Quadruple Duty Novel – SAMMARA The prick was a quarter of an hour late fifteen long. No call, no text. Nothing. And as every girl who’s ever sat alone at a crowded bar knows, fifteen minutes can be an eternity and forever. Just go. The idea was tempting, but I’d really liked this guy. Or to be more accurate, I’d liked his profile. He looked dark and handsome, even in the weird, over-the-head selfies he’d probably spent hours agonizing over. Besides, in the few texts we’d exchanged he was witty and cute. And what girl doesn’t like witty and cute? “One more drink,” I decided aloud. The bartender smiled and poured me another. He pushed it my way, and I raised it back to him in salute. “After that…” “After that what?” I whirled, just about sloshing my new drink over its perfectly crusty rim. That would’ve been criminal. Especially if I’d lost the lime wedge.
The guy on the other side of me was someone I recognized immediately. Tall and lean and beautifully built, he’d been sitting nearby, at a table alone. I’d already checked him out more than once since I’d gotten here. “So what’s the verdict?” he asked. “Hmm?” “What happens after one more drink?” He smiled beneath his steel-grey eyes, and I felt my iciness melt just a little. He had a really great smile. Great eyes too. “I can see you’re already mad,” he said, with mock seriousness. “So what happens next? Do you get really, really mad?” “Only if someone makes me,” I said. He eyed me shrewdly, looking me up and down. Under normal circumstances I’d have felt self-conscious about it. But tonight? Tonight I was dressed to kill. Tonight I had a date… Or at least, almost a date. “You got stood up, didn’t you?” “No,” I said immediately. He only smiled some more. “Maybe.” I sighed finally. The jig was up. “Okay, yes.” “So what?” he shrugged. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“For you maybe,” I laughed. “You’re not the one who got stood up.” He sat down now and signaled the bartender. As he did, he dropped some money on the bar. “The funny thing is…” he chuckled, “you’d be wrong on that.” I glanced over to his empty table. “You too?” “Yup. Although to be honest, I really didn’t expect her to show.” He rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “It’s… well, it’s complicated.” “We’re both too good-looking to be stood up,” I flirted. “So I think you’re bullshitting.” A drink arrived, and he wrapped one big hand around it. I could see the callouses. He looked like a worker, or maybe… “You from the base?” He nodded. “Army. Ranger specialist.” I looked at him again, this time in an all new light. Soldiers and men in uniform pretty much did it for me. Always had. But an Army Ranger… “That bother you?” “No, no,” I said quickly.
“Not at all. In fact, it’s very cool.” He laughed and sipped his drink. “For some things, yes,” he said. I watched his Adam’s apple bob sexily as he swallowed. Even his neck had muscles. “But for other things…” “Like dating?” “Yup,” he confirmed. “For dating it sucks.” “Oh, I don’t know,” I challenged. “I’m thinking you do alright with the ladies. I for one have always thought soldiers were pretty hot.” “Ever date one?” I shook my head. Though the base was very nearby, somehow I never had. “If you had, you’d realize there are… issues.” “Is that why you got stood up?” I asked. “No.” He thought for a moment. “And yes. Sort of.” “Sort of?” He drained his drink, keeping his eye on me the whole time. I found myself intrigued by him, locked into his gaze. Unable to look away. “Hey,” he said, sliding the empty glass away. “You wanna get out of here?” I blinked. “I guess. Sure. But aren’t you—” He shook his head. “Nah, not anymore. Right now, I don’t even want my date to show up.”
I laughed. “Me neither.” My charming soldier stood and extended his hand. I took it. It was softer than I thought it would be, warm and welcoming. Together, we headed for the door. “By the way I’m—” “Sammara!” The cry came from behind us. I almost smacked my forehead… the guy from the dating site. “Sammara hey! Oh wow, I’m so sorry I’m late. You wouldn’t believe the—” He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes dropping down to where my new friend and I were holding hands. “I— I mean…” “Save it,” my paramour said, dropping an apologetic hand on my would-be date’s shoulder. “Sorry brother, but it looks like you just missed the boat.” KYLE She was blonde-haired and blue-eyed — exactly the opposite type of girl I’d usually go for. Sure she had long legs, and a hip that looked great even on the barstool. But she had this incredible porcelain skin too; a complexion that was almost alabaster white. It made her features stand out in stark, angular fashion.
And if I were being honest… I liked those features too. It was stupid of me to hit on her. Ridiculously stupid to pull her out of the bar, especially. I knew all along — even before it started — how it was destined to end. That no matter how good or magical a time we had, it could never pan out… at least not in the way we needed it to. I decided to peck her anyway. It happened five blocks away, as we were walking and talking close. We’d paused for a moment — that’s all it took — our minds and expressions going utterly blank. Our faces moved in slowly, leaning inexorably toward each other as the irresistible forces of attraction and instinct took over… I couldn’t even tell you if she was the one who planted her lips on mine, or vice versa. “Sammara is a good name by the way,” I said, before I was forced to peck her again. She blushed.
“Thanks. I still don’t know yours though.” “It’s Kyle.” “Ah… hi Kyle.” “Go on, you can say it. Kyle is a bad name.” She full on laughed at that, and in her laughter she looked even more gorgeous. “So tell me Sammara,” I went on. “How is it that you don’t have a boyfriend?” She paused for a moment before answering. “Umm… because guys suck?” “Most of us do,” I agreed. “Yeah.” She giggled. “At least you’re honest.” “Unless I’m lying,” I replied. “You know, just saying what you want to hear, so I can get into your pants.” Her eyes went wide. “You’re gonna be honest about that too?” “I could be lying about lying,” I shrugged. “You never know.” Sammara looked off into the distance. She was so perfect, so flawless, I imagined her as some beautiful, porcelain doll. “I’ve had lots of boyfriends,” she admitted, “but no one that really stands out. Or sticks around longer than a year or so.” “Maybe it’s you?” She laughed again. “Could be, but I doubt it. I’m pretty awesome.”
“And modest.” Her eyes flashed in the lamplight. She squeezed my hand. “I prefer the term realist.” You’re about as real as it gets, I wanted to say, but didn’t. “Maybe you’re not dating the right kinds of guys, then?” Sammara shrugged. “Well, I date two types of guys. Almost exclusively.” “Alright, let’s hear it.” “The first is the insecure prick. Things start off nice in the beginning, lots of attention, good times… then suddenly he wants to control me. He needs to know where I am, what I’m doing. Why I’m not with him. How come I have a life without him.” She sighed, obviously remembering. “This devolves quickly into paranoia, jealousy, insecurity… that sort of thing.” “Very unattractive,” I agreed. “Totally.” “And the other?” She took a deep breath. “The other guy is the bad boy narcissist. He’s attentive at first, but the relationship quickly becomes all about him.
The harder I try to please him, the harder it is, because the bad boy narcissist doesn’t want to be pleased. He wants to be chased.” “I see.” “Things go south quickly in that one. Eventually the whole thing crumbles because the foundation of the relationship isn’t about us—” “It’s about him,” I finished. “Exactly.” I felt her shiver. Realizing she was probably cold, I took off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. “A gentleman too,” she said, pulling it down around her. “Thanks. Your stock just went up a few points.” “My stock huh? Is it time to sell?” “Not yet.” I could see her breath, just barely, against the cold. Her lips were amazing — plump and full and painted cherry red. I wanted them again in the worst way.
“So Kyle, back at the bar… who were you waiting for? You said it was complicated.” “Oh it is,” I assured her. “Very complicated.” Sammara’s shoulders slumped. “Ah,” she said disappointedly. “You’re married.” “Nope.” “Girlfriend then?” “No again.” “Boyfriend?” I laughed. “After that smooch? What do you think?” Sammara laughed and shrugged. “I’m stumped. It must be really complicated then.” She rolled her eyes dramatically while wiggling her fingers. “And mysterious!” “You’re making fun of me aren’t you?” “A little.” “Okay now tell me why,” she said, without even the hint of a smile. “But for real this time.” For real… I nodded reluctantly. Pulled out my phone… And showed her. SAMMARA “No… seriously?” I squinted down at the phone’s glowing screen, carefully re-reading the several lines of text. Astonishingly enough, they said the same thing the second time around. “You’ve gotta be kidding me, right?” Kyle shook his head. “Afraid not.” “You mean you’re actually serious?” I looked up at him. “You’d actually go through with this?” The big soldier on the other side of the bench shrugged. “If it were the right girl?” he mused. “Yes. In a New York minute.”
It was totally unbelievable, the ad I’d read. I looked down at it a third time, just to make sure. ~ WANTED: COMMUNITY GIRLFRIEND ~ Four (4) Army Specialists seek one very amazing, very open-minded woman for an exclusive relationship arrangement. YOU are young, smart, charming, incredible, and ready to be pampered, spoiled, and treated like an absolute princess. WE are four strong warriors and best friends ready to love, share, and protect you on our sprawling lakehouse estate. Get all the benefits of being a military wife… without any of the heartache or loneliness! NO DRAMA NO JEALOUSY NO CRAZINESS NO NONSENSE Just imagine it: four loving partners — powerful and passionate — sharing you equally, mind, body, and soul. LOOKING FOR WIFE MATERIAL – LONG TERM ONLY ALSO… BETTER BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH US! “C’mon,” I smiled, looking around. “You’re putting me on, right?” But Kyle only shook his head.
“I’m twenty-six. Know how many relationships I’ve been through?” he asked. “How hard it is, keeping a girlfriend when you can be deployed at any moment, and then gone for half the year or more?” I shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I get all that, but still—” “Know how many military marriages actually make it? How many women give up on their relationships because they can’t stand being alone anymore?” I really didn’t. I imagined it was high, though. “And with Rangers, like us?” He shook his head. “It’s even worse. We disappear almost overnight. Return without notice. It drives a partner crazy, I’ll tell you. Not that I’d blame them for it.” I had to laugh. “So you’re willing to give some poor girl four times the heartache?” “No,” he said. “Actually just the opposite. In doing things this way,” he pointed at his phone’s screen, “you’re getting only a quarter of the heartache, because—” “—because you’d have three other lovers,” I finished for him. “Exactly.” I looked at him and saw truth in his eyes. Truth according to him, anyway. He actually believed this stuff. He saw it as a rational approach.
“And you all live together. In this… lakehouse?” “It’s actually an old mansion,” he said. “We pooled our money together and bought it last year. Amazing place. It needs a lot of restoration though.” A sudden tingle stole up the back of my neck. That got my attention. “The four of us are like brothers,” Kyle went on. “Dakota and I served in the same unit. Ryan too. And Briggs… well, he just—” “Wait a minute,” I said. “Back up.” I couldn’t believe it, but he was serious. The ad was serious. This was something they really wanted to do. “You and your friends—” “Not friends. Brothers-in-arms.” “Fine,” I said. “You and your ‘war-brothers’ would actually go through with this? You’d share one girl? As in… well, you know…” “Share her sexually? Oh yeah.” A lump formed in my throat. Somewhere in my stomach, a whole flock of butterflies took flight. “Wouldn’t that create jealousy?” I asked. “I mean… other guys, you know, being with your girl while you were gone?” “Not other guys,” said Kyle. “Within the four of us, it’s all the same. We’d be a core group. A family unit. Kind of like we are when we’re deployed, only while at home too.” He noticed the jacket was slipping off my shoulder. Before continuing, he reached out and pulled it tighter around me. It was sweet. “And for the girl, she’d have four times the love,” Kyle shrugged. “Four times the attention. Four times the… well… ” He allowed the sentence to trail off with a wolfish grin.
“I get it.” Kyle settled back on the bench and stared up into the night sky. “Look, you asked. So I showed you.” I swallowed. The lump just wouldn’t go down. “I know it sounds crazy. I don’t expect you to understand it. And…” he turned to face me. “And I’m sorry I pecked you. I mean, you certainly weren’t there to answer our ad, so that wasn’t fair.” “I pecked you back,” I admitted. “It’s not like I was innocent.” “Maybe. But for what we’re looking for? You’re obviously off limits.” Off limits…The words rang in my head. Almost like a challenge. “You were just a bystander back there. One who happened to be gorgeous, and alone, and so I—” “Rescued me from a bad date?” I smirked. “Well yeah,” he laughed out loud. “You didn’t want to make deceptively short babies with that guy anyway, did you?” “No,” I admitted. “I sure didn’t.” “Well then no harm done,” said Kyle, turning his phone’s screen off. As he slipped it back into his pocket, I felt a sense of disappointment.
Of missed opportunity. I didn’t want him to go. “You sure you’re not looking for a one-on-one girlfriend?” I asked coyly. He let out a long breath. “Sorry honey. Tried that too many times. The very definition of insanity is—” “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?” He sighed wistfully. “You really are my kind of girl.” “And you can’t change your mind?” I cooed into his ear. I rested my hands delicately on either side of his face. Pulled back just a little, to look into those stormy grey eyes. “I can’t change your mind?” Kyle sighed softly, breathing into my mouth. Our lips brushed ever so gently against each other. The heat between us was blistering. “I’m sorry no,” he said. “I’ve given my word we’d try this.” There was genuine sadness in his eyes. I was disappointed too, but at the same time, filled with an admiration that he could be this strong. This loyal… “Give me your phone again.” “This… ” I said as I called up the Messages page, “is just in case I want to get in touch with you.” I sent a text to myself so we’d both have each other’s information. In lieu of a message, I sent an actual screen-shot of the ad itself. Sammara stop! “So you’re giving me your number,” he murmured, “in case I abandon this whole crazy thing and decide I want a girlfriend again?” “Maybe…” I rolled my hips, eliciting a moan.
“Maybe not.” He gasped as I bore my weight down on him, hard, one last time. Then I slipped from his warm lap, and back to the platonic safety of the cold park bench. Somehow I managed to stand on two wobbly legs. I removed his jacket, handed it back to him, then leaned forward until we were face to face again. “This is for saving me tonight,” I said, and pecked him one last time. The butterflies took off again, followed by sparks. Fireworks. Volcanic eruptions… When I leaned back again, his eyes were half-closed. “Goodnight my charming soldier,” I said, raising my hand in salute. Kyle grinned broadly and saluted me back. “Goodnight my ivory princess,” I heard him say as I walked away.