Waging War | The Amber Duology #1

21 | Late Night Rendezvous

Jay Walker had finally figured out the missing piece to his puzzle. For hours he had been left to supervise the batch of trainees who fell into the merciless hand of Captain Seliel during their little trip to Nom. However, it did not go as unproductive as he thought. Because in that batch of trainees, was Nya Smith.

And the girl did not know how to swim.

Unfortunately, Jay also did not know how to swim but he has had his training and certainly knew a lot more than she did. With this in mind, Jay had finally found a way to help the poor girl, desprate to get out of his debt.

"Where are you going?" Cole asked, sitting upright on his bed, using his elbows as support. He had just been discharged from the infirmary and was given strict instructions to be more careful.

Of course, he now had no choice with both boys keeping an eye on him.

Lloyd didn't look up from the clothes he was folding. "He has a date." There was a sly smile on his face that didn't go unnoticed. Despite being across the room, Cole saw what he meant.

Jay whined and stomped his foot on the floor. "Lloyd! It's not a date."

"My my," But no matter what Jay said, the teasing had already begun. "This late at night? Be sure to bring her back alive."

Another whine escaped his lips. "I'm just...going out for a walk." He fidgeted with his hands. When had he grown so nervous? You're not going to do anything! It's not a date.

He earned a look from both boys, a look he knew all too well. The boy didn't need the teasing to go any further than it should and immediately darted for the door of their little tent. It was smaller than usual, but the boys didn't mind.

Afterall, there were just three of them and the space wasn't as cramped as it would be if they had the rest of their batch to come along.

Even when he was a good few feet away from the tent he still heard Lloyd call, "Have fun, Jay!" And immediately began to walk faster.

There were still a good few minutes before lights out and Jay intended to use that time wisely. He had to get across the Navy camps and make his way through a crowd of initiates to find the one girl he was looking for. At the Army's camp, it would have been easier to find his way to their tent, he knew exactly where it was located after all, but the Navy had a way of confusing the newcomers.

Jay found himself peeking his head into tents to double check where he was. Of course, it led to its own series of disasters when he accidentally peeked into one of the girl's tents and got his face hit with a bunch of pillows and flying beauty products.

"Woah, those girls are crazy!" He declared, wiping his face clean from the makeup that had managed to hit his face. But perhaps he was doing it wrong. Either way, Jay continued his search. "Ah! It won't come off."

He began to rub his face harder—which proved ineffective since it only helped the product to spread more—and Jay found himself growing frustrated.

"Stupid makeup won't come off my—"

"Jay?"

He stopped moving, his hands frozen above his cheeks. The voice had come from behind him, and he knew exactly who was talking. With a gulp he braced himself. This is what you have been waiting for. You got this.

"Are you okay, Sir?" Nya asked again and Jay found himself frozen in place. Why did her voice have to be so soothing? Why did her mere presence scare the crap out of him? Maybe Lloyd's right. It was a fear of pretty girls. "Do you need some help?"

He mentally kicked himself when his voice cracked. "I'm fine." He croaked before clearing his throat. "I'm fine." He repeated with a much better handle on his voice.