OBTP (4 page)

everyone in the bar. "Come on sweetie, loosen up a bit. You looked

like you were having fun with muscle guy over there. What

happened?" She nodded her head towards Tadd who had walked away

and was talking with a couple guys at another table.

"Who, Tadd?" Paige asked. She had given up on the thought of

anyone even remotely being interested in her. "He was asking about

you."

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"Really?" Rosa's eyes went back to where Tadd stood, looking him

up and down as if measuring him up for size. "He's cute."

"Yeah, he is." Disappointment set in and Paige didn't know why.

She had no intention of taking him back to her room. But the thought

of having the attention of a man interested in her had made her feel

good. Now she felt bummed.

"He wasn't with the group that invited us. Casey said he had only

seen him a couple times on base." Rosa ran her finger around the rim

of her shot glass absent mindedly, staring at Tadd.

Oh, so he hadn't been invited with the group she was supposed to

meet. Had she picked up a guy in a bar? The thought was funny

since he was not interested in her, how could she have picked him up.

Apparently Rosa had been interested enough in him to find out who

he was.

Glancing down at the drink that had been placed into her hand,

Paige sniffed it. It smelled like nothing she had ever had before,

thought what the hell when the group raised their glasses in a toast,

she joined them and tossed hers back, grimacing and coughing when

the liquid heat slid down her throat.

She was there to have fun. There were enough people around that

she wouldn't get herself into trouble, like she ever would anyway. She

knew how to get back to base, even if she had to walk, so she forced

herself to lean back and relax, somewhat.

Paige was still surprised that being in Japan, other than most of the

bartenders, there were very few Japanese men around. Even out in the

streets there had only been a handful outside of a couple of the bars.

As they had walked by, she'd heard a couple of the men in the

group talking about how they weren't allowed in certain bars. A

couple weeks earlier there had been a big fight in town and apparently

the men involved had been American military against the local gang

members. The bar had gotten pretty torn up before the fight was

stopped. To keep American's from going in, they had been informed

if there was a group of Japanese men standing out in front they were

not allowed to enter.

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Paige couldn't help but think how that would have gone over in

America! There would be rioting in the streets for discrimination.

She had to remind herself she was in a foreign country so things were

much different.

Listening to the music while Rosa went out on to the dance floor,

Paige leaned back and began relaxing. She actually hummed the song

playing loudly through the oversized speakers. Paige watched Rosa

dancing, sandwiched between two, hard muscular bodies. This time

Paige wasn't surprised at how Rosa moved with them. She didn't

know if it was the strange drink or if the thoughts of a threesome

Rosa's dancing invoked her excitement, but she was turned on.

They moved around the floor and her eyes followed.

When she felt someone's eyes on her, she looked around. Casey, or

Mr. Dimples as she still preferred to call him, eyed her. Again, heat

rose up her neck and to her face. She felt as if he had caught her

doing something naughty by watching Rosa with her two men on the

floor. A corner of his mouth lifted and he stood from the stool he had

been leaning against.

Stunned, Paige watched him walking towards her. He wasn't as

built as Tadd, but really, she preferred his physique, he definitely had

muscles. Not to the point to where he looked stiff like Tadd. Casey

looked like he could move a whole lot quicker and easier.

He strolled towards her, his steps were fluid, graceful even.

She couldn't help but wonder what questions he was going to ask

her about Rosa.

"Want another drink?" Stopping within inches of her, his leg nearly

touching hers, Casey pointed to the empty glass she was cradling.

Hesitating, she'd already drunk more than normal. Her eyes met his

and she gave in. "Sure." Paige took the hand he held out to her where

she sat on the lounge. Pulling her effortlessly to her feet, she followed

him to the bar.

Around the other men she considered herself short and invisible.

Walking next to Casey she actually felt petite and womanly for the

first time in years. His height caused her to lean her head back to look

at him.

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His eyes were a startling icy blue she had only seen on TV, she

liked the color. His military hair cut was growing out a bit and he was

just too damned good looking.

Paige wanted to run her hand through his hair to feel its softness.

Stopping at the bar just a little behind him, she shook her head lightly.

Okay, gotta stop thinking this way
. She turned and stared out at the

dance floor rather than back at Mr. Gorgeous Dimples beside her.

She dug in her pocket to pull out some money to pay for her drink

but stopped when Casey frowned sternly at her and plopped his

money down heavily on the bar. She had offended him without

meaning too. But really, she hadn't expected him to buy her a drink.

Grabbing the two beers from the counter, he turned without saying

anything and walked towards the table in the corner rather than back

to where she had been sitting. Placing the beers on the table, he didn't

wait for Paige to sit down. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out

onto the dance floor.

Paige glanced down at her shoes and wondered if the hiking boots

would slide along the floor like they should. She would figure it out.

Casey pulled her into his arms and all thoughts went completely out of

her mind.

On the other side of the floor Rosa was still gyrating with her two

men. Tadd had somehow replaced one of them and was practically

licking his lips while his hands roamed all up and down her body.

Casey held Paige loosely in his arms, not forcing her any closer

than she wanted to be. His hand rested lightly on her back and they

glided effortlessly across the wooden floor with sawdust strewn about,

her shoe problem was totally forgotten.

The shots and beers she had downed made her feel more at ease

than she realized. Her head swam and she closed her eyes, glad she

had eaten a large dinner. Placing her hand on his chest, the other on

his waist, Paige moved a bit closer. His arms tightened a little more

and she felt secure in his embrace. At the back of her mind, she still

waited for the questions to begin, but they never did. They danced

silently, wrapped in one another's arms. Their beers on the table were

completely forgotten and by the time they returned, they had become

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warm. Casey gave her a lopsided grin, tipped his back and swigged it

down anyway, so she did the same.

Looking around, Paige didn't see Rosa anywhere. "Did you see

Rosa leave?" Concern laced her voice and creased her brow.

"Yeah, she left two songs ago with Tadd and John." Casey

shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal.

But to Paige it was. Rosa had left her there! She wasn't afraid of

being alone, but being in another country, not knowing her

surroundings, she didn't like the fact that Rosa had just taken off

without at least saying something.

"Paige, you don't have to worry about Rosa, Tadd and John won't

hurt her, they will make sure she gets back on base." Casey looked

down at her, and for good measure added, "And you are safe with

me."

Paige put the beer to her lips and took another long deep swig and

didn't respond to his comment. She didn't feel threatened, not yet

anyway, but hoped he didn't expect anything from her, because if he

did he was going to be sorely disappointed.

"Come on, let's dance, you feel good in my arms." Casey moved

them towards the floor again.

Paige allowed the songs and the motions of their bodies swaying

with one another to take her thoughts away. He felt good in her arms

too. They remained on the dance floor through she didn't know how

many songs, breaking long enough to get a drink then go back out.

People came and went from the bar, the floor sometimes packed, at

other times just the two of them. Normally she would be self-

conscious, but somehow, tonight the thought never crossed her mind.

Then, at one point while taking a bathroom break, Paige glanced at

her phone and gasped when she saw that it was nearly one in the

morning. She never stayed out that late. Glancing in the mirror a

giggle escaped when she saw the silly smile pasted across her face.

She hadn't danced this much in years and realized she had missed that

one little thing that used to give her so much pleasure.

On her way out of the bathroom, she felt the vibration of her phone

just as Casey walked up to her, a smile on his face that matched her

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own. Grabbing her phone, she saw that Rosa was calling. When she

answered, she heard Rosa's frantic voice on the other end.

"Hold on, I can't hear you in here. Let me step out." Turning to

Casey, a frown creased her brow. "It's Rosa, she sounds upset."

Casey immediately steered her towards the exit and out into the

muggy, warm night air.

"Rosa, what's wrong?" Paige was concerned. Rosa never called her

like this.

"I need for you to hurry and come to my room." Rosa sounded

desperate. "I can't get him to leave."

Paige was worried. "I'll be there as soon as I can." She glanced at

Casey who was already waiving down a taxi. She gave him a grateful

smile when one pulled over and he opened the back door for her to

slide into the back seat. She turned with a surprised look on her face

when he climbed in beside her. Rosa told her to hurry, and then hung

up the phone, which troubled Paige even more.

She was about to ask Casey why he was coming with her, but he

cut her off. "You may need my help." He spoke to the driver.

Since they were both drunk, she wasn't quite sure if either one of

them could help if Tadd or John, or both, refused to leave. From the

sounds of Rosa's voice, she was pretty drunk too. Paige was afraid

she had gotten herself in deeper than she'd anticipated.

The drive back to the gate was short. Unfortunately, the city cab

didn't have access to drive on base, so he dropped them off at the

security gate. She didn't even bother trying to pay when she saw

Casey already leaning forward. Hopping out of car and walking up to

the gate, Paige tried to keep a straight face. She pressed her lips

together and flashed her Common Access Card to the military police

officer on duty. He looked so serious and she couldn't help but giggle

slightly, but covered it up with a cough when Casey playfully nudged

her.

Base lodging was a mile walk from where they were, and they

hurried as quickly as they could without running. Paige felt another

giggle escape and thought how funny it had to look with an inebriated

woman wobbling down the street trying to go save her friend.

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Casey smiled and grabbed her hand. All of a sudden, he didn't

seem to be drunk anymore and she wanted to kick him for it. She had

consumed way more alcohol than she normally did and felt really

tipsy by the time they rode the elevator up to the second floor where

Rosa and her rooms were located.

Paige pointed out which room was Rosa's. While Casey knocked

on the door, she stood slightly behind him and frowned when Rosa

opened the door with a big smile on her face. Now she stood there

with a smile on her face? Irritated she stared at the woman who had

made her leave the dance floor to come rescue her. "I thought you

were having trouble." Her voice was flat.

Rosa motioned for them to come on in.

Paige stepped around Casey and followed Rosa into the room.

Anticipating that her smile was because Tadd had left, she figured no

one was in the room and stopped short. There he was, a grin in his

face while he was, sprawled half on the couch. Pants unbuttoned and

shirt tossed carelessly on the floor. Paige stared, unsure of what Rosa

expected her to do.

"Oh, he just pissed me off, but we're fine now. Come in, we have