“No.”
“Are you hiding Twizzlers in your underwear drawer again?” Alex asks with a grin.
I wrinkle my nose at him. Back when I was a freshman, I thought I could keep candy in my room for a late-night snack. Turns out not even your underwear drawer is sacred. It was found within two days, and I ended up in detention for the infraction. That’s also when I met Alex, who was there because he kissed a girl in the hallway between classes. Apparently, they didn’t know—or didn’t care—about the no-PDA-on-campus rule.
That, three years ago, was the first and last time I disobeyed a rule.
“Hey, maybe it’s good news,” Leah says with a hopeful smile.
I bite my lip, crack my knuckles again, and nod, although it’s not. Nothing positive happened between me and Evans yesterday. I try to take a bite of sausage, but it gets stuck in my throat. Things have been going so well. My application to the Air Force Academy was going to be as strong as I could possibly make it. I had everything planned out. My dream of becoming a fighter pilot was becoming more and more real every passing day.
Did Evans put all that at risk for me?
CHAPTER 2
PAIGE
As soon as the bell rings, I shoot up and rush for the dean’s office, unable to handle the suspense any longer. I must know what Evans did, and if my inappropriate actions are going to ruin my chances at the Air Force Academy. I need to have a spotless record. If I’m disciplined for what happened, my dream could be over.
“Sir, Lieutenant Commander Durant reports,” I say when I reach his open doorway.
He says, “At ease, Lieutenant Commander Durant. Please come in and take a seat.”
I enter the room but pause when I see Evans.
“I believe you’ve already met our new cadet, Logan Evans.”
He’s slouched in his chair and gives me a half wave and a smirk. My eyes grow wide at his complete lack of respect in front of the dean.
“Yes, sir.” I sit down, my back rigid and my hands folded in my lap.
“Since he’s joining us in the middle of the semester, he has not had the benefit of our basic training course.”
“Yes, sir.” That much was obvious yesterday.
“It’s impossible to run the full program for one cadet in the middle of the semester, so I’d like for you to provide his training between classes and your other duties. You’re the highest-ranking officer without a current match, so I feel it’s the best solution to get him quickly up to speed on our customs and courtesies. Not to mention you’re one of the best role models he could have.”
“Thank you, sir.” All my fear from a few minutes ago disappears. I’m not being disciplined at all. I’m being offered yet another leadership position, which will only improve my chances of getting into the Air Force Academy.
“Are you willing to take on this responsibility?”
“Of course, sir.” It’s not like there’s another answer. If an administrator asks you to do something, you do it. Even if “no” were an acceptable answer, I’d never say it. I’ll have to figure out how to add in the new responsibility when my days are already filled second by second, but it will be worth it. I’ll make it work somehow. As my dad always says, failure is never an option.
Commander Anderson faces Evans and says, “Lieutenant Commander Durant will teach you how to survive around here, if you let her. I highly suggest you drop the attitude and embrace the opportunity to learn. Insubordination will not be tolerated. If she tells you to jump, you ask how high. Understood?”
Evans’s eyes stay on his feet.
“Do I make myself clear?” Commander Anderson says with more force.
Evans nods, still focused on the ground.
“Look at me and say, ‘Yes, sir.’”
He raises his eyes, glancing at me only momentarily before focusing on the dean. “Yes, sir,” he says quietly, his jaw tight.
“Being respectful of others is expected at Wallingford. We will tolerate nothing less from you. Any sign of disrespect will be swiftly dealt with.” He gives Evans a long, hard stare.
Evans visibly swallows and wipes his palms on the pressed creases of his black pants. If the dean’s goal was to scare him, he succeeded. I’ve never seen a meeting between a new DQ and an administrator, so maybe this is always the approach they take. Fear is a good motivator. Maybe that’s why so many of them quickly turn their behavior around.
“Evans, you are dismissed,” the dean says.
He stands and walks to the door, but glances back at me for a second with a strange expression—not fear but maybe intrigue or interest. I turn around to focus on the dean once more.
“Do you have any questions about this match?” he says.
I’d love to ask why he’s here, but I learned long ago information is given on a “need to know” basis. If I need to know more, they’ll tell me. Until then, I’ll try to ignore my curiosity. “No, sir.”
“Do you have any concerns?”
“No, sir,” I say, but then immediately think about his behavior yesterday. He was horrible and nothing I said helped. He did seem to listen to Alex better. And the dean. I practically groan in realization. Evans needs to learn gender means nothing here—all that matters is rank, and I’m several levels higher than him.
I’ll just have to be harder on him until he understands. That’s easy enough. I can be as hard as I need to be for him to listen.
The dean nods. “Good. You father wasn’t thrilled with this match, but I assured him you could easily handle yourself around Evans if it ever became necessary.”
His words cause my muscles to tense. My dad and the dean are best friends and go back to their own time at Wallingford and then later in the Navy SEALs, which means, unfortunately, my dad is much too involved in my life here. I never thought my dad played a role in my matches, but the dean’s words leave me wondering. It’s not unusual for males and females to be matched, yet all my previous matches have been female. I assumed it was coincidence, but I’m beginning to think my dad might have played a role.
Of course, I can’t be too angry with him. I am his only child and, after my mom died eight years ago, I’m his entire world. He even makes the hour drive just about every other weekend to meet me for dinner. I know he does what he does out of love, even if it sometimes borders on meddling in my life.
After being dismissed, I leave the dean’s office with a hall pass and a plan to rush to my calculus class, but Evans is loitering just outside the door, casually leaning on the wall even after he’s seen me.
“You need to stand at attention when you see an officer, even a student officer, in an otherwise empty hallway,” I say.
He rolls his eyes and blows out a breath. “I told you yesterday I’m not doing all this military shit.”
“You don’t have a choice. Do it or I’ll assign a punishment.”
“Go ahead.”
He crosses his arms over his chest as he looks past me down the hallway. I follow his gaze, but nothing’s there. It’s just the white cinder-block walls covered with photos of all the cadets before us.
“Ten push-ups for your attitude,” I say.