Back to You // Bradley Bradshaw

Chapter One

    "Haley," A voice said, shaking her shoulder. "Earth to Haley Seresin." Haley snapped awake to a pair of green eyes peering down at her. She rolled her eyes, pushing her twin brother back. She was already annoyed to be living in close proximity of him once again. Not to mention they were both about to be attending the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School together. Also known as Top Gun. Neither Seresin sibling was surprised to be attending, they both knew they were the best of the best. They had been all throughout the Naval Academy.

    Despite the typical sibling banter they dealt with, Haley was thrilled to be experiencing all of this with her brother. They had both wanted to be fighter pilots as long as they could remember. Prior to their soon to be start at Top Gun, both were apart of the VFA-151 Vigilantes. Today was the last day before they began their training at Top Gun. Both of them had their sights set on finishing first of their class.

    "Just because we're neighbors here doesn't mean I want to see your ugly mug every day." Haley noted to her brother, getting up from her lounge chair. The house she was renting had a small, in ground pool in the back. Jake had clearly let himself in through the side gate.

    "My ugly mug, little sister, is also your ugly mug," Jake retorted with a cocky grin. The two were fraternal twins, but still had a few different features. It was clear they were related, though. Both green eyes, fair skin, and confidence as high as the planes they flew. Jake's face was much sharper, which was one key difference. Haley was only 5'2, where as Jake was 6'0. Haley was convinced he sucked all the nutrients in the womb. Haley's hair was blonder, while her brother's was a darker blonde. She also still had a baby face and her height didn't help that. Everyone always thought Jake was older by a few years, rather than the two of them being twins.

    "You're two minutes older." Haley said, peering at him over her sunglasses. "And what do I owe this pleasure on my last day off?"

    "Get dressed, we're going to The Hard Deck. See what rift raft rolls in." Jake responded, throwing a towel at Haley.

    Haley caught the towel. She had to admit, she was curious to see who else was being brought in for this Top Gun class. She pulled on a cover up dress and slipped on her shoes. She turned to go inside the house to change into actual clothing. "Fine, let's go." She said, waving her brother onward. She knew there was one person who might be there that she partially wanted to see, but then also run the other way.

Once inside, Haley quickly changed into actual clothing. Unlike her brother, she did not put her uniform on to go down to the bar. She slipped into civilian clothing, just a tank top and a pair of jeans. Her hair was down, and fell in waves down her shoulders. She had a little light make up on already. She headed out to the living room, grabbing her car keys. Jake snatched them from her hand. "I'll drive." He said with a grin.

    Haley hopped out of her convertible Mustang when they arrived at The Hard Deck, a local bar popular among the recruits at North Island. She hopped over the door rather than opening it. The top was down so there wasn't much to have to climb through. She heard her brother snort as he exited the driver's side.

    "Haley!" A voice called across the bar. Haley looked up to see one of her oldest friends behind the bar, Sabrina. The two girls had grown up together, not far from North Island. Sabrina worked there while she was finishing up graduate school. She luckily had a great boss, Penny Benjamin, who worked with Sabrina's school schedule.

    Haley approached the bar, beaming at her best friend. "Bet you'll be busy tonight." She said, noticing the crowd already. She saw several uniforms and faces she recognized from the academy. She turned back to find a rum and coke on the counter waiting for her.

    "The usual cocky assholes." Sabrina said, shrugging with a grin. She had always been supportive of Haley and her Navy career, but did like to tease about the personalities among them. A lot of them seemed to be the same. "Your brother at the top of that list."

    "Nothing truer has ever been spoken." Haley replied, holding her drink up to toast. She saw Jake across the room with Javy Machado, callsign: Coyote. The two were friends, but Haley was convinced Coyote was there to just boost her brother's ego. She glanced at Sabrina and noticed her eyes lingering on Jake for a moment. She had never been blind to Sabrina's feelings for Jake, but she had never encouraged it either. Jake Seresin was arrogant beyond belief, some of which Haley shared, and she didn't want that for her best friend. She loved her brother, but thought Sabrina deserved better than that. She was fairly certain it was just lustful thinking. Sabrina and Jake butted heads constantly, they always had. Girls were always looking at her brother so it wasn't totally surprising.

"So-" Haley began, but froze as a familiar face entered the room. Tall, light brown hair, Hawaiian shirt and mustache, featuring all belonging to Bradley Bradshaw. Known among the pilots by his callsign as Rooster. Haley had met him in the Naval Academy and they had developed a friendship over their four years there together. One that wasn't without some complications. He was probably the closest thing to an enemy of her brothers-and also the person Haley had a particular arrangement with the previous summer. What was that arrangement? Friends with benefits. Fuck buddies. Whatever terminology you wanted to give it. She wanted to say it had all worked out fine, but their friendship seemed to suffer the consequences-and Haley felt at fault.