The next morning, Annabelle awoke to a group text from Maverick instructing all of the trainees to meet him at the beach, along with texts in a secondary group chat with Rooster, Phoenix, and Bob discussing carpooling arrangements. Why training was being held at the beach today, Annie had no idea, but she certainly wasn't complaining. She'd been waiting for an opportunity all week to have some free time down on the shore. The ocean had always been Annabelle's favorite place. She remembered going as a child with her parents, Maverick, and Rooster, her dad teaching her how to surf and hold her breath under the crashing waves. Similar to how she felt in the air, Annabelle felt completely free in the water. While most people were terrified of the vast openness of the ocean, Annabelle basked in the feeling of being able to float for hours on end and still never seeing an end to the sea.
Unsure what the proper attire would be for the day's events, Annabelle decided on some loose shorts and a tank top with a light jacket just to be safe. She wore her bikini underneath, hoping that some part of the day would allow them time to hang out in the ocean or at least maybe tan on the beach for a while. A sudden knock on her door caught Annabelle off guard, nevertheless she paused on packing her beach bag and went to answer the door, finding Bob on the other side.
"Hey Bobby! What's up?" Bob chuckled lightly at Annabelle's confusion, immediately knowing her reason for asking such a silly question.
"You didn't read the group text did you?" It was at that moment Annabelle remembered the group chat with Rooster and Nat discussing all riding to the beach together. She had become so excited at the prospect of spending the day at the beach, she had completely forgotten to respond in any way, or that the chat happened at all.
"Oh right! Sorry, I just got so preoccupied with getting ready. What did everyone decide?"
"Rooster is going to drive us all. We'll probably all hit the Hard Deck at the end of the day too if you want to join us. If not, I can always drive us so that I can bring you straight home after training."
"No, that sounds great! I'm just finishing packing my bag. Come on in." While Annabelle turned to return to her packing in the living room, Bob found himself hesitant to enter the apartment. They had spent plenty of evenings hanging out at his dorm, but he'd yet to step past the threshold into Belle's dorm room. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason the thought of being in her apartment felt more intimate than being in his. Still, not wanting to offend, he stepped inside and allowed himself to look around at what he could from the foyer. There wasn't much around given that they were only here for a few weeks, yet somehow Annie had made the small dorm feel like a real home. She had a few plants hanging by the windowsill and multiple books were scattered around the living room. He noticed some pictures sitting on the countertops around the apartment, mostly of Annabelle with her parents, but he also spotted some with Nat and some other nameless faces from her time at Top Gun. The simplicity of it all felt very her, and Bob found himself smiling from the peace her apartment seemed to bring. Then that peace had to be disrupted by Natasha barging in just behind him.
"What is taking you two so long! Rooster and I have been sitting in the car for 10 minutes. I half expected to find you two screwing in here."
"Natasha!" Bob blushed hard at the idea which did not go unnoticed by Phoenix as she sent a smirk in his direction. "We'll be right out Nat. I just needed to finish packing my bag."
"You realize this is still training, right? Not a beach day."
"Yeah, well a girl can dream. Let's go, we don't want to be late." Natasha immediately exited the apartment, yelling down to Rooster that they were on their way out. Annabelle shook her head at her friend, still embarrassed by her initial comment when she had stormed through the door.
"I'd apologize for Nat, but you know her well enough by now to know that there's no point." Bob smirked at the truthfulness of that statement as he opened the door wider for Annabelle to pass through, taking her beach bag from her hands as she did.
"Bob, you don't have to--"
"I want to." As the two simply stared into each other's eyes for a moment, small smiles gracing both of their faces, Annabelle suddenly felt an overwhelming surge of affection course through her body. In that moment, she knew she couldn't deny it any longer. She loved Bob Floyd. Not that she would say so right away, but being able to admit it to herself was a huge relief. Acting on her impulse before she could talk herself out of it, Annabelle quickly bounced onto her tip toes and placed a hand on Bob's cheek, pulling him down slightly to bring his lips to hers. The kiss was longer and far more recognizable than the one they had shared in the car at her parents but was still simple and delicate. Annabelle felt somewhat nervous as she pulled away, hoping she hadn't been too forward with Bob just now, but her nerves left her when he gave her a sweet smile and leaned down again to place another small peck on her lips.
"Let's go you crazy kids, otherwise we are leaving without you!" The interruption of Rooster's voice from the parking lot below caused the two to break into a small fit of laughter before finally shutting the apartment door and making their way down the stairs.
-----
Thank God for Maverick. Today's "training" at the beach was really just dogfight football. Initially, Annabelle failed to see what the point of this exercise served for the mission, but after playing for a couple of hours, it was plain to see. He was creating a team. Up until now, this whole detachment had been extremely competitive and was getting to the point where the aviators were only looking out for themselves. But this mission required teamwork, cohesion, if they were all to come home alive. For the first time in over a week, not a single snide remark or insult had been thrown in anyone's direction. Hell, Phoenix, Hangman, and FreeFall were all on the same team and were actually looking out for one another. Even Rooster had managed to play along nicely with Maverick on his team. When Maverick eventually bowed out, the rest of the group continued to play on, showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Annabelle had ditched her tank top halfway through the day, the heat from the day becoming too much along with the exercise from the game, leaving her in just her bikini top and shorts. Bob had felt his breath hitch at the sight, causing Rooster to give him a couple of good pats on the back to get him focused again.
Deciding to go through just one more play of the game before calling it a night, both teams hiked their footballs and ran across their respective sides of the beach. Annabelle ran to tackle Rooster before he could throw the ball but came up short resulting in a sound of cheers from behind her to whoever had caught the ball. She pushed Rooster jokingly back despite having just lost the game because of him, but turned around with wide eyes when she realized it was Bob who had caught the ball and run it into his team's endzone. Immediately she was no longer upset at having lost the game, not when Bob had that infectious smile on his face as everyone began chanting his name in support. Rooster even ran over to lift him onto his shoulder's, a sight that made Annie smile even more.
As everyone began to pack up and head home for the night, Annabelle sat quietly in the sand just far out enough for the incoming tide to gently wash over her lower legs. She didn't even mind that she hadn't spent any time in the water; the feeling of having a supportive and caring team behind her now as they went forward with the mission was far more satisfying. The amount of shade growing over her figure told Annabelle that someone was walking up behind her. She confirmed it to be Bob when she felt hands on her shoulders and a soft kiss being placed on the top of her head followed by him sitting in the sand next to her, his arms resting across his knees as he pulled them close to his chest.
"So much for that beach bag that made us late this morning." Annabelle laughed at the remark, rolling her body to the side slightly to nudge into Bob's, only for him to pull her closer to his side with his arm resting around her waist. Annabelle rested her head against his shoulder, feeling completely content in this moment. Bob, the beach, the sunset. It was definitely one of the more perfect moments of her life. She never wanted it to end. The two remained in silence as they watched the sun drop lower and lower behind the horizon, eventually being joined by Rooster and Phoenix at their sides.
-----
The Hard Deck was a little quieter than normal tonight, the usual rush having already left by the time the four aviators arrived. Even Penny had left early for the night. Annabelle enjoyed the softer vibes of the night though. It allowed the group of friends to talk at a normal volume, not needing to yell over one another to hear the other speak. Annabelle had missed this. She hadn't realized it, but she had yet to spend much free time with Rooster or Phoenix since they'd arrived on the island, aside from the night Annabelle kept Rooster from killing Hangman in his sleep. She hadn't meant to, but her time with Bob had somehow taken precedence over the last week. She would definitely need to mix that up a bit going forward. As Natasha stood to grab more drinks for the group, Annabelle followed after her, hoping for even just a few minutes of alone time with her best friend.
"So, you and Bob seem to be progressing nicely."
"I don't want to talk about Bob right now, Nat." Phoenix turned all her attention to Annabelle at the statement, total fear etched on her face.
"Why? Did something happen? Did he hurt you? I swear to God if he did anything to break your heart I will make his life hell up in the air--"
"No! No, Nat, I didn't mean it like that. Bob and I are fine. Everything's great. I just meant I'd rather talk about you. We've barely hung out since we got here and I know that's mainly my fault, so I need to make it up to you. We need some girl time, you know?" The tension that had built up in Natasha's body had quickly dissipated at Annabelle's reassurance, a relieved smile making its way to her face.
"Oh good. Cause I'd be lying if I said choosing between you and the best back seater I've ever had was going to be an easy decision. I mean, I'd obviously choose you, but it would be very difficult to say goodbye to Bob."
"Well, I'm glad to know you guys are getting along so well."
"Are you kidding? Bob's the best. I've hung out with him more than you since being here."
"Well duh. You guys fly together."
"No, I mean outside of training too."
"Wait what?"
"Come on Annie. Who do you think talked him into asking you out? He came over to my place to vent about how much he liked you only for you to not like him back. I had to tell him he was an oblivious idiot and to buck up and take his shot." Annabelle looked back at Bob as Natasha spoke, her mind reeling from the confession Phoenix had just made on his behalf.
"Really? He came to you to talk about me?"
"Well, yeah. I mean at first, we were hanging out to get to know one another better for the sake of being co-pilots. But he also knew we were close, so he started coming to me for advice before you guys finally made a move. He went to Rooster too. Wanted to make sure he'd be cool with him taking you out in case this ended up becoming anything." Annabelle was stunned. Every move she'd made with Bob had been on a whim, all happening in the exact moment as the impulses just came over her. But Bob had planned this. He spoke to the people who knew her best before making any moves, wanting to respect anyone who might be involved before acting on his own feelings. It was probably one of the most selfless things a person could do. That man continued to amaze her more and more every day. By now, the bartender had brought over the groups new drinks as Nat began picking them up to take back to the table.
"Thank you, Nat. We probably couldn't have done this without you I guess." Natasha looked at Annabelle as if she'd just said the most obvious thing ever.
"Of course you couldn't. And don't worry about girl time tonight. We'll make time for that later this week. I do miss hanging out just the two of us. You're still my best friend." Annabelle gave a grateful smile to Natasha.
"You're still mine too."
"More so than Rooster?"
"Let's not ruin the moment, Phoenix."