Ellie's POV:
I woke up fairly early. Bob was asleep in a chair, and Phoenix was on the couch. I was with a ton of blankets on the floor. I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about my phone call with Jake yesterday. He was so sweet about fixing everything...I'm kind of surprised that he talked to him for a good few hours. I wonder what they talked about.
I looked at the time...it was nearly 6. I got up and folded all the blankets, then got Phoenix and Bob up, so that they won't be late to the beach. I drove home, ate some breakfast, and changed into my swimsuit. It was a two piece, high-waisted black bikini. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. This was my favorite swimsuit, because of how it made me look. I could already see Jake's face for when I show up. I threw on a button up shirt, because it was a little breezy. I got in my car and drove to The Hard Deck.
When I got to the parking lot, everyone was hanging out. Rooster had gotten there the same time as me, and waited for me to get out of my car.
"Well you look good, Shadow." He chuckled.
"I know I do, Rooster. Thank for reminding me." She laughed.
Phoenix got there right after, and caught up to us. Phoenix and Rooster got too focused on each other for them to notice I made my way over to Bob. It was so obvious they liked each other a lot.
"What did they kick you out of their circle?" Bob chuckled as he sat on the trunk of his car.
"Very funny. I'm convinced they'll get together by the end of this mission." I sat next to him.
"I agree. I agree. So..how come you didn't tell us that Hangman was the one that called you last night, and not your dad?" He looked at me.
Crap.
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to cover it up.
"Oh come on, El. I know you too well. Your dad calls every other week, not every week. Besides, the look on your face when you walked inside gave me the idea that it wasn't your dad." He chuckled.
"Are you mad?" I asked nervously.
I knew Bob didn't really like Jake...which is why I was scared to tell him. He is like my brother and can be very protective.
"I'm not. I just don't want you hurt. He can be kind of an ass." He told me.
"While that is true, I know he is one of the kindest guys. He just never shows it." I told him.
"I just want you to be happy, Ellie. I may not be too crazy about you being with him, but I'll be open minded." He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a hug.
"Thank you, Bob." I smiled at him and gave him a side hug.
"I still think you could do better." He said with a laugh.
"Wow. You're not even giving him a fighting chance?" I chuckled.
"We'll see." He chuckled.
I playfully nudged him and laughed. We still had about 10 minutes before 7, so we sat there and talked for a little bit. I felt Bob nudge me, and he pointed over to Hangman walking up with Coyote.
"Go get him, El." He chuckled.
I smiled at him and then hopped off his car to go walk up to Jake. He saw me and stopped in his tracks. He was almost stunned to see me.
"Hey, guys!" I smiled at them.
"Sup, Shadow. I'll give you two a minute." Coyote chuckled and went over to Phoenix and Rooster.
"Damn. You look good." He told me.
"I could tell. You haven't stopped staring at me for almost 5 minutes now." I chuckled.
"I could stare at you all day, hot stuff." He pulled me close by my hips.
"Oh my god, could you make it more obvious." I laughed.
"Well Coyote kind of picked up on it after he saw us at the bar. I just didn't say anything until this morning when I picked him up." He chuckled.
"That's fine...Bob figured it out last night. He has his suspicions since the bar, but he figured it out after I hung up last night." I laughed.
"I also might have told Rooster last night when we were talking last night." He looked embarrassed.
"Well so much for keeping that secret." I chuckled.
"I'm sorry." He looked embarrassed.
"Don't be. It's okay. I just don't really want Maverick finding out. It might risk us both for this mission." I chuckled.
"Well now I can tell the whole world I'm dating one of the hottest people I have ever seen." He laughed, making me blush.
Maverick showed up right at 7. He was wearing jeans and a t shirt. He wasn't the only one not wearing swim trunks. Rooster and a couple others and it made Ellie so confused. Who doesn't have a swimsuit? As we were walking in the sand, I felt something hit my back. I turn around to see Jake picking up his shirt. I couldn't say anything, I just stared at him with my mouth agape. I was fully convinced in that moment that he was carved by gods.
"Jesus. I knew you were hot. But damn." I stared at him.
"Come on, El. We gotta go catch up." He grabbed my had and started fast walking back to the group.
He looked at me and squeezed my hand lightly. I looked at him and smiled warmly. He pulled my hand up and kissed it gently. It made my heart absolutely flutter. It took a lot in me to just grab him and kiss him.
"Welcome to dogfight football." Maverick smiled.
"Dogfight football?" Coyote asked.
"Yes. In order for all of you to actually work together...I needed to improvise. So, we're gonna play dogfight football. You're gonna put going to get put into teams, and then you're just going to play." He told us.
He pretty much split us in half. I was against Jake, which made it much more interesting. Once we started, the game had gotten fun so fast. We basically gave up on the actual game and just started throwing the ball back and forth. There was a moment in time where I had totally crashed into Jake, knocking us both over, and I landed on top of him.
"Well I could get used to this." He joked.
"Ass." I laughed and got up.
Jake grabbed the ball, threw it down and yelled. It made me laugh. He was so cute. Eventually Bob got the ball and got it to the end zone.
"Holy shit! He did it!" I yelled and ran toward him.
I gave him the biggest hug before everyone came over to celebrate. Rooster picked him up and put him on his shoulders and we all started shouting his name. I could tell it made him super happy, and it made me so happy to see him happy.
"Guys I have an idea!" I shouted.
They all stopped to look at me.
"The last one to the water buys a round for everyone. Sound good?" I told them.
They all cheered.
"Alright! Everyone line up. We're doing this fairly." I chuckled.
We all got into a line and got ourselves positioned.
"On my count! 1...2...3!" I yelled and we all bolted for the ocean.
I could hear people laughing as we all ran into the water. Fritz was the last one to the ocean, so the rest of them were excited for the free beer later. We all just stayed in the ocean, swimming and splashing around. Jake swam up to me and put me on his shoulders. Natasha got on Rooster's shoulders and we wrestled. Once Phoenix got pushed into the water, Jake swung me around so I was facing him. He smiled at me and pulled me in for a kiss. We heard a bunch of cheering...seems like everyone was rooting for that to happen. I pulled away smiling and I splashed Jake. I tried to swim away, but he grabbed my legs and dunked me.
"Just for that, you're buying me a drink too." I slapped his chest, playfully pointing a finger in his face.
He smiled and nodded and pulled me to him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him in for a hug. I felt his arms wrap around my waist and pull me into a tight hug. I had never felt more content in my entire life. It was still super early in the afternoon, and they essentially let us have the day off. Natasha and I left to go get some sun in before going to the bar.
"So you and Hangman?" She asked me.
"Yup. I could say the same about you and Bradshaw." I chuckled.
"You know?" She asked.
I sat up.
"So it's true?" I chuckled.
"We're going on a date tomorrow after training. He just asked me today." She chucked.
"Oh my god! Natasha that's great!" I said excitedly.
"I've liked him for really long time." She told me.
"I kinda noticed there was something there. I love it though, you guys are so cute." I chuckled.
"You and Jake fit each other really well." She told me.
"Really?" I asked her.
"Bradley and I kind of knew something was going to happen between you two. He can be really nice...he just doesn't show that side of him to a lot of people." She told me.
"He is super sweet. He makes me super happy, Nat." I told her,
"Good. You both deserve it." She smiled.
We talked a little while longer before going to the bar for drinks. All the guys were hanging around each other. After a little while of drinking and dancing, I left to go sit in the sand near the water to watch the sunset. It was so nice getting some fresh air and being by the ocean again. I used to do this a lot with my parents when I was little.
"What are you doing down here, darling? It's getting a little chilly." Jake asked as he sat down next to me, taking another towel and putting it non my shoulders.
"Watching the sunset. I used to do this a lot when I was little." I scooted closer to him.
He handed me the beer he owed me for dunking me in the ocean. I put my head on his shoulder, and we both just watched the sun set.
"I could totally get used to this." He had his arm wrapped around me.
"So could I." I smiled and looked at him.
He looked at me and smiled, and then pulled me into a kiss. It was more lustful than the others. I smiled into the kiss. He brushed the hair out of my face and cupped my cheeks. I put my beer down in the sand and wrapped my arms around his neck. He gently laid me down in the sand, and continued to kiss me. It was lustful but also gentle. He was almost completely on top of me when he stopped.
"Wanna get out of here?" He smiled and asked.
I thought about it for a moment, and then stood up. I held my hand out for him to take as he stood up. I pull him in for another kiss and smiled.
"Yeah I do actually." I put my chin on his chest.
He smiled and kissed my forehead before taking me to his car. When he got in the car, I rested my head in his lap, and kissed one of his hands the whole way back to his place. It wasn't a far drive back to his place. Once he helped me out of the car, he kissed me again.
"Are you sure you want to, El? We can stop if you want." He assured me.
I pulled him in for another kiss. I have never been so sure about what I wanted in my life.
"Take me inside, Bagman." I smiled at him.
He smiled and kissed me again. He led me up to his door and brought me inside. I smiled up at him and pulled him down to kiss me. He picked me up and walked me down the hall.
"Are you sure you wanna do this, darling?" He asked me again.
"Yes. I have never been so sure in my life, Jake. Are you?" I asked him.
"I want this just as much as you." He smiled at me and backed me against the wall.
"Then go ahead and kiss me." I chuckled and cupped his face.
He smiled and kissed me again...this time it was a lot more lustful than the many other kisses before. I took off his shirt, and he took off my bikini top. Before taking off our trunks and moving our way to the bed...he briefly broke the kiss, smiled at me, and then shut the door.