“Nice to meet you, Noah.” She smiles.
“Not as nice as it is meeting you, Tori.” I give her a wink, and I swear she gasps.
She removes her hand and nervously tucks a strand of her long brunette hair behind her ear. “So, that drink. What can I get you?”
I give my head a little shake. “Uh, yeah, sorry. Whiskey on the rocks,please.”
She taps the bar with her knuckles, “Coming right up.”
I track her movements, watching as she takes a glass and fills it with ice, and then reaches for the top-shelf liquor. I place a twenty dollar bill on the bar and slide it toward her when she places my drink in front of me.
“Keep the change,” I offer as I lift the glass to my lips, instantly relaxing when the burn of the whiskey hits the back of my throat and warms me from the inside out.
“That drink is like three bucks, are you sure?”
I nod, and she takes the note, tapping the cash register, which opens with a ding. She places it inside and then places the change in her back pocket.
I expect her to turn on her heel and serve the other waiting soldiers, but she stays exactly where she is.
“So, what’s your story, Tori?” I smirk. “How did you end up working here?”
“Have you been sitting on that little catch phrase since I told you my name?”
“Maybe.” I grin.
“You’re such a poet, I think you’re in the wrong job. You should totally quit and write poetry.” She rests her hip against the bar and leaning toward me, close enough that I can smell the sweet sugary scent of her perfume.
Fuck, she smells good enough to eat.
“I needed a job. I live two towns over, and just dropped out of college.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I hated it.” I admire her ability to be so brutally honest. “And what brings you here? What made you become a marine?”
I think about lying, cracking a joke, but something about this girl has me wanting to share a little truth. “Running away from things I can’t control and trying to find my home.”
My honesty must take her by surprise by the way she looks at me so intently, like she’s searching my face for more answers. But I’d tell this girl everything if she asked. I could spend all night talking to her.
“So why a military base bar?” I question.
“I grew up here. Well, here and England. Our dad was in the Royal Marines in England. He came here on a draft swap, met my mom, fell in love, got married, they moved to England, had us, and then we moved back here when I was five.”
“Wow, that’s some life you’ve had.”
She shrugs. “It’s been fun, and my twin brother is based here. He helped get me the job.”
“Who’s your brother?” I ask hesitantly.
“Oh, he’s just walked in. Harry, over here,” she yells, and when I turn to see my buddies, Harry and Scotty, head toward me, my stomach nearly falls out of my ass.
“Hey, bud, when did you get here?” Harry asks, clapping me on the back.
I try to speak, but the words get lodged in my throat.
“Oh, I see you’ve met my twin, Tori.”
I nod like an obedient puppy.
