Categories > Original > Romance > Our Story
August
I hefted my bag onto my shoulder as I stepped away from my car. I sighed, locking my door and steeling myself for another boring day at work, being bossed around by guys who hate their wives and took their frustrations out on me. I started walking towards the yards, trying to stare down the giant floating piece of metal before me. She was the largest warship in the world- the “Mighty Ike” as her Captains liked to call her. We liked to call her IKE-atraz. I let a half-grin show on my face as I showed my ID to the guard at the gate and continued walking through the early morning mist to the brow.
Once I was in my berthing, I threw my sea bag onto my rack and started dressing in my uniform. Another sigh as I felt around in the dark for my belt and I was finally ready to go to muster. I wore the dark blue jumpsuit of Navy coveralls with the rank insignia of a second class. I considered myself a glorified janitor and plumber. The navy called me a mechanic. Another half-grin as I contemplated that. My parents were always eager to tell their friends that I was a nuclear engineer. Yeah… if you want to call someone who opens and shuts valves and turns switches an engineer, you could call me that. Personally, I knew my job consisted of cleaning all day and taking logs on equipment on watch.
I don’t remember the first time I saw him, but I remember the first time I actually spoke to him. I was still fairly new on the boat, not qualified yet. I had come from my school as a third class, and shortly after arrival I re-enlisted for another two years and put on second. A group of guys took me under their wing in the plant where I worked, and he was a friend of the group. He was one of those very shy guys, the type who don’t speak to new people until they get used to you.
I was down on the lower level, pretending to dust one of the four main shafts when he came up to me.
“Hey,” he said, running his rag over the workbench next to where I stood. I looked over and recognized him from our friends’ conversations.
“Hi,” I replied. I never claimed to be a great conversationalist.
“How are you getting along here?” he asked, watching the dust pile move around the workbench.
“I’m fine. You know, the guys are helping me out a lot. I should be qualified soon, too.”
“That’s good. Maybe Galler and Meyers will lay off of you once you are standing watch.” I caught a look on his face that seemed to show he was nervous about something.
“So what’s up?” I asked, wondering what he was nervous about.
“Well... So… I don’t suppose you might want to go catch a movie tonight?”
I looked over at him, a little shocked. Don’t get me wrong, the Navy is full of sailor on sailor dating situations, and being a girl in such a male-dominated field as nuke mechanic, I’m used to being one in thirty-five or so… but that’s not where the shock came in. It was so random, so unexpected, and from such a quiet source, it caught me off guard. I didn’t even know his first name.
“Uhhh… sure. Why not?”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at six?”
“Sure. Sounds good.” I looked at him, I’m sure with my brow creased. “My name is Chloe, by the way.”
“I know,” he grinned. Then I watched him walk away. I was still looking at the doorway to the next room where he disappeared when one of my several bosses walked through and told me to wipe up some oil from the generators.
That night, five-thirty
“Yes, Tara, I’m pretty sure it’s a date, and I’ve really gotta go,” I said into the phone.
“You better call me tomorrow and tell me all about it,” she replied. I rolled my eyes, knowing full well she couldn’t see it.
“Yeah, ok. I’ve gotta finish getting ready, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Ok. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, bye.”
“No promises. Bye.” I smiled as I shut my phone and slipped it into my pocket. I heard a knock on the door just as I finished my makeup. I checked my dirty blonde hair, pulling it from behind my ears and smoothed down my dark blue shirt as I walked to the door.
“Hi, I was just finishing up,” I said as I opened the door.
He looked at me and smiled. “So, what do you want to see?”
“Anything works for me. I haven’t seen any of the movies that are out right now,” I admitted. I hate going to movies alone, and I hadn’t made enough friends to go out with just yet, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“Ok, are you ready? I figured we’d have steak for dinner.”
“Sounds good,” I smiled.
Dinner was good, the movie was forgettable, but what happened afterwards changed my life. I invited him in to continue our conversation, and we wandered into the kitchen where I had my laptop set up. I logged on to the Internet, still wondering if tonight was truly supposed to be a date or not. Maybe because he was shy, maybe he was waiting for me to set the boundaries, but he hadn’t talked about a relationship, he hadn’t even held my hand. And of course, I still didn’t know his first name. It definitely didn’t seem like a good time to ask, though.
While I looked up some inane piece of trivia, I felt his hand come up and rest on my waist. Hmmm, date then. I turned sideways and glanced at him. His mouth turned up at the end in a crooked smile. It looked so perfect on him, so casual. I smiled back at him. I saw what was coming in his icy blue eyes before he even moved toward me. As he leaned forward, I stopped him. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure that this was a good idea.
“What is it?” he asked, still only inches from me. I tried not to let his proximity phase me.
“Well, I just… I don’t know if I should date someone I work with. It didn’t work out well for me before, and I don’t know how we would be treated at work,” I replied, mentally cursing my traitorous brain. It hadn’t worked out well for me before, but nothing had worked at all in a while. I wondered why I couldn’t have at least gotten a kiss out of his crooked smile before I turned traitor.
He chuckled softly. “It’s really not that big a deal. There are probably six couples just in our division. If it makes you feel better we can keep it quiet.” He let his fingers trail down my arm and I could feel my heart speed up.
“That would probably be a good idea,” I said, barely louder than the pulse that had started in my ears. He smiled with just the left side of his mouth again, and let his hand come up to my chin. We had our first kiss there in my tiny kitchen, and I didn’t even know his name. What I did know, though, was that this wasn’t like the last few relationships I’d had. It already felt different, and it wasn’t just those blue eyes, the fiery fingertips on my arm, or the breath I lost when I pulled his face closer in the kiss we shared.
The next day, afternoon
“A kiss? Just one?” Tara asked the next day.
“Well, technically just one. I invited him in after the movie, to prove who the actors were, and… yeah.”
“And… yeah? Do me a favor… come down from the cloud and finish your sentences, will you?” she teased.
“It seemed different, you know? We had normal small talk at dinner, sat quietly through the movie, then, all of a sudden… it felt like I’d known him forever.”
“So, what’s his name again? I don’t think you’ve told me.”
“Bradford,” I grinned.
“Bradford? That’s a mouthful. I guess he goes by Brad?”
“Well, no. That’s his last name. Honestly, I don’t know what his first name is.”
“What a slut,” she said. I could actually hear the smile in her voice.
“Well, I didn’t know it before, and the longer I waited for a good time to ask, the more I realized it would be inappropriate.”
“I’m sure… that’s exactly the question I want to hear after I have a good kissing session with a guy.”
“Especially after that,” I sighed. “It was… glorious,” I said, reliving the moment in my head. The tender touching at first, just brushing our lips together. Then, I felt this pull inside me. I tilted my chin up just a bit and he responded by parting my lips with his. That was when my hands went to the sides of his head and pulled him closer until his mouth crushed mine. I felt and heard him chuckle once into my mouth, but I suddenly didn’t want to let him go. When he finally pulled away, I was sitting on the counter, my arms draped around his shoulders, hands linked behind his neck. His hands rested on my hips. He reached up with one hand, ran it through my hair and told me that he should go.
“Hello… Earth to Chloe… are you there?”
“Yeah, sorry. Daydream.” I breathed.
“OK, I’m gonna have to go. Just remember… no pink taffeta when you wind up marrying the guy.”
“What? It’s been one date. I’m so not thinking about that. Besides, we’re both on the same ship. We can’t do that.”
“Whatever… I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.” I grinned.
I hefted my bag onto my shoulder as I stepped away from my car. I sighed, locking my door and steeling myself for another boring day at work, being bossed around by guys who hate their wives and took their frustrations out on me. I started walking towards the yards, trying to stare down the giant floating piece of metal before me. She was the largest warship in the world- the “Mighty Ike” as her Captains liked to call her. We liked to call her IKE-atraz. I let a half-grin show on my face as I showed my ID to the guard at the gate and continued walking through the early morning mist to the brow.
Once I was in my berthing, I threw my sea bag onto my rack and started dressing in my uniform. Another sigh as I felt around in the dark for my belt and I was finally ready to go to muster. I wore the dark blue jumpsuit of Navy coveralls with the rank insignia of a second class. I considered myself a glorified janitor and plumber. The navy called me a mechanic. Another half-grin as I contemplated that. My parents were always eager to tell their friends that I was a nuclear engineer. Yeah… if you want to call someone who opens and shuts valves and turns switches an engineer, you could call me that. Personally, I knew my job consisted of cleaning all day and taking logs on equipment on watch.
I don’t remember the first time I saw him, but I remember the first time I actually spoke to him. I was still fairly new on the boat, not qualified yet. I had come from my school as a third class, and shortly after arrival I re-enlisted for another two years and put on second. A group of guys took me under their wing in the plant where I worked, and he was a friend of the group. He was one of those very shy guys, the type who don’t speak to new people until they get used to you.
I was down on the lower level, pretending to dust one of the four main shafts when he came up to me.
“Hey,” he said, running his rag over the workbench next to where I stood. I looked over and recognized him from our friends’ conversations.
“Hi,” I replied. I never claimed to be a great conversationalist.
“How are you getting along here?” he asked, watching the dust pile move around the workbench.
“I’m fine. You know, the guys are helping me out a lot. I should be qualified soon, too.”
“That’s good. Maybe Galler and Meyers will lay off of you once you are standing watch.” I caught a look on his face that seemed to show he was nervous about something.
“So what’s up?” I asked, wondering what he was nervous about.
“Well... So… I don’t suppose you might want to go catch a movie tonight?”
I looked over at him, a little shocked. Don’t get me wrong, the Navy is full of sailor on sailor dating situations, and being a girl in such a male-dominated field as nuke mechanic, I’m used to being one in thirty-five or so… but that’s not where the shock came in. It was so random, so unexpected, and from such a quiet source, it caught me off guard. I didn’t even know his first name.
“Uhhh… sure. Why not?”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at six?”
“Sure. Sounds good.” I looked at him, I’m sure with my brow creased. “My name is Chloe, by the way.”
“I know,” he grinned. Then I watched him walk away. I was still looking at the doorway to the next room where he disappeared when one of my several bosses walked through and told me to wipe up some oil from the generators.
That night, five-thirty
“Yes, Tara, I’m pretty sure it’s a date, and I’ve really gotta go,” I said into the phone.
“You better call me tomorrow and tell me all about it,” she replied. I rolled my eyes, knowing full well she couldn’t see it.
“Yeah, ok. I’ve gotta finish getting ready, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Ok. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, bye.”
“No promises. Bye.” I smiled as I shut my phone and slipped it into my pocket. I heard a knock on the door just as I finished my makeup. I checked my dirty blonde hair, pulling it from behind my ears and smoothed down my dark blue shirt as I walked to the door.
“Hi, I was just finishing up,” I said as I opened the door.
He looked at me and smiled. “So, what do you want to see?”
“Anything works for me. I haven’t seen any of the movies that are out right now,” I admitted. I hate going to movies alone, and I hadn’t made enough friends to go out with just yet, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“Ok, are you ready? I figured we’d have steak for dinner.”
“Sounds good,” I smiled.
Dinner was good, the movie was forgettable, but what happened afterwards changed my life. I invited him in to continue our conversation, and we wandered into the kitchen where I had my laptop set up. I logged on to the Internet, still wondering if tonight was truly supposed to be a date or not. Maybe because he was shy, maybe he was waiting for me to set the boundaries, but he hadn’t talked about a relationship, he hadn’t even held my hand. And of course, I still didn’t know his first name. It definitely didn’t seem like a good time to ask, though.
While I looked up some inane piece of trivia, I felt his hand come up and rest on my waist. Hmmm, date then. I turned sideways and glanced at him. His mouth turned up at the end in a crooked smile. It looked so perfect on him, so casual. I smiled back at him. I saw what was coming in his icy blue eyes before he even moved toward me. As he leaned forward, I stopped him. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure that this was a good idea.
“What is it?” he asked, still only inches from me. I tried not to let his proximity phase me.
“Well, I just… I don’t know if I should date someone I work with. It didn’t work out well for me before, and I don’t know how we would be treated at work,” I replied, mentally cursing my traitorous brain. It hadn’t worked out well for me before, but nothing had worked at all in a while. I wondered why I couldn’t have at least gotten a kiss out of his crooked smile before I turned traitor.
He chuckled softly. “It’s really not that big a deal. There are probably six couples just in our division. If it makes you feel better we can keep it quiet.” He let his fingers trail down my arm and I could feel my heart speed up.
“That would probably be a good idea,” I said, barely louder than the pulse that had started in my ears. He smiled with just the left side of his mouth again, and let his hand come up to my chin. We had our first kiss there in my tiny kitchen, and I didn’t even know his name. What I did know, though, was that this wasn’t like the last few relationships I’d had. It already felt different, and it wasn’t just those blue eyes, the fiery fingertips on my arm, or the breath I lost when I pulled his face closer in the kiss we shared.
The next day, afternoon
“A kiss? Just one?” Tara asked the next day.
“Well, technically just one. I invited him in after the movie, to prove who the actors were, and… yeah.”
“And… yeah? Do me a favor… come down from the cloud and finish your sentences, will you?” she teased.
“It seemed different, you know? We had normal small talk at dinner, sat quietly through the movie, then, all of a sudden… it felt like I’d known him forever.”
“So, what’s his name again? I don’t think you’ve told me.”
“Bradford,” I grinned.
“Bradford? That’s a mouthful. I guess he goes by Brad?”
“Well, no. That’s his last name. Honestly, I don’t know what his first name is.”
“What a slut,” she said. I could actually hear the smile in her voice.
“Well, I didn’t know it before, and the longer I waited for a good time to ask, the more I realized it would be inappropriate.”
“I’m sure… that’s exactly the question I want to hear after I have a good kissing session with a guy.”
“Especially after that,” I sighed. “It was… glorious,” I said, reliving the moment in my head. The tender touching at first, just brushing our lips together. Then, I felt this pull inside me. I tilted my chin up just a bit and he responded by parting my lips with his. That was when my hands went to the sides of his head and pulled him closer until his mouth crushed mine. I felt and heard him chuckle once into my mouth, but I suddenly didn’t want to let him go. When he finally pulled away, I was sitting on the counter, my arms draped around his shoulders, hands linked behind his neck. His hands rested on my hips. He reached up with one hand, ran it through my hair and told me that he should go.
“Hello… Earth to Chloe… are you there?”
“Yeah, sorry. Daydream.” I breathed.
“OK, I’m gonna have to go. Just remember… no pink taffeta when you wind up marrying the guy.”
“What? It’s been one date. I’m so not thinking about that. Besides, we’re both on the same ship. We can’t do that.”
“Whatever… I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.” I grinned.
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