“Evening Miss, may I buy you a drink?” Nathan was trying to muster as much charm as possible, which wasn’t easy considering the amount of alcohol he had already consumed.

“It’s an open bar…” She stopped short as she turned to look at him, her irritated frown suddenly changing into a look of bemusement at his dress uniform. “Sure, soldier boy,” she giggled. “Knock yourself out.”

“Actually, I’m not a ground pounder, ma'am. I’m an ensign.” Nathan pointed at the rank insignia on his uniform’s shoulder boards. “I’m in the fleet. You know, up there?” he added, pointing toward the night sky.

“Oh, of course. Terribly sorry, Ensign.” She picked up her fresh drink and slammed it down in a single gulp.

“You seem a little upset, ma’am,” he commented, noticing the way she was slamming down her drinks. “Something wrong?”

“You see that tall, blonde, jock type over there? The one kissing every fat political ass he can stick his lips to?”

Nathan looked around but failed to see who she was talking about.

“Well, you probably can’t see him right now, 'cause he’s still down on his knees puckering up.”

“I still don’t see…”

“…I mean, he should be over here kissing my ass! I mean look at it!” She stood up and turned so Nathan could see her tightly wrapped behind. “My ass looks great in this dress! Don’t you think?”

“Yes ma’am,” Nathan agreed enthusiastically.

“Damn right! I look hot in this dress!”

“Damned hot!” Nathan decided it was best to play along for now, since it was already going much better than he had hoped.

The woman realized she was ranting and stopped, motioning for another drink. “So, Ensign. What’s your story? No, let me guess. You’re shipping out tomorrow, right?”