Kristen shook her head, trembling with laughter as she turned and looked to where Patricia was staring and saw Brodie approaching the table where the rest of the Seawolf officers were seated. Kristen stopped laughing almost immediately. Seeing and visiting with Patricia had briefly allowed Kristen to think of something else. But upon seeing Brodie again, all of the thoughts and unwanted feelings once more thrust themselves to the forefront of her thoughts. She turned her head back to Patricia.
“Who’s that?” Patricia asked. “And can I please give him a haircut?”
Kristen forced an innocent smile on her face. “He’s my captain.”
Patricia raised an eyebrow, and her face registered her pleasant surprise. “Oh,” she said teasingly, “so that’s what you’ve been up to.” Patricia gave Kristen a gentle nudge in the ribs and whispered in her ear, “You little scamp. I didn’t know submariners came in that packaging.” Patricia stared across the room without any hint of modesty. “It kind of gives a whole new twist to the meaning of ‘going down’ if you know what I mean.”
Kristen shook her head a little more seriously now. “It’s nothing like that, really. He’s really good, probably the best in the Navy.”
“I bet,” Patricia giggled as her eyes sparkled with unhidden lust. “The question is do you have any proof?”
Kristen lowered her voice as she chastised her friend, “That isn’t what I meant, and stop staring, he might look over here.”
“That’s the whole idea, sweetie,” Patricia explained as if giving a class. “You have to bait the hook if you want to reel in the big one.” Patricia’s eyes smoldered as she followed Brodie across the room. “Oh, yeah,” Patricia offered hungrily, “he’s good in bed.”
“What?!” Kristen felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment. Afraid Brodie might walk over, Kristen tried to get Patricia to stop staring. “How can you possibly know something like that?”
Patricia looked back at Kristen with a capricious smile. “I have a sense about these things,” she replied as if there was no doubt about what she was saying. “Look at the way he moves,” she added pointedly. “Trust me, he’ll curl your toes for sure.”
“He’s not like that…” Kristen answered hastily as she dared a quick, secret glance at Brodie.
“Like what?”
Kristen looked back at Patricia. Her friend’s smile had faded somewhat, and Patricia was now watching her carefully. “What?” Kristen asked doing her best to hide any thoughts that might cause Patricia to suspect anything.
“You and him haven’t been playing a little hide the torpedo in the mile-under-the-sea club have you?” Patricia asked as her eyes lingered on Kristen.
“No, never!” she replied hurriedly, but felt herself flush with embarrassment. “That’s crazy,” she whispered forcefully.
There was a long pause as Patricia’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Kristen looked down at her hands to avoid making eye contact. Patricia knew her too well, and Kristen feared her friend would see right through her thin veneer. “Krissie?” Patricia asked as she leaned a little closer and placed a hand on Kristen’s forearm. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, of course,” Kristen answered as she looked back up. She didn’t want to talk to Patricia about Brodie. In fact, she didn’t want to talk about him with anybody. But try as she might, she couldn’t hide what she was thinking from her oldest friend.
“Is he married?” Patricia asked with a hint of seriousness in her tone.
“He was,” Kristen replied and — despite herself — hazarded another glance toward Brodie. “His wife left him when he was overseas.”
“Stupid bitch,” Patricia said loud enough to be heard by the adjacent table. Several officers looked over at the two women. Patricia shot them her best “mind your own business” smile and returned to studying Kristen. “He hasn’t…” Patricia paused as she continued to watch Kristen. “He hasn’t come on to you, has he?”
“Lord no!” Kristen insisted. “He’s my captain, for goodness sake.” Kristen glanced over to where Brodie had paused by Graves and was whispering something in his ear.
“Krissie?”
Kristen looked back quickly, not having realized she was staring at Brodie. “What?” she asked with a weak attempt at innocence.
“Are you?” Patricia hesitated. “You aren’t sleeping with him are you?” she asked in a soft, very serious tone. She then quickly added, “Not that I’m judging you or anything. But I mean…” Patricia looked back across the room at Brodie, “if you were…” she looked back to Kristen with her most devilish grin. “Wow!”
Kristen shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no,” she assured her friend. “It’s nothing like that.”
Patricia nodded her head as if to agree, but her expression remained skeptical. “But something happened?”
Kristen considered a lie. But she’d never been a good liar, and she knew Patricia would see right through it. She found herself momentarily uncertain as she looked back down at her hands resting in her lap. “I…” she hesitated, hiding her face from anyone who might be watching, “I sort of kissed him.”
“You did what?!” Patricia exclaimed in shock so loudly that several officers at another table looked at the two women. Patricia shot them a dirty look and then returned her attention to Kristen and lowered her voice, “You did what?”
Kristen fidgeted slightly. “I didn’t mean to,” she whispered. “We were under a lot of stress… things had… things had happened…” she paused and glanced up at Patricia. “I was tired, he was there and…”
Patricia’s face registered complete shock and surprise. Despite her reputation for talking endlessly, she was struck speechless and could only manage to mouth the word “Wow” again. Recovering her faculties a few moments later, Patricia grinned playfully. “Did he kiss you back?” she asked, wanting all the details. “I mean, was it just a peck on the cheek, or did you go for it and really mug him?”
Kristen ran her hand over her perfect French twist, shaking her head at her stupidity for admitting anything like this to Patricia. “I think he kissed me back.”
“You think?” Patricia asked with a hint of disappointment. “Girlfriend, you’ve got to get out more,” she concluded taking vicarious pleasure from Kristen’s dilemma. “Was it good?”
Kristen nodded and then offered her friend a slight, playful smile, blushing slightly. “It was the best,” she assured Patricia. “I couldn’t feel my toes.” Kristen giggled to herself, remembering the feeling, and looked up at Patricia to see the pleasant surprise on her friend’s face. Patricia, still clearly in shock, just stared back at Kristen for nearly a minute with her mouth agape, unable to speak.
“I wish you would say something,” Kristen said nervously.
“Damn, Krissie,” Patricia managed with surprise still clear in her voice. “I mean, in four years at the Academy you never kissed anyone I know of. And now, on your very first ship, you kiss your captain.” She blinked in disbelief. “I would say that’s quite a leap.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Kristen insisted. “It just happened.”
“So do pregnancies,” Patricia replied and scooted her chair closer to Kristen’s.
“What do I do now?” Kristen asked as she squirmed slightly.
Patricia thought for a few moments and then, unexpectedly, her face flashed angry. “He didn’t force himself on you did he?” she demanded. “Because if that prick did, we’re marching over to the admiral’s table right now and getting you the hell out of there.”