Shared Property - Nicole Casey Page 0,18

But I also felt strongly attracted to Taylor, and Manny, and Nolan. I was strongly attracted to them all. “Could it be true?” I said. “Are they really that strong of a unit that I could be attracted to them all with equal force?”

Holly put her hands in the air in a show of surrender. “What can I say? I don’t know. It seems like the student has surpassed the teacher.”

I chuckled. “I just don’t know how I’m going to be able to choose.”

Holly tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “Why do you have to choose?”

8

Axel

Given our upcoming deployment, training had intensified, and with it, our time off was cut down considerably. Texting back and forth with Gwen was fun, but, at the same time, it increased the frustration I was feeling: frustration in not being able to see her more often and frustration in the feeling that we were on the verge of something great but not able to take it to the next level. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; we all did. We knew we had something special; it was just out of reach, but then every now and again we’d touch it. It was real, but a heightened fantasy at the same time. It was ours, but also evasive. That added to the trill, sure. But it also added to the frustration.

The only one of our squad who didn’t feel the same way—at least I was getting the sense that he might be feeling differently—was Tristan.

“It’s too good to be true,” he said, but in a tone that resembled defeat.

“Since when have you been such a cynic?” I asked.

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. I could see in his eyes that I had triggered something: a memory, perhaps, a secret. Tristan had been hurt; I didn’t know the specifics, but I knew that he was more guarded than the rest of us. I could respect that. I’d just hoped that now, with Gwen, he could share in our enthusiasm.

What I felt for Tristan was equally true for me, too. Why can’t I just accept that something great is happening to me? Why do I always look for the cloud beyond the silver lining?

“We know that bad things happen,” I said. I was talking to Tristan, but also to myself. “But sometimes good things happen, too. Why can’t this be an instance when something really good is happening? Why can’t we accept it? Why do we have to fight it?”

He excused himself under the guise of needing to do some ironing.

I was no good at giving pep talks.

Taylor, who’d been standing off to the side, not saying a word, approached me. “I’ll talk to him,” he said.

I’d triggered something in Tristan. I didn’t ask for any clarification. There was nothing among us that we didn’t share, that included our secrets and our pain. But I understood that some people needed more time. Tristan was especially sensitive. If he needed more time to open up, I could give him more time.

It had been five days since I last saw Gwen: an eternity. I couldn’t wait till the weekend, till my next night off. After morning exercises, we had a three-hour break. While the others took the opportunity to run overdue errands and have lunch, I, instead, jogged down to The Bean Counter, hoping Gwen would be there.

I arrived sweating and winded, but I made it in record time—probably in a faster time than Manny could have. The terrace was full. Inside, I didn’t see Gwen, and I didn’t recognize either of the two girls working. I ordered a lemonade and took a seat in the back facing the door where I could watch, hoping Gwen would show up.

A girl sitting at a table on the terrace turned her head. She saw me and smiled. But she wasn’t Gwen. I blinked and turned away.

“Axel.” Gwen’s voice came to me from the side.

I spun around, and there she was walking quickly towards me. I leapt out of my seat.

She went in for a hug.

“I’m gross and sweaty,” I said.

She aborted her hug at the last moment and, instead, took my head in her hands and gave me a big kiss on the lips. “Axel, what a pleasant surprise.”

Her hair was loosely tied back. A lock of hair fell over her eyes and lightly touched her cheek below a smudge of flour. she smiled at me with her lips and with her eyes. She was