“What are you doing?” Mav asked, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me.
“Nothing.” I turned my body, facing Wiz. “We ready to get out of here? We have ten minutes to hustle across base, or else we’ll get our asses chewed out.”
Maverick looked around, not moving to stand. “Who’s here?”
“No one,” I groaned, climbing to my feet. “We got shit to do and places to be.”
“Austin?” Makenna’s voice came from behind me.
My gaze flickered to Maverick first and his shit-eating grin as he turned his face up toward Makenna. As he opened his mouth, I spoke up, stopping him in his tracks from saying something shitty and embarrassing.
“Hey, Mak.” I turned, putting a smile on my face. “It’s nice to see you, but we were just heading out.”
“Oh.” The smile on her face fell. “Just wanted to say hi. I didn’t mean to interrupt or overstep.”
Trigger coughed. “Awkward,” he muttered.
“You’re not overstepping or interrupting,” Maverick said, sliding out of his chair to look down on the beautiful brown-haired woman. “I’m Maverick, Austin’s best friend.” My real name coming out of his mouth sounded foreign.
Mak held out her hand to Maverick, smiling. “I’m Makenna.”
“Austin, you didn’t tell us about your new friend,” Trigger added, eyeing me and the lack of rank clearly displayed on her uniform.
“We just met the other night, and we’re friends.”
Thankfully, we weren’t in uniform, and the obvious misstep on my part wasn’t as clear to her. She was lower rank, something that could get me in major trouble. There were rules in the military for everything, including relationships.
“Just friends,” she repeated, smile unwavering. “I’ve got to run. I have duty and am just grabbing a cup of coffee to go.” She pulled her hand back from Maverick’s and lifted her gaze to me. “It was good to see you.”
“You too, Mak.” I smiled, somehow keeping my shit together, but knowing I was completely awkward and stupid as fuck.
I stood there, watching as she walked through the crowd. She didn’t look back or sneak a peek over her shoulder as she moved farther away from us.
“So, trolling the new recruits,” Wiz said, elbowing me in the ribs.
I shook my head, rubbing my neck. “Her car battery died, and I waited with her. Nothing happened. Like I said, we’re only friends.”
“That right there,” Trigger said, ticking his chin toward her swaying hips and fine ass, “is nothing but a heap of trouble.”
“We’re friends,” I repeated, sounding less convincing every time the words came out of my mouth.
Wiz hooked his arm around my shoulder, trying to put me in a headlock. “Whatever you say, Casanova.” He laughed, dragging me toward the door and away from the one person who could quickly and easily kill my career.
Chapter Seven
Makenna
“Hottie ask you out again?” Allison asked, bumping me with her hip as I jumped the line to stand by her side.
“No.”
“Well, why the hell not?” She craned her neck, trying to see him as he disappeared. “You should’ve asked him out, then. I mean, he was hot as fu…”
“Allison,” I chided her, looking around as the people near us started to stare.
She moved closer as we shuffled forward. “Come on. He’s totally into you.”
“Did he look like he was into me?”
