Cousins of the Water - Chapter 3

Chapter 31

Lieutenant Pruitt had barely finished the hundred push-up portion of her morning exercise ritual when the phone rang. It was evident that she was being called into the base since her unit was the only one that used her land line. She preferred keeping personal and career activities separate and keeping her cell private was one positive approach to maintaining a semblance of normalcy.2

“Pruitt here. What’s up?”3

“It’s Ensign Harper Mam. I’m sorry Lieutenant I know it’s barely O five-hundred hours but I was given an order to call. Can you be in at O six-thirty hours?”4

“Is there an option here Ensign?” she replied, knowing full well it was not.5

“Guess not Mam. I have to call the others now. Sorry again about waking you.”6

“Not a concern Harper. I’m up an hour plus already.”7

She stripped off the top and shorts and headed for the shower. Her nude body rippled as she stretched to release the morning workout. Her strength was an important part of who she was and she admired her build as she passed by the floor length mirror. The only female Seal on the team and she had paid in sweat and insults to get there. She had been given the tag ‘Pruitt the Prude’ when first assigned to the unit since; she would not tolerate the sexual jokes and advances of the others. She actually enjoyed a good tumble but not within the team. Off base, she liked the stares from men but not here; not where it could compromise her position. Her father had passed along a slogan from his own career; “You don’t shit where you eat.” and it was a strict policy for her as well.8

She knew that her sexual prowess could easily be misunderstood, especially when others looked at her long blonde hair and chiseled body. She had overheard undertones of lesbianism, from the women who suffered through their spouses unrelenting stares. Men crowded around her, both the dominate Alpha males and those who longed to be dominated. She often stood naked, analyzing what it was that drove people to seek out a certain type. She knew men liked her but as what. Her breasts were small although the tiny waist made them appear more prominent than they actually were. Her face was not magazine quality but okay. A man she had long since abandoned had once described her as comely. Not the kind of man that’s a keeper. She had determined that she was simply a good average and stints on a calendar were not on the horizon. Still, men wanted her. Now if she could only determine what she wanted.9

She cranked up the hot water in the shower, filling the bath with steam. As she lathered herself she wondered what might have prompted the call-in. She looked forward to beginning some thing concrete and not just sitting; filling the days with bullshit. She longed to slip into the ocean. To swim and permit her powerful muscles to propel her through the depths. She could beat most of the men under water and top side, she reveled in the fact that no one could compete with her record setting, single hand pull ups. She had long since proven that she was an invaluable part of the team, able to complete tasks that no two-hundred pound male could. Now perhaps the true nature of the assignment could be revealed. An assignment that she hoped would challenge her beyond what she had previously achieved.10

She toweled off.; slipped into her uniform and headed for the mysterious rendezvous.11