Fighting for Arielle Read Free

grocery shopping or something.
    "What are you up to this weekend?" she inquires as she grabs her gym bag.
    "I have a show this weekend,” I explain as I grab my gym bag and walk to the office door.
    "That burlesque thing?" she asks with genuine curiosity.  
                  "Yeah.  You should come sometime.”  
    We walk out of the gym office toward the parking lot.
    "That sounds awesome, and I will definitely come check it out sometime, but I can't this weekend.  Ross is going to be in port for a whopping thirty-six hours, and if I'm lucky, I might get to spend about eight of them with him.  But, that's eight more hours for sexing than zero, which is what I've had for the past three months," she says emphatically.
    Those are better odds than I've been having lately, and my husband is in port.  Although, even when he wants to, I can barely stomach it.  He really is not the same person he used to be.
    "I will see you on Monday," I say in a tone that’s a little more chipper than I intended.  "Same Navy time, same Navy place."
    "I can't with you..." Macy says playfully.
     We give each other a quick hug and get into our cars to head home for the day.

Chapter 2
     
     
    McCrary
    “ W here is this that we’re going again, Elkins?” I ask, turning to see Elkins and Wyllie, the bachelor himself, grinning excitedly and pumping their fists as we sit in the back of our rented limo.
    “A burlesque show.  Best one on the island,” he says, but doesn’t turn to look at me.
    “This is like a Vaudeville show, isn't it?” I ask as I open my beer.
    “No, man.  It’s a show where smoking hot girls dance and sing and, most importantly, take off their clothes," he explains as if it makes perfect sense.
    Although, n ow he has my attention.  I take in a swallow of beer.  
    "All of their clothes?"
    “Damn near, but they leave enough on to tease, which is half the fun,” Elkins says coolly.
    I don’t know Wyllie all that well because he's new to the island, but Elkins knows him and wanted to show him a good time before he marries.  I'm actually a bit jealous of Wyllie; he seems to have found his perfect girl.  To me, there are two types of relationships in the Navy: the first one is the kind that doesn't last and every time you come back from travel, deployment, or you change duty stations, she is not there.  The second is the one where, despite the disruptions in home life, career demands, and separation, you always come home to the same smiling face and loving arms.  After talking to Wyllie, I know he has this with his fiancée.  I just wonder how anyone has time to find that perfect girl.  
    It’s not as though I never dated anyone.  I’ve had plenty of women here and there throughout the years, but I just couldn’t commit to any of them. I always had upcoming cases and trials as well as the navigation of the politics of the military to deal with, and they came first.  Even if I had a desire to settle down and start the perfect military family, I have yet to find a woman who makes me want to take that next step.  I’m happy being a bachelor with no ties and nothing to distract me from my job, which has worked out well for my career.  I’ve been able to move up the ranks pretty quickly, making Lieutenant Commander with under ten years of service.  I am currently up for Commander, waiting to hear if I will be promoted.  Hopefully, I will meet my goal of making Commander by the age of 35.
    Snapping me out of the abyss of my o wn head, Elkins yells, “Cheers!”  
    I hold up my beer with the rest of the men.  
    “To the bachelor!"
     
    E ntering the building, I hear Elkins announce to the group, "You don't need dollar bills or anything.”  
    He places his hand on my shoulder saying excitedly, “We go to strip clubs a ll of the time, so we're going high class for this bachelor party.  Plus, I got us a VIP table right at the edge of the stage."
    The place is more like a theatre , with rows