Hang Your Halo

Three

I'm stepping to you toe-to-toe
I should be scared, honey, maybe so
But I ain't worried 'bout it right now
I Ain't Worried x One Republic

Jake

After we land and debrief, Maverick suggests a day at the beach and The Hard Deck since we'll be getting a new, extensive mission tomorrow.  That seems a bit daunting, but it is what it is. 

"Halo, you want me to grab you on my way?" I ask as we make our way to the parking lot.  Half pint is notorious trying to keep up drinking with the boys and always needing a ride home from the bar. 

"I guess I should finally just accept the fact that you always bring me home anyway and say yes" she begrudgingly replies, earning a chuckle from me.  I tell her I'll pick her up in a few hours, giving her time to get a nap in.  She knows we'll end up playing football on the beach and her little competitive ass has to be the best, so she takes every advantage she can get.  It's one of the things I admire the most about her, she's always finding a way to be better and it reminds me a lot of myself. 

It pains me to admit that we have a strictly platonic relationship, although I've never actually tried anything.  I've absolutely flirted my ass off, and so has she, but I value her way too much to fuck that up.  The second I laid eyes on her at the Hard Deck so long ago, I almost choked on my beer for two reasons.  First, she's the most attractive woman I've ever laid my eyes on and second, that she would be with Rooster.  Thankfully, I quickly learned they're basically cousins and nothing is going on there.  She about had my jaw on the floor when she fired back with confidence to match my own.  She's kept me on my toes ever since and I couldn't ask for a better partner.  Despite our insane sexual tension, we trust each other with our lives and continually make each other better. 

As promised, I was at Beckham's door a few hours later clad in a backwards ball cap, flip flops, black board shorts, and my nearly threadbare UT shirt.  Beckham opens the door wearing Nike shorts, a loose fitted tank top exposing her strappy bikini top, and her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail.  "Shit, short stack. You're gonna put me in an early grave looking that good" I say with an appreciative whistle.  "Sorry hotshot, but I think the early grave will be due to how fuckin' fast you drive.  Victory awaits, turn and burn!" she yells as she climbs into the passenger seat of my truck.  The woman is what wet dreams are made of, I swear to God.  I hop in my seat and we make our way to the beach.

We park and head straight to the sand, ready for our football game.  As per tradition, Beckham and I are on separate teams because our...aggressive competitiveness makes it unfair to the other team when we play together.  We line up, 4 v 4, and I take my usual spot across from Beckham.  They chose to play offense first, so Beck backs to pass to Rooster further down the beach.  Quick on my feet, I intercept her pass and run to our own end zone.  To celebrate, I pretend the football is a grenade and pull the pin, then throw it behind me.  Payback and Fanboy dramatically throw themselves back like there was an explosion.  "Don't worry, pretty boy. I was just giving you a head start so you don't cry when I beat your ass later" Beckham sasses. 

Many touchdowns later, we line up again.  This time Rooster is in QB position.  Beckham runs down the beach, ready to catch the pass. I take off after her and don't make it in time before she scores, but still wrap my arms around her waist and throw her over my shoulder, heading towards the door of the bar.  "Alright, my ass has been thoroughly beaten, time for beer ladies and gents!" I toss over my shoulder as Beckham squirms and smacks my back.  "Put me down, Jolly Green Giant!  Let me at least put my shirt back on!" she squeaks out between giggles.  "Oh no, darlin'.  It would be a crime against humanity to cover you up" I retort with a smirk.  I can feel her eyes roll before she goes to punch under my bicep, knowing that's my weakness so I'll put her down.  "Fine you win!  Chop chop!" I say, setting her back down on her feet.  The rest of the crew filters in the bar behind me and we drop into a booth in our unofficial corner of the bar.  Since Penny loves us, she already had our first round of drinks and snacks on the table. 

A few drinks later, Beckham and Phoenix are dancing on the bar and singing their hearts out to the lyrics of BIG MAD.  It's basically their theme song at this point and they're lucky the bar hasn't officially opened yet so there's not a crowd to watch this mess.  Granted, the girls have no shame and would still be doing this if it were packed. 

"Oh you big mad?
Oh you big mad
Got a big bag, poppin' big tags
All white Rover, yeah I whip that
Ate it up, left no crumbs 'cause this shit smack
I just sit back, let the chips stack
People juiced out of bars, yeah they shit cracked
Up the coast, I'ma holler when I get back
Got hits stacked, oh you big mad"

Beckham starts shaking her ass and that's my cue to scoop her off the bar and close our tabs.  "Alright, trouble.  Down we go!" I say, holding my hands up to her.  The best part about a drunk Beckham is that she's abnormally agreeable, and she reaches down to hold onto me.  Hands still interlocked, I turn so my back is to her, and she latched onto me like a koala. We say our goodbyes -mine much less garbled than hers- and I drop her into the truck.  I pull a Gatorade and some ibuprofen out of my center console, making her take the tablets and drink half the bottle before she gets out of the truck.  This is not my first rodeo with a drunk Beck, and a hungover Beck is worse than Satan, so I do what I can to prevent that.  With a salute, she hops out of the truck and stumbles her way to the door, and I drive away once I know she's inside safe.

I wonder what tomorrow's briefing holds, I have a feeling it's gonna be a big one.