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“Thank you.”
He nodded tightly and continued down the hallway – slipping into Marie’s cabin without knocking and immediately covered his eyes, just in case.
“You need to knock!”
“You’re like a sister, and trust me – I don’t want to see what you have.”
“That’s not the point, Will…”
“I need your help,” he interrupted, changing the subject and peering between the locks of hair covering his face, letting out a sigh of relief. She was sitting at her desk, glaring at him.
“What do you need?”
“Don’t laugh or say anything – but I need you to go help the young lady in the orange room…”
Marie got out of her seat with this massive, gloating smile on her face as she looked at him.
“… Hush!” he hissed angrily. “Whatever you’re thinking? Don’t you dare say it aloud. Can you please just go help her?”
“Why?” she said simply, crossing her arms and grinning. “Why can’t you help her with whatever it is?”
“I think she has a severe dislike of me…”
“Why do you say that?”
“Let’s see,” he snapped hotly. “The term ‘captain douche-bag’ does not normally tend to be a term of affection…”
Marie burst out laughing… and he felt himself relax, chuckling as well.
“No, she didn’t…?”
“Yeah, she really did – to my face, too.”
“Feisty, little thing…”
“Yeah…” he said, smiling, and saw Marie’s tender smile.
“Oh Will,” she breathed softly. “You like her… don’t you?”
“I refuse to answer,” he retorted, not meeting her eyes. “And I’m heading up to the quarterdeck. Now, please. Help her?”
“Of course… Captain Douche-bag.”
“Heaven help me,” he grumbled, yanking open the door to her quarters and walking off in a huff.
Hours later,Will was facing another unexpected confrontation.
Feeling hot, stuffy, tired, and keenly aware of the woman he should be avoiding like the plague, he went up to get some air instead of lying in his bunk thinking about her – and her costume.
When he’d seen Marie and Calista walk into the galley, there had been such an unexpected tremor within him that it left him unbalanced.
Rattled.
He was normally the calm-under-pressure person. Steady. Nothing riled him up. Even in Iraq, when the team was getting hurt and maimed, he had been the one to drag them out of the situation - blindly lashing out in the rawest, desperate, and strongest self-preservation instincts that he’d ever experienced.
There was a level of low… and then there wasthatmoment.
The one he never expected and one he never wanted to experience again. The mind shut off, the body took over, and he glimpsed at the monster hidden deep within them all, recognizing that was what it took to get them to safety. Knowing that level of viciousness was somewhere within him was alarming… and he always strived to remain level-headed.
