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I pushed his feet out of the way and sat down on his couch, looking at the Chinese takeaway box he was holding with love. He sighed and gave me the box before picking up another one.
“What are we going to watch?””George Clooney was on the TV when I looked at it.
“We’re not watching anything. “I am watching Oceans Eleven.” I put my bare legs over his and lay down next to him, making sure to try all of his food.
He held my legs without thinking, and every time he moved his hand to get more food, I would feel a cold spot where his hand had just been. He always put it back in the same spot.
“What’s going on between you and Jake?”He asked after thinking about it for a long time. Even when I turned to look at him, he kept his eyes on the TV.
“Nothing,” I said simply.
“The general said you were in a bad spot.” He still wouldn’t look at me.
“Yeah, well, general douche talks shit.” I could feel myself getting angry again.
“You can’t have relationships with the other recruits; it’s against the rules.” They’ll move one of you.
I put a chicken ball in my mouth and chewed on it to get rid of my anger.
“Okay, I know you won’t tell me because I’m the Lieutenant and you don’t want to get in trouble, but I hope you would because—”
I grabbed his face and made him look at me.
“Your general is a perv who has to make up fantasies about us because he can’t get any.”
“Rivers, don’t talk about my generals like that.”
“Well, it’s true. Nothing is going on. We were just lying on his bed and reading a p**n magazine. His eyes lit up and he looked down at my lips.
“Good,” he said suddenly, and I let go of his face.
“Okay?”
“Yeah, because it’s off-limits and I don’t want to keep covering for you.” So get your act together.
I snuggled up to him, and to my surprise, he put his arm around my shoulder to protect me. It felt nice, warm, and safe.
I finished his noodles and kept watching Oceans Eleven while lying against his chest in a comfortable silence, listening to his calm breathing.
He was a different person here than he was on the pitch, and I smiled to myself because I was the only one who got to see him so calm and relaxed.
I was hot and comfortable, and I could feel myself smiling like an idiot. I slowly opened my heavy eyelids and blinked at what was around me.
Mason slept next to me, and his long eyelashes fluttered as he dreamed. I poked his cheek, and he made a cute pout, so I poked it again, and he slapped himself and opened his eyes wide.
“Ow,” he said, looking at me like I was the one who hit him.
“I am in your bed,” I said, which was clear.
“Shh, the alarm hasn’t gone off.” He turned me over and put his arm around me, pulling my body close to his. I couldn’t help but smile as I closed my eyes.
There was a knock at his door, and I could tell that his whole body froze. He took his arm off and sat up. I rolled over to face him, and he gave me a worried look.
He put his thin finger over his lips to shush me, then he took my hand and pulled me out of bed, dragging me to the door without saying a word.
I was shivering from the cold because I was only wearing grey sweat shorts and a T-shirt from the night before. He opened the door after putting me behind it.
“Sir, Commander?” Mason asked. I didn’t say anything, but my heart was pounding.
He even calls his dad “sir” when they are alone.
“Come here for a progress report on your recruits.” His voice was harsh and scary, and it made my blood run cold.
“Right now, sir?”I could hear Mason’s voice shaking; I could almost hear the fear.
“We’re halfway through the fitness test. Are they ready for it?His father asked in a stern, professional voice.
“I think most of them are,” Mason said.
“Most?He yelled angrily, and even though I was behind the door, it made me flinch.
“If I were in charge of this field, they would all be ready to do it three times without complaining. This just won’t work. Pay attention to the stronger ones. We’re going to take the weaker ones to the judge. They aren’t going to make fun of my boot camp just because the lieutenant is a loser.
“Sir, I have hundreds of recruits under my care, and no one has given me a good enough reason to send them away. I would have to follow the rules and go through three disciplinary actions.
“Then you make them act up, which gives us a reason to take them away.”
Wow, that’s pretty mean.
“Excuse me, commander, but some of the new recruits have young kids or sick family members. Bootcamp may not be complete freedom, but they can call their family whenever they want, choose their own lawyers, and meet with them whenever they want. For some of the new recruits, boot camp is a better mental fit.
Are you asking me to put them in a tough spot and make the least fit of them act up enough to get in trouble?”
“I’m happy you finally figured out how to do things around here, Mason.” It took you a long time.
“Do you want me to lead in a dishonest way?”
The commander got closer, and Mason’s grip on the door got stronger, stopping it from being pushed open.
“Don’t make our boot camp look bad,” I’m telling you. I’m telling you not to make your leaders look bad. My boy. You don’t want to do that because it will make me look bad.
He said what he was going to do.
“Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Mason said quietly. I heard his father tut loudly.
I know we’re all criminals, but at least at boot camp we can meet the generals. We can sneak out and go to the pub. It was the better deal, and Mason was smart enough to know that, but it looks like making his father happy was still the most important thing for him.
“Mason, you are a disgrace. Get your uniform on and comb your hair. I can see that your bed isn’t made either. “Don’t be late to the pitch; let’s see if you can do something right and set an example.”
“Sir, yes sir.” Mason slammed the door shut and went to the fridge. He took out a bottle of water and sipped it without saying anything about what had just happened. I watched him closely. He wiped his mouth and put the lid back on the bottle.
Finally, he said, “I think you should go.”
I took a second to think about what I wanted to do and then I did it.
“Come on.”
I took his hand and led him back to bed. I climbed in with him and pulled him with me. Then I threw the covers over us both and snuggled into him.
“We’re not going to let him ruin our morning.”
He relaxed in just a few seconds, and then he completely melted into me. Then, to our surprise, he brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it softly.
His body stopped moving.
“Uh… I don’t know… I didn’t… “I don’t know why I just did that,” he said, stuttering and looking a little embarrassed.
“Stop thinking too much,” I said.
For fifteen minutes, we lay in each other’s arms in pure bliss before the alarm went off and we had to get up and start the day.