She nodded. “I guess.”
“No guessing, for real. It’s one of the reasons none of us bring random women to these things. We don’t want the drama. We aren’t spring chicks strait out of boot camp. We’ve all been around the block a few times.” She was younger than him, and maybe she hadn’t seen her friend group mature. Back when hewas twenty, he would have hopped into bed with any random woman. It was different now. Of course, Ansley didn’t know that.
“But you’re bringing me.”
"You aren't random. I have an inkling that you aren't into drama."
She shook her head. “No way. I hate the drama.”
“Good. I think it’s cool that you all worked together to braid each other’s hair and made sure everyone looked good.”
“The sergeant was impressed that we were working together so well. I’m still in contact with her, the sergeant. I know people hate their drill sergeants, but I liked her. She was tough, don’t get me wrong, but human.”
“That’s great. I don’t think I ever talked to mine again.”
“I get that. The guys who went through when we were going through hated their sergeant. They didn’t work well as a team. There were some problems at the time, I don’t know if you saw that in the news.”
Link opened the door for her to get into the car, and he nodded. "I remember something about that."
“Yeah, a couple of recruits ended up dead right before we got there. The sergeant was being investigated, and he was angry. I don’t think that guy finished the class with them.”
"Oh, yeah, I remember that. Ruined that guy's career. Well, he ruined it by being an idiot. They determined that he was at fault, if I remember correctly."
“Yeah. Not the best time for the Marines.”
“But your experience was different.”
“So different.”
Link enjoyed listening to her as they drove back to his place. She told him a story about how her unit had been off base during a run and saved two kids who'd wandered away from home.
“That’s wild.”
“Their parents had been very thankful. The kids had gone out early in the morning looking for stars and gotten lost. They were lucky.”
“Sounds like it.”
He pulled onto his street, glad that Ansley had come to visit him. Later this evening, he would do a quick workout in his garage while she rested. Spending time with her was more important than working out first thing in the morning. They would adjust where they needed to so he could get in his workout and spend time with her.
Having her around was nice. She wasn’t demanding. Maybe that would change, but so far, they fit together well.
When they left for the cookout, he could tell Ansley was nervous. It was just something she would have to get through and see for herself that his friends were good people. The guys he worked with most were his best friends. Their jobs were tough, which meant they had to express their thoughts when planning missions. They might disagree at times, but they put that aside once they left base.
They weren’t the last to arrive, but it was close. Bean was outside and came over to Link’s car to greet them.
“Hey, you must be Ansley. You probably don’t remember me.”
She shook her head. "Sorry. There are a lot of blank spaces in my memory of that event."
“I totally get it. So you left the Marines?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know that I could have kept up with the physical requirements after the injuries, at least not for a while. It was good while it lasted.”
Bean chuckled. “That’s an interesting way to describe your time in.”
Link slung his arm over her shoulder, and she glanced up, her eyes bright with happiness. He liked that she seemed happy.
“It was time to leave. I liked being a Marine, but I didn’t want to stay in.”
