“Wait.” I grab his hand. “I don’t want to be disrespectful in there, so what do I call you?”
He laughs as he opens the door. “Come on, baby.” He places his hand on my lower back and walks me through the door.
I swear the entire place goes silent and all eyes are on me. “You’re not in uniform, that’s why everyone is staring.”Yeah, that’s why…or maybe it’s because the big bad Colonel has a civilian female in the dining hall.
Daniel rises to his feet and wraps me in his usual bear hug. “Good to see you, sweetheart.”
“You too.” I beam as I take a seat next to Cole.
“You’ve made quite the stir here.” John laughs as the dining hall grows noisy again. “Everyone wants to know who the civilian is with the Colonel.”
“I trust you set them right,” Cole notes, rather than asks.
“Nah, I figured this way would be more fun.” John smirks as he hops to his feet. “Come on, we’re up.” He nods to the cafeteria line.
“Colonel?” a guy wearing number sixty-one says, standing behind us. “May I have a word with you?”
Cole sighs as he stands. “Savi, go ahead with John and get something to eat. I’ll meet you back here.”
“All righty, you ready for a five-star meal? We have chicken or chicken or chicken.” John laughs as he digs in, taking a huge portion of hunter chicken. I take a small amount and pair it with a roll and veggies. “Here.” He hands me a bottle of water. “Grab a knife and fork from there,” he points to a tray, “and we’re done.”
“Hang on,” a guy says, handing me a napkin. “There you go.”
“Thanks.” I go to move, but he shifts in front of me.
“Here, let me.” He takes my tray out of my grip and starts walking back to the table. It’s a nice gesture if only half the place wasn’t watching us. I notice his number is nine, and I think I spot his table because they are the ones who seem most interested. Then it clicks, making me chuckle.
“So, what do you win by carrying my tray to the table?” I ask as I come up next to him. He attempts to hide his smile, but it doesn’t work.
“To be team captain on whichever assignment I choose.” He blushes slightly. “When you show leadership, you stick out more. I need to gain as many points here as possible.”
I notice Cole watching us out of the corner of my eye, and I see our table watching me too. “Tell me something, nine. What’s your name?”
He stands a little straighter. “Corporal Davie.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“No, miss, I don’t.”
“Pretty risky for you to take on that bet.”
“I like to take risks, but I figured being a gentleman wasn’t causing any harm.” He shrugs innocently.
“Are you being a gentleman?” I question his motives.
“Yes, miss, I was raised right. My mamma always says you respect a lady and they’ll respect you.”
I reach for the tray just as Cole does. “Cole,” I glance up at him, “Corporal Davie was kind enough to carry my tray for me. Wasn’t that nice?”
Cole studies my face and nods. “Yes, it was. Come on, baby, let’s go eat.”
I see Davie’s eyes pop open when he realizes he just carried the Colonel’s girlfriend’s tray.
“Thanks again, Davie,” I call over my shoulder as I follow Cole back to the seat.
I watch as Davie sits at his table, and no one speaks a word. “Cole,” I begin, and he turns to look at me. “Has nine been doing well?”
Cole shrugs. “Not overly. He’s weak in the water.”