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When he saunters into Gomorrah, slick as always, Pilar nearly blurts out "Dan!" in her surprise, but bites it back. Dan -- Sergeant Contreras -- prefers to keep their "association" just between them. Pilar thinks that's a funny way to phrase fucking every chance we get, but she likes him enough to tolerate this little quirk.
"Contreras, the fuck are you doing here?" demands Betsy from across the table where First Recon and Pilar are all dressed up and celebrating the demise of Driver Nephi.
"I have a little leave saved up, and by chance I just happened to stop by Gomorrah tonight. When I saw all my fine co-workers here, I couldn't help stopping to say hello." He lifts his fresh bottle of beer in Betsy's direction as if to toast, but his eyes are on Pilar.
Chance, my ass, she thinks, but she makes room. The slit in her blue dress even lets her stretch her leg out, hook her right foot around a free chair's leg, and drag it over for him. He settles in beside her and she busies herself smoothing the dress back into place.
Then she realizes Bitter-Root's watching her, eyes sliding appreciatively up from her kitten heels to the top of the dress slit, and that Contreras notices him noticing. After a moment, he passes his beer to his right hand, and sets his left hand over hers with false casualness.
Well, now. Whatever happened to 'let's keep it quiet'? She turns to him, silently seeking an answer.
He flicks his eyes over toward Bitter-Root, asking a question of his own. Apparently the threat of competition is the death knell of discretion. Pilar rolls her eyes at him, letting anxiety lance through his gaze for a moment before she laces her fingers through his.
Dan smiles, warm, intimate and satisfied, and squeezes her hand. Pilar's cheeks are going pink -- the hell? They've fucked on -- or up against -- every available surface in his supply shack, and a few outside it, too, and holding hands is what's making her blush?
None of this makes any sense, but the beer here is cold and Dan is rubbing a thumb across her knuckles. Pilar decides she doesn't care.