Текст книги "Fraternizing"
Автор книги: C. Brown
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 26 страниц)
Hopefully.
"Tomorrow, at zero five thirty, you are to meet in front of the schoolhouse, in your PT gear. That means your green, unmarked t-shirt and green shorts. You will run your preliminary physical fitness test consisting of pull-ups, crunches, and a three mile run. You fail, and you will find yourself with extra workouts until we feel you are ready to run it again. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Sergeant," the class yelled.
"Dismissed."
The class filed out, all too excited to leave for the day. I noticed Bennett and Ruiz straggling behind, so I motioned for Jensen to come and handle the one who wasn't driving me bat shit crazy.
"Follow me to my office please, Pfc. Bennett," I called out as I walked out of the classroom. She lagged a bit, but shortly after I heard her boots pounding the pavement as she strode behind me.
"Hey, Bennett," another voice called, making me slow my steps. I tried not to be obvious by turning around to see who it was, but I couldn't help myself. It was another male, and that annoyed the living shit out of me.
"I'll catch ya in a minute," she responded, never breaking her stride.
From my glance back, I noticed that it was some shithead student by the name of Pfc. Dalton. I recognized him from Smith's Data class. He was tall and slender, and looked harmless, but the fact the he was waiting for her just didn't sit well with me.
I made my way into my office, making sure to leave the door cracked open so as not to leave myself in another compromising situation.
"Take a seat," I ordered, motioning for her to sit in the chair directly beside my desk. "Let's not pretend that we don't know who each other is," I started, coming across much more harshly than I intended to. "We had a night at the bar that will never happen again."
She sat still, looking directly at me but never saying a word. Her big, doe-like eyes were making me lose my self-restraint, and I swallowed hard before continuing.
"I should have found out who you were before I ever made a move on you, and I apologize for that. But we have a job to do, and professionalism is paramount here, so as long as we know where we stand, and that those boundaries will never be crossed again, we should be good. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Sergeant Cruz," she responded in that fair and delicate voice that made my cock twitch again.
"Good," I said, trying to keep my erection from bursting through my pants. I could preach to her about how that night was a mistake, but the reaction I had to her was telling me otherwise. "And please remember the Marine Corps order on fraternizing. We both stand to get in a world of fuckin' trouble if this ever gets out. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Sergeant, I do." Her response and her expression weren't matching. She said she understood, but that lustful gaze she had trained on me told me that if she could, she'd lay down right here and let me fuck her until my name was all she could remember.
I needed to get her out of my office before I did something I’d regret.
"Good. Have a good evening. See you bright and early."
"See you in the morning."
She stood and walked out of the office. I followed behind, stopping at the door. I didn't want to tell her how much of a mistake Friday night was. I didn't want to spout out the Marine Corps rules and regulations to her. No, I wanted to pin her ass up against the wall and explore every inch of her enticing body.
Only I couldn't.
I couldn’t do anything that had been filtering through my head since Friday. As I stopped at the door, I heard Dalton greet her, further pissing me the fuck off.
"Is everything alright?" he asked her.
"Yeah. I just needed to fix some paperwork, that's all," she casually responded, putting me at ease.
"Cool. Well hey, pizza and Mortal Kombat in my room tonight. Classic style."
"Sweet. I'll be there. Did you tell Angelica?"
"Yeah. She already knows."
They were walking away from the building as the conversation continued and that was the last that I heard. I couldn't be more pissed. Dalton seemed to be worming his way into her, and their brief interaction, the smile he gave her when he saw her walking his way, was enough to put my irritation on overdrive. I walked back into the office, slammed the door, then threw myself into the preference sheets to send up to Admin in the morning.
Chapter 4
Cassie
"Ugh!" Angelica yelled, viciously shutting the door to our barracks room. She walked further in, ripping her cover from her head and tossing it onto her bed. I stood, watching her overly dramatic display. She got out of her cammies, leaving her green t-shirt on while throwing on a pair of gym shorts. I started to walk back to the bathroom when she stopped me.
"Yeah, thanks a ton, Cassie. Thanks to you, we'll practically have no life while we're stuck in this shit hole town for the next six weeks."
I was already frustrated enough with the way things had panned out, and her shit wasn't making things any easier.
"Excuse me?' I asked, deeply annoyed while moving closer to her. She had her arms folded across her chest, glaring at me. "If I remember correctly, that could have very easily been you in my shoes since you had no problem throwing yourself all over Sgt. Cruz that night to begin with."
"Yeah, well it wasn't me. And now, thanks to you, we get to be treated like kids while we sit around and do nothing here in this hot ass desert. Why'd you have to kiss him anyway?"
"I didn't kiss him. He kissed me. And besides, that's really none of your fucking business."
"It is now. Now that my life is being directly affected because of it." She pulled her ponytail holder out of her hair and undid her bun, roughly running her fingers through her lustrously long brown hair. "No one in that class knows why all of our club and bar privileges have been suddenly revoked except for me– oh, and Sgt. Jensen– since he practically threatened me and all." She rolled her eyes as she brushed past me into the bathroom to retrieve her hair brush.
"Threatened you?" I asked, moving closer into the bathroom.
"Yes. Threatened me." She stopped brushing her hair and looked at me through the mirror. "Basically, my baby career in the Marine Corps could be wrecked if I run my mouth." She started brushing her hair again. "He's hot as shit, but he's a dick. And I have a feeling Cruz is too."
Cruz beinga dick had not crossed my mind.
"Whatever. There isn't anything to tell. We didn't know who the other was when we made out. Now that we know, it's nothing more than an awkward situation that we've acknowledged and moved on from."
"I sure hope so."
"It is," I bluntly responded with finality.
I brushed past her, moving to my wall locker to pull out some shorts and a t-shirt.
"Are you going to Dalton's room?" I asked while undressing.
"Yeah. I'll meet you over there."
Throwing my shirt over my head and stepping into my sandals, I walked out of the room, leaving Angelica to stew over whatever it was that Jensen had said to her. By the sound of things, he had come across much worse than Cruz had with me. He was an intense man, so I had no doubt that whatever he said, and however he said it, it was surely meant to scare her into submission.
I could only hope that it would work.
Music playing, Mortal Kombat flashing on the TV screen, and about six other Marines hooting, hollering, and laughing was the scene that I walked into as I gently knocked and let myself into Dalton's barrack's room. He shared the room with another Private First Class from his Data class, and even though I didn't know the guy, he was friendly and welcomed me into the room while shoving a piece of pizza in my face.
"We've been waiting on you," Dalton yelled out, looking over his shoulder at me. That brief move caused him to lose focus on his game, and he lost with one quick move from his opponent.
He threw down the controller and hopped out of his chair.
"How are you?"
"I'm okay.
"Do you play? You want a turn?" he asked, grinning at me, obviously hoping I would take him up on the offer.
"No. I'm good. I came to watch."
"Alright. That's cool." He stopped and looked around the room. "Where is Ruiz?"
"She said she'd meet me here," I answered, shrugging my shoulders.
Dalton led me over to the TV area, moving one of the guys, and making room for me to sit down. The Mortal Kombat tournament was in full swing when one of the guys threw the controller to the ground and started shouting at the guy who had just beat him. I recognized him from our class–Private Allen. He was a large, burly guy with light brown hair and matching eyes. Even with my height he towered over me, and had the bulging muscles to complete his overly large and intimidating frame.
"Fuck this game. Fuck this school. Fuck those shitty ass instructors," he yelled, making the rest of us turn and look at him. "What?" he asked, looking unaware that he had said anything wrong.
"Cut him off, Pete," Dalton called out, making me turn my head in his direction. He looked at me as if I should have been aware.
"Is he drunk?"
"Yeah. He's been mixing, but I think he may have gotten started before he even got here."
I nodded my head, knowing full well that alcohol consumption or possession in the barracks was definitely not allowed. Dalton's roommate, who I learned was, in fact, Pete, took Allen, sat him down on one of the beds, and put a large jug of water in his hands, helping him gulp it down. It looked almost comical to find this overly large man sitting on the bed, being nursed back to sobriety by such a small and nerdy looking guy.
I stopped focusing on them and went back to the Mortal Kombat tournament, rooting on Dalton before having the controller shoved into my hands. I never played video games as a kid. I never owned anything like that, so I felt a bit out of place with all of the video game aficionados knowing every move, trick, and cheat that there was. Dalton instructed me on what to do, and before long I was holding my own in the tournament.
"Let me take on the pretty little girl," a half sober Allen barked as he made his way back over to where we were. He snatched the controller from the guy I was playing against and sat down in one of the empty chairs. The sinister look in his light brown eyes sent chills down my spine, but I straightened up, not wanting to show him that he was making me completely uncomfortable.
"Alright. Here's the deal," he said, speaking much too loud, and annoying me more than I already was. "If I win, you get to blow me, and if you win–" he paused, pondering what it was he wanted to say. "Yeah, if you win, you get to blow me." He laughed as if he had just told the world's funniest joke.
"How about if I win, I get to kick you in the nuts, and if you win, I still get to kick you in the nuts?" I smiled a bitchy smile at him, making him stop the obnoxious laughter that had erupted from him after offering up such an immature wager.
"Must be a lesbian," Allen quipped, turning in his chair.
"Nope. I like dick just as much as the next chick. I just don't think you have much, so I'm not even willing to go there with you."
The guys crooned, "Ooohhh," as I countered, pissing Allen off even further.
We started playing, and after going 1-1 on the two rounds we fought, somehow I managed to land a crushing blow on Allen's man, knocking him to the ground and securing a victory. I dropped the controller to the ground, cocky as ever, strutting around the space while the guy's high-fived me.
"Fuck this shit. I want a fucking rematch!" Allen yelled, staring in my direction. Raw anger radiated from his eyes as he stared at me, He was breathing hard while the bulging veins in his neck looked as if they would give way to the mounting pressure and burst. The look scared me, but I felt secure with the amount of other guys around me.
"Pete, help me get Allen to his room, please," Dalton called out, signaling for the scrawny guy to take one side of the rabid beast of a man who looked as if he was ready to attack on command.
Dalton and Pete grabbed him, and he didn't resist. Instead, he yelled things at me, in an attempt to frighten me even more.
"You'll pay, bitch. I want a rematch. I want a fucking rematch."
I sat down and sighed as they walked him out, thankful that he was out of the room and away from me. The few people who were left sat in silence, probably just as stunned as I was that someone could get that angry over a silly video game. Yes, he had been drinking, but to get to the point of threats just seemed a bit excessive.
I walked out of the room, ready to call it a night since we had an early morning awaiting us. Just as I turned left to head back to my room, Dalton came running after me, calling for me to slow down.
"Let me walk you back."
I turned and looked back at him.
"I'm just up the stairs. You don't need to walk me back."
"Yes I do. After Allen's little outburst, I feel the need to. I'm really sorry about that."
I didn't put up any more of an argument. He was right. Allen acted like a complete psycho in the room.
"What are you sorry about? That wasn't you talking like that."
"I know. But he was there, in my room. I've known him since bootcamp, and from what I gather he hates that women are in the Marine Corps. I'm not sure why he chose Communications since there are women in this field. He probably should have gone Infantry or something, where women aren't allowed."
"Yeah, well I don't care what his deal is. As long as he stays away from me, we'll be fine," I calmly replied, hoping I wouldn't have to deal with Allen very often.
"Well, thanks for coming. Sorry you were the only female. I thought Ruiz was going to come over."
"I thought so, too," I said, pulling out my key and unlocking the door to my room. I looked inside and found the room empty. Wherever Angelica went, she’d left me hanging for the night, probably still angry with whatever it was that Jensen had said to her earlier in the day.
"I guess I'll see you in the morning."
"Yeah, ready to run," he replied much too enthusiastically.
"Don't remind me. I hate running," I said, making a face that made Dalton laugh hysterically.
"See you in the morning."
"Yeah. See ya."
I stepped into my room and shut the door behind me. Allen’s demeanor from earlier in the evening rattled my nerves a bit. I just wanted to fall asleep and forget about the fact that Angelica completely ditched me and that another Marine all but wanted to kick my ass over a stupid video game. This day was one that I couldn't wait to drift away from, in hopes of the next one being much, much better.
0445 came much too soon. My screeching alarm clock jolted me out of bed, making me painfully aware of what was awaiting me. The PFT had never been a favorite of mine. I always scored well, but the process was tortuous, and running long distances was not my strong suit.
I looked over to Angelica's bed to find her sound asleep. The noise of the alarm seemed to have had little effect on her. I made my way back to the bathroom and quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth, before pulling my hair back into my quintessential bun. By the time I made my way out of the bathroom, Angelica was up and moving about. We both got dressed in our PT gear, an awkward silence filling the room. The tension filling the space could have been sliced with a fingernail. I was a bit annoyed that she hadn't come by Dalton's room last night like she'd said, leaving me as the sole female in attendance.
"Hey, sorry about last night. I needed to blow some steam," she quietly said, making her way to the bathroom.
"No biggie. I had a good time anyway. Where'd you go?"
"That's good. I took my binder and went to the food court for a small dinner and study session." She rubbed a towel over her face, turning to look back at me. "I saw Sgt. Cruz there. He was with Sgt. Castillo and they were out of uniform. I think they were on a date." A slight grin caressed her lips and a twinkle went off in her eyes. For some strange reason, it made goose bumps pop up all over my arms.
"Well, he is entitled to that," I responded, not wanting her to see that the bit of news had definitely pinched a nerve.
"Yes. That he is. Just thought you'd want to know. He seems like a playboy, so I hope you're serious about wanting to stay away from him."
The faux smile she gave me while walking back to her bed and putting on her running shoes was boiling my blood. I didn't have any claim to Cruz, but for some reason hearing that he was out with someone else was turning me a deep shade of green—green with absolute envy.
"You just worry about you, Angelica. I've got me taken care of."
I walked out of the room, letting the fresh, warm morning air steal my breath like a thief in the night. I wasn't sure if I would ever get used to such a dry climate.
Angelica was presenting herself as a challenge. Even her apology came with some snide comment or rude retort. It was becoming blatantly obvious that I would have to limit my time around her if I wanted to keep my composure.
Standing before all of the PT gear clad instructors in the wee hours of the morning, we were led over to the pull-up bars. Dalton came up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"You ready?" he asked with a smile that could have lit up the dusky, morning sky.
"I guess so," I responded, giving him my first genuine smile of the morning. He was about to say something more, when I heard the deep rumble of Sgt. Cruz's voice bellowing out to the crowd.
"Good morning, Radio and Data," he said, looking around the group and never once loosening the tense muscles that held the scowl on his face. "We are starting your morning out with your preliminary PFT. Males will go to the left, females to the right. You should all be aiming for a first class PFT today."
I watched the Adam's apple in his throat protrude with every word he spoke. Thoughts of running my tongue over and around it bombarded me, taking me away for a minute before I regained my focus.
"Males will be performing pull-ups, females will be performing the flexed arm hang. Males, you will start with your body at a dead hang, your chin must pass the bar, and you must come back down to a dead hang for each pull up to count. Aim to max out at twenty." He moved aside and out came a female instructor that I had not yet met.
"I am Corporal Collins, and I work in the Data section. Females, your flexed arm hang, unlike the male pull-ups, is timed. You are to start with your chin above the bar. The time will stop when your arms become fully extended. Aim to hold your body up for seventy seconds for maximum points."
As soon as she was finished speaking, Sgt. Jensen stepped out, giving the order for us to move to our respective sides. As I moved to the female line, Cruz's eyes landed on me, narrowing into dark little slits the longer we were eye locked on one another. Prickles began coating my arms, even though it was probably about eighty degrees out in the desert already. Castillo walked up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder, which effectively broke our stare. She whispered something to him, making him nod as he strode away. I looked back to find her eyes on me, inquisition laced throughout like she was trying to figure me out. The moment turned awkward in a heartbeat, so I turned my head back around and made my way into my line to start my PFT.
Angelica was one of the first to jump up onto the bar, hanging for a full minute before the weight of her own body gave way and her arms were fully extended. She let go of the bar, dropping to the ground yelling, "Shit!" as she angrily rubbed her moist hands on her t-shirt.
"Good job, Ruiz," Collins said to her, prompting Angelica to give a very tightened response of thank you.
After a few more females, it was finally my turn. I looked around before stating my rank and name, waiting to be given the all clear to get up on the bar. Just as Cpl. Collins gave the go ahead, I looked around and my eyes landed on Cruz, who was standing about fifty feet away, arms locked over his chest, eyes focused with his expressionless face fixated on me. My nerves began to jumble as I gripped the bar, trying hard to steady my weight when the weight of his gaze on me seemed like it was pressing me down.
Once I situated myself, and Collins gave the command to start, I tried hard to erase him and his intimidating, yet, alluring gaze from my mind. I began singing lyrics in my mind, but as I did that, the lyrics to Blurred Linescame rushing back to me, filling my head with his hands all over me, his cock stabbing into my ass. I was beginning to falter, losing the ability to focus on the task at hand. Luckily, I was able to hold tight to my grip, and I quickly moved on to singing a Marine Corps cadence that was taught to us in bootcamp, refocusing my attention to where it needed to be.
Before long, the sweat forming on my hands was beginning to make the bar slick, and the sweat trickling down my forehead was making my face itch. I didn't want to give up. I wanted a max score. Not only because I had yet to attain it but because I was also aware of a pair of devilish eyes that were hooked on me. My facial muscles contorted as I worked feverishly to keep myself up, not wanting to allow my arms to fully extend before time was called. I gritted my teeth and yelled, trying to do anything to combat the hurt expelling itself throughout my muscles as I worked tirelessly to hold my body weight up.
My arms began shaking as I felt my muscles begin to break down from the excessive weight. My body began lowering as I tried in vain to keep it up, but before I knew it, my arms had fully extended and Cpl. Collins was yelling, "Time."
"Sixty five seconds, Bennett. Good job!"
"Thank you, Cpl. Collins," I said through short, quick, breaths.
I pulled the neck of my t-shirt up to my face to wipe the excess sweat away. As I pulled it back down, my eyes met with Cruz. He sent a wicked smirk in my direction before turning and making his way back over to the male side of the field.
"Sixty five seconds. That's bad ass, Bennett," Dalton said, high-fiving me.
"It's my best yet. In bootcamp, the best I ever did was a full minute."
"Sweet. Before long, you'll hit seventy seconds and max out on points. Let me know if you want to work out with me. I'll get ya there."
"Will do."
Our conversation was broken up by death harrowing cries that came from none other than Allen leaving the pull-up bar. He had maxed out his twenty pull-ups and was celebrating his feat with caveman-like cries that seemed to garner the attention of everyone in attendance. Jensen walked up to him, patting him on the back while whispering something in his ear. He smiled and laughed before making his way over to the water station to hydrate. I had no desire to get tangled up with him again, so I quickly turned my head around before he could catch my stare.
Next was the crunches portion of the test. We were all herded to the grassy area not far from the pull-up station and instructed to grab a partner to count our pull-ups. Once again, Sgt. Cruz took the lead, barking out the directions.
"You will have two minutes to belt out as many crunches as possible. Remember, your arms must stay folded over your chest, your butt must stay in contact with the ground, your feet must remain in contact with the ground, and your elbows must touch your thighs and then back down to the ground in order for it to count. Partners, do not count them if they are not executed correctly. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Sergeant!" we all yelled.
"Go!"
I partnered up with Angelica since she was near me. She seemed to be taking her frustrations from the bar out on her crunches because she was moving like a well-oiled machine. She worked fast and furiously, taking slight breaths with every upward motion that her body made. At the call of the end of two minutes, Angelica had easily knocked out one hundred, flawless crunches.
"Your turn," she said, grinning at me. I wasn't sure if she felt like she was in competition with me since I had lasted longer than she had on the bar, but honestly, my effort on that apparatus had nothing to do with her.
The call to begin was given by Sgt. Castillo and I got to work, pumping out crunch after crunch as easily as I breathed. This event was much less strenuous for me than the flexed arm hang had been, and shortly after beginning, I heard Castillo's voice call time. By my own count, I had matched Angelica with one hundred crunches.
When our scores were taken by the instructors walking through the row, I gave the one hundred count for Angelica, but when they turned to her to get my count, she called out, "ninety." My mouth hit the floor.
"Ninety?" I shrieked, pissed off at her.
"Yeah, some of those didn't count. You lifted your butt off the ground."
"Bullshit. I did every single one of them perfectly, and you know it."
She pouted her plump lips. "Maybe you thought you did them perfectly, but Sgt. Cruz wasn't far behind, so I don’t know if you thought him seeing your ass would help, but for this, they don't count."
I wanted to slap the smirk off of her face, but that wouldn't help matters.
"You're a fucking bitch," I blew out, trying to keep my voice down.
I got up and walked away, feeling like I would let out every ounce of wrath that had suddenly piled up inside of me if I didn't get some space between us. She knew exactly what she was doing. If she was pissed about Sgt. Cruz, Sgt. Jensen, or the fact that I had performed better than her on the bar, she was being petty, and it was beginning to wear thin on me. Unfortunately, before I could figure out how to handle her, I had to get my mind right because we were heading over to the water station to hydrate and stretch before making our way to the three mile run course.
"You ready to give me a run for my money?" Dalton asked as we snapped our reflective belts around our waists. Part of the run course ran alongside the road, and base orders stated that we must wear reflectives anytime we ran before or after daylight as a safety precaution.
"I'm not sure about that. Long distance running has never been my thing," I responded, trying to be honest about my shortcoming.
"Try to keep up with me. Running with a partner will sometimes surprise the hell out of you."
"Will do."
We stood at the line, waiting to be given the command to start.
"You will have twenty-eight minutes to complete your three mile run. One second beyond twenty-eight minutes and you fail. Pace yourselves so that you don't burn out too quickly. Go!" Cruz said, leaving his husky voice as the last thing on my mind as I took off with Dalton by my side.
We started at a medium pace, not too slow, but definitely not as fast as some of the others. Angelica was one of the first off the line, almost moving in a dead sprint as she started her run. That didn't appeal to me at all, knowing if I started that way, I would definitely burn-out by the second mile.
The sun was beginning to rise as we ran, sending scorching rays of heat down on us. My t-shirt and my shorts filled with sweat as I ran, trying desperately to focus on the course instead of the voice of sex coming from Cruz's mouth into my ears. Dalton spoke to me as we ran, but between the living inferno we were running in, and the voice that was assisting in the task of melting me, I could barely make out what he was saying.
We hit mile three, and my legs were beginning to turn into jello. My skin had turned a lobster's shade of red, the sweat acting as a second layer of skin, coating every inch of my body, sealing my t-shirt and my shorts to me while my lips began to chafe and burn. I was slowing down, and even though I knew we only had one mile to go, I was finding it difficult to keep up the pace that Dalton had set for us.
"Come on, Bennett," he said, through short, deep breaths. "You can do this. Let's go."
"Go ahead of me," I blew out through labored pants. I didn't want him getting a worse time because he was trying to keep me on pace with him.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine."
With that, Dalton picked up the pace, moving with the ease of a gazelle. He easily glided past other runners, almost as if he hadn't exerted a bit of energy already. I kept to my pace, figuring all I had to do was get to the finish line before twenty-eight minutes struck on the clock.
As I made the final turn, I saw Dalton at the line, calling my name, rooting me on. Angelica wasn't far behind him, staring at me as I inched closer and closer to the finish line.
"Come on, Bennett. You've got this," he called out, just as I passed the line.
"Twenty-six fifteen," Castillo called out. I had never been so thrilled. Usually my run time was inching closer to the cut-off mark. Running with Dalton had helped me, even if he finished minutes before I had.
I was panting, desperate for breath and water, when Dalton walked over to me, handing me a water bottle. I gulped it down, almost like it was the last drink I would ever take. He patted me on the back and then walked away. I was much too fatigued to look up and figure out where he was going, but just as I felt like I could breathe again, and the overwhelming need to hurl left my body, a deep, rumbling voice filled my ears.
"Stand up," he ordered. "You don't want to get cramps."
I looked up to find the hazel eyes of Cruz glowing at me, his face still held firmly tight.
"Good job out there today."
The breath I had worked so hard to catch had escaped me again with his presence and his words alone. I breathed deep and hard, trying desperately to get it back so I could say something in response to him.
He leaned in closer to me, damn near nibbling on my ear lobe as I felt the soft touch of his full, sensual lips graze my ear. My nipples worked themselves into two solid pebbles, sticking out against the sweat soaked t-shirt clinging to my chest.
"You're much too exhausted after this run. I might need to work you out!"
His words grew deeper and harsher with the end of his statement. The way he looked at me, and the inflection on the words, meant so much more than what they appeared to mean. My heart rate spiked again, and my breath caught just as I was fixing my lips to say something to him in response.
