I am sorry it took so long to get this out. My muse took a long vacation, got fired, then rehired, then we had to work the next few chapters out. I am turning this into a long novel, so keep reading and thanks for all the nice comments!
Rob Racer was drenched and pissed. All in all, it sure was a crappy way to start his second date.
The night with Akemi--when Rob had been handed the largest wad of cash in his life--was only a week removed, and all week Rob had thought about nothing but his date with Hitomi and next payday. Never had he thought the latter would go as horribly as this.
Somehow making it worse at the moment was the fact that the night before had been almost pure bliss. Hitomi and Rob had gone on their first real date and it went swimmingly, as they sometimes said back home in that almost old timey style. They had seen a movie, ate at the best Mongolian BBQ joint ever, (Genghis Khan, if you ever get to Okinawa, I promise it's worth it) and they had gotten to communicate a little better when they were alone. There were still some hand gestures and Rob felt his own English get dumbed down as the night wore on, but they were having so much fun it didn't matter.
After the date, they had found a little hotel and had sex for the first time away from Tashi's, an experience he would not forget. The sex was slow and passionate and they had connected in a way he had never experienced before.
So how the hell was this happening the very next night?
First, the cab had met him right outside the base 15 minutes late. The guy would not say a word to him other than to tell him to get in, and Rob was not even sure this was the right guy. He was old and rude and gave him dirty looks in the rearview mirror, making the Marine in Rob want to smack the impertinence right of his face. When the ride was finally over and driver told him to get out, it didn't matter to Rob where they were, he just wanted out and away from the guy.
It should have mattered. That was 40 minutes ago, and in the meantime he had almost gotten totally lost and busted to boot.
Of course, the cloud cover had turned to rain about 90 seconds after he got out of the cab. Why wouldn't he get soaked to the bone right before a date? His clean and pressed clothes now stuck to his body uncomfortably, and even though it was early fall the rain was a little cold. He stood still right where the cab had dropped him off for almost 20 minutes before he could not take it anymore, and turned around to walk back the way the cabbie had brought him. As the cabbie was late in the first place, Rob assumed he had missed the date, and he was pissed. The ride had lasted more than 20 minutes, so Rob thought it might take him an hour or more to walk back to base. It was about 6:00pm and still light out, but it would be dark before he got back to base, which would only make the rain colder.
When the rickety old van pulled over on the other side of the street, Rob for a moment thought it might be his date. Then his common sense kicked in and he realized no self respecting woman who could afford his services would ever drive that piece of shit. He ignored them and walked on until the horn sounded and a clear and deep American voice called out, "What the hell are you doing out here, Marine?"
Rob froze. The voice had that damn tone to it, one he had only barely started to develop himself. Authority.
He turned and walked to the van. It was slightly behind him, and as he approached he saw the blue dot on the registration sticker that signified it belonged to an officer. Had he been in uniform, he would have had to salute. Instead he approached the window and took the POA (Position of Attention) like the good grunt he was.
"Good evening Sir," Rob said quickly.
"Relax, Marine, we are both off duty. What are you doing out here? You get lost?"
Rob did not know it, but he was just outside a larger residential area that usually saw very little Marine activity, much less a Marine on foot out in the rain.
"I was with my girlfriend, Sir. She..." Rob was lost for words, unsure which lie would work best.
"Kicked you out?" The officer offered.
Rob sighed in relief. The guy had just done his work for him. "Yes Sir. I made a mistake at dinner, and her Mom got really mad."
The officer just laughed. "I bet she did. Well, get in. I won't have a Marine getting sick by walking over 10 clicks back to base. Who are you with?"
"4th Marines, sir. Regimental headquarters."
"You mean Camp Schwab? Hell, then you better get in here. It's farther than you think back to base."
Rob panicked. What the hell was he supposed to do? The guy was basically ordering him to get in, but he had to be out here for his date apparently. Fuck a duck.
"Sir, Tomi just called me, and she is on her way. She just had to calm her Mom down. She'll give me a ride back to base."
The officer gave him a look that plainly said he wasn't buying it. "How about you wait in the van then? You are already soaked to the bone."
Rob was now in full Holy Shit mode, he had to think quick. "Sir, she might drive right by me if I am in a van, I really should wait for her."
The officer nodded and gave him a sad, knowing smile. "You sure?"
"Sure as shit, Sir. She better put out tonight after all this," Rob threw in, just to make it sound good.
The officer laughed. "Well, I guess she better. Here," the officer held out a card. It was an Arrive Alive card with the number for a base taxi service that specialized in bringing drunks that could not drive back to base. Rob had one of his own safely tucked in his now soaked wallet.
"Thanks sir, if she is not here in 10 minutes, I'll give 'em a call."
"See that you do. This weather here can get you sick in a heartbeat. Take care, Marine."
"You too, Sir." Rob snapped back to the POA before the officer waived him off and drove away. Rob could not remember letting out a bigger sigh of relief as the old van turned the corner and disappeared.
That had been 15 minutes ago, and now Rob really was ready to use the Arrive Alive card. Soaked, forced to lie to an officer and still unsure if he was in the right spot, Rob had never had a worse date in his life, paid or pleasure.
Then he saw the headlights pull up behind him. It was still light out so he could see the car and he realized immediately this was his ride. It was a black, deeply tinted sedan, and had to cost at least 100,000 grand. He could not recognize the style or design but it was a luxury car to say the least.
The horn beeped once and Rob took a deep breath. He was in no mood for his date now. He wanted to get dry and eat--and then drink about 20 beers and just forget all about this. Tashi had not given him any money up front, so at least he could feel good about stiffing the date.
Then he thought about the Mustang he wanted to buy when he got home. He was almost halfway there already, and Rob thought that in a month of work he might be close enough to put a down payment on it and have it ready and waiting for him when he got to the states. He sighed again, this time out of frustration, and approached the car. He made to get in the front passenger seat but the rear passenger side window rolled down and Rob heard a feminine voice say, "Back here."
When Rob opened the door to get in the back seat, he was as surprised as he could be. An American model, or what surely must have been one, sat in the back seat of the car. She was definitely not a local, that was for sure. Rob thought she might have been from the Midwest, like he was.
He climbed in and noticed that the front seats and back seat of the car were separated by a dark black glass that could not be seen through.
"Uh, hello," Rob stammered, unsure of what was going on.
"Please tell me you are Rob," the gorgeous woman asked. "I would hate to pick up some random Marine and then tell him to go back out into the rain."
Rob nodded and smiled, "I am Rob, and I don't know if I would get out even if I wasn't."
