Chapter 6: chapter 6

The last few days have been quiet. I‘ve been resting in the tent and let me tell you, it’s boring as hell. The boys have been keeping me company but also go out and have some time to their selves. Officer Russell gave us a few days off so we can recovery a little. I get slight headaches but nothing too major. I can start training again tomorrow.

I decide to go to the cafeteria. On my way over to the building, I get a few smiles, high fives, and even some cat calls from some of the soldiers. After the last mission, the guys at our base camp have been treating me like a hero. It’s kind of funny. I walk into the cafeteria and get some food. I go to an empty lunch table and after a moment, my table was surrounded by many soldiers, setting down their trays of food and sitting down. An arm goes around my shoulders and I look to my side to see one of the guys smiling at me. He leans closer and wiggles his eyebrows at me. I laugh and shove him away lightly. He just grins and goes back to his food.

It used to never be like this. I used to just eat alone. In the beginning, some guys would shove me while walking past me or just ignore me. I didn’t mind that much and mostly stayed out of their ways. After the mission though, a bunch of them just sat next to me and started chatting with me. It was refreshing. Most of the guys were fun and laid back. They would tell me about their families and how they can’t wait to end this war. I even got to see some pictures. It was nice talking freely and laughing along. They finally accepted me. Some even said they would like to work with me on the battlefield one day. I hope for that day too.

After lunch, I went back to the tent to find Tristan reading a book while he’s lying on his bed. He looks up and smiles a charming smile at me. I just smile back and go towards his bed. I sit on the edge of his bed and he gives me a questioning look.

“What? I’m bored.” I say.

Tristan puts his book down and sits up to get a better look at me.

“Milady, you are always welcomed to my bed.” He winks at me.

“And that’s my cue to leave.” I say as I start to get up.

I feel a hand grab my wrist and pull me down. I feel myself fall and close my eyes as I land on a bumpy bed. I open my eyes to see Tristan over me. His face is so close! I feel my face start to heat up.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“I just didn’t want you to leave.” He said.

“Well you could have just said so. You didn’t have to force me on your bed.” I say, irritated.

He smiles but not just a charming smile but a genuine smile. I gasped and realized just how handsome he really was.

“But how else was I going to get you in my bed?” He asks.

I blush again and curse myself for falling for his tricks. He looks at my face. I see him analyzing it. I see his eyes go from my hair to my eyes to my nose to my lips. He stops at my lips longer than I would have liked him to and then looks back up at my eyes. He seems to be searching for something in my eyes.

“Tristan?” I ask.

“What are you hiding from me Anna?” He asks all of a sudden.

That caught me off guard.

“What?” I ask.

“You seem to be hiding something. Something you don’t want others to know about you. What is it?” He asks, intending to get an answer.

“I’m not hiding anything.” I say.

“Yes you are. It’s something about you’re past, I know it.” He says.

“Well I was an assassin in the past. Of course I have some secrets I can’t share with the public.” I say.

Tristan stares at me for a moment before dropping his head and letting out a sigh.

“I guess I’ll just have to wait till you can trust me.” He says. Then he lifts his head and stares at me again. “I just have one more question.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“What is Gale to you?”

“He’s my friend. Why?”

“Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask, confused.

“Because I see him look at you all the time.”

“So? We’re friends.”

“I don’t think that’s how he thinks of you.”

“Well you don’t know Gale like I do.”

“True but you don’t see what everyone else sees.”

“And what do you see?”

“I see a man in love.”

I pause for a moment, shocked.

“Surprised? I don’t see why. You’re a very attractive woman.” Tristan moves a piece of hair from my face.

“So? What’s your point?” I ask.

“My point? Well I should think it’s pretty obvious.”

“What do you mean? Are you jealous?” I say, jokingly.

Tristan stares at me, seriously. He leans closer to me and I put my hands to his chest, trying to push him away and failing miserably.

“Is it so wrong to be jealous?” He asks as he gets closer.

“Well I wouldn’t understand why.” I say, hating myself for liking how close our bodies were.

He leans down to my ear and whispers.

“Really Anna? You don’t know why?” He asks.

Shivers run down my back as his breath touches my ear and neck. He leans back slightly and stares at my eyes and then at my lips. He inches his way towards my lips. I start to squirm but can’t get out from under him. As he gets closer, his face pops into my head and I pale. Tristan seems to notice and stops advancing. He looks at me worriedly before getting up and leaving the tent without a single word.

I think I hurt his feelings. He must have thought I was scared of him but that wasn’t the case. I just didn’t want to have those feelings again and feel betrayed. I get up and decide to head to the gym even though my head still hurts a little. I enter and find Brock working out. I decide to do the same. I start with the punching bag but don’t get far into the work out before I feel someone tap my shoulders. I look back to see Brock. He’s sweating all over. He’s not wearing a shirt and let me tell you, that boy is a fine looking man. He smirks at me as he catches me checking him out.

“Like what you see?” He asks, snapping me out of my trance.

I just scowl at him.

“What do you want?” I ask.

“We never got to finish our fight.” He says.

“We never even started our fight.” I roll my eyes.

His face gets red with anger.

“Well then, shall we start?” He asks.

I just nod and move to the mat. I take my stance and so does he. We stare at each other before Brock comes at me first. Big mistake. Don’t be hasty. You need to stay calm and think of your opponent’s next move. Just take a deep breath. He tries to take me out with one punch but I dodge. He quickly swings again and I just dodge again. He starts to get frustrated as I keep dodging his punches. He might be strong but I’m fast. The only problem is, one of us might run out of energy before the other person and there’s a possibility that that person will be me. I decide to attack right after Brock tried to punch me yet again. I move under his punch and come up from under and connect my fist with his chin. Brock staggers back but stays standing. I knew he was strong. He stares at me with anger in his eyes. He charges again and tries to kick me this time. I jump high enough for him to miss and kick his face. Brock staggers back and almost falls but still stays standing. He’s losing strength from all his attacks. I hear a noise and it distracts me momentarily but that was enough time for Brock. He puts a full force into his punch and hits me in the gut. I groan and stagger back, feeling the effects of the blow. Brock smiles at me smugly. Oh, he is so going down. I decide to take a chance and charge at him this time. He’s waiting for me and still has that smile on his face. I lightly punch his adam’s apple. It would have been worse but I made sure to just apply enough pressure to make him distracted with his breathing. It surprised him and I took that chance to kick his feet out from under him and he falls. I pin him to the ground as he regains his breathe. I smile in victory as he scowls at me.

“That was unfair.” He says.

“How so?” I ask with a smirk on my face.

“Girls don’t have to worry about certain things that men have.”

“First of all, I am a woman, not a girl. Get it straight. And second of all, girls technically do have an adam’s apple, just not as visible as the men’s are.” I say.

Brock grunts.

“Just admit it, I won.” I say.

Brock rolls us over so he’s pinning me down. I gasp, shocked. Brock looks at me angrily.

“Why the hell do you make me so angry?” He asks.

“How the hell should I know? It must be you.” I say.

“You’ve been fighting me every chance you’ve got.”

“That’s because you started it. I don’t take people looking down on me lightly.”

Brock closes his eyes and sighs. After a minute, he opens them and he seems to be calmed down. He releases me and we both stand up. He puts out his hand I just look at it.

“What?” I ask.

“I’m sorry for judging you so quickly. Please forgive me.” He says.

I smile and shake his hands.

“Thanks.” I say.

For the first time ever, Brock smiles. I feel my heart beat faster. What the hell is up with all these boys making my heart beat rapidly. We release each other’s hands.

“Good fight.” I say.

Brock turns away from me and I can see a tint of red on his face.

“Yeah. I guess it’s your victory.” He says.

“Well what did you expect Big O? I am the best” I wink at him.

His face gets angry again.

“I take that back. I only lost because I didn’t want to hurt a girl.” He yells.

I start to walk away.

“No take backs.” I yell over my shoulder.

Brock yells out a few words that children should not hear and I smile to myself. He’s just too easy. I decide to go for a run in the woods around the base camp. Halfway through the path, I spot something in the corner of my eye. I stop and look around, listening to my surroundings. I hear a rustle of leaves behind me and whip around. A person catches my fist that was planning to hit them in the face. The person chuckles softly and I realize who it is.

“Gale, what the hell? You know I hate when people sneak up on me.” I say.

“Sorry, just wanted to check if you still got it after being retired for a few years.” He says.

He lets go of my hand.

“Well I still got it. I didn’t stop training completely when I left.” I say.

“Good. You never know when something might happen.”

“Exactly.”

I look around the woods and admire the beauty of it. I didn’t really take a good look at the trees but they seem to shut out the world around you. It makes you think there isn’t a war going on out there, just beauty everywhere. I stop admiring the scenery and turn back to Gale. I gasp lightly as I see that he is gazing at me, longingly. Could Tristan be right? I shake my head. No, I’m just letting him get to me.

I hear a rustle of leaves just above and look up. I see birds fly away as leaves falls down to earth. A leaf falls on my head and before I can remove it myself, I see a hand take it first. I look at Gale and realize he moved much closer to me. He throws the leaf to the ground but keeps staring at me. He strokes my cheek with his back hand and my body shivers with delight. Gale seems to notice and his eyes light up. His eyes used to be so cold. He used to be a zombie walking around. Now he seems to have more life in his eyes. I wonder why. I come out of my train of thought as Gale stares at my lips and his thumb brushes against my bottom lip. I gasp and he looks at my eyes quickly. He seems to be searching for something in them. His hand slides down my chin and to my neck where it stops at my shoulder. His fingers trace a scar. My body shivers again at his touch. What is this man doing to me? When was he ever like this with me? I hear a bird squawk loudly and come out of my trance.

“I’m starting to get a headache. I’m going to head back.” I run off before he can protest.

What the hell was that? What is wrong with me? I don’t remember my body reacting that way with anyone except for him, so why now? I don’t have feelings for any of these guys. I stop in my tracks. Or do I? I shake my head and just go back to the tent. Some time to myself will help me with my confused feelings. I just need to rest and not think about every little detail. I walk into the tent and find Alex on my bed. Oh shoot! I haven’t really talked to him since the incident with the mission. He must be afraid or even sickened by what I did to the one general. Could this day get any more stressful?

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I felt like I was lacking in the romance section so I decided to have the main character to have a moment with each of them. I still have 3 other guys to go through. It seems they're starting to like her. Hmmmmm?