swear I have blisters on every toe.” Unlike me, Juliet hadn’t taken the time to get used to her new shoes before we jumped.
“I have some pain relief ointment in my bag.” Disguised as a period treatment, of course. “So where did you go? With Teddy?”
She kicked off her shoes with a flourish and then scrambled up the ladder to join me on the top bunk, sitting with her feet swinging over the edge. “We went for a walk.” She gave me a coy smile. “And he kissed me.”
“No.”
“ Yes .” Flinging her arms over her head, she dropped back to sprawl across my legs. “I’ve been kissed by Sergeant Teddy Burrell.” Her tongue flicked across her lips, and her smile grew. “He’s an awfully good kisser, Bella.”
“And did you, um…” I couldn’t say the words. Have sex . “Anything more?”
She pouted. “No, not tonight. He wanted to, I’m sure. But I don’t want him to think I’m a slut.”
I frowned at the unfamiliar word, and she rolled her eyes. “A woman of easy virtue. I’ll make him wait a few days.” She snuggled down, even though the space was cramped and uncomfortable. “And besides, we’re seeing the sentinel tomorrow. If he gets even a whiff of us misbehaving, he’ll probably send us straight home.”
Her voice was sleepy, her eyes drooping closed, and so I jiggled my legs to wake her.
“What?” She peeked up at me. “Did you kiss the rear gunner? I forgot to ask.”
“No.” I want to . I squashed that train of thought. “They don’t make it, Juliet. They don’t survive the war.” Saying the words made me shiver, and I tugged the blanket higher.
“What do you mean?” She sat up, attention fully on me.
“C-for-Charlie goes down with the loss of all hands.”
“How do you know that?”
I shrugged. “I recognized Davy’s surname. Porteous. I wrote a dissertation on loss statistics, and how their odds of survival improved the closer to home they crashed.” The words dried on my tongue. “C-for-Charlie was one of the crews I used as a case study.”
“Christ.” Juliet wrapped her arms around herself. “How long do they have?”
“I’m not sure. I studied six aircraft, all downed this year. They were all later though, in the winter months.”
“That’s decided it. I’m definitely screwing Teddy, as you called it.” Her tone was firm. “And you should think about doing it with that cute rear gunner.” She stretched, lithe as a cat. “Can I have that ointment now, please?”
Chapter Four
I slept badly, tossing and turning all night in my unfamiliar bed, convinced I might fall to the floor. Juliet, in contrast, slept peacefully in her bunk, a serene smile on her lips. Perhaps she was thinking of her handsome second pilot?
I tried to compose myself as I splashed my face with cold water and brushed my teeth. Focus on the day ahead. Working in the mess and meeting the sentinel .
I scrubbed tables and mopped floors again, while Juliet got to wear a white apron and serve food alongside the WAAFs. Like a rerun of the night before, I was emptying a bucket of dirty water into the outside drain when Davy found me.
“Hullo, Isabella.”
I straightened and turned to face him. “Hullo, Davy.” I knew my cheeks would be bright red from my exertions, and loose flyaway hairs were stuck to my forehead, yet he smiled as though I was the nicest thing he’d seen that day.
“All personnel are restricted to base today, so it looks as though we have ops tonight.” He didn’t look worried by the prospect. I wanted to grab him by the lapels again and tell him to be careful, but of course, I couldn’t do that. I could only stand helpless while he gazed at me. “I wondered if you’d like to go for a walk tomorrow afternoon? We normally sleep late when we’ve been up all night, but if the weather stays nice, I could show you around a little bit.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “If you’d like to.”
I should have said no. I should have continued with my
“I have some pain relief ointment in my bag.” Disguised as a period treatment, of course. “So where did you go? With Teddy?”
She kicked off her shoes with a flourish and then scrambled up the ladder to join me on the top bunk, sitting with her feet swinging over the edge. “We went for a walk.” She gave me a coy smile. “And he kissed me.”
“No.”
“ Yes .” Flinging her arms over her head, she dropped back to sprawl across my legs. “I’ve been kissed by Sergeant Teddy Burrell.” Her tongue flicked across her lips, and her smile grew. “He’s an awfully good kisser, Bella.”
“And did you, um…” I couldn’t say the words. Have sex . “Anything more?”
She pouted. “No, not tonight. He wanted to, I’m sure. But I don’t want him to think I’m a slut.”
I frowned at the unfamiliar word, and she rolled her eyes. “A woman of easy virtue. I’ll make him wait a few days.” She snuggled down, even though the space was cramped and uncomfortable. “And besides, we’re seeing the sentinel tomorrow. If he gets even a whiff of us misbehaving, he’ll probably send us straight home.”
Her voice was sleepy, her eyes drooping closed, and so I jiggled my legs to wake her.
“What?” She peeked up at me. “Did you kiss the rear gunner? I forgot to ask.”
“No.” I want to . I squashed that train of thought. “They don’t make it, Juliet. They don’t survive the war.” Saying the words made me shiver, and I tugged the blanket higher.
“What do you mean?” She sat up, attention fully on me.
“C-for-Charlie goes down with the loss of all hands.”
“How do you know that?”
I shrugged. “I recognized Davy’s surname. Porteous. I wrote a dissertation on loss statistics, and how their odds of survival improved the closer to home they crashed.” The words dried on my tongue. “C-for-Charlie was one of the crews I used as a case study.”
“Christ.” Juliet wrapped her arms around herself. “How long do they have?”
“I’m not sure. I studied six aircraft, all downed this year. They were all later though, in the winter months.”
“That’s decided it. I’m definitely screwing Teddy, as you called it.” Her tone was firm. “And you should think about doing it with that cute rear gunner.” She stretched, lithe as a cat. “Can I have that ointment now, please?”
Chapter Four
I slept badly, tossing and turning all night in my unfamiliar bed, convinced I might fall to the floor. Juliet, in contrast, slept peacefully in her bunk, a serene smile on her lips. Perhaps she was thinking of her handsome second pilot?
I tried to compose myself as I splashed my face with cold water and brushed my teeth. Focus on the day ahead. Working in the mess and meeting the sentinel .
I scrubbed tables and mopped floors again, while Juliet got to wear a white apron and serve food alongside the WAAFs. Like a rerun of the night before, I was emptying a bucket of dirty water into the outside drain when Davy found me.
“Hullo, Isabella.”
I straightened and turned to face him. “Hullo, Davy.” I knew my cheeks would be bright red from my exertions, and loose flyaway hairs were stuck to my forehead, yet he smiled as though I was the nicest thing he’d seen that day.
“All personnel are restricted to base today, so it looks as though we have ops tonight.” He didn’t look worried by the prospect. I wanted to grab him by the lapels again and tell him to be careful, but of course, I couldn’t do that. I could only stand helpless while he gazed at me. “I wondered if you’d like to go for a walk tomorrow afternoon? We normally sleep late when we’ve been up all night, but if the weather stays nice, I could show you around a little bit.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “If you’d like to.”
I should have said no. I should have continued with my
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