Free Destructive Silence (The Destructive Series) by L.U. Ann

is difficult.”
    “Yeah, a couple of my buddies have families, and it definitely takes its toll on everyone.” He smiles. “Enough of that, let’s enjoy tonight.”
    “Sounds good,” I respond just as the waiter delivers our entrees. “Mmm, everything smells delicious.” Yumminess covers my plate, from the mouthwatering butter for the crab legs, to the parsley sprigs sprinkled lightly over mashed potatoes. The crab cake looks fluffy and divine and two Maryland blue crabs stare up at me. I look up at Caine, “Thank you for dinner.”
    He moves his head down to kiss me. “You’re welcome babe.” Caine ordered the same dish as I did. Lucas ordered surf and turf and Becca ordered some kind of seafood salad. Bitch! I look bad gorging on the ungodly amount of calories sitting in front of me. Oh well.
    We finish our meal and file out of the restaurant, coupled and holding hands. I am full, but not uncomfortably stuffed. The night air surprisingly is warmer than it’s been. We stroll along the shops stepping in to warm up a bit every so often. There are a number of specialty stores offering a variety of novelty items. We walk into one that has funny signs and figures comically depicting Baltimore. Caine and Lucas enjoy finding the funniest things to show off.
    Lucas holds up a mug that states, ‘Maryland, we’ve got crabs!’
    Caine finds another mug, ‘I want to get crabby with Maryland crabs.’ Becca and I roll our eyes.
    “Now this is a bang piece!” Becca points to a sign. “‘Always give 100% at work: 12% on Monday, 23% on Tuesday, 40% on Wednesday, 20% on Thursday, and 5% on Friday.’” We all chuckle wondering if we could actually get away with that low of a performance. After a while, we realize the sales clerk is getting a little annoyed, so we moved on. Walking over to the aquarium, we watch the seals in their outdoor playpen. Caine stands behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist with his chin on my shoulder as we watch these entertaining creatures. It’s a wonderful moment and I couldn’t be happier in his arms. I could stand here forever if the cold wasn’t beginning to set into my bones.
    Caine must feel me shaking as he squeezes me tighter. “You’re cold baby, how about we get out of here?” He suggests.
    “Okay. What do you want to do now?”
    “Would you like to come back to the barracks and I’ll show you my room?” he asks.
    I look down at my feet, not fully understanding the feelings that suddenly came over me. “Um, okay.”
    Caine takes his fingers to pull my chin up to meet my gaze. “Lacey, we don’t have to do anything. I told you I would go slowly. Please don’t be afraid of me , or what could happen between us. I will not force you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. I just want to show you my room and some things that represent me. I want us to get to know each other.” I smile at him.
    Lucas asked Becca to go back to his room as well; which is five doors down from Caine’s. Caine parks the car and before we start walking to the door, he says, “We aren’t allowed to have guests after eleven, so we have to sneak you in.”
    “Um, what? How exactly are you planning on sneaking us in?” I ask confused.
    “Well, we’ll lift you girls through the window.”
    “You’re joking, right?” I ask. He shakes his head and I look over at Becca to gauge her reaction. She smiles. “Fine.”
    Walking down the open grassy area separating two buildings both housing military personnel, Caine and Lucas explain how they will sneak us in. “We’ll hoist each of you into our rooms through the window, and then we’ll go through the main entrance to our rooms. It’s a piece of cake and our friends do it all the time. We just have to be careful of the guy standing guard in the barracks across the way. He tends to be an ass and will report us for misconduct if he catches us.”
    “Lovely,” I reply and Caine grabs my ass playfully. I scream and everyone gives me