Sharkbait

Amy was practically bouncing as we waited outside the training facility for the class to walk out. The same women we talked to at the luncheon were standing outside their cars with us. The fences and buildings kept the training area out of sight, so we could only wait. I looked at my watch, and it was nearly five.

We heard a loud shout, and a few moments later, the first men came out of the building. I hear other wives scream and run to meet their men, while I waited for Kai to come out. I saw him walking with three Petty Officers, all in their summer-white uniforms. “He’s coming,” I told Amy.

My best friend let out a squeal as Kai wrapped his arms around her and swung her around. As he was kissing her senseless, I smiled at the three guys with him. “Hi, I’m Vicki,” I said as I extended my hand towards the closest man.

“Larry Owens, from South Dakota,” the man said with a Midwestern accent. “This is Ricardo and Manuel Jiminez. They hail from San Antonio.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” I said as I shook the twin’s hands. Larry was probably twenty, but the twins looked like they just graduated from high school. All of them were well-muscled, but not bulky.

“Thank you for taking us in,” Ricardo said. “I can’t wait to get some real food.”

I laughed at this as they put their bags in the back of the SUV. “Oh, we will feed you,” I said. “Climb in, and we’ll get going.”

Kai and Amy had finally broken apart, and he helped her back into the center seat as he sat on the passenger side. “We’ll be home in fifteen minutes,” I told them. Mykayla Kirk was right; all four fell asleep before we left the base. “He looks exhausted,” I sent to Amy.

“We’ll get him back.” She leaned into her sleeping mate as I drove us back home. Makani and Noelani were waiting for us as I pulled into the garage. The men wouldn’t move unless you made them. Amy kissed Kai until he woke up, but we weren’t doing that. “Help get the guys on your side up and out,” I told the twins.

I got Larry up and moving, but the twins took a little longer to get the twins going. When they were all standing, I made introductions. “Larry, Ricardo, and Manuel, these girls are…”

“Off limits,” Kai quickly said.

I glared at him. “This is Makani and Noelani, Kai’s younger sisters. They are seventeen-years-old and going into their senior years in high school, hence Kai’s protectiveness. You can tell the difference because Makani has an earring inside her left ear, while Noelani has ‘no’ earring.”

Larry shook their hands while the twins were smiling widely. “We’re only eighteen,” Ricardo whispered.

“I HEARD THAT,” Kai said as he walked into the house.

“Come on,” Noelani said. “We’ve got some food for you, and your beds are ready.”

“I think I love you,” Manuel said as he followed them inside. I had them hang up their uniforms, shower, and leave their dirty clothes in a basket in the hall. The men were used to moving quickly, so they were done in minutes.

The girls helped them eat pulled pork sandwiches and chips, and then Noelani brought out her surprise dessert. “I baked these special for you; Hammer said they were the best dessert for someone getting done with Hell Week,” she said proudly. She opened up the tin, exposing the homemade treats. “Sugar Cookies!”

Kai almost choked on his sandwich, Larry just stared at her with his eyes wide, while the twins started laughing their asses off. Noelani was almost crying, thinking she did something wrong. “I’ll eat your cookies any day,” Manuel said with a grin as he reached for one.

“They look a lot better than the ones we get,” Ricardo agreed as he took a bite. “Very good! Thank you, Noelani.”

She looked to her brother for an explanation. “Kiddo, ‘sugar cookie’ has a different meaning at BUD/S. As a punishment, the instructors send you out into the surf. When you are soaked, they have you roll around in the fine sand until it is EVERYWHERE, and you look like a sugar cookie.” I could see Noelani’s ears getting red as she got mad. “The sand rubs against you the rest of the day, and it sucks like you can’t believe. This Hammer guy was fucking with you.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Noelani said. “I thought I was doing something nice for you!”

“You did,” Larry said. “They’ll never turn me into a sugar cookie again without me thinking of you ladies and your special dessert. That dream will get me through the day.” He couldn’t stop yawning. “I need to sleep,” he said.

Amy took Kai into their room, and I didn’t expect them to come out for a day or so.

“Come on,” I said. I led Larry to the fold-out single bed from the chair, and he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

“I hope you guys don’t mind sharing this bed,” Makani asked the twins as she led them to the fold-out sofa.

“Are you kidding? These accommodations are two kids short of normal,” Manuel said as he pulled the sheet back. “Unless you join us.”

“I think it’s better for everyone if we don’t,” Noelani said with a laugh.

“Get all the sleep you need,” I told them. Seconds later, they were dead to the world.

We finished eating and cleaned the kitchen, then headed out to the deck to enjoy the evening. “Don’t flirt too much with those boys,” I warned.

“They seem nice, and they’re our age,” Noelani said.

“But we won’t do anything until we are of age,” Makani said. “I wouldn’t mind if they were our mates, though. They are both hot as hell and would be great Betas. Plus, with human mates, we wouldn’t have to change Packs.”

I just let a sigh out. “Well, none of those boys are MY mate. I don’t even know if Luna has granted me another yet,” I said. “What are we going to do about Hammer and his joke?”

“I’m going to choke him out,” Noelani said.

“Let’s gang up on him,” Makani agreed.

“Or we get Kai to help,” Noelani continued.

I had an idea. An evil, twisted, wicked plan took shape, and the girls were excited to put it into play.

The next morning, we dressed and headed out on our morning run without Amy, who wanted to stay with her man until he woke. I set a good pace for the beach, where we stretched and did our yoga while waiting for Hammer to show up. When he said hello, Noelani burst out crying and ran towards the water. “I can’t believe you did that,” Makani said as she ran off after her twin.

“What did I do?” Hammer asked.

“She trusted you,” I said. “She spent Thursday making cookies for the guys, and proudly served Kai and his buddies when they got to our place. Noelani’s pride turned into a huge embarrassment as the guys refused to eat them. They thought SHE was playing a trick on THEM. They didn’t even stop laughing at her when she started crying. She ran to her room and hid, not coming out until this morning. By the time we figured out what ‘sugar cookie’ meant, they were all asleep. Who knows what the guys from his boat crew think of her now?”

I could sense Hammer was shaken up by this turn of events. Noelani’s sobs could be heard from the surf line as she played up her fake emotions. “It was a joke,” he said softly.

“Hell of a punch line,” I said as I walked off. “She’s been crying all night.” I joined the two at the surf line; they had listened over the link, so we didn’t have to say anything. I pulled the two girls into a hug. “They’ll be up later, and we’ll straighten it all out,” I promised.

Hammer looked ready to hand her the keys to his convertible if it would get her to stop crying. He approached her like a young boy about to get a whooping from his momma. “I’m so sorry, Noelani. I never meant for you to get hurt,” he said softly.

“Hammer,” Noelani said quietly.

“Yes?”

“They loved the cookies.” Noelani grinned as she watched his jaw drop, then she took off down the beach before he could react. Makani and I took off after her, leaving Hammer taking off his shoes and yelling that he would get us. We weren’t as easy to catch now, so we were a mile up the beach before he grabbed Noelani and started to drag her towards the surf. Makani jumped on his back and wrapped him up, while her twin dropped down and took out his legs. The three of them grappled for a few minutes while I watched and laughed. Finally, Hammer tapped out. “No hard feelings?” Noelani said as she helped him out of the shallow water.

“That is the LAST time I let tears affect me,” Hammer said as they walked out of the water. We finished our run and calisthenics, and I asked Hammer if he’d like to come home and meet the guys. “No, they need this weekend to relax,” he said. “Take care of them, ladies. I’ll see you Monday.”

We ran home and showered before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast. Our three guests didn’t wake until they smelled the bacon. Makani took food into Kai and Amy’s room for them while they ate all the eggs, bacon, and blueberry pancakes we prepared. “That was the best food I’ve had in six months,” Larry said as he sat back. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. “We’re going to soak for a while after our morning workout. Care to join us?”

“Absolutely,” Larry said for the three.

Makani grabbed some of Kai’s extra Bodyglove swimsuits out of the hall closet as the two sets of twins cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. I took the cover off the hot tub and got the jets going before going into my bedroom and changing. “MODEST bikinis or one-piece,” I told the twins. “We don’t need them to suffer from blue balls all weekend.”

“Fine,” Makani said. “Ruin all of our fun.”

“I’m trying to keep Kai from killing his classmates,” I told them. I shouldn’t have worried; the men kept their hands to themselves as we talked and relaxed.

“This feels fantastic,” Larry said as he looked over at me. He was moving his back around on the jet, working the kinks out. “I’m so sick of the cold-ass water.”

“Hey, at least you’re used to the cold,” Manuel said with a laugh. “We never got that cold unless we were going into the walk-in beer cooler in our Dad’s liquor store.”

“You made it through Hell Week,” I said. “I’m proud of Kai, and I’m proud of you guys too. I know you don’t make it this far on your own.”

“Kai’s a born leader,” Ricardo said. “He’s always joking around and keeping our spirits up. I don’t know how he puts up with the teasing, though.”

“What do you mean,” Noelani said.

“It took about two seconds for the instructors to put posters of Kai and Amy’s ads on the bulletin board,” Ricardo said.

“And being married to Bootyglove comes up about every ten minutes,” Manuel added.

“They call him Mr. Abs because of his posters,” Larry added. “Or Paris, because he’s a fashion model. Sometimes it’s Arm Candy or Posterboy. Anything to try and get under his skin.”

I just shook my head. “I suppose they’re making comments about me, too.”

Larry nodded. “Yeah, you aren’t blind, so you’re fair game. There are plenty of pictures of you around the base. You’re a nice person, and an even more beautiful woman in person, though.”

I blushed, getting out of the tub and wrapping a towel around my body. “Anyone need a drink? I’ve got water, orange juice, lemonade, and Coke,” I said.

When I came back out, the twins were sitting on the edge of the hot tub, while the guys hadn’t moved. I handed out the plastic bottles of orange juice. “What do you want to do today,” I asked them.

Larry pointed at the lounge chair in the shade. “I’m going from here to there and back,” he said.

“Sounds good to me,” Ricardo said as he got out. He walked over to one of the loungers, set the backrest full down, and laid down on his stomach.

“Ricardo, your back,” Noelani said as she saw the damage. He had bruises and scrapes on his lower back and down to his thighs.

“It’s nothing,” Manuel said as he took the lounger next to him. “We all get beat up.”

Makani was already going inside to get the lotion Hammer had recommended to help them recover. She tossed a tube to her sister as she bent over Manuel’s back. “I’m going to put some of this on you to help it heal,” she told him.

“Sure,” he said. The boys were in heaven as the girls rubbed the lotion into their backs, moaning in pleasure as the lotioning turned into a massage.

Larry looked over at me as he got out of the tub. “I’ll give you a massage, but no happy ending,” I said.

“I’ll take it.” I ended up straddling his body as I worked the kinks out of his back. Werewolf shifting sometimes results in bone and muscle issues, so we all learned how to move and massage things back into place as we grew up. I was digging my heel into a knot in his lower back when I looked over at the twins. “What?”

“They fell asleep,” Noelani said. “So much for our seduction routine.”

“You’re too young for that anyway,” I said.

“October is only a few months away, and then we can find our mates,” Makani said.

“May Luna grant you worthy males,” I said as I went back inside. “And feel free to find me a decent guy,” I added to myself.