Page 19 of Metal & Mud

"That was..." Sabby began, unable to find the right words.

"Perfect," Logan finished for her, and she nodded, smiling.

As they eventually dressed and finished closing up the alley, Sabby couldn't help but wonder what came next. This had been more than just physical connection; she'd felt something deeper, something real. But she wasn't naive enough to think that one night, no matter how perfect, guaranteed anything.

***

The next morning, Sabby sat over her breakfast, feeling conflicted. She'd made so much progress on growing up since moving in with Jess. She'd finished high school, got a job, was doing well with her class work in college... and last night she'd had sex.

With a guy she'd only known for one night.

She couldn't regret it—it had been too perfect, too right in the moment. Logan had been attentive, considerate, passionate... everything she could have asked for. But now, in the harsh light of morning, doubt crept in.

Was this who she was now? The kind of girl who slept with men she barely knew? She'd always been so careful, so deliberate in her relationships. What did this mean for who she was becoming?

Sabby shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The sex had been amazing, but that wasn't what bothered her. It was the feeling that she might have been just another conquest, another story for Logan to tell his buddies.

But that didn't feel right either. The way he'd looked at her, touched her, spoken to her... that hadn't been the behavior of someone just looking for a quick release.

"Hey, you okay?" Jess asked. Sunday was always Jess's rest day from the gym, her day to be what she called a 'rack hound,' lazing around and hogging the couch while conserving energy unless absolutely necessary.

"Yeah, here you go," Sabby said, laying the long, thick piece of kielbasa on Jess's plate before getting to work on the eggs. "Thanks," Jess said, who was still somewhat hunger-addled after waking up. She hadn't claimed the couch just yet, instead helping with brunch by mixing up her morning protein shake. "So how was work last night?"

"Eh, you know," Sabby replied, glad that her sister hadn't stopped by. Saturday nights were normally busy, and it wasn't uncalled for to see Jess stop by on the way back to the house when Sabby was on shift. But thankfully, Jess had had another meet-up, not quite a date, which made Sabby happy. Her sister deserved someone. "Saturday night."

"How'd your version of Unholy go over?" Jess asked, tapping another scoop of something into the blender. "I've heard you practicing it quite a bit, I thought you did okay. At least in the living room."

"Thanks, and about like you'd expect," Sabby said. "Bunch of getting ignored, and a couple of jerks booing me."

"Seriously, you had boo birds?" Jess asked hotly, turning away from the blender to look at her in shock. "That's bullshit, who were they?"

"Forget it," Sabby said, not wanting to revisit the harassment or what had happened after. "It wasn't a big deal."

Jess held up a hand as her phone started playing a ringtone, Soulja Boy's Crank Dat. Sabby tensed—that ringtone meant military calls. Most weren't anything serious, but occasionally they meant her sister would be called away on short notice, possibly into danger.

But this was just a text message, and as Jess typed back, Sabby relaxed. Finally, Jess put her phone down. "Fuck."

"Work problems?" Sabby asked, setting aside the conversation she'd been planning to have with her sister.

"Ah, kind of," Jess said before turning around and adding ice to the blender before blitzing her protein drink. A few seconds later she came over with the entire blender cup, which looked like it was filled with slightly thin mud. "I've got a new private, you know."

"Yeah, Hollywood," Sabby said, her stomach suddenly feeling hollow. "I do actually listen when you complain about work, Jess."

"Heathen," Jess teased in mock outrage, and Sabby stuck out her tongue, trying to maintain a normal facade despite her racing heart. "Anyway, I had to put my new guy on barracks restriction after Friday's training mess. I wanted him to get his head straight, and think through some stuff."

"I think you mentioned that," Sabby said carefully, feeling her pulse quicken.

"Yeah well, I just got a text from Devante Carson, he had barracks duty last night."

Sabby hummed to indicate she was still listening, and started scooping eggs and hashbrowns onto plates for her and her sister, trying to keep her hands from trembling.

"It couldn't have been too bad, if he's only texting you about it now," Sabby said, proud of how normal her voice sounded. "Don't those shifts finish up at like nine in the morning or something?"

"On weekends, yeah," Jess replied. "And you're right, nothing I need to get down there for right now. But my new guy didn't come back until nearly two in the morning last night."

Sabby speared a bite of egg, trying to look casual. "So you're wondering if Private Hollywood decided to head out into Blackstone for the night or something."

"Yeah," Jess said. "But, here's the thing I don't get. Devante said that he made sure the guy walked last night, he didn't want him to get drunk and try to drive."

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