Page 7 of Cutter's Hope

She snorted, “I thought you did your homework.”

“I did, but it seemed like a safe enough place to start,” I shrugged, “Don’t like that one? Okay, alright, let’s see… where to begin?”

“California. I was raised in California.” I couldhearthe eye roll in her voice and I grinned.

“West coast girl, nice. Your turn.”

“Oh, I get a turn? Goodie!”

“Yeah and that was it, next question,” she scoffed and gave me a little playful shove. I laughed.

“What branch of the military were you in?” she asked.

“Not your turn, Sweetheart… but, I’ll answer you anyways. I’m one of Uncle Sam’s misguided children.” She nodded carefully, thoughtfully, and I could see the wheels turning.

“What about you?”

“Army, enlisted when I was eighteen, stayed in for 10 years,” she shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly.

“See any action?”

“Some,” and that was really all that needed to be said about that. I was the last person that wanted to relive any of that shit. We walked in silence for a few moments.

“Family?” she asked.

“Got a brother but I might as well be an only child for how much we talk. Parents live in Virginia.”

“That where you’re from?”

“I get two questions if I answer that?”

“That’s one,” she said and I laughed.

“Fair enough, Darlin’, fair enough. What about you? Family?” she hesitated.

“Two younger sisters, mom died when I was eighteen, that’s part of why I enlisted, I needed to support them. They stayed with our grandmother while I was in basic, but I had to feed and clothe two sisters that weren’t even teenage girls yet and become sister-mom.” Her posture was stiff, there was more there but now wasn’t the time to press. I needed to find out what her agenda was when it came to my club before anything.

“Sorry to hear that, that’s rough.” She nodded and sipped her drink.

“Boyfriend?” I asked and she laughed.

“No. Girlfriend?”

“Nope.”

I tried to steer us into safer conversational waters, “What do you like to do for fun?”

She was quiet for a long time, and I took the opportunity to study her, we were still a ways from the water but our steady pace would get us there. She closed her eyes and sighed out in obvious frustration.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done anything fun, not sure I remember the meaning of the word,” she confessed and it was probably the most honest thing she’d said to me since we’d met the day before. The thing that struck me was her confession seemed to carry with it the weight of the world. Her shoulders dropped, and her gaze became distant as she stared out over the water, pointedly not looking at me. I think she was regretting telling me.

“Well you’re in a good place to fix that,” I shared.

“Yeah, back at you. What do you do for fun?” she asked.

“You just going to keep asking me the questions I ask you? Or you going to come up with some of your own? Geeze – Hey!” she knocked her shoulder into mine and leaned into me and I let her put me off balance some. I hopped on one foot in the sand and laughed and we returned to walking along, only this time she had a smile on her face, a genuine one and it lit her up from the inside out. Turned her from a pretty girl to a fucking gorgeous one in the space of an eye blink. I think my heart tripped over itself in my chest and I felt my cock stir in my shorts. Damn.

“I get two more questions,” she pointed out then with that smile that was a match for my most rakish said, “Answer me. I’d ask nicely and sound like less of a demanding bitch but I’m not falling for that and, well, I kind of am a demanding bitch so spill it.”

---