Nine Marines' Shared Property - Nicole Casey Page 0,6

do have single friends, very attractive single friends.”

“Why aren’t you dating?” I asked. “If it’s not too personal.”

“It’s the very definition of too personal,” said Manny.

I didn’t acknowledge his remark. I was feeling proud of myself for being this forward.

Gwen curled her lips and tilted her head. “It’s a long story.”

“Maybe you’ll tell me it tonight,” I said, “at the Waterfront Grill.”

“Maybe.”

We chatted some more. Gwen told us about her friends she was going to set us up with. I pretended to be interested. But I didn’t want to be set up with anyone. I had fallen for her. She was the one I wanted; no one else.

We walked back to the base. Manny was gloating, feeling like a rock star for having scored a date with Gwen—even though it wasn’t really a date. We didn’t discourage him. Frankly, I was impressed. Also, I was excited. In my mind, I was the one who had a date with Gwen later that night.

“We have to invite the others,” said Santiago.

“Especially Axel,” I said.

Manny chuckled. “She thinks she’s going to meet three Marines and we show up with nine.”

“You should have got her number,” said Santiago.

“No worries,” said Manny. “All in due time.”

I was excited for the date—even if it wasn’t technically a date. But I was also nervous. I wasn’t nervous about how it would go, if Gwen and I would get along or anything like that. I was nervous about how Axel would react. I knew he was on duty tonight and he wouldn’t be able to go with us. He was definitely going to feel bad for missing out. And even though he’d wished me good luck, he suggested he would be OK sharing, somehow I didn’t believe him.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I said under my breath.

Manny punched me on the arm. “Why would you say that? Tonight’s going to be great.”

“We’ll see,” I said.

Manny pointed to me and addressed Santiago. “Can you believe this guy?”

“It’ll be fine,” Santiago said to me. “Girls don’t bite, unless you’re into that sort of thing.” He and Manny laughed.

“But girls do get in between friends,” I said.

The mood quickly turned somber.

“Not these friends,” said Santiago. He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

I looked him in the eye. I believed him. But still, I was worried about Axel.

I found Axel at the mess hall later that evening. I was dressed for my date—our date that wasn’t a date.

“Care to join me?” said Axel.

I shook my head. “I can’t stay.”

“Going to the Marina with Gwen and her friends?” he said.

“So, you’ve heard?”

He nodded. “Too bad I can’t go. Maybe next time.”

He didn’t look or sound upset. “Yeah, maybe,” I said.

He looked at me and smiled. “Have a good time.”

Either Axel was a much better actor than I’d suspected, or he truly wasn’t bothered by the fact that we were going out with Gwen and he wasn’t. I was impressed. I tried to think how I would have reacted if I were in his shoes. I told myself that I, too, wouldn’t have been bothered. But it was easy enough for me to think that. Harder to know if it was true.

Though we’d invited the others, ultimately it was just Santiago, Manny and I who went to the Waterfront Grill. Gwen brought two friends: her roommate Holly and a girl I recognized from The Bean Counter, Christy.

Santiago was in rare form. Everything he said and did was hilarious. Manny played the straight man opposite him quite well. Together they made a great team. I was left a bit off to the side, but that suited me just fine. Unfortunately, for much of the evening, Gwen kept her distance. She sat between her two friends. I sat between Christy and Santiago.

The table next to ours were celebrating an engagement. It didn’t take long for us to be absorbed in their celebration, and our party of six turned into a party of eighteen.

There was no intimacy in the evening, but that worked out just fine. I felt good and relaxed just being in Gwen’s presence. I was in no hurry. ‘All in due time,’ as Manny was fond of saying. ‘All in due time.’

4

Gwen

What a difference one date makes!—even though it wasn’t a date. I didn’t hook up; I didn’t fall head over heels in love. But I did go out with, not with one guy but with four! And both Christy and Holly came with me, so I was also able