IN BETWEEN - Jay Halstead

17 - BEFORE

Shortly after, he rode out her orgasm, himself letting go as their lips feverishly moved together. It was all a little messy and they both had trouble thinking straight before they completely recovered. He pulled out but held her against him for a few seconds, giving her some time to find the strength to stand on her own.

She kissed his cheek, letting him know she was ready to stand. He gently put her down, showing her a lazy smile.

"Let's get you cleaned up, we gotta go work out." He softly spoke, helping her get dressed after pulling up his own pants - both of them making their way to the bathroom for a quick clean up.

They headed to the gym, getting a few looks from the other soldiers but they didn't pay attention. They joined their close friends, getting teased by them the whole time they trained - simply laughing it off.

-

"You know, I thought you would make it to the top." Jay told her as they walked to the dining hall.

"I definitely would've if that asshole stopped shooting at me." She angrily answered, her arms crossed against her chest.

"That's never bothered you before." He argued, his voice calm and soft - Jay's goal wasn't to anger her. He simply wanted her to talk about how she felt.

They had just done the pole test, the one where they had to climb all the way up a pole while "being shot". Sam usually did very well, but not today and Jay knew she wasn't happy with it. She had shut down in front of everyone, not letting anyone tell how she felt - but now that they were alone, she had to talk about it.

"No, but when they're purposely shooting at my ass it's a whole other thing." She told him, his eyebrows raised - he didn't notice them doing that. He was too concentrated on her technique.

"Fuck, I'm sorry Sam." He softly said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"It's fine. They're just horny assholes with no fucking respect." She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked up to their table. Someone stopped them before they could reach it.

"Hey, Sam! Did you know you look hot when doing the pole?" A voice spoke up, making her whole body freeze. How she hated men.

"Yeah, maybe you should take a spin around it sometime, preferably naked." Another added, the whole gang laughing at the stupid words that left their mouths.

Sam turned around quickly to face them. "You wanna say that to my face?" She spoke through gritted teeth, her body menacingly hovering over his seating one.

He stood up, standing much too close to her for her or Jay's liking.

"Your ass looked so fucking sexy." He whispered, only loud enough for Sam and Jay to hear. Jay's fists tightened and he held back from jumping at the guy's throat - he knew Sam could handle herself.

"Are you sure that's what you're going with?" She answered, her posture seemingly calm and her face and voice showing no emotions.

The soldier simply smirked at her, a proud expression on his face. Surprising everyone, Sam's fist hit the guy's face. The impact made his head turn, his hand instantly going to hold his now bleeding nose. Everyone around them gasped, suddenly very interested in the altercation.