The blonde was pretty, even in her uniform. Her face was done up with makeup and she clearly cared how she looked. I felt woefully inadequate compared to her.

"I need to get the numbers put in as soon as possible...and you weren't answering your phone." She said, flicking her eyes over to me, taking me in.

Luca cleared his throat and stood up.

"I'll be right back..." He said to me, a look of sorry on his face.

I knew the sergeants arrival was unplanned and it clearly shocked him, as well as me. Was this the single mom that he'd been helping? I couldn't tell by her voice but my internal radar said so. Women can sense things. It's a blessing and a curse.

They'd walked off towards the parking lot and I could see them through the trees. Luca stood with arms folded as he talked. The blonde smiled and took out her phone, typing something in. She stopped to laugh and reached forward to grip his forearm. He laughed too and allowed her hand to linger before she dropped it, causing my stomach to drop as well. What exactly was I watching?

They talked for a good 10 minutes before the blonde waved and walked off towards a nice car, getting in. Luca turned towards me and began walking back, his eyes averted towards the ground. He surely wouldn't flirt right in front of me would he? Or maybe he assumed I couldn't see because of the trees. Either way, I felt anxious now and slightly sick.

"I'm sorry about that. She needed stats from this morning. We don't do formations on training days and I forgot to send in our numbers..." He said, sitting back down on the edge of my towel.

I looked at him, searching his face for any tell or any crack in what he was saying. It felt uncomfortable.

"Was that Stephanie? The sergeant you've been helping?" I finally asked.

Now he looked uncomfortable.

"Yes. That was her. She works in admin. I have to report to her every day the numbers, like I said."

He was choosing his words carefully, which made my radar go up. I liked him. I really did. Just imagining another woman feeling the same thing for him...well, it made me jealous.

"Ok." I softly said.

I wouldn't ask why she'd touched him. Why he didn't push her hand away. It would most likely make me appear crazy, and that's not how I normally am with guys. I'm the laid back woman. The one that is a good friend first, before dating.

"You have nothing to worry about Mila...she's just a friend. And colleague."

He leaned forward to hand me a candy chocolate kiss from the cooler. I took it from him as his fingers passed it off. The heat at our touch was a firework in my belly. The explosion expanded, sending fizzles of heat in various locations. He squeezed before letting go. I could still feel the sensation..lingering.

Oh yes, I liked Luca alright. Unlike anyone else I ever had.

💋💋

Our lunch 'date' ended with yelling.

Not yelling at me, but at some of his marines. He left the cooler sitting by me and jogged over to the group still doing beach drills. If I'd wondered what an angry Luca looked like, I needn't wonder anymore. He was practically livid. I pictured him yelling inches from recruit's faces at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. I bet he was terrifying.

"In combat marines don't quit! You quit, you die! Keep going!!" He shouted.

Proving his point, he got down with the men and began doing the leg exercises as the water rushed over them, narrowly missing their faces. They were getting soaked. Luca just wouldn't quit though. He kept yelling, lifting his legs up and down at a fast pace. Not getting winded, unlike the men around him. He was making the other instructors look bad even. Which, they most likely did not appreciate.

After a sizable amount of time lapsed, Luca got up and ordered everyone else to stop. It was their lunch break. I wondered what he would do during this time. The men gathered and listened to instructions before breaking off, headed towards a shaded point by a larger military vehicle. There was field chow for them to eat most likely, on their break. I had heard my dad telling stories of being stationed here as a new marine. It was still very much the same it appeared.

Luca talked in length with his fellow sergeants, his arms animated, glinting in the sun. I was mesmerized by his body. He carried himself with humbleness but also an air of knowing. Knowing that he was drop dead sexy. I'd never met a man like him before. I wondered a bit what he thought about me. Was I able to frazzle his brain? Often women will wish to be in the know when it comes to their men's thoughts. If only.

Finally he was done and began to stride back over to me. Water dripped off his uniform in the sun, tiny droplets glistening in the breeze. My mind wandered again..thoughts of swimming with him. We could find a beach that was secluded, no problems. He got back to the towel and extended his hand out.

"Sorry bout that. I had to get it back under control. We have good guys but, well, sometimes too soft of leaders."

I smiled. "Too soft?"

"They are more worried about being liked a lot of the time, or pushing too hard. It's the new military..."

He sighed as he said that. I could tell there was more to his commitment than just wanting to advance his own career. He genuinely cared.

"Oh, I see." I replied, letting his hand grasp gently over mine, pulling me up.

His eyes met mine as I looked up. The hazel was more vibrant today, more green than usual. I held my breath.

"You ok?" He chuckled.

"Yeah...I'm good."

💋💋

Luca's Jeep smelled like tacos, and a lingering scent I could only describe as him.

We sat in the front seats, the doors open and the breeze blowing through. He'd set down a thick towel on his seat, so he wouldn't soak the fabric underneath. Towels were Hawaii staples. Nothing was more versatile.

"So any luck yet, hearing back about jobs?" He asked.

"Not a word. But it's only been a few days. I'm sure their hiring team will get back to me soon." I said.

He knew I was looking for work, we'd talked briefly about it the other night on the phone.

"Do you really want to work on base?" He asked, looking over at me.

"Is there something wrong with the base? You work there after all." I chuckled.

"Yeah smart ass..I do. So do all the other marines." His eyes flashed something. "You'd probably find HR work easily, in Honolulu. It's not that far."

Well now this was weird. He was implying I shouldn't work on base. And the dig at finding something in HR... did I appear pathetic, looking for under qualified work? I hated feeling this way, and I knew I needed to stop jumping to conclusions. Luca just had that affect on me. Questioning everything.

"Well...yeah....I mean.... I could work in Honolulu but I prefer less stress, and closer to Kaneohe. Traffic is pretty brutal in the morning headed city bound..."

"Mila, it's ok." He interrupted, reaching over to touch my hand. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just know how military dependents can be. And a lot of them are catty and judgmental. Especially towards pretty single women."

I looked down at his tanned hand, how he let it rest on top of mine. It felt so nice, so perfect. He moved it back to his steering wheel and stretched. The sensation of the imprint still lingered though.

"I'm not worried about that. I've lived on bases before, the dependents don't scare me. The pay is pretty decent but mainly I just want something to do. That isn't too stressful."

"The Navy Exchange is decent sized, you'll have plenty of work to do."

His voice sounded worried? It was so hard to read him! I wanted to say more but thought better of it. If I kept emphasizing 'stress' he'd start asking more questions. Ones I wasn't ready to reveal. It was bad enough he knew my dad and grandad had been career marines.

"What would you think about teaching me to surf sometime?"

"You want to learn?" I teased.

"I do...I..."

Luca's phone rang, cutting off our moment prematurely. He answered with 'Ajello' in a gruff voice. He grunted and nodded then hung up. I thought nothing of it, assuming it was just a normal work call.

"I really want you to teach me. I've been wanting to learn since I got here but having a dude teach me has never appealed quite right."

I laughed. "Oh really?! So now I know why you danced with me at the club...you wanted surf lessons!"

He brought his hand back and touched my arm this time, softly and lazily.

"Is that so bad?"

Both of our phones dinged this time, ruining the moment again. Luca looked at his text message and grunted. I looked at my notification and clicked on the incoming email app.

Scheduling reminder for Mila Tanaka, Kapiolani Cancer Center.

**This story is only found on Wattpad. If found on another site, it was stolen. Thank you for reading.💋**