"Alright." He watched until she gathered her shower kit and went into the separate shower area. Then he unlocked the door and quickly left. He headed down the corridor knowing that he was going to catch hell from the guys for not immediately coming back. Christopher showered while listening to the guys ask him such questions such as if his sweep of the lady's lockers proved secure, and other comments less tasteful. He blushed and tried to figure out a way to control his desire for Ashleigh each morning. It would just be impossible to watch her exercise; the way her body moved, to hear the way she breathed, to smell the fresh sweat on her body and not to be completely pulled into that direction. They were definitely going to have to come up with some way to control themselves during work hours.The two made plans to meet at Ashleigh's house after work. She got off earlier than he did and decided she would showcase her talents in the cooking department by making him a home cooked meal
"We're going out to Bartini's after work," Lance announced. Ashleigh looked up from her computer where she was doing more daydreaming than work. "Kendra's going to Bartini's?" she frowned."I'm just going for the non-alcohol variation," she explained."Ah. Gotcha. So you're going to pay six bucks for half a glass of fruit juice.""Hmph," Kendra said. Her normally pretty face turned down into a scowl. "Ask Christopher to come then, since I know you can't do anything without him present."Ashleigh turned to look at her friend, surprised by her snippy tone. "I was just kidding. What's wrong with you? Baby hormones?" Kendra sighed. "It's just…you're so buried up under him anymore. Why do you have to get so wrapped up in a man, Ashleigh?" Ashleigh opened her mouth to say something but wasn't sure what there was to say. "I mean, I have Jeffery, Lance has Rick, and we still make time for our friends.""Is this because I skipped our weekly lunch?" She'd skipped it to have sex with Chris
Ashleigh preferred spending time at Christopher's house in the evenings because his home was just so much more comfortable. They had gotten into the habit of her sleeping over, and even though they couldn't drive in to work together since they had different quitting times, they could satisfy their morning 'desires' for each other and therefore create a more productive workout session in the gym, without overwhelming sexual tension...and without running the risk of becoming exhibitionists. Because she got off work earlier, she had time to go home and pack her bag for the next day. She had learned to leave a supply of insulin in Christopher's refrigerator so that they didn't have to end their lovemaking just for her to go home to medicate. As usual, he was at the door before she got a chance to ring the bell. He pulled her into his arms for a brief hug and kiss on the forehead. "Hi, sweetheart. Hope you're hungry because dinner's cooking.""Mmm. Good, I'm starving." He pulled her in
Friday came and Christopher knew that he should be nervous because Lance and Kendra were bringing their significant others. But Christopher was just excited that Ashleigh would finally get to see him perform on stage. He sang for her almost every night, but he really liked karaoke night and he looked forward to sharing it with her. They met the others at the Mad Crabb. He had advised Ashleigh to tell her friends not to go in without him and so they all met up in the parking lot behind the old building. Jeffery, Kendra's husband was a big man and so was Rick, both having experience in professional football. But when they saw the big white man stepping out of his truck, even they were in awe. He was bigger than them and more cut. Rick began to roll his head and flex his shoulders and Lance nudged him discreetly with his hip. Rick looked down at the smaller man and grinned. Yeah, Rick wasn't used to being the small man in the crowd. He'd been forewarned about Christopher's looks but d
"GET OUT OF HERE FAGGOT!"There was a group of four or five young white men across the street. One of them had thrown a rock at Lance and it had hit him in the face! Kendra quickly went down to her own knees to check him. Ashleigh was staring in disbelief at the laughing men. One of them glared at Ashleigh and flexed his wiry muscles."What the fuck are you looking at, Nigger?!"Ashleigh's mouth dropped in shock. Lance shook Kendra loose and stood up quickly. Blood was streaming down his face but he pushed the girls behind him. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He screamed. "You could have hit these ladies and one of them is pregnant!""I'm going to hit you, faggot," the leader said. He looked mean and full of hate even though he couldn't have been twenty-five years old. The rest of them trailed behind him as he crossed the street towards them and Ashleigh gripped Lance's arm and then she pushed Kendra behind her. Things were about to happen fast and she didn't want Kendra hurt
The first thing Monday morning, Christopher marched into his commander's office. "Sir…I need to talk to you about something pretty important."Bruce Koepke sighed. He liked Beast. He didn't want to lose him, but he already knew what he wanted to ask. "Beast, you're a heluva Marine. You know that or you wouldn't be on an elite force. I don't want to lose you, son."Christopher could barely meet his commander's eyes. Finally he relaxed his formal posture and looked steadily at the older man who was more than his commander, but who was also his friend."Bruce, I'm a Marine for life. That's never going to change. But…I can't go out on missions anymore. I'm not going to quit the Marines…but I want to step down from the DHS."Bruce frowned. "TK, some of the others have spouses, girls, kids-""Yes, sir." He looked uncomfortable. It wasn't easy to talk about his facial deformity and how it makes you take a step away from the rest of the world, until you didn't even feel like you belong
Ashleigh's mouth dropped open. A mission; with guns and fighting and terrorists…and of course she couldn't stop her mind from recalling all the news around Bin Laden's capture and death. Would Christopher be involved in something like that? His hand squeezed hers. She looked at him, her eyes troubled. "Christopher…""Sweetheart, I've been putting in for a change of duty. I asked to be removed from the task force. But this came up before my commander could get it to go through. But this will be the last mission I'll need to go on. Just one more, honey, okay?"She gripped his hand. "How long?""Two months."A harsh breath left her. She watched his eyes. "What are you going to be doing?" She had brought up his missions before but could tell that he didn't like talking about it with her. It was still kind of vague to her. "We're not going to know that until we get briefed."She didn't speak for a moment and then she swallowed. "Will you be going to places like Afghanistan or Iraq
Ashleigh had fallen asleep there on top of him. After holding her sleeping form for a long time, he finally shifted her onto the bed so that he could go to the bathroom. When he returned with a wet cloth he was surprised to see her watching him. "Hi, sweetheart."She smiled. "Hi." He cleaned her while she spread her legs for him. He loved her smooth mons. She waxed regularly, but sometimes he wondered what her hair would be like down there. It would be something nice to explore. They snuggled in bed, her head on his shoulder. His body was her most comfortable pillow."I'm going to be the best Marine girlfriend. I promise," she said, almost as if she was convincing herself."Going to be? You've already achieved that." They'd only been dating for a little over four months but already he felt like Ashleigh was a permanent fixture.Her hands moved along the hard planes of his chest and her nails gently scratched at his auburn chest hair. "I'm going to make you cookies and brownies.