The Admiral's Affairs

8 - Beau

"Admiral" I nodded and took the seat all the way across the otherwise empty bar. Maybe it was because I felt intimidated by him, but I mostly didn't feel like an awkward meaningless conversation this late at night.

"Luitenant Mitchell" he nodded back and raised his whiskey filled glass into the air, "cheers to the mission, I'm sure you'll make the team."

I was taken aback by his friendliness for a moment but his forced smile quickly changed back into a stern frown.

"Aurelia darling, can I make you a cup of tea?" My mother walked up from behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.

"No, no don't bother mom. I'll make my own drink. You've had a long night." I stood up from the barstool and pushed the door to the back room open with my foot.

When I finished making my cup of tea I walked back into the bar and set the steaming hot cup onto the counter. "Mom, we're out of teabags. Do you want me to pick some up tomorrow?"When I didn't receive an answer I started to look around the room, my mother was no where to be seen. Great, now I was all alone with the admiral.

"She just went out to pick your sister up from a friend, she wanted me to tell you to close up for the night. I'll be heading out." He stood up with a soft groan and put on his jacket that was hanging over the back of the stool.

"You don't have to leave, I could pour you another drink." Before I knew it the words had escaped my mouth. Maybe it was the damned politeness that my mother had raised me with, or my fascination with my grumpy but sort of handsome superior.

"That's nice of you luitenant, but I have to wake up early tomorrow morning."

"Work on a Sunday?" I grinned.

"No-" he stepped into my direction and hesitated for a moment, "my son's soccer game."

"Oh-" I grabbed my cup from the bar and blew away the steam before taking a cautious sip. "I used to play soccer, for two months."

"Two months?" He scoffed but immediately corrected it with a forced grin, as if taken aback by his own rudeness.

"Yeah, my father pulled me out. He wanted me to take on another hobby." I shook my head thinking about what Mav had told me, that he only pulled me out of soccer so we could work on bikes together in his garage on Sundays. In his mind, it was the right thing to do, but I just wanted to play soccer.

"Maverick?" He clenched his jaw.

"Yes."

Luitenant Simpson took off his coat with a quick movement and took the seat next to me. He smelled like a mixture of gunpowder and faint cologne. His scent alone made my slightly dizzy.

"So?" My fingers slightly brushing against his as I grabbed the glass from his hands, "another drink I suppose?"

"One more won't hurt."

I poured him another glass of whiskey and took the opportunity to study him more closely from behind the bar. With one hand he was fidgeting with a worn out coaster, the other hand supported his head, his fingers tracing circles on his temple. I had never seen him like this, it was as if I had caught him off guard. He seemed to have transformed into a less robotic version of himself. It reminded me of the times in high school when I would run into my teachers outside of the school grounds, it felt strange seeing them outside of their natural habitat.

"Here you go." I put his glass down on the coaster he was playing with.

"You're a natural at that."

"Pouring drinks?" I grinned, "it's not that hard."

"No" he lifted his head up and looked me in my eyes, "making people feel at ease."