killshot (bradley bradshaw)

XIV

16 DAYS UNTIL THE MISSION

Since Maverick gave them the day off, Jenna didn't set her alarm last night. Finally, for once, she woke up naturally and not to the most annoying alarm sound on the planet. She rolled over in bed and grabbed her phone off the nightstand, checking the time. It was only 10 am, but that's serious sleeping in for her.

Heading towards the bathroom, she grabbed a clean towel from the linen closet and turned on the shower. After a quick rinse to shake off the lingering sleepy feeling, Jenna got dressed in jean shorts and a crop top. She hadn't heard from Rooster since they left the beach separately yesterday, so she shot him a good morning text. Jenna checked her other messages and saw that she had one from the Top Gun groupchat, planning a night at the Hard Deck. She texted them that she'd be there, and then turned her phone on Do Not Disturb. Grabbing a couple books from her bookshelf, Jenna headed out to her car and drove to the beach. She hadn't had the opportunity to sit in the sun and read for the longest time, and she planned to take full advantage of her day off.

Pulling into the parking lot at the Hard Deck, Jenna headed around back to find Penny sitting at the picnic table behind the building. She waved and said a quick hello, then snagged one of Penny's extra beach chairs from the shed. Dragging it behind her, Jenna walked about 15 minutes down the beach until she found a space that was far away from the other beachgoers. She set up the chair, put on her sunglasses, and dove into her book.

She checked the time a while later, and was surprised to see that it was already 2:30 in the afternoon. Just as she was about to put her phone back down and continue reading, Jenna heard someone yell out her callsign. She looked around for the source, and spotted Fritz just a little ways down the beach, walking towards her. Jenna waved back to him, and he came jogging up to her spot.

"Hey," he said, a little breathless.

"Hi Fritz," Jenna smiled.

"You mind if I join you?" He asked. Jenna felt like she couldn't really say no, so she nodded her head.

"Sure," she said, gesturing to the sand next to me. "I'm just reading, hope you don't mind."

"Oh no, that's perfect!" Fritz responded. "I brought my own book as well!" He laid his towel down near her chair and pulled a small hardcover book out of his backpack. They sat there reading in a nice silence for a few more hours, until his phone started going off. Fritz looked down at it, checking the messages.

"Everybody seems to be meeting at the Hard Deck right about now, you wanna head in?" Fritz asked.

"Sure, I'm ready!" Jenna said. She started packing up her stuff and went to grab her chair, but Fritz beats her to it.

"Oh you don't have to!" she protested.

"I got it, no worries," Fritz assured her. They walked back together, talking about their books. When they arrived at the back of the Hard Deck, Jenna showed him where to put the chair back, and they headed inside the bar. It was only about 5:30, and the bar was pretty packed. Jenna looked around for her friends, and spotted Phoenix, Bob, and Rooster at the bar.

"Hey! Where are you two coming from?" Phoenix greeted them as they walk over. She gave Jenna a look that she couldn't quite decipher. Jenna looked at Rooster, excited to see him, but he was staring daggers at Fritz.

"Oh, I was reading on the beach today and then I ran into Fritz earlier this afternoon," Jenna explained.

"More like I crashed her party," Fritz said laughing. "She was nice enough to let me join her."

"Hey, I had a relaxing day, which is all that matters to me," Jenna replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well, glad you two had fun," Rooster said, not meeting Jenna's eyes. Before she could respond, he got called over by a few pilots that Jenna didn't recognize. He left and headed over to them, greeting a few of them with fist bumps. Jenna turned to her left to thank Fritz for carrying her beach chair, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. She glanced back at Rooster as a pretty blonde female pilot opened her arms for a hug, and Rooster leaned in to embrace her. Jenna stiffened at the sight of them.