Free Fraternizing by C.C. Brown Page A

that uncertainty escalated my anxiety.
    After waiting in
the hallway for what felt like a lifetime, Sgts. Newsome and Jensen were
finally making their way back to the entrance of the room, effectively
signaling that we had passed our inspection. Just as I exhaled the daunting
breath that I had been holding, I saw Sgt. Newsome turn his head and begin
yelling.
    "Why the
fuck is this wall locker not secured?"
    His thunderous
voice shook me, sending ice through my veins as I knew
he was referring to my locker. I was certain that I had locked it up.
    "Pfc.
Bennett," he called out, jolting me back into the room.
    "Yes, Sgt.
Newsome?"
    "Is this
your wall locker?"
    "Yes,
Sgt."
    "Then why
in the fuck is it not secured?" The veins in his forehead were beginning
to bulge as his entire face went beet red.
    "I thought
it was, Sgt."
    His eyebrows
twitched as flash of anger went off in his face.
    "You
thought?" he yelled out, moving closer to the locker before placing his
hand and on the unsecured lock. "When you think without follow-up, people die, Bennett. Do you understand
that?"
    "Yes,
Sergeant," I quickly replied.
    Without another
word, he opened the locker, looking around at the contents before grabbing and
violently flinging it down onto the ground, expelling all of my personal
belongings from inside. There were clothes, body sprays, lotions, hair
essentials, make-up, jewelry, detergent, books, and many other things that lay
strewn on the ground. I wasn't sure if I should move to pick them up or wait until
I was given the order to do so. Instead, I stood there, eyes locked on Sgt.
Newsome as he went into a long tirade on how sloppy I was and how my
absentmindedness could someday cost the lives of my fellow Marines.
    When he
finished, he ordered that I clean up the mess and secure my fucking wall locker before stalking out
of the room. Jensen followed, never saying a word to me while Angelica stood to
the side, probably unsure of where she fit into all of this, but glad to see me
being ripped in half.
    "Well, I'm
cleared, so I'm going to run down to the vending machine. Thank God he didn't
trash my shit too, or I would have been pissed at you."
    I turned to look
at her, her shit stain smirk properly staining her face.
    "Shut the
fuck up, Angelica," I said, standing to place my wall locker back to its
upright position. "My wall locker was secured. You probably unlocked it in
hopes of this happening. Well, it happened. You happy? Congratulations."
    "I didn't
do shit," she quickly defended.
    "Right.
Casper came in here and did it."
    She turned and
walked out of the room without another word. I was pissed and damn near certain
that she'd had something to do with that. I knew I had secured my wall locker,
so for it to just magically be unlocked wasn't adding up for me.
    "Private
First Class Bennett," a voice growled, making me freeze in my tracks. It
wasn't the voice of intimidation; it was the sex oozing voice that had done
nothing but distract me since I had first heard it, and now was no exception. "My
instructor tells me that you had an unsecured wall locker."
    "Yes, Sgt.
Cruz. I did," I replied, taking hold of my shaky voice. "It won't
happen again."
    He moved further
into the room, determination shelling every inch of him. My heart began beating
erratically as tiny droplets of perspiration coated my hands, neck, and face. He
was only inches away from me, that strong, husky scent of his infiltrating my
nostrils, sending my overworked and unsatisfied libido into a tortuous
overdrive.  
    "It won't
happen again. I already know that." He moved even closer, his rock hard
chest skimming my shoulder as he stepped around and to the back of me. "Do
you know why I know that?"
    "No,
Sergeant, I don't," I replied in an embarrassingly breathy tone, taking
quick swallows and trying desperately to rid myself of the nerves that had
flushed in like a catastrophic wave.
    His lips were at
the nape of my neck, making the hair stand up. All blood in my