Shore Leave: Part 1 (Patreon)

The first night of Frank’s stay wasn’t an especially wild or involved one. He and the guys just sat around the suite drinking and talking about old times and stories from college. This lasted until Everett pulled out an Xbox from his luggage and the night devolved into a haze of drunken games and competitive banter. Honestly, it wasn’t too different from the military, Frank thought. It made him happy to know that even though he’d effectively moved away to start a new life, it and he were still compatible with his old one.

The following morning, Frank woke up earlier than the rest of the guys to go for a morning run; a habit he’d developed as a means of waking himself up in the morning as well as getting himself familiar with the local environment. The air in Ibiza town was salty and cool with the flavor of brine tinting the areas closest to the water. The sun rose quickly, bathing the island in a gentle heat as Lt. Nash watched the morning light change from blue to orange before any discernable color vanished into daylight. All in all, it was the perfect, beautiful morning.

With only a slight huff and an elevated heart rate, Frank finished his run in great fashion, having run several miles with the barest effort and feeling energized instead of exhausted. Standing in the middle of the street and peering out over the beach, he could see the people starting to make their way out onto the sand as the town slowly came to life. Frank moved to the side of the road, leaning over a rail and taking in the sight as he enjoyed the sun’s rays warming his skin while the cool metal chilled his arms slightly. He felt serene. Little by little the dark shadows of the cool morning melted away as the sun rose over the horizon.

(1)

At some point, a beautiful young woman had walked up and joined him a ways down the railing. Frank waved politely and bid her a good morning before clumsily following up with ”Buenos dias” and scooting further down to give her some more room to enjoy the view in peace.

The two stood next to each other for several minutes before the woman turned to him.

“You’re American right?” She asked in a silky Spanish accent.

“I am. Yeah. Military officer.” Frank said, smiling shyly. He’d definitely noticed the woman’s beauty before but hadn’t expected her to talk to him.

“I’m surprised.” She said. “Most American men throw themselves at me when we first meet. I’m surprised you didn’t.”

Frank chuckled shyly and looked away. “I try not to interrupt people’s day when I can avoid it. Not that you’re not beautiful, it’s just…uh…I dunno. I’m not really the kind of guy who does that sort of thing.”

The woman grinned. “So if I asked you to come with me to get a couple drinks over at that bar over there, you’d tell me no?”

Frank could feel his ears beginning to burn as his cheeks flushed. “No no no, I uhh…I didn’t say that.”

The bar was a small one with a sign that read “24 hours” in both English and Spanish. The woman sat down and ordered something in Spanish for herself and added “y una cervesa para mi amigo nuevo” afterward, winking at Frank mysteriously. He didn’t know half of what she said, but “cervesa” and “amigo” were words he recognized easily.

He watched her as she checked her phone, her short blonde hair shimmering against watery background. The woman’s eyes were dark, but full of life and beauty, but there was something about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. She looked up at him only for Frank to immediately look away. When he looked back after having been caught staring, she was smiling at him with a candid, interested look on her face.

(2)

“So, Mr. Officer. Do you have a name?” She asked sweetly.

“Nash. Lieutenant Frank Nash.” He said, holding out his hand.

The woman furrowed a quirked eyebrow in amusement at the gesture. “Luna. Last name if I like you in two hours. First lieutenant?”

“…Second.” Frank said, smiling back at her cutely, his cheeks showing his youth.

(3)

“Oof. Baby lieutenant. But still cute though in a boyish sort of way.”

“You caught me.” Frank said. “But everyone starts somewhere. Right now I’m just happy to NOT be on base.”

Luna grinned that same mysterious grin. “Just not being at work is all it takes? What about sitting in a bar with a beautiful girl by the beach?”

“Well ma’am, I don’t especially mind that either,” Frank said.

The conversation carried on for several hours and despite his protestations about guzzling beer first thing in the morning, Luna assured him that daydrinking was practically a local pastime. The two had hit it off especially well, Frank thought. They’d chatted about all sorts of things until almost noon, laughing and smiling casually at each other’s company. Luna eventually decided she needed to leave and was right in the middle of pulling out her phone to exchange numbers when they heard a familiar voice bellowing into the establishment.

“YOOO FRANKIIIEEEEEE!!!! THERE YOU ARE, MAN!!!!”

Luna and Frank instantly looked up to see Everett and Reginald walking into the bar. Of course, walking was less appropriate than swaggering in Everett’s case as he was already clearly tipsy despite it still being early in the day. Reginald also looked to be a little wobbly but had a much stronger hold over himself than his friend did.

“HEYYYYY!!! Oh shit, man. You been gone all morning and you already found yourself a SMOKIN hot piece of ass, damn!” Everett drawled.

“Dude, are you fucking drunk already?” Frank asked, aghast at his friend’s behavior.

“Fuck yeah, bro! Me and Reggie pregamed hella fuckin hard this morning after you fucked off. I thought you were doin military shit or whatever so I just popped the cap on El Tequila and had us a fuckin blast.” Everett slurred, half-yelling and making an ass of himself in front of every patron in the bar.

“…Oh. These are your friends?” Luna asked, visibly unimpressed.

“Oh shit! You speak English?! Fuuuuuck, bro! I thought my man here wrangled himself some Spanish pussy right off the bat but you’re not even from here, huh? Tu is Americano?” He asked, slapping his hand on her exposed shoulder and squeezing gratuitously as he positioned his face right in front of hers.

Luna smiled sweetly and responded in Spanish. “No sólo no soy Americana, sino que probablemente soy la última persona en toda esta isla a la que quieres cabrear. Tócame otra vez y te convertiré en un pescado, horrible bolsa de mierda.”

Everett backed up, his eyes wide like his mind had just been blown. “Ohhh shiiiit! Ffffffffffffffffuck! She’s hot as shit, bro!”

Reginald moved like a cat into the space that Everett had vacated, grabbing a stool and setting it next to Luna before spinning her seat towards him and pointedly away from the other two men.

“Please forgive my friends here.” He said in a smarmy, overly chilled-out voice that reeked of condescension and booze. “My compatriots are…unfamiliar with the ways of the world. They simply don’t understand culture the same way you or I do.”

Luna simply stared at him irritatedly, blinking twice in judgment but not offering him any input.

Reginald grabbed her hand and lifted it to his own, kissing it gently and clumsily stabbing it with his prickly facial hair without realizing it.

“Hola mi señorita bonita…Mi nombre es Reginal de Alejandro…de Bridgeworthy. Mucho gusto mi amoré.” He said, smiling at his own perceived cleverness.

Luna nodded with that same sweet smile from before. “Hola. Soy Luna y cada segundo que escucho tu voz me dan ganas de meter la cabeza en una freidora, pero algo me dice que el único español que sabes es esa aceptable introducción.”

Reginald stared at her blankly for a moment, trying to appear as if he knew what she was saying.

“Muy calienté,” he replied, nodding smugly. “I can’t wait.”

Luna stood up and put her phone away, much to Frank’s visible disappointment.

“Tell you what boys…” She said mysteriously, her words rippling through the air as the world seemed to slow to a crawl around them. “I’ll leave you all to enjoy your vacation. Have fun. Get drunk. Party.”

Luna looked at Frank and sighed, her disappointment nearly incapacitating him with the force of her reality-bending sigh.

 “I’m disappointed, Frankie. You’re cute, you’re sweet…but I can’t get involved with a man who’s going to just sit by and watch his so-called ‘friends’ treat me the way they did. Maybe once you boys have all the pussy you can handle we can meet again and start from there. I’m interested in seeing where your little vacation adventure takes you.”

“Excuse me. Excuse me sirs?” Said a heavily accented man in a suit. “Chu’ are… too drunk in my bar. Chu’ ‘ave to leave please. Necesitas irte, por favor.”

The guys lifted their heads dizzily, each of them slumped over the bar and half asleep.

“What…the fuck? Where’d that chick go..?” Everett mumbled.

The answer never came. Before long, a couple large men appeared at the entrance of the bar, signaling that it was time to leave.

Frank remembered watching Luna leave, but to his great embarrassment had gotten too hammered to remember what it was that she said in it’s entirety. He got up off the stool with shaky legs and trudged out towards the city.