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After Riley's conversation with Rooster she was glad she had made plans at the Hard Deck. She was craving a couple bottles of beers to try and wash away the feeling of defeat that she was feeling. It seemed like no matter how much she wanted to let Rooster back in, she couldn't allow herself to. So instead, she just got mad. It wasn't her best trait but she had never been good at processing her emotions. In fact, none of the Seresin's were. They had never been a family who spoke about how they were feeling—let alone showing it. Part of Riley resented her parents for that, knowing it was them she and her brother had learned it from. And it made her wonder if she would ever fully be able to trust someone well enough to open up about how she felt.
But instead of sitting around feeling sorry for herself, Riley had took a shower and had a glass of wine her father had sent her as a gift before going out. The wine had come with a note with 'congrats, kid' sprawled across it in her fathers handwriting. It was her fathers way of telling her that he was proud of her for being called back to Top Gun—or maybe not proud, that's was too strong a word. Perhaps it was just that it made the family look good. Jake had got an expensive whisky he and their dad used to drink together on special occasions and his note was lengthy. But Riley was used to it; Jake had always been his favourite. Riley had come to terms with that.
She had got dressed, settling for a washed out pair of jeans and a Guns N' Roses t-shirt that she'd had for years. Jake often teased her for it because of all the holes around the hems. Riley would usually tell him to fuck off and that it added to the look.
Jake had stopped by earlier, dropping off a crate of beers. It was a peace-offering. He never actually apologised, just started walking around the house and talking to Riley casually. It was always like that when the siblings fought. They'd never apologise—they'd just start acting normal again, like nothing bad happened. Riley was still pissed at him, but they were going to the Hard Deck together and she didn't want anything to be awkward. So, she had took one of his peace offerings and told him his taste in beers was shit. Jake had scoffed before he left to get cleaned up at his own place.
Jake had assigned himself as designated driver and Riley was glad. It wasn't a far walk to the Hard Deck but after their exhausting first day of training, she didn't feel like doing much walking. Riley didn't have to wait long for him since he was residing in the house down the street, sharing with Coyote. Riley couldn't imagine having to share her home with someone. She was the type of person who liked her home to be hers and hers alone after being raised in a strict household. Though, Jake sometimes forgot he didn't live at Riley's house and treated it like it was his own; taking food from her fridge, watching shows on her Netflix, leaving the toilet seat up.
The sun was setting when Jake picked her up. Unlike the previous night at the Hard Deck, he was dressed casually in a pair of denim shorts and a button down shirt with little airplanes on it, "Nice shirt." Riley had scoffed when she got in the car, teasing him for his choice of clothing. Riley could never understand how Jake could attract women outside of his uniform because he dressed like a fucking dork.
