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The line at the deli counter had shortened considerably since he first arrived, so he decided heto eat He still had a five-hour flight ahead of him, and from experience, he knew, unless you were in first class, the in-flight food sucked ass
The dark haired girl who stepped in line just before hi carryon as she rolled it along too hastily Her other hand was at her ear, where she held her phone Brandon didn’t knowat it, it was expensive Everything about her said expensive froh-heeled sleek city boots to the equally expensive purse that hung on her shoulder The sunglasses that sat on top of her head alone probably cost more than his airline ticket She even sled as she reached out for a tray "I have a car service picking et there Don’t worry" Brandon stared at the side of her face dryly It figured the princess ell looked out for "Yes, I’ht if I ht was delayed I’lanced around at the choices of chips he had to throw on it, trying to ignore the girl’s annoying conversation with Daddy She struggled to push the tray along while pulling her carryon and holding her phone at the sa the phone between her shoulder and her chin, she looked up at the lady behind the counter aiting to take her order "I’ll have a chicken salad with no to and a Coke Zero"
"The salads are pre lady held out a preular thousand and Diet Pepsi"
"No, I already told Molanced up at the lady behind the counter and held up a finger "You can’t just give lanced back at Brandon and offered an apologetic s up the line "Daddy, let ht now Okay Okay" She sain
Brandon stared at her uns in the sloss that she as barely there but enough to accentuate her already plump lips They were subtle and flawless, as were her well-manicured French-tipped nails She had dark features: dark, thick, shiny, near-black hair that flowed down halfway to her elbow and dark lashes that draped over those big brown eyes The fact that this groo daddy and that she referred to her grand re as i to feel "Okay, bye, bye I love you too"
She hung up, sain offered no s back to the lady behind the counter, she waved the salad away and glanced around "Is there soet a salad ether, taking the salad back "You can try Gordon’s," the lady said, and with that, she was done with the princess,on to Brandon "What’ll it be?"
Brandon put in his order for a turkey sub and an iced tea, not noticing which direction the princess had gone He ate quietly, sitting on the floor near aoverlooking the runway, his back against the wall
He was over being bitter about having to transfer back to a place he’d vowed he never return to San Diego was a huge city, and the truth was just as in South Carolina where he’d been a DI for the past four years, he’d be spending most of his time on the base anyway Whatever time he spent off the base he’d be sure to steer clear of La Jolla
"Well, I was just gonna go back to the salanced up to see the princess on her phone again, standing in front of a seat in one of the nearest rows of seats to him He studied her for ahigh-heeled boots They went all the way up past her knees What she wore under theray sweater that draped over her round but tight little ass and hips--said a lot about how ym
As his eyes made it all the way up to the scarf around her neck and back to the full lips that had caught his eyes the first ti him watch her The expression on her face was an a but amused Her lips curved into a sathered his trash He threw hisover his shoulder and walked away, annoyed that he’d given the pampered princess yet another reason to feel better about herself, as if a girl like her didn’t already have enough reasons to feel superior to those around her
~~~
A few days after Brandon arrived in San Diego, he was all set They’d given hi with his Jeep were delivered the day after he arrived, and his apartot there They’d offered to put him up in the NCO condo complex on base, but as he did in North Carolina, he preferred living off base It was the only ti on base meant closer contact with some of his co-workers Everyone who lived on base spoke of the base as a small town-like place where everyone was a close-knit military family He wanted no part of that All the relationships he’d everno emotional attachment to anyone, even his fellow Marine brothers, was how he liked it He lived and breathed the Corps, and if he ever had to, he’d take a bullet for any of them any day He respected them all, and they could trust he was absolutely dependable, but there was zero attachment