***
Jill looked into Jack’s brown eyes. She hesitated to speak. “Jack, can we talk?”
“About what?”
“Us.”
“Sure . . . Are you still mad at me about the spooning issue?”
“No. I want to tell you something.”
“I’m listening.”
“I am thinking that we have a lot in common,” Jill said. “And in some areas we are very different.”
“I agree.”
“Well, here is what I am thinking. I tend to be strategic in my thinking and you are more tactical in your thinking. That probably is true in relationships as well.”
“Hmm. I am not sure how that applies to our relationship.”
“I think that . . . maybe . . . it is possible that . . . in light of . . .”
“Just spit it out. What are you thinking?”
“Jack, I am thinking the most important thing in my mind right now is that I don’t want to offend you. I could say some offensive things that you could hate me for, but at the same time I feel that we need to be honest with each other.”
“Jill, you won’t offend me if we talk about me being raised in an orphanage or foster homes.”
“That is not what I am concerned about.” Jill was looking into Jack’s brown eyes and hoping that he would not bristle with the direction she wanted to go.
“Well, then, out with it. What is the problem?”
“It’s how much . . . well . . . I am not sure how to tell you this.” Jill continued to hesitate.
Jack stared at Jill in silence and waited for her to put her thoughts together.
“I like you very much, Jack.” There, I said it. It was all I could do to keep it inside. Now I finally managed to speak my mind. Jack is going to hate me for saying something so intimate this early in our relationship.
“And?” Jack had an inquisitive look on his face.
“I just told you how I feel about you and all you can say is ‘And?’”
“Jill, I think I am missing something. What you just said was not any surprise. I already had the impression that you liked me. You did kiss me, didn’t you?”
Jill took a deep breath and then exhaled. “Well, yes. This is really hard to explain. You see, my strategic thinking is long term, and your tactical thinking is short term—”
“Ah, I think I am starting to see the problem,” Jack said. “We became good sniping partners. Then we became friends. Then we became really good friends, and now we are starting down the romantic road. I suppose that your strategic mind is already starting to think about a serious relationship: dating, engagement, marriage, making babies . . .”
“I haven’t thought about making babies yet.” Jill’s gaze drifted down toward the blanket.
“Now you are thinking that since I am a guy, and since I am a tactical thinker, I am only thinking in the short term. That implies that I haven’t thought about a long-term relationship, and marriage.”
Jill’s gaze lifted and she looked directly into Jack’s eyes. “I feel like I have to be honest with you about my feelings, but I don’t want you to feel threatened. I know we think differently sometimes, and I need to tell you that it is okay if you don’t like me as much as I like you. It is okay if you only think of me as a really good friend that you want to kiss once in a while. It is okay if you don’t want to get married. It is okay if—”
“Jill, I like you very much, too.”
Jill continued to look into Jack’s brown eyes as she spoke. “Oh, well . . . that’s . . . wonderful. But, I want you to know that you don’t have to feel like I do. I know I am a long-term thinker and—”
“Jill.”
“Yes, Jack?”
“Sometimes you talk too much. Our relationship is unique, Jill. I know what you are like, and I like the way you are. I also have had some long-term thoughts about our relationship, but I don’t dwell on them like you do. Someday, we may need to talk openly about a long-term relationship if things continue going in that direction. For right now I want to focus on the present. I don’t mind waiting to see what the future holds. It would be a shame to let the future interfere with our present relationship that’s so special. We are at a wonderful point, and I think that we could have an incredible future together, but we need to be patient and see how our relationship develops.”
Jill paused to absorb the things Jack just said. “So you are not mad at me for saying the things I just said?”
“Of course not,” Jack said with a comforting smile.
Jill inched toward Jack’s warm body. He wrapped his arms around her as they lay under the blanket.
“You don’t mind that your commanding officer is ‘sweet on you’?”
“Not at all.”
“You don’t mind that your commanding officer is yearning for you day and night?”
“Never.”
“You don’t mind that your commanding officer has a romantic interest in you?”
“No, Jill.”
“You don’t mind that your commanding officer is turned on by the sight of you in a bathing suit?”
“Jill, sometimes you talk too much.”
Jack and Jill cuddled under the blanket as they stared into each other’s eyes. Occasionally they looked up as people packed up their things and left the beach. Finally, as the sun’s last glimmer of twilight shined on them, Jack said, “Jill, I have really enjoyed today.”
“I am so glad. And we have dinner to look forward to. I picked out a nice restaurant in Lewis and that is supposed to have fantastic steaks.”
“You’re making me hungry. Let’s pack up.”
Jill didn’t want to leave Jack’s embrace, but the air was becoming chilly. They shook the sand from the blanket and folded it. Then they picked up their duffels and walked to the changing station, hand in hand.