And then she wrinkled her nose, the morning’s Laser Rounds, and a couple hours of workouts to boot, all too evident from the stench coming through her single, remaining all-terrain suit. She really needed her replacement to arrive soon.
“See you on the flip side, Waters.” Saluting, and maybe adding an extra bounce to her step just for him, she bounded across the hall, claiming one of the showers.
CHAPTER 6: LEE
LEE COULDN’T get over kissing Kat.
She’d come back over to his dorm last night for round two, this time without the interrupting cadets, and they’d stayed up for hours tangled up in each other. Talking. Laughing. Finding out how many ways he could make her skin heat… They’d gotten better at not falling onto each other. Mostly.
She was a fever dream, or perhaps a real dream, concocted on hope and desire. One he only trusted to be reality because her treetop scent of wild azara and orange blossom was all over everything. On his pillow and on his clothes. Every movement sending visuals of her straddling on top of him and falling over him once again.
He’d never be over this, over her. Over the way she’d bite her swollen lips when they’d come up for air. And the self-conscious way she’d fuss over her messy, tangled hair. Or the way it felt to just hold her in his arms.
She’d been his friend long before they’d ever tried any of this. Butvoid,now that he’d tried her, he was never going back.
He slipped out of his dorm to take a nice, long cold shower before heading down to the training levels.
The ship was quiet down here this morning. Sunday was a free day and the only day cadets ever bothered with sleeping in. Which gave him his pick of the training rooms.
He had a hand by the plate of one of the matted rooms when he heard the heavy weight clatter down in the next room over. Drawing in a tight breath, Lee went through the other door.
There were two cadets inside using the weights. An X and Zane.
Lee strategically chose one of the machines down the line from them, taking his time as he started in on a workout.
It made for an interesting hour in the gym, especially after the X cadet noticed who he was sharing the space with and attempted to schmooze them both with compliments on each of their “intense performances” in the Laser Rounds the day before.
Intense was definitely one word for it, although Lee could think of some better adjectives.
It wasn’t until the X finished his workout that Lee got up to grab his water. Zane shot him a glowering look as Lee came over, looking very much like he might smack him or chew him out before taking up his next set.
Either would be fair. Lee had been a dick the other day, and he knew it. He’d just had limited options.
But Zane interjected before he could get into any of that. “I played your games, you had your fun. I’m assuming this means you’re ready to talk?”
And apparently dick was a two-way street.
Lee cut him a slash of a grin. “Depends on the conversation.”
But then he sighed, letting his grin fall with the facade. He had no beef with Zane. “Look. I shouldn’t have used you in the Rounds to get my point across, okay? Not without conversing with you first.”
Zane scrutinized him. But then he dropped the front altogether. “I got your message about Levy. She was a good cadet.”
“That she was,” Lee agreed, finally taking that sip of water.
“I mean it. I’m sorry she got dragged into this. I’m sorry any of us did. We were reckless. I share a part of that blame.”
“There’s no blame. It was our choice.” Lee gripped the warm skin on the back of his neck.
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
Lee glared over at Zane.
He glared right back. “This goes beyond you and I. How can you not see that?” Zane’s fist shook at his side.
“You think I don’t know that? It’s not my life I’m worried about,” Lee countered, now pinching the bridge of his nose to contain the sudden flare of frustration. There was a reason they’d always butted heads. But they’d managed to find common ground before.
Lee blew out a breath, shoving his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to use them.
