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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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All Bets Are Off: Chapter 14

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Mentions of drinking/hangovers, Swearing, SMUT (18+ minors DNI!!!) [Fem masturbation, some dirty thoughts and words]

Word Count: 3075

A/N: I'm back on track with my posting schedule, yay!! We're also getting so close to everything really kicking off and I'm so excited!!!

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Rooster woke up and was surprised and thrilled to see that he had two voicemails and two texts from Eliza. Opening the texts first, Rooster’s heart stopped at the sight of Eliza laid back on her bed, her makeup smudged and the straps of her dress slipping off her shoulders slightly. “Well good morning, Eliza.” He muttered, resolving to get Phoenix to take as many pictures of him as he could that day, praying to get some back. Rooster opened his voicemail box, glancing at the transcript before listening and laughing at the gibberish it entailed. Rooster felt extremely pleased with himself when he heard Margot say that she was happy he was with Eliza, and had to remind himself that he wasn’t really with Eliza. Yet. A part of him thought.

Hearing Eliza say she had set the picture he’d sent her as her background made Rooster punch the air and he made a mental note to tell Phoenix and to definitely tell Hangman. Quickly he texted Eliza:

“Good morning and I hope the lights aren’t too bright where you are, because it seems like you had a lot of fun last night. 😉 I have to say, I’m flattered to be your background, but I want to see some proof. And rest assured, I’ll photograph everything I do today for you!”

Flight practice the day before had gone extremely well. Even the extra practice with Hangman went smoothly, with them hitting their target over half the time already. Rooster felt an even greater drive to success today, because he couldn’t help feeling that if he could just complete the mission successfully there wouldn’t be any roadblocks in his and Eliza’s path.

Rooster sat down in his car and scrolled through his music, picking a favorite song of his: Friday, I’m in Love by the Cure.

“I don’t care if Monday’s blue, Tuesday’s gray, and Wednesday too. Thursday, I don’t care about you, it's Friday, I’m in love!”

Rooster smiled, finally allowing himself to feel some excitement about Eliza. Nothing could taint his good mood as he pulled into the hangar parking lot.

“Monday you can fall apart, Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart. Thursday doesn’t even start. It’s Friday, I’m in love!”

“Hey Rooster!” Nothing could taint his good mood except that. Hangman was leaning against his car, obviously waiting for Rooster. “What’s gotten into you?”

Rooster kept walking. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on!” Hangman grabbed Rooster’s arm, stopping him. “You went from being uptight and anxious to borderline cocky in about twenty four hours.”

Rooster shrugged, “Maybe things are going well for me?”

Hangman narrowed his eyes, “What does that mean?”

“Do me a favor,” Rooster handed Hangman his phone, “Take a picture of me, will you?”

Hangman stared at Rooster’s phone in his hand, slowly looking back up at him suspiciously. “Why?”

“Maybe it’s for science.” Rooster said, adjusting his sunglasses as Hangman sighed and held up the phone.

“Say cheese, I guess”

“Thanks, buddy.” Rooster took his phone back, walking slightly ahead of Hangman as he typed a message to Eliza:

“Walking into flight practice about 8 hours after I left at 6:30 on the dot.”

Hangman was jogging slightly to catch up with Rooster, “Are you sending that to Eliza?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Rooster slipped his phone into his pocket nonchalantly as they walked into the hangar.

“Why?” Hangman asked, sitting down at a table behind Rooster. “What could she possibly be getting out of it?”

Rooster just laughed, “Who said she’s the one getting something out of it?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Bob sat down at the table in front of Rooster. “If it’s about the bet, you legally have to tell me.”

Rooster raised an eyebrow. “Legally?”

“Actually,” Bob looked over his shoulder, “Phoenix will be here any second and if we talk about it without her, she’ll kill us all.”

Hangman scoffed. “Well, I will say that tonight at the Hard Deck, I’m coming back in as my usual charming self, and she won’t know what hit her.”

“She won’t be at the Hard Deck for the next couple of nights.” Rooster replied smugly.

“And how exactly do you know that?” Hangman frowned.

“Because she’s at a bachelorette party in Vegas.” Rooster leaned back in his chair. “I know this because she went out of her way to say goodbye to me before leaving.”

Phoenix slid into the seat next to Bob, “You shitlords better not be talking about the bet without me.”

“I was just saying that Eliza is out of town for the next couple of days at a bachelorette party.” Rooster held up his hands.

“Oh okay, I knew that.” Phoenix smiled. “Have you heard from her?”

“She liked the picture you took yesterday.” Rooster looked at Hangman. “In fact, she said she set it as her phone background.”

“No way!” Phoenix and Hangman replied, almost in unison.

Hangman looked infuriated. “I don’t believe you.”

“She told me herself.”

“Let me see the text.” Hangman held out his hand for Rooster’s phone.

Rooster grinned. “She didn’t text me, she told me in one of the two voicemails she left for me last night.”

“Rooster!” Phoenix slapped his arm. “What have I been saying?” She looked slyly at Hangman. “Has she still been sending you pictures too?” Rooster nodded.

“Okay, you have to let me see those.” Hangman said.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.” Rooster shook his head. “If she wanted you to see them, she would have sent them to you.”

Hangman sat back in his seat, stunned. “I don’t believe this.”

“Well Hangman, are you going to accept defeat like a man, or do you still think you stand a fighting chance?” Bob asked, laughing.

Hangman gritted his teeth. “I didn’t make it this far in my life by giving up just because it looked like I wasn’t going to win.”

“You’re unbelievable!” Phoenix looked incredulous. “Eliza is so obviously into Rooster and you still think she’ll even ‘keep you on the roster?’”

“How do we know she doesn’t just want to fuck Rooster and move on?” Hangman said.

“You’re grasping at straws.” Phoenix rolled her eyes.

“What do you mean?” Hangman looked annoyed. “We don’t know her all that well, how could you possibly predict what she’s thinking?”

Phoenix laughed, “Trust me as a woman, if Eliza wanted to fuck Rooster and move on, Rooster would be well into his little pining phase that he does when he wants a relationship but is too scared to ask for one.”

Rooster looked at Phoenix. “I have objections to that statement!”

“I’m sure you do, Rooster.” Phoenix patted his arm and Rooster frowned.

Bates had walked up to the front of the tables and was standing behind the lectern. “Welcome back, pilots. I have an update on the mission for you.” Phoenix whipped around to look at Rooster and he could only grimace in response as Bates continued, “Rooster and Hangman will be hitting a second target minutes after the first one.” Shock rippled through the pilots and Rooster felt all their eyes turn to him as Bates continued, “If they’re successful, which they demonstrated last night that they can be, the other flights will stand a significantly better chance, as this target appears to be their munitions storage.”

Phoenix raised her eyebrows and mouthed at Rooster, “Are you crazy?” He just shook his head, looking back up at Bates.

“With that said, I do have good news.” Bates said. “It would appear that at least three of their anti-aircraft missile systems are inoperable at the moment.” Coyote and Fanboy high-fived and Hangman let out a soft whoop. “This mostly affects flights one and three.”

Hangman leaned forward and slapped Rooster on the shoulder, “I think I’ll just hook my star onto your little good luck flight, Roostie.”

Rooster rolled his eyes, replying, “I don’t need your weight, thank you very much.”

Bates clapped his hands, ending the soft chatter. “Alright pilots, as always there is no time to waste. Get to your planes.”

Eliza’s alarm went off entirely too loudly and when Eliza opened her eyes, she found it was way too bright in her room. Groaning, Eliza turned off her alarm, perking up when she saw Rooster had messaged her. Just as quickly, Eliza’s nausea doubled when she read his message. “A lot of fun?” She thought for a second, hazily recalling the previous night’s events. “Oh fuck my life!” She cried, hurrying to open her recent calls list. Only two calls, thank God. “What did I say?”

Groaning again, Eliza forced herself upright, immediately getting the spins and stumbling over to her mirror. Half of her makeup was still on from last night and there was glitter in Eliza’s hair from somewhere. “Jesus Christ.” Hopping in the shower, Eliza allowed the hot water to work out the knots in her shoulders, looking at the picture Rooster had sent her. He looked so casual, grinning at the camera with his aviators on and unless she was imagining things, he looked a little cockier than normal. Eliza paused for a moment, Should I? She thought, looking at her clouded form in the fogged up mirror, No, that would be too bold. She laughed at her nerve for a moment, turning her music on and setting her phone aside.

“There is a wait so long, so long, so long! You’ll never wait so long. Here comes your man!”

Eliza was adjusting to the idea of thinking of Rooster as ‘her man,’ and she liked it. It was a surprisingly comfortable thought and Eliza could imagine them falling right into a natural rythym together. I bet he can keep a steady pace. Eliza’s mind was wandering, remembering the way Rooster’s fingers had looked intertwined with hers and how warm and strong his hands had felt. Eliza could just imagine those hands wrapping around her neck, squeezing gently, or maybe slightly less than gently. Eliza let out a soft moan, sliding her hands down her body, pretending they were Rooster’s. She could practically hear his voice and feel him standing behind her,

“You seem like you need a hand.”

Eliza slipped her fingers between her legs, rubbing at her sensitive clit gently and sighing softly. She moved gentle circles around her bud with her thumb, imagining how Rooster’s mustache would feel brushing against her neck and shoulder and how his hard cock would feel pressing against her back. Increasing her speed, Eliza could already feel her peak approaching. “Fuck, Rooster!” She groaned, leaning against the wall of the shower and chasing her high.

“Baby, I’m barely touching you.”

She could hear his laugh and she came undone, her legs shaking. “Oh my God.” Eliza hurried through her shower routine, feeling considerably better, admittedly.

Eliza laughed, still unsteady as she stepped out of the shower. Eliza got dressed, snapping a picture to Rooster, feeling like she could at least try to compete with the classic all-American flight suit in her white t-shirt and black jeans.

“We’re having a spa day today, so it sounds like I’m in for pampering all around. And here’s your proof:”

Rooster’s phone vibrated next to him on the tarmac, where he was resting after doing a merciful fifty push ups for missing the second target by three seconds. “Hey, you guys!” He called over to Hangman, Phoenix, and Bob, “I’ve got your proof.”

“No fucking way.” Hangman snatched Rooster’s phone out of his hand again, staring at the screenshot of Eliza’s background in disbelief.

“Look, there’s even a notification for the weather in Vegas!” Bob pointed out. “You can’t deny that, Hangman.”

Hangman’s brow was furrowed and Rooster smirked. “I’ll let you out of the bet right now for seventy five dollars, Hangman.”

Opening and closing his mouth for a moment, “No?” Hangman replied.

“You don’t sound sure.” Phoenix looked smug and Hangman shot her a look. “I’m just pointing out what we’re all noticing, Hangman.”

“No.” Hangman glared at Rooster. “He still hasn’t asked her out, and who’s to say that she won’t get sick of waiting around on him?”

Rooster rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m going to be real with you.” Rooster leaned against the wing of the plane he had been doing push ups under. “You’ve got about a two day window to get her to go out with you after we get back from the mission. Because after that, we’re going to the wedding, and you’re not getting another chance.”

Hangman laughed, “I told you, you've gotten a confidence boost lately. Unfortunately, it’s gone to your head if you think that I won’t have a chance after that wedding.” He leaned toward Rooster, “You don’t have a track record of sealing the deal in relationships.”

Rooster raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to reply, but Phoenix cut in. “Rooster wouldn’t be so stupid as to fuck this up.”

“I think I’m just going to step out of Rooster’s way then, and if he seals the deal, I’ll applaud him, but when he doesn’t, I’m going to marry her just to get one over on him.” Hangman crossed his arms smugly.

“Sure, Hangman. I’ll be the best man.” Rooster laughed.

Bob laughed, “Well, aren’t you going to make her your background?”

Phoenix pointed at Bob. “That’s a good question, Bob. Rooster?”

Rooster shrugged, “I’m waiting for the right picture.”

“I don’t think she’s going to send you a nude, Rooster.” Hangman rolled his eyes and Phoenix slapped his arm.

“You’re lucky Penny didn’t hear that one.”

Back in an Uber, this time the group was considerably quieter. “So, did we all have a good night last night?” Margot asked softly in between sips of a gatorade.

“Did we call Rooster?” Eliza asked, pushing her sunglasses up onto her head, then immediately regretting it and slipping them back down.

Diana laughed, and Margot winced next to her. “We did, didn’t we?”

“He seemed to think it was funny.” Eliza shrugged. “Does anyone know what was said?”

Margot shook her head, then paused. “Did I do the talking?”

Eliza chuckled and threw up her hands, “Yes, Margot! We’re definitely not figuring out what we said, are we?”

“Nope.” Margot turned back around as their car pulled into a parking lot. “We’re here!” She hopped out first and rushed towards the door, holding it open for the group as they filed in.

“Welcome, ladies!” One of the attendants said. “Please follow me to shower off and change into one of our robes.”

“Do we get to keep the robe?” Halle whispered to Eliza excitedly.

The attendant turned, “Of course ladies!” She held open the door for them and they walked into a dimly lit changing room.

“Ah, this place is hangover friendly.” Margot said, setting her bag down on the bench. “Well, I think they’ll give us the exact schedule, but we’re getting massages, mud masks, and a ‘hot spa treatment,’ whatever that means!”

Slipping into their robes, the group was led to their mud masks first. Once she was green and had cucumbers over her eyes, Eliza snapped what she hoped was a good picture to send to Rooster. “Feeling green with envy that I’m not hanging out with you.” Eliza muttered into a voice-to-text, hoping to avoid the group’s attention.

“Aww, missing your man?” Katie asked from somewhere to Eliza’s left.

Eliza sighed, “I am.” She paused, afraid of laying it on too thick, but continuing anyway, “This is the longest we’ve been apart since we met, and he’s leaving the day after I get back for this top-secret, super dangerous mission.”

Eliza felt someone grab her arm, “Are you worried about him?” Rachael asked from Eliza’s right.

“Extremely.” Eliza replied. “I don’t know any details or even what part of the world he’s going to, and I’ll have no way of contacting him while he’s gone.”

Murmurs of sympathy came from around Eliza, and the aesthetician asked, “So you’re dating a military man?”

Eliza nodded, “I live near North Island by San Diego, and I work at the bar on the base.”

“Oh, yeah, do tell us your story!” Margot called.

Here we go. Eliza thought. “Well, I met him the first night I was working there and he was too nervous to say a single word to me, my aunt literally had to ask me to hang out with him on his behalf.”

“What did you guys do for your first date?” Katie asked.

“It wasn’t even a date, I went to the beach with him and his friends, and one of the other pilots spent the entire time hitting on me, right in front of Rooster, which was hilarious.” Eliza smiled to herself, realizing she had to change very little about their story to make it seem like they were in love. “He finally worked up the nerve to talk to me, and the next day at the bar, Ian showed up and snitched on me about my sordid musical theater past, and he’s sort of the local ‘piano man,’ so he insisted we sing a song together, then from there, I was just hopeless.”

“How did you make it official?” Margot asked, slipping a cucumber up over her eye. “Did you have to do it?”

Eliza laughed, thinking quickly. “No, we went to the beach as a group again, and we went for a walk by ourselves, had a playfight in the ocean, and he’s literally holding me right above the water, and he just went ‘You’re my girlfriend, right?’ and right as soon as I agreed, he dropped me into the water.” She made a mental note to pass that story on to Rooster. “From there it’s been pure bliss, honestly.”

“Aww,” Rachael cooed. “I’m jealous.”

Eliza laughed, “Come to North Island, and I’ll find you a Rooster.”

“Is there a girl Rooster?” Rachael asked.

“No, but there is a Phoenix.” Eliza replied.

Rachael paused for a moment, “Remind me to ask you more about that later.”

Eliza laughed, “Will do.”

“Alright, ladies,” One of the aestheticians spoke up. “Time to wash off, and go in for your massages.”

Finally able to see again, Eliza checked her phone to see that Rooster had sent her a screenshot of his phone background, which was Eliza grinning in her mud mask.

“You’re not the only one with a new phone background.”

Thanks for reading! The next chapter is going to be all Rooster and Eliza, all the time, so prepare yourselves.

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

Text

All Bets Are Off: Chapter 13

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Drinking and Drunkenness

Word Count: 3003

A/N: Hiiii... sorry about the wait! One of my coworkers quit suddenly and now I'm picking up a lot more shifts than I normally work (but I am making MONEY that I don't have time go and spend so that's cool), and I honestly forgot about this until just now. I'm a terrible person.

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“This is ungodly.” Eliza grumbled, rolling over to silence her alarm. Dragging herself out of bed, Eliza struggled through her morning routine, leaving for the airport only ten minutes late.

As she walked into LAX, Eliza looked around and heard squeals coming from behind her. “Eliza!” Margot was hurrying towards her, arms open.

“Margot!” Eliza through her arms around her neck. “It’s been too long!”

“I know! I had to get married to get you to come back to see me.” Margot laughed, leading Eliza by the hand to the bachelorette party. Eliza recognized two of the group, Emma and Diana, from college, but the other three were unfamiliar to her. “This is Rachael, Katie, and Halle.” Each one waved when her name was said.

“It’s nice to see slash meet everyone!” Eliza clapped her hands, “Am I the last to arrive?”

“Yes, but to be fair, you’ve got the longest drive.” Margot began handing out boarding passes.

“Can we finally find out where we’re going?” Katie asked.

Margot laughed, “Yes, it’s finally time!”

Eliza opened her boarding pass and looked at the destination: Las Vegas. “Oh, this is so exciting!” Rooster is going to be so jealous. Eliza thought, smiling. “Let’s give you one last hurrah before your life ends in two weeks!”

The group cheered and went over to check in for their flight. Immediately through the gate, Halle and Diana noticed a restaurant offering two dollar mimosas, and the group went in. A few mimosas in, Eliza was feeling a bit bold and decided to text Rooster:

“We’re heading to Vegas, surprise surprise.”

Thinking for a moment, Eliza decided to send Rooster a picture. Holding up her phone and drink, Eliza snapped a quick selfie, staring at it for a second before pressing send.

“Is that for your new man?” Emma bumped Eliza’s shoulder with hers. “You look cute!”

Eliza laughed, “Thank you! It’s new enough that I’m still a little nervous.” She pressed send, and put her phone face down on the table, resolved not to keep checking it.

“Ooh, tell us all about him!” Margot called from a couple of seats down.

“Well, his name is Rooster–”

The group laughed. “Rooster?” Diana asked.

“He’s a fighter pilot and it’s his call sign. None of the pilots use their names, just their call signs.” Eliza laughed, trying to imagine calling Rooster ‘Bradley.’ “It just feels weird calling him by his first name, it would be like calling Lady Gaga ‘Stephanie.’”

Emma raised her hand, “Where did he get that nickname?”

Eliza felt herself flush, she quite didn’t know how to respond. “It’s because of his…you know.”

There was a collective gasp of surprise around the table and Emma asked, “What does that mean?”

“It’s… impressive.”

Several of the group cheered and clapped, including Margot. “That’s just what you deserve after the year you’ve had!” She smiled and raised her glass, “It may be my party, but I’d like to propose a toast to Eliza and her new, wonderful life.”

“Hear hear!” Eliza raised her glass with the rest of the time, “It’s amazing what getting rid of dead weight can do for your life.”

The group chatted and laughed, and Eliza had had a few more mimosas than she’d planned when Rooster texted her back.

“And it looks like you’re off to a good start.”

Eliza smiled at her phone, which did not go unnoticed by the group. “Ooh look at her all smiley and blush-y when her man texts.” Rachael joked.

“I mean, do you blame me?” Eliza laughed before noticing the time. “Oh, shit! We need to get to the gate.”

They rushed to their gate, stumbling and giggling slightly, and everyone was thrilled to find that the plane had a full cocktail menu. Margot stood up in her seat, wobbling slightly. “Alright, ladies.” She said in a loud whisper, “It’s only like an hour long flight, so you’re going to have to drink fast, got it?”

The group whooped softly, and Eliza sent off a text to Rooster:

“We’re about to take off, so you won’t be the only one in the skies, flyboy.”

“I’ll meet you!”

Eliza laughed, and feeling bold again, she snapped off another picture for Rooster. This time, she allowed herself to look a little more sultry, not bothering to pull her shirt up where it had slipped down. A little peek won’t hurt him. She thought to herself, feeling cheeky.

“Come get me!”

“Alright, welcome aboard, passengers!” The stewardess was beginning the safety presentation, and Eliza had to put her phone into airplane mode before Rooster replied. Why is it always that he can’t reply for a long time after the risky texts? She wondered, forcing herself to watch the attendants gesture at the emergency exits and chewing the inside of cheek.

“Our estimated landing time is 4:15 pm, for a flight time of one hour and eight minutes.” The stewardess’s voice rang out slightly shrilly through the tinny speakers. “Please fasten your seatbelts and place your tray table in the upright position as we begin our taxi to the runway.”

Eliza leaned back in her seat and Emma leaned across Rachael to whisper to Eliza in her aisle seat. “When do you think they’ll bring the booze around?” She whispered, slurring a little bit.

“I don’t know if I want to drink anymore, honestly.” Eliza was feeling dizzy and nauseous, and her jitters over the text weren’t helping.

“Boo!” Rachael hissed. “No fun!”

Eliza considered for a moment, A drink may take the edge off. She thought. “Maybe you’re right.”

Rachael and Emma cheered quietly as the plane began climbing. Eliza’s thoughts turned to Rooster and she watched the altitude meter on the screen at the front of the plane. At any moment, they could be at the exact same altitude, and the thought made Eliza feel closer to Rooster. Suddenly, Eliza realized she was missing him already. Running her fingers through her hair, Eliza thought, It’s been less than twenty four hours. Why did he have that effect on her?

The plane had finally reached cruising altitude and the drinks cart was coming down the aisle towards the group, and soon, Eliza had a vodka soda with two limes in her hand and her nerves about Rooster were easing every second. “Margot, what are we doing?”

Margot turned around with an evil grin on her face. “Tonight, we’re going out on the town and letting off some steam, and then tomorrow we’ve got a spa date, and then before we leave town the next day, we’re doing a fabulous morning tea at a bougie little shop!”

“That all sounds great, Margs!” Diana clapped her hands, “I’m sure there are no surprises in store for us at all.”

Margot tapped her fingers together menacingly, and Eliza called, “Leave it to Margot to plan her own bachelorette trip and make it one for the history books!”

A woman was passing by on her way to the bathroom, stopping when she overheard them talking, “Pardon me, ladies, but did you say you're on your way to a bachelorette party?”

“We are indeed!” Margot said, grinning. “And I’m the bride!”

“Congratulations, sweetheart! I just wanted to say that I went to Vegas for my bachelorette party, where I met my husband!” The woman said, smiling slyly.

Eliza’s jaw dropped, “Did you say you met your husband at your bachelorette party?”

The woman nodded, still smirking. “Just keep your eyes peeled and your options open, ladies.” She started to walk back down the aisle, turning to look over her shoulder, “What happens in Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Vegas.”

Margot turned back to face everyone with a shocked look on her face. “Please don’t let me leave Jason.”

The group laughed, and Halle called back, “You better not!”

By the time the plane landed, Eliza was fully drunk, considerably more drunk than she’d been in a long time. “Are we going to make it to baggage claim?” She slurred, standing up unsteadily.

“Form a chain, ladies.” Margot said, taking Halle’s hand, giggling.

They walked through the airport, loosely clinging to each other and cackling as they walked to get their bags. When they had loaded into their Uber, Eliza realized she hadn’t checked her phone since they’d landed. Taking it off airplane mode, Eliza got three notifications: two texts from Rooster and one from Phoenix. Deciding to keep herself in suspense a little longer, Eliza opened Phoenix’s text first:

“I would say I don’t know what’s gotten into Rooster, but I know it’s you. He nailed every flight today.”

Eliza clutched her phone to her chest, feeling a hint of relief about the mission. She hurriedly shot off a reply and took a deep breath opening her messages from Rooster. Much to her excitement, Rooster had sent Eliza a picture of him, leaning against the bottom of a plane with his flight suit around his waist and his aviators on. The message with it read:

“I looked for you, but I couldn’t find you!”

“Oh my God!” Emma was looking over Eliza’s shoulder at the picture. “You’re a lucky bitch, Liza.”

Eliza giggled, “He’s something isn’t he?” Saving the picture, she set it as her phone background. “I’ll just keep that on display for everyone’s viewing pleasure.” She said with a smirk.

“You’re really not very territorial for someone who just got cheated on.” Emma said, smiling.

“It’s different with Rooster.” And Eliza meant it. Everything felt different where Rooster was concerned, he was just different than anyone else Eliza had ever known.

“We’re here!” Margot sang, clapping her hands as they pulled up to their hotel. The building was tall and beautiful, with white stucco walls and large windows. “Welcome to our chateau!”

Piling out of the car with their luggage, the group gathered in the hotel lobby waiting for Margot to check them in and hand out room keys, and explain the plan for the evening. “Everyone has their own room, so we have a whole wing all to ourselves!” Margot said, “We’ve got dinner reservations in an hour and a half, and the dress code is fancy whore.”

The group cheered and disbursed to their rooms. Eliza walked in and found pink walls with white furniture and heart themed decorations everywhere. “It’s like Cupid died in here.” Eliza muttered, inspecting the remote, which had a pink plastic cover on it. Already exhausted and quite drunk, Eliza flopped back on the bed, surprising herself with her phone background and allowing herself to drool over Rooster for a second. He was gorgeous, even in a sweat-stained tank top. Sighing, Eliza walked over to her suitcase, digging around for a ‘fancy whore’ dress, before deciding on a simple, short black slip dress. Still a little buzzed, Eliza stood in front of her full length mirror and snapped a picture of herself to send to Rooster.

“If you were told that the dress code ‘fancy whore,’ would you think this works?”

Eliza chuckled to herself nervously, praying she wasn’t being too bold, before slipping her phone into her bag and heading down to the lobby.

Rooster’s mouth was dry at the picture Eliza had just sent him. It’s the dress from the dream! He couldn’t believe it was real and that she was not only wearing it, but she was sending him pictures of her in it. Quickly, Rooster replied:

“I don’t know how to answer that question, but you do look amazing.”

Rooster ran his hand over his forehead. Why am I so worked up? He asked himself. “Bradshaw!” Rooster whipped around to see Bates with a confused looking Hangman following behind him. “Come with me.”

“Yes sir.” Rooster fell in step behind Bates next to Hangman, shooting him a confused look and being met with a shrug.

They walked into the hangar, and Bates motioned for them to sit down at the front table. “I’ve got some pertinent new information for you gentleman.” Bates pursed his lips.

“What is it?” Hangman asked, tapping his fingers on the table nervously.

Bates sighed, “You’re going to be hitting another target after the first one.” Rooster groaned, dropping his head back. “We’ve discovered another camp a few miles away from your original target, and it appears to be where they store their munitions.”

Rooster sat up, “So we could potentially end their defense before they even get a chance to mount it?”

“That’s the idea, but they’ll know you’re coming and we still don’t know much about its defenses. It’s entirely possible you could be flying into a firefight.” Bates replied. “I know you haven’t had the opportunity to practice this, and I want to make it clear that we don’t know the level of risk this holds.” Bates sighed, “I’m giving you a chance to say no, gentlemen.” He said softly.

Hangman looked at Rooster blankly. “What do we do?”

“I don’t know, man.” Rooster looked at him seriously. “I think we can do it.”

Hangman blinked hard, “Are you serious?”

“We’re not doing this unless you’re both on board.” Bates said, visibly nervous.

Hangman thought for a moment. “Okay, fine.”

“So we agree?” Rooster asked.

“I can’t believe you’re the one talking me into this.” Hangman scoffed. “But yes.”

Bates nodded. “Alright gentlemen, you’re going to need to stay for some extra practice tonight then.”

Rooster groaned, “No more push ups though, right?”

“We don’t have time.” Bates replied, already walking away from them. Noticing that Rooster and Hangman hadn’t moved, Bates turned back, “What are you waiting for?”

“Yes sir.” Hangman and Rooster scrambled to their feet and hurried back to their jets. Rooster paused for a moment, considering texting Eliza, when Hangman called over his shoulder, “Are you coming?”

Rooster groaned, dropping his phone into his bag by the door, “Right behind you.”

Loud music was pumping through the club, and Eliza was happily dancing with her friends and finding new levels of drunkenness that she hadn’t experienced since her college days. Barely even processing the difference between songs anymore, Eliza felt like the night was just one long movement until it was suddenly interrupted by last call. Boos rang through the club as drunken patrons filed out. “What do you say, gang?” Margot slurred as they gathered outside. “Find a new party or go home?”

“What time is the spa thing?” Katie asked.

Margot groaned, “Like 8:30.”

Eliza wrinkled her nose. “I say bed.”

The group murmured their assent and Margot replied, “Home it is! I’ll summon a ride.”

Once the group had piled into an Uber again, Margot poked Eliza in the side, “Call your man, I want to say hello.”

“He’s probably still flying!” Eliza replied, feeling nervous.

“At this hour?” Diana leaned across Margot.

Eliza nodded, “If he’s not flying, he’s probably sleeping.”

“Then we shall leave a message!” Margot answered.

“Fine.” Eliza sighed, pulling out her phone. “But I'll talk first!” Margot nodded and Eliza called Rooster, holding the phone up to her ear apprehensively.

“Speakerphone!” Margot cried.

“Not yet!” Eliza held up her hand, listening as Rooster’s voicemail message played: “You’ve reached Lieutenant Bradshaw. Leave a message.” Eliza ran a hand over her chin, “Voicemail, I told you guys.”

“Speaker phone message!” Margot clapped her hands.

“Okay, okay. Then you guys be quiet—“ Beep! “Hey Rooster sorry to call you at this terrible hour but Margot wants to say hi to you and she absolutely insisted—“

“Rooster!” Margot interrupted Eliza, grabbing her phone. “Rooster, listen to me. Eliza is the best person in the world and if you hurt her, you don’t even need to worry about what I do to you, because she’s also the scariest person in the world.”

Eliza laughed, reaching for her phone. “Okay, Margot, give it back.”

“And!” Margot continued, “And you’re very handsome and we’re very happy you and Eliza are together, right ladies?”

The whole car cheered as they pulled up to the hotel, and their Uber driver, sounding rather irritated, said, “Alright, you’re here. Have a good night and congratulations to whoever.”

“Okay bye, Rooster!” Margot yelled into the phone, hanging it up.

“Okay then.” Eliza laughed, slipping out of the car and stumbling into the elevator. “I’m excited for that to be his first impression of you, Margot.”

“I’m okay with it.” Margot smiled, looking slightly cross eyed. “I’ll meet him for real at the wedding and then I’ll get drunk in front of him for real at the after party!”

“Speaking of which,” Eliza lowered her voice and leaned in, “Is Grady going to be in attendance at the after party?”

Margot nodded gravely, “I couldn’t say no to Lucas, I’m sorry.”

“I understand!” Eliza wrapped her arms around Margot. “That’s part of the reason I’m bringing Rooster.” She giggled.

Stumbling into her room, Eliza suddenly had the thought of calling Rooster again. Knowing he wouldn’t answer, Eliza decided to call him, listening to his voicemail message again.

“Hey Rooster, it’s me. I’m sorry about Margot and calling you in the middle of the night twice now. I set that picture you sent me as my phone background and I got compliments all night.” Eliza slurred, “Anyway, I would say that Margot isn’t weird, but she is. Good night, I lo—“ Eliza laughed, “I almost said ‘I love you!’” She laughed again, “Well good night for real, I heard you’ve been killing it today.”

Eliza hung up and flopped back onto her bed, feeling another rush of nerve come over her, she held up her phone, snapping another selfie to send to Rooster with the message:

“I’m going to keep sending you pictures of myself as long as I keep getting pictures of you back.”

Feeling satisfied with herself, Eliza forced herself to go through some semblance of her night time routine, groaning as she set her alarm for 7:15. I hope I don’t regret that tomorrow. Eliza thought as she fell asleep.

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it, and I should be back on my normal posting schedule this week!

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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All Bets Are Off: Chapter 12

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Drinking, Swearing, A teeny mention of smut

Word Count: 3239

A/N: Thanks for your patience on this chapter, it's been a Week.

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Days had gone by, and Rooster and Hangman were finally hitting the target sometimes. “You’re going to have to do better than that to get out of pushups.” Bates was waiting for Rooster and Hangman on the runway when they landed with his arms crossed.

Hangman threw his hands up in the air. “We were a meter off, will that really make a difference?”

Bates glowered at him. “Are you really asking me that?”

Rooster ran a hand through his nervously, watching as Hangman visibly tried to decide if he wanted to respond. “Well, literally yes, but–”

“Shut up.” Rooster growled through gritted teeth.

“Listen to your partner, Hangman.” Bates turned and started walking away, “One hundred pushups each, gentlemen.” He called over his shoulder.

Rooster turned to Hangman and threw up his hands, “The fuck, man?”

“What?” Hangman grinned at Rooster, “Can’t do a few pushups?”

“We wouldn’t have had to do so many if you didn’t ask a dumb question.”

Hangman rolled his eyes, “Aren’t you trying to look good for that wedding or whatever? I thought you were going to be sharing a bed with her apparently.”

“I never said that.” Rooster unbuttoned the top of his flight suit, tying it around his waist, his white tank top already soaked with sweat. Walking away from Hangman, hoping to at least do his punishment in peace, Rooster called over his shoulder, “But just in general: shut up.”

His arms aching, Rooster finally finished his pushups, dragging himself to his car, finally done for the day. All Rooster could think about was getting to the Hard Deck to see Eliza, she hadn’t texted him back, but it was still early enough in the day, that there was a chance that her nocturnal ass wasn’t even awake yet. Rooster sat down in his front seat, hoping that she just wasn’t awake yet. Driving home, Rooster tried to focus on his music, INXS “Need You Tonight.”

“All you’ve got is this moment. Twenty-first century’s yesterday, you can care all you want, everybody does. That’s okay.”

Rooster hummed along with the guitar line, thinking about his dream last night. He could still hear Eliza’s soft moans falling from her lips, Rooster’s name had never sounded better. Rooster smiled to himself.

“I need you tonight, ‘cuz I’m not sleeping. There’s something about you, girl, that makes me sweat.”

Rooster thought back to play-fighting with Eliza in the surf at the beach, the way Eliza she had laughed and squealed every time he threw her down, the way her hands felt on his skin, the way her eyes lit up when she smiled at him. Rooster groaned, tapping at the steering wheel restlessly before picking up his phone and noticing she’d finally texted him back.

“Look at you, doing what you’re told, like a good soldier! Am I going to get to make them come true tonight?”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” If only.

“Only if I’m lucky.”

Technically true, Rooster thought, I’ll be lucky either way.

“I’m holding you to that.”

Rooster tossed his phone onto his passenger seat, running his hand over his face, realizing how deep he’d already fallen for Eliza. Rooster had never really put much thought into his “dream girl,” but he couldn’t picture himself finding anyone prettier, smarter, more interesting, or kinder than Eliza. Fuck. He thought. Am I in trouble?

Eliza was laughing at Maverick when Rooster walked in and he stopped for a moment to admire her. Eliza had thrown her head back and her eyes were crinkled up. Fuck. Rooster thought again, not being able to stop himself from smiling at the sight of Eliza’s grin.

Eliza looked up and noticed Rooster, waving at him excitedly and his heart warmed. Rooster’s heart stopped completely when Eliza hurried around the bar, walking towards him quickly, and he thought he had died and gone to heaven when she threw her arms around his neck. “Hey, Geraldo, it’s been too long!”

Rooster laughed, keeping his hands resting on her waist as Eliza leaned back slightly to smile at him. “It’s been like two days.”

“I know, too long!” Eliza slipped her hands from around his neck, turning to walk back to the bar, calling over her shoulder, “Whatcha drinking tonight?”

“Whatever you think I need, oh guardian of the alcohol.” Oof. Rooster cringed at that. Eliza stopped turning around with a perplexed look on her face. “That sounded funnier in my brain.”

A wide grin spread over her face, “Just for that, I’m giving you something disgusting.” Eliza laughed, walking back behind the bar and patting the surface of the bar in front of an empty stool. “So, is it just you and me tonight, or is everyone else going to be showing up?”

Rooster shrugged, “I think it may be just me.”

“Aww, bummer.” Eliza smirked at him as she added ingredients to a rocks glass, stirring it. “So, do you have flight practice at the crack of dawn again?”

“Not tomorrow, thankfully.” Rooster shook his head as Eliza garnished the glass with a lemon peel and handed it to him. When Rooster went to sniff it, it was pure alcohol. “What is this?”

Eliza smiled proudly, “A Vieux Carré.”

“What is this?” Rooster asked, sniffing the drink again and recoiling slightly.

“Think a bitter, herbal Manhattan.”

Rooster took a drink, choking a little bit. “Oh, that burns.” He swirled the glass around. “What’s in this?”

“Cognac, bourbon, benedictine, a small variety of bitters, and vermouth.” Eliza poured the excess from the mixing glass into a shot glass, pounding it back, scrunching up her face at the taste. “Do you want something else?”

Rooster laughed, “No, I’ll drink what I’m given.”

“Atta boy, Rooster.” Maverick called. “Take what these ladies give you, and never question it.”

“If you were drinking this, you’d be questioning it, too.” Rooster went to take another sip, and found Eliza had switched out the cocktail for a beer. “Oh, look at you making the customer happy.”

Eliza smiled, “I have…” She thought for a second, the smile falling off her face, “Almost ten years of customer service experience.”

Penny laughed, “Wait until you hit the twenty year mark, love.”

Eliza thought for a second, “Better this than corporate work!”

Maverick laughed, “I still can’t imagine you in a suit!”

Penny whipped out her phone, “You don’t have to imagine it, I have a picture!”

“Wait, what?” Eliza blanched. “What picture?”

Penny smiled, holding up her phone, revealing a picture of Eliza standing on an auditorium stage wearing a blue pantsuit. “Hillary Benjamin? Or Eliza Clinton?”

Eliza’s jaw dropped, “Where did you even find that?”

Rooster grabbed Penny’s phone zooming in on the picture, “If you look closely, you can see a peek of a tattoo under her collar.”

“Oh my God!” Maverick peered over Rooster’s shoulder, looking back and forth between the person in the picture, and the person standing in front of him wearing a Talking Heads t-shirt and a frown. “How long ago was that?”

Eliza gritted her teeth slightly, “Less than a year. I was presenting at a conference on ‘creating your brand in the financial sector.’” She glared at Penny for a moment. “That’s a different person.” Eliza rolled her eyes, walking away.

Penny laughed, “She’s just embarrassed that she used to shop at Ann Taylor Loft.”

Rooster laughed, watching Eliza and wondering if they still would have clicked if they’d met then. He could just imagine corporate Eliza, coming home from work after a long day in her little power suit carrying a briefcase. “Hi honey, I’m home!”

“Earth to Rooster! Ground control to Major Rooster.” Penny was waving her hand in front of Rooster’s face. “Put your eyes back in your head, man!”

Rooster shook his head, laughing, “Am I that transparent?”

“You’ve been that transparent since you first saw her.” Penny laughed.

“Do you think she’s noticed?” Rooster felt panicked and was embarrassed for a second, feeling like a middle schooler. Maverick raised his eyebrows and took a swig of his beer and Penny became very interested in wiping an invisible spill off the bar. “Great.”

“Oh, come on, Rooster!” Penny laughed. “Is it obvious to you?”

“What?”

“Exactly.”

Rooster leaned back in his stool slightly, very intentionally avoiding looking at Eliza across the bar. “I just don’t want to mess anything up. We’ve gotten to be good friends and I’m just worried that she doesn’t see me as more than that.” He allowed himself to look at her finally, and wished he hadn’t, as she climbed up on the backline of the bar to reach a top shelf bottle. “I mean, she’s her, and I’m–”

“One of the best fighter pilots in the world?” Penny raised her eyebrows.

Rooster pursed his lips, shaking his head again. “I was going to say ‘just me.’” She was popping the top off a bottle of beer just a few feet away, and Rooster wondered for a second if she could hear them, but she seemed to be engulfed in the conversation she was having.

“They’re definitely talking about you.” Eliza was whispering with Princess, an ensign who was a regular at the Hard Deck.

“I thought so, right?” Eliza cut her eyes at Rooster. “They’re not very subtle.”

Princess laughed, leaning in slightly, “So what’s the deal with you and him?”

“Um, nothing! No deal.” Princess raised an eyebrow, and Eliza gave her a smile that she clearly thought was convincing.

“So if not him, then Hangman?” Princess asked.

Eliza made a face. “Probably not.”

Princess slapped her hands on the bar, shocked, “Probably?”

“What? He’s actually really nice!” Eliza leaned in, “I didn’t say I was going to date him, you know?”

“You dog!” Princess laughed and Eliza shushed her slightly. Whispering, Princess leaned in even closer, “But come on, between the two of them, you’d really rather have Hangman than Rooster?”

Eliza smirked, “I didn’t say that.” She looked over at Rooster who quickly looked away, blushing. “I mean, come on.”

Princess laughed again, “I think I want to be you when I grow up.”

“We’re the same age, Princess.” Eliza rolled her eyes, then smiled. “You want to see me make him sweat?”

Princess choked on a swallow of her beer, “Obviously!”

Eliza smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Is he watching?”

“Did he ever stop?”

Eliza smiled again, “Watch the vein on his temple.” Princess nodded, smirking at Rooster slightly, as Eliza walked over to him with a little more sway in her hips than usual. Rooster had already set down his drink and stopped paying attention to Penny and Maverick, and Eliza gave him a little wave, which he shyly returned. “Hey Geraldo.” She reached over and took his empty beer bottle out of his hand, brushing his fingers with hers gently. Rooster was staring wordlessly at his now empty hand. “Still thirsty?” She asked, leaning on the bar and giving him a sultry smile.

Rooster was looking at her, wide eyed. “Y-yes.”

Eliza glanced at his temple, pleased to see the vein popping out. “Here you go, then!” Suddenly becoming her usual perky self again. Handing him a new bottle and walking away, Rooster looked stunned as he watched her return to the girl she’d been talking to.

“Again, earth to Rooster!” Penny was laughing at him. “Did you notice that time?”

Rooster still looked stunned. “I– what– what just happened?” He stammered.

Maverick slapped a hand on Rooster’s shoulder, “You’re officially wasting time every single second you’re not with her, Bradshaw.”

“Bradshaw?” Rooster took a long drink of his beer. “You must be serious.”

“I knew your parents very well, Rooster, so trust me when I tell you I’m looking out for you.” Maverick said, looking at him seriously. “If you don’t make a move, Hangman will, and if he doesn’t, I can guarantee it won’t be long until someone does.” He looked at Penny who had her eyebrows raised. “Am I wrong?” Penny shook her head.

Rooster sighed. “Well, let’s see if I survive this mission.” He muttered.

“Hey, you’re under strict orders to come back, don’t forget that, lieutenant.” Eliza had just walked back over, holding her jacket. “Are you sure you don’t need me the rest of the night?”

Penny shook her head, “It’s a Thursday, Elle, I’ll make it!” She pointed at Maverick. “Worst case scenario, he’ll help me out.”

Maverick looked slightly stunned, “I don’t remember applying to work here.” He grumbled.

Penny rolled her eyes at him, turning to look at Rooster. “Rooster, will you walk Eliza to her car?”

“Yep!” Rooster jumped up, meeting Eliza at the end of the bar.

Eliza smiled, “Okay, then.” Rooster gestured to lead the way, and Eliza curtsied as she passed him, “Thank you, lieutenant. I could never get to my carriage without the support of a handsome soldier such as yourself.” Eliza drawled in an exaggerated southern accent.

“Handsome?” Rooster raised his eyebrows, following her out of the bar. “I’ll take it!”

Eliza looked over her shoulder, laughing, and Rooster’s heart stopped again. “Don’t let it go to your head, Geraldo.”

As soon as they stepped out of the Hard Deck, leaving the buzz of chatter and the sounds of the classic rock playing from the jukebox behind, Rooster became very aware of how alone they were. For some reason the two paused just outside the door, and Rooster then became even more aware of how close together he and Eliza were. Looking down at Eliza, Rooster stuttered, “So, uh, where did you park?”

Eliza pointed vaguely towards the back corner of the parking lot, slipping her fingers into Rooster’s. It felt so casual, so comfortable, and yet Rooster’s head was spinning. This isn’t the first time she’s held your hand, get a hold of yourself! He thought, feeling like a middle schooler again that night. “How come you’re getting off so early tonight?”

“Margot’s bachelorette party is tomorrow and we’re being whisked away to some unknown destination, so I have to be at LAX by 10 am.” Eliza groaned, “I’m no longer a morning person, so it’s going to be difficult.”

Rooster cocked an eyebrow at her, “You have to be there by 10 am?” Eliza nodded. “And what time do you have to leave?”

“Like 7:15.” Eliza whined.

“So you’ll have to get up when?”

“Like 6 am!”

Rooster laughed, “It’s a late morning for me to get to flight practice at 7, assuming we didn’t have a night practice.”

Eliza shook her head. “Yeah, but I usually wake up at like noon and have a whole three hours before I have to be anywhere!”

“God, that sounds nice.” Rooster sighed.

“It is!” Eliza laughed, “Look who made a better career move, lieutenant-super-fighter-pilot-man!”

Rooster laughed as they walked up to Eliza’s car, which was parked next to the beach. Eliza stood in front of her door for a moment, keys in hand, but then turned back to Rooster, dropping her keys into her bag. “Do you want to go sit on the beach for a minute?”

Rooster blinked, slightly stunned that Eliza was trying to spend time with him. “Sure.”

They walked side by side silently, stopping a few feet away from where the tides were washing in and sat down. Eliza sighed and leaned her head against Rooster’s shoulder. “I’m excited for the wedding, by the way.”

Rooster felt a strike of nerve similar to the sensation of going upside down while flying and slipped his arm around Eliza’s shoulders. “Me too.”

Eliza snuggled herself into Rooster slightly, and he was feeling intoxicated by the scent of her hair: roses and sea salt. “I’m also going to have to let everyone believe that we’re dating on this trip.”

Rooster snorted. “That’s fine.” He smiled to himself, excited at just the thought of being with Eliza. “I kind of figured as much.”

“So that means that I’m going to be asked questions like: how did you meet, how long have you been together, where did you find and does he have a single brother.” Eliza laughed, “And those questions will also be asked at the wedding, so we need to be on the same page.”

“Well obviously, we met here and I swept you off your feet from across the bar, we’ve been together like a week less than you’ve lived here, and I’m an only child, unfortunately.” Rooster replied, carding his fingers lightly through Eliza’s hair, which was just as soft as he’d hoped it would be. He thought again about the way they touched each other felt and how it was so unfamiliar, yet so comfortable. They were casually affectionate without ever mentioning it. “If that sounds good to you, I guess.”

Eliza looked up at him, smiling. “Perfect.” She looked back at the surf and sighed. “It was pointed out to me that we’re living the plot of a mid-2000’s teen rom-com.”

Rooster laughed, “I guess we kind of are.”

“I guess it kind of depends on what happens at the wedding.” Rooster’s heart stopped and his mouth went dry. Before he could respond, Eliza hopped back up to her feet and offered Rooster her hand. “I better get to bed.”

Rooster nodded, “I’d hate for you to be too sleepy to party tomorrow.” He took her hand and she pulled him to her feet with surprisingly little effort. Rooster slung an arm around her shoulders, walking her up to her car. “Be safe and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Rooster winked and Eliza grinned. “Rooster, I’m going to do things you’re not allowed to do.” She laughed, sitting down in her car with her legs dangling over the side so she was still facing Rooster. “Don’t worry though.”

Rooster raised an eyebrow, “Memorize my phone number in case I need to bail you out somewhere.”

Turning around to face her steering wheel, Eliza looked into Rooster’s eyes and he felt like she was staring into his soul. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

Panic shot into Rooster’s gut. We’re leaving for the mission in a couple of days. He thought. “You’ll be back before Thursday, right?”

“Of course. I’m spending every second I can with you on Thursday.” Eliza bit her lip, looking nervous. “Be honest with me, how much do I need to worry about you?”

“Not a bit.” Rooster laughed, trying to appear more confident than he felt. “I’ll be back without a scrape on me.”

Eliza sighed heavily, standing back up and throwing her arms around Rooster’s neck again, holding him close. “You promise?” She asked softly in his ear.

Holding her tightly, Rooster took a deep breath. “Nothing, and I mean nothing, is keeping me from that wedding.”

Eliza pulled away slightly, smiling up at him. “Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone, okay?” She buried her face back into his chest.

“I’ll try, but it’s going to be hard.” Rooster sighed and rested his chin on the top of Eliza’s head. “You’re pretty miss-able.”

Eliza laughed, stepping back and looking Rooster up and down, smiling. “Who am I kidding? You’re a superhero.”

Rooster scoffed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not exactly, but I’ll take it.”

“Alright,” Eliza sighed. “I’ve really got to go to bed now.” She sat back down in her car. “I’ll see you Thursday, Geraldo.”

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it! 💙💙

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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Hey all! I've got chapter 12 finished, it just needs editing, but I had a death in the family this weekend, so it won't be up until Wednesday! Sorry for the delay and thank you for all the love on chapter 11!!

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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Chapter 11: All Bets Are Off

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Drinking, Smut!!!!!! (18+ minors DNI)

(Oral [fem receiving], penetrative sex, unprotected sex [don't be a silly, wrap your willy!])

Word Count: 3402

A/N: I know I say this just about every chapter, but holy fuck am I excited for you guys to read this one.

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When Hangman arrived at flight practice, Rooster noticed he looked deflated. “Hey, Hangman, what’s up? You look a little down.” He called.

“Don’t worry about it.” Hangman spat.

“It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with our bet, now would it?” Rooster smirked.

Phoenix lifted her head off the table where she’d been resting, “Did someone say something about the bet?” Rooster pointed at Hangman, who looked incredibly annoyed. “If there’s been a development, you have to share it at least with Bob and I, as we’re the official adjudicators.”

“Fine, but I’m not telling him.”

“You got shot down, didn’t you?” Hangman looked away from Rooster. “You asked her out and she said no!”

Hangman looked back at Rooster, furious. “Well, she won’t say yes to you either.”

“What makes you so sure of that?” Bob asked.

“Because, she said she’s ‘not in a relationship headspace.’” Hangman crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

Phoenix snorted, “No offense, Hangman, but she was letting you down gently.”

Hangman’s jaw dropped, “I don’t believe you! She was talking about how I’m the first person to ask her out since her fiance, and this is the first time she’s been single in years, and I guess she just wants more time to herself.” Hangman shrugged. “I’m not giving up entirely.”

“Why not?” Phoenix laughed. “Do you really think she’ll change her mind?”

“If I keep reminding her that I’m an option, one day she’ll go for it.” Hangman said proudly.

Rooster laughed, “Jesus Christ, Hangman, that’s pathetic.”

“I didn’t say I was going to wait for her or anything, just let her know to keep me on the roster.” Hangman rolled his eyes, “Besides, this isn’t the first time she’s said something about this or the first time we’ve been told that she may not be interested in either of us in the end, am I wrong?”

Phoenix bit her lip, “I guess not.” She looked at Rooster, “But the wedding!”

Hangman scoffed, “What about the wedding? The one where she openly admits she’s just using Rooster to make her ex jealous?”

Rooster felt a chill go down his spine, Hangman was making sense, but he couldn’t let on. “I may have forgotten to mention that we’re going to be spending the night at an Airbnb together after the wedding.”

Phoenix whipped around in her seat to face Rooster, “What?”

“The important question is: are they spending the night together or in the same house? Because there’s a very big distinction between the two.” Hangman said.

Rooster ground his teeth. Hangman is determined to ruin everything. “She didn’t specify the sleeping arrangements, but there are going to be lots of other people there, so bedroom space may be limited.”

“So you may be sharing a room with her and a bunch of other people, too?” Hangman was grinning.

“I don’t know, Hangman.” Rooster was dreading flying with him for the next several hours. “I guess I’ll just let you know when it happens, and you can let me know when your date with her happens.”

Hangman opened his mouth to reply, but Bates had just walked in. “Welcome back, pilots.” He said, “I know you’re all tired, but that’s the point of this practice. We want to push you to your limits now, so that the actual mission seems like a piece of cake.”

Coyote raised his hand. “If we can’t fly the mission perfectly during the day when we’re rested, what chance do we stand flying at night?” Several other pilots murmured their assent.

“Well, we also want to get you ready for running the mission with your target obscured.” Bates replied, looking tired himself.

“Will this at least mean we’ll have fewer enemies to deal with or that their response time will be slower or something?” Phoenix asked.

Bates frowned, “No. This is supposed to simulate your enemies being on high alert, because for all we know, they will be when you arrive.”

“What are the odds, if you had to ballpark it?” Hangman called, raising his hands. “That our enemies will be on high alert when we get there, that is.”

“From what the Air Force has gathered, their primary focus seems to be combat training. Basic on the ground fighting mostly. They seem to have few people who are capable of handling an air attack, but that’s only because a few people get stationed there at a time, so we don’t know the exact number.” Bates answered. “So, the odds are slim, but not zero, so we’re going to treat practice as though the odds are one hundred percent, am I making myself clear?”

The pilots murmured their assent, and Bates continued. “We’ll give you a more thorough rundown tomorrow at your next flight practice–” The pilots groaned. “At your next flight practice,” Bates continued louder. “Which will begin at 7:30 am on the dot, if you’re late, you’re doing fifty pushups for every minute.”

Rooster looked at his watch:

9:43 pm

“That’s less than twelve hours from now!” He groaned to Phoenix and Bob, who dropped his head into his hands.

“For right now, let’s not waste any more time. Get to your jets!” Bates said, walking away from the front of the room toward where mission control was.

Seizing the brief moment where he wasn’t being watched, Rooster decided to text Eliza:

“We’re just now starting flight practice and we report back at 7:30 tomorrow morning. I’m going to be dead.”

“You’re not allowed to die.”

Rooster smiled down at his phone and replied:

“Then I’ll cling onto life until I have your permission to let go.”

The bubble showing Eliza was texting hovered on the screen for a moment, disappeared, and then reappeared, before a message appeared:

“Good boy. 😉”

Rooster stopped dead in his tracks, his heart racing. He took a deep steadying breath before walking towards his jet again, and Rooster tried his hardest to ignore Hangman. It wouldn’t be productive to hurt his feelings before we fly.

Hangman clearly had other plans. “You’re up to this, right Rooster?” He asked, smirking.

Rooster rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Hangman.” Rooster thought about showing Hangman his texts with Eliza, but thought better of it. Be the bigger person. He thought. “Are you up for this? I’d hate for you to get shot down in more ways than one today.” The bigger person, not the ‘biggest’ person.

“Ha ha.” The smile had been wiped off Hangman’s face. “Let’s just focus on the mission.”

Rooster snorted, climbing into his jet. “Sure, Hangman.”

Eliza was still sweating after sending that text to Rooster. He didn’t reply, but Phoenix had told her they were starting flight practice, so Eliza was trying not to worry that Rooster was creeped out by her.

“Elle, you okay?” Penny was looking at Eliza concernedly. “You look a little shaky.”

Eliza cleared her throat, “Fine.” She cleared her throat again, “No seriously, I’m fine.”

Penny frowned. “If you say so.” She looked back up at Eliza again, furrowing her brow. “You’d tell me if something was going on, right?”

“Of course!” Eliza glanced at the patrons at the bar and gestured Penny closer. “I’ve just got some nerves about the whole ‘Rooster situation,’ you know?”

Penny squeezed Eliza’s arm, “Why?”

“I just was a little bold in a text message and he saw it, but didn’t respond.”

“What?” Penny looked furious.

“I mean I know he’s in flight practice right now, but it just was a really terrible time for him not to be able to respond anymore.” Eliza shuddered slightly, “I just have anxiety brain.”

Penny smiled kindly, “He’ll respond! I’m sure you don’t need to worry.”

Eliza sighed and shrugged, “You’re probably right.” She smiled. “It’ll be okay.” She was mostly trying to convince herself that it really was going to be okay. What if I’ve completely misread the situation? She wondered. Maybe he’s not responding because he doesn’t know what to say.

Then an hour went by, and another, and Rooster still hadn’t texted Eliza back. Eliza was growing nauseous, but trying to appear calm on the outside. As she was doing last call, Eliza felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Her breath caught in her throat, and Eliza pulled out her phone to see who had texted her.

“We’re finally done with flight practice. You’re not still working, are you?”

It was Hangman. Eliza sighed and texted back:

“Just did last call. How did practice go?”

Eliza sighed again, wondering why Rooster still hadn’t texted her.

“😖”

Eliza chuckled.

“That bad?”

“That bad.”

Eliza groaned, leaning against the bar while Penny closed out people’s tabs. “You’re not fooling me, Elle. Something is going on.”

“I’ll tell you when we’re closing.”

“Is everybody out of practice?”

“Damn, and here I felt a little special for a second. But no, I got done with my punishment push ups first, so I get to fall face first into my bed for about 5 hours until I go back to practice.”

Eliza breathed a sigh of relief. Rooster will reply soon. She tried to soothe her nerves, as she texted back:

“That’s criminal. How many push ups did you end up doing?”

“500 again.”

“I’m disgusted on your behalf.”

“I appreciate the concern.”

“What in the world is going on tonight?” Penny was standing in front of Eliza, hands on her hips.

Eliza took a deep breath. “I guess I’m still feeling weird from this morning, with Hangman and all that.”

Penny nodded, “That makes sense.”

“I just wasn’t expecting him to ask me out!” Eliza said, throwing up her hands. “I literally just froze up for like fifteen seconds when he said it, I had no idea what to think.” Penny cut her eyes at Eliza and shrugged. “What?”

Penny stopped wiping down the counter and looked at Eliza. “You really weren’t expecting him to ask you out?”

Eliza pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. “Okay, well in retrospect, maybe there were some signs that it was on his mind.”

“You think so?”

Eliza laughed, “Okay, okay! I guess I just wasn’t expecting him to ask me out right then.”

“And does Rooster know?”

“I actually don’t know.” Eliza shrugged, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he found out at flight practice.”

“So exactly what happened with him?”

“Basically nothing. He still hasn’t texted back, but Hangman said he was still at flight practice.” Eliza groaned, running her fingers through her hair. “I haven’t been nervous about anyone in a long time, and it’s weird.”

Penny nodded, “I know what you mean, Elle.” She picked up a crate full of empty bottles. “I really don’t think you have to worry with Rooster.”

As she said that, Eliza’s phone buzzed again.

“Eliza, my admiral doesn’t want me to be alive anymore. Or at least he doesn’t want me to have arms that work.”

“Oh my God! Speak of the devil.” Eliza looked up at Penny. “He kind of just ignored my last message, though.”

“Well, text him back!” Penny gestured at Eliza’s phone excitedly.

“Tell him that I’m coming after him when he least expects it. His military training cannot protect him from me.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

Eliza smiled down at her phone, feeling more relaxed by the second. “Feel better now?” Penny smirked at Eliza.

“Much.”

“Well, go on and get out of here, get some sleep.” Penny smiled at Eliza. “It’s what, ten minutes past when you were supposed to leave?”

“I was ten minutes late this morning, so it’s only fair. Even if I didn’t really help at all the last ten minutes.” Eliza smiled, grabbing her stuff. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Aunt Penny!”

Eliza typed out a message to Rooster as she walked out of the Hard Deck.

“Hangman mentioned that this mission is a pretty big deal…”

“All I can say is I’m more nervous about this one than my last one.”

Elza groaned as she sat down in her car. The idea of something happening to Rooster made Eliza’s stomach fall into her feet.

“Well, I’m giving you strict orders to come home safe. You’ve got somewhere to be.”

Eliza ran her fingers through her hair and rested her forehead on the steering wheel for a moment before starting her car, praying to whoever was listening that Rooster would be with her at the wedding. God, how could I go without him? She wondered as she drove home.

Rooster was exhausted, but couldn’t go to sleep as long as Eliza was replying. He’d found himself missing her throughout the day, and Rooster was caught off guard. It had been a long time since Rooster had missed anyone, he’d been so focused on his progress as a pilot over the past few years that he couldn’t remember the last real relationship he’d had. Eliza wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met before, and Rooster didn’t want to fuck it up. The wedding was his driving motivation right now. Rooster was going to take it as seriously as possible, because he was determined to come home.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m going to be just fine.”

Rooster swallowed hard, hoping he wasn’t lying to Eliza. The team had managed to complete the mission almost all the way, but Rooster and Hangman had either gotten shot down or missed their mark every time except for one. There were only ten days until the mission, and they weren’t progressing fast enough for Rooster to feel confident.

“If you die, I’ll have to go on a mission to find out who did it and fuck their mom.”

Rooster laughed out loud and replied:

“Well, we may not have to worry about it if I die of sleep deprivation first with these insane schedules they’re putting us through.”

“Then I had better let you go to sleep! Dream of me getting you shitfaced and then come to the Hard Deck tomorrow evening so I can make it come true.”

Rooster smiled, “I always do.” He said aloud.

“You can count on it.”

Eliza loved the message, and Rooster finally felt like he could go to sleep.

Rooster suddenly found himself on the beach, sitting and watching the surf by himself. He heard footsteps behind him, and when he turned, it was Eliza walking toward him wearing the outfit she’d been in the first day he’d met her: a black bikini with denim cut offs. Eliza was grinning at him, “Hey Rooster.” She came and sat down in the surf next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad you’re here too.” Rooster said, suddenly feeling confident enough to put a hand on her knee, feeling extremely comfortable. Eliza placed her hand on his leg, a little higher up than a friend would have placed their hand, and squeezed it lightly, lifting her head off his shoulder to look at Rooster. He noticed how close together their faces were, and Rooster felt a rush in his stomach as he leaned in to Eliza and kissed her. The taste of her lips was intoxicating, and chills ran down Rooster’s spine when she brought a hand up into his hair, tugging on it gently to pull him closer. They were kissing more deeply now and Rooster felt Eliza’s hand moving over his chest. Not being able to stand there being any distance between them anymore, Rooster pulled Eliza onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

To Rooster’s surprise and pleasure, Eliza wrapped her legs around his waist, grinding down on his stiffening cock slightly. Rooster groaned as Eliza pulled away from him, looking deeply into his eyes. “I need you, Rooster.” She whispered, kissing and sucking on his neck gently. Rooster was in heaven, running his fingers through Eliza’s soft waves. Eliza moaned in response and began grinding down onto him in earnest, sending waves of pleasure through Rooster.

“What do you mean ‘need?’” Rooster asked her, pulling back gently to smile at Eliza.

Eliza’s eyes were dark, her irises barely visible around her pupils, and she grinned back at him, “You know what it means.”

“I want to hear you say it.” Rooster said, gripping her ass.

“Rooster,” Eliza said, looking him dead in the eyes, “I need you to fuck me.”

“Your wish is my command.” Rooster picked Eliza up, tossing her back onto the sand gently, pulling his shirt off and tossing it to the side, eliciting a smirk out of Eliza. Rooster pulled her denim shorts off, leaving her just in the black bikini that was burned into Rooster’s mind. As he took in Eliza’s body greedily, Rooster felt breathless, running his hands gently over her curves.

“Well, are you going to fuck me or just look at me?” Eliza asked, wrapping her arms around Rooster’s neck.

Rooster growled, lifting Eliza up again to untie her bikini top, his hands immediately going to need her chest before pressing himself against her to kiss her again. The warmth of Eliza’s skin made Rooster’s legs weak as he ground against her. Eliza lifted her hips, pulling off her bottoms, tossing them aside and grinning at Rooster.

Rooster took the opportunity and moved down between her thighs, putting her legs over his shoulders. He couldn’t believe how sweet Eliza tasted, and the soft moans already falling from her mouth were making it hard for Rooster not to cum. Rooster felt Eliza’s legs tense up and she came undone as he licked and sucked gently at her clit. “Fuck, Rooster.” She groaned.

“You mean ‘Fuck me, Rooster.” Rooster growled, wiping her off his chin.

Eliza moaned again, “Yes, please.”

Rooster pulled his shorts off slowly, watching Eliza’s eyes following his hands. “See anything you like?”

“A few things, but I bet you could sweeten the deal a little bit.” Eliza grinned at him and Rooster smiled, pulling his shorts the rest of the way off, his cock slapping against his abs as he slid his waistband down. Eliza’s eye widened as she stared at his cock, before bringing her eyes back up to meet his, a huge smile on her face.

“Good enough for you?”

“Perfect.” Eliza replied, licking her lips and she grabbed his cock sliding her hand up and down him a few times.

Rooster’s hips stuttered into Eliza’s hand, and he groaned, “Baby, it's taking everything I have not to bust right now.”

Eliza smiled again, wrapping her legs around Rooster, pulling him closer. “Come on, then.”

Rooster laughed breathlessly, lining himself up with Eliza, rubbing the head of his cock gently against her sensitive clit, making her buck her hips and drop her head back in pleasure. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”

Eliza laughed, “I am funny!”

Rooster thrust into her, making her gasp and squeeze her legs around him. Rooster groaned, Eliza felt amazing wrapped around him, so warm and tight, he almost came immediately, but forced himself to hang on as he began rocking his hips, gently picking up speed. Eliza moaned Rooster’s name, egging him on, and he felt like he was in heaven. “Fuck, this is amazing.” He groaned.

Eliza smirked at him, “An understatement, I would say.” She gasped.

Rooster chuckled, gripping Eliza’s hip bones to bring her hips into his thrusts. “I’m so close, Eliza, where do you want me to cum?” In response, Eliza wrapped her legs around him tighter and looked Rooster dead in the eyes with a grin. “Oh fuck.” Rooster’s pace grew uneven as he filled her.

“Shit, Rooster.” Eliza looked up at him with wide eyes and her mouth slightly agape, her pupils still the size of saucers and Rooster had to close his eyes, unable to handle it anymore.

Beep beep beep

“Fucking again?” Rooster groaned, sitting up in bed. He shook his head, Rooster couldn’t afford to be thinking about Eliza today. If he and Hangman didn’t hit the target, Bates was probably going to kill them.

Rooster picked up his phone to text Eliza:

“You’re a witch because you were in fact in my dream last night.” Smiling to himself, Rooster felt good about that text, then realized that Eliza was probably going to ask him what he dreamed about. Well, fuck. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess.

Thanks for reading this! I'm not super experienced writing smut, so feedback is welcome!!

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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Y'ALL!!!!! The next chapter!!!! Tomorrow!!!! Be prepared. 😏

#all bets are off #sam writes stuff #sam speaks #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster top gun #rooster bradshaw #top gun maverick #top gun #miles teller #bradley bradshaw x oc #rooster x oc #rooster fanfic #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfiction

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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All Bets Are Off: Chapter 10

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 3477

A/N: As promised, a longer chapter with a lot going on! We're getting closer and closer to the wedding and I can't wait for y'all to read what I've got planned! Enjoy!

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Rooster sat on the edge of his bed, lifting his arm to rub his eyes and immediately feeling as if they were on fire. Fucking pushups. He thought bitterly, groaning as he grabbed his phone to text Eliza:

“Good morning! Seeing you last night was the highlight of my day yesterday. Can’t wait to see you again tonight! (Assuming Bates doesn't kill me)”

He smiled and pressed send, and Rooster felt his heart lighten at the thought of watching Eliza moving confidently around the bar at the Hard Deck, she’d worked there long enough now to know pretty much everyone, and everyone who knew Eliza tended to love her. Why wouldn’t they? He thought, getting dressed for the day. She’s perfect. Rooster knew he was going to have to find a way to tear his mind off Eliza during flight practice, but when he wasn’t thinking about seeing Eliza at the Hard Deck, he was thinking about going to the wedding with Eliza.

As he walked out the door, he wondered if Eliza was even awake yet, glancing down at his phone, half expecting a reply.

5:37 am

Maybe she wasn’t awake yet, but Rooster still felt a little bit better about himself knowing that he would likely be one of the first people Eliza thought of.

Eliza was awoken by the sound of her next door neighbor’s lawn mower. Seriously? She thought, rolling over to look at the time, and seeing a text from Rooster. Eliza’s heart skipped a beat as she read it, and found herself suddenly wishing she was at work.

7:05 am

Who the fuck mows their lawn this early on the weekend? Eliza figured she could get up now, be productive while she couldn’t sleep, then nap when he was done. She rolled on to her back, holding up her phone, staring blankly at the keyboard; Eliza had no idea what to say in response to that. Thinking for a moment, she typed:

“Seeing you is the highlight of my day everyday.”

But then felt nervous about being so bold. She deleted the message and typed instead:

“You’re so sweet! I’ll be at the Hard Deck all night tonight, waiting to brighten your day!”

Eliza frowned. Is that any better?

“Lucky for you, I’ll be there all night tonight!”

Smiling to herself, Eliza felt good about that one. Flirty enough to not send the wrong message, but not so flirty as to be weird if Eliza was misreading things. Eliza hit send, not expecting another message back for hours, but felt her phone buzz next to her seconds after she set it back down on the bed.

“What time do you get off tonight? Asking for a friend…”

Eliza laughed, and responded:

“If it’s Hangman, I’m moving into the Hard Deck tonight and I’m never leaving again. If it’s anyone else, Penny is letting me off early tonight, so around 1:30.”

Rooster simply liked the message, and Eliza glared at her phone, trying to ascertain if he really had been asking for a friend, as if a hidden message would appear if she stared at the text for long enough.

Shaking her head, Eliza stood up. He’s obviously not got anything else to say right now, so there’s no point in getting stressed out. She decided to do yoga to force herself to relax, but even as she stretched, Eliza found herself craning her neck to look at her phone, just on the off chance he responded.

She had finally stopped looking at her phone when she heard it buzz, and Eliza nearly fell out of the pose she was in. Scrabbling across her bed to grab it, she saw it was a text from Margot:

“So I meant to send this text like a week ago, but I want to hear all about this fighter pilot you’re bringing to my nuptials!”

“Fair enough! I should have told you sooner, his name is Bradley Bradshaw (yes, really) and it’s like he was made in a lab to make insecure men piss themselves.”

“Ooh! Do you have a picture?”

Eliza suddenly realized that she didn’t know if Rooster had any social media. She frantically texted Phoenix:

“Does Rooster have Instagram or anything?”

Eliza chewed her lip, knowing that Margot would have concerns about Eliza bringing a man that she wasn’t even following on social media to her wedding. Thankfully, Phoenix texted back quickly with a link to an Instagram profile. Clicking it, Eliza groaned when he was set to private. Of course he is. Her fingers hovered over the follow button for a moment before she clicked it, then hit the share profile button, and prayed Margot wouldn’t notice that Eliza wasn’t technically following him yet.

“Will you tell him to let me follow him at the next available opportunity?”

Phoenix liked the message, and moments later, Eliza’s phone buzzed again.

“Are you doing a background check on me?”

It was Rooster. Eliza groaned again, running her fingers through her hair.

“Not me, the bride!”

Rooster laugh-reacted at the message, but didn’t text back again. What is it with men and not being willing to text?” Eliza wondered to herself.

Just when she was resigning herself to having an unreasonably early start for her day, the mowing stopped. “Thank God!” She groaned, throwing herself back into her bed and under the covers to nap the rest of the morning away.

Finally dragging herself out of bed around two pm, Eliza started getting ready for work at four, and didn’t even think to check her phone for about half an hour after she woke up. When she finally did, she had a text from Rooster and four text messages from Margot:

“Eliza!!!!!”

“OMG???”

“That’s a man that you know?”

“Like he’s just walking around??”

Knitting her brow, Eliza checked Rooster’s instagram, and her jaw dropped to see mostly gym selfies, mostly shirtless. An unexpected, but welcome surprise. She thought, deciding to make Rooster sweat a little bit.

“Damn Rooster, where’s OnlyFans link?”

Eliza snorted, feeling pleased with herself.

“Why, do you want one?”

Eliza huffed, realizing that she’d set the ball up for him to spike it back into her face.

“I just feel like it’s a missed economic opportunity for you!”

Unlucky for you, Rooster. Eliza thought, I’m better than you at volleyball. Her phone buzzed again, this time Phoenix. It was a zoomed in picture of the back of Rooster’s neck, which was bright red.

“What are you two talking about??”

Eliza laughed again, texting back:

“Missed financial opportunities.”

“Fine, I didn’t want to know anyway!”

Eliza smiled, feeling grateful for Phoenix, but was quickly distracted by Rooster replying:

“I’ll start one when you do!”

“Ugh, fair enough.” Eliza groaned, looking at the time and realizing she was running a little late. “Fuck!” She hurried through the rest of her routine, jumping into her car and immediately feeling a little called out by the song that came on shuffle: Debbie Gibson’s “Lost in Your Eyes.”

“I get lost in your eyes, and feel my spirits rise and soar like the wind. Is it love that I am in?”

Eliza sighed, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel restlessly. Was it love with Rooster or was he just the first man to show her attention since Grady?

Her phone buzzed again. This time, it was Hangman:

“I’m getting out of flight practice around 4:30 today, can I bring you dinner to the Hard Deck?”

Eliza blinked, setting her phone down. What is it with those two? She wondered. Am I just the first new person they’ve seen in a while? Eliza felt the chill of insecurity creeping into her gut, and forced herself to focus on the song.

“I don’t mind not knowing what I’m heading for. You can take me to the skies, it’s like being lost in heaven when I’m lost in your eyes.”

“Jesus Christ.” Eliza muttered, skipping the song. “Drive” by The Cars came on next, and she said, feeling a little less confident than she had that morning.

“You can’t go on thinking nothing’s wrong, but now who’s going to drive you home tonight?”

Eliza groaned as she pulled into the Hard Deck, resting her forehead on her steering wheel for a second, before remembering that she needed to text Hangman back.

“Aren’t you exhausted? You absolutely don’t have to do that!”

He responded right away:

“What if I want to? What time would be best for me to drop it off?”

Eliza pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling conflicted. On the one hand, what could be wrong about letting a handsome fighter pilot spoil her a little bit? But on the other hand, this was the wrong pilot. Eliza sighed and texted back:

“If you insist. Around 5:15 would be good, it’s right before we open, but I’m usually done with all the tasks by then. Just bring me your favorite!”

Eliza walked into the Hard Deck to find Maverick sitting at the bar with Penny who was slicing lemons and grinning at him. Eliza paused and smiled at them for a moment, they seemed to have something so deep and comfortable, and Eliza wanted that for herself; her thoughts turned to Rooster, could they have that together? “Hey guys!” She called, shaking her head slightly.

“Oh, Eliza, you startled me!” Penny said, resting a hand over her heart.

“Sorry, Aunt Penny, but I’m ten minutes late.” Eliza said, walking back behind the bar.

Penny looked at her watch, “Yeah I guess I should have been expecting you, but time just got away from us.”

Maverick beamed at Penny, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Well, don’t let me interrupt you, I’ll head back to the kitchen.” Eliza picked up a crate of empty bottles from the night before, “You handle front of house, I’ll do back of house!”

Penny nodded, smiling, “Thanks, Elle.”

Eliza walked into the kitchen and started counting liquor bottles, completely lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, Eliza heard Penny call her name from the bar. Walking out the door, Eliza called back “What’s up, Aunt Penny?” And saw Hangman standing there holding a brown paper bag and smiling at her. “Oh, hey Hangman, thanks for dinner!” She smiled at him as he handed her the bag.

“My pleasure.” Hangman’s smile widened and Eliza felt herself blush.

“You can go ahead and eat, if you want to, Elle.” Penny said, smirking at Eliza and Hangman.

“Um, thanks.” Eliza looked at Hangman and gestured to the doors that faced the beach. “Al fresco?”

Hangman nodded, following Eliza out. “I’m glad you’ve got time to eat now, because I also grabbed myself a couple of tacos, to be honest.”

“Tacos?” Eliza opened the bag, pulling out tacos wrapped in parchment paper. “Which ones are yours?”

“You’re good with tacos?” Hangman looked a little nervous, “I didn’t know what all you would like, so I just ordered basically one of everything on the menu.”

Eliza was already devouring a taco, “This is delicious! Where’d you get these?”

“There’s a little taco shop that’s open about three random days a week in Barrio Logan, and I’ve gotten to be friends with the owner, so he texts me whenever he opens.” Hangman unwrapped a taco and began eating, “When he texted me this morning, I thought ‘You know who would love Café Valentina, Eliza!’”

Eliza groaned, “You were right, this is wonderful. You have to send me the address!”

“You’ll have to give me your number then.”

“I guess so.” Eliza took his phone and put her number in. “Send it right now so you don’t forget. This is important to me.”

Hangman laughed and sent her the address. “Does this mean I’m allowed to text you from time to time?”

Eliza looked at Hangman for a moment, considering. Maybe he’s not so bad. She thought. “Yeah, I guess it does.” She squinted at Hangman, “If you abuse it, I will block you.”

“Fair enough.” Hangman laughed again, watching the waves crash on the shore. “This is nice.”

“Yeah it is.” Eliza smiled at him. “You’re not half as bad as you come off, Hangman.”

Hangman laughed again. “Thanks, I guess?”

Eliza wiped taco sauce off her chin, laughing. “It’s a compliment!”

Hangman opened his mouth to say something, when Penny poked her head out the door. “Um, Elle?”

“What’s up?”

“You have another visitor.”

Eliza looked at Hangman, who was looking over his shoulder through the window with an angry look on his face. “If you’ll excuse me for one moment, Hangman.” He just nodded, still looking inside.

Penny held the door open for Eliza and whispered to her as she passed, “You’ve got these boys under some kind of spell, Elle. I’ve never seen them act like this!”

“These boys?” Eliza asked.

“Hey Eliza.” She looked up and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Rooster standing there, still in his flight suit.

“Well hello, sailor.” Eliza grinned at him, Hangman fading from her mind. “What brings you to a bar at 5:30 in the evening?”

“I just wanted to drop by and say hi, because I won’t be able to be here tonight.” Rooster said and Eliza pouted. “We’re doing a night practice run for the mission, so I’ll be getting shot down and doing push ups all night.”

“Well that sounds considerably less fun than hanging out with me.” Eliza smiled at him and Rooster’s heart sped up. Was she flirting?

“It will definitely be considerably– oh, hi Hangman.” Rooster was frowning.

Eliza turned around and saw Hangman standing in the doorway, “Your food is getting cold, Eliza!” He smirked at Rooster.

“Oh, right, I was in the middle of eating.” Eliza laughed, “I kind of forgot.”

“She forgot.” Rooster mouthed at Hangman when Eliza turned her back to him.

“I’ll be back out in just a second, I promise.” Eliza smiled at Hangman and he nodded, cutting his eyes back at Rooster as he stepped back outside and sat down again.

“I guess I’ll let you get back to your dinner.” Rooster said, not taking his eyes off Hangman’s back.

“I’ll be up late tonight tonight too, if you get some downtime and feel like chatting.” When he looked back at her, Rooster found Eliza with a hopeful smile on her face and his heart melted.

“I’ll find some down time, just for you.” Rooster reached up and squeezed her arm gently, and Eliza’s smile grew.

“Well, I’ll let you enjoy your break between flight practices.” Eliza said, still practically glowing at Rooster.

“I’ll talk to you tonight.” Rooster smiled back at Eliza, and she turned, waving at him over her shoulder as she walked back outside.

Maverick grabbed Rooster’s shoulder as he was turning to walk out of the bar. “What’s going on there? Penny told me you two are going to a wedding together.”

Rooster nodded, “About a week after we get back from the mission.”

“Good for you!” Maverick punched Rooster’s shoulder lightly, “And I assume that you’re going to seal the deal at this wedding?”

Rooster furrowed his brow, “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“Whatever it means.” Maverick shrugged.

“What an informative answer.” Rooster rolled his eyes. “I’m not just trying to fuck her, you know.”

“Hey, who said anything about that?”

Rooster brushed past him, “I don’t know what business it is of yours anyway.” Maverick grumbled something but Rooster didn’t care to turn back. The truth was, he was planning on sealing the deal at the wedding, specifically, he was hoping to get her alone at the after party to tell her how he felt and ask her out officially, but Hangman being at the Hard Deck was making him antsy. I may need to move up my timeline. He thought, sliding into his car to go home and shower before returning to the hangar.

Eliza and Hangman had been sitting in an uncomfortable silence since Rooster left. “Are you going to tell me why you’re being a weirdo?” Eliza asked, setting down her food. “Or are you just going to stew because I said hi to another person?”

Hangman frowned at her, “I’m not stewing or being weird.” Eliza raised an eyebrow and Hangman sighed. “I guess Rooster and I are just kind of competitive.”

“Why?”

“He’s a fucking legacy that everyone loves. Meanwhile, I’m the better pilot, but Rooster for some reason gets regarded as the best.” Hangman shook his head. “The last big mission we did, I saved his ass and Maverick’s ass, and yet who gets praised as the hero of the mission? Rooster.”

Eliza’s eyebrows were raising higher and higher as he talked. “So it’s literally just a pissing contest?”

Hangman pursed his lips, staring out at the ocean again. “I guess so.”

Eliza laughed, “That’s so weird, y’all are in your thirties!”

“Hey! I think it pushes us both to constantly try to be the best.” Hangman replied, “But we’re on the same team in every single way on this mission, so there’s no way for me to really one-up him, unfortunately.”

Eliza gasped and clutched a hand to her chest sarcastically, “How will your ego survive?”

Hangman laughed, “I’m more worried about physically surviving in general this time around.”

“Oh, that bad?” Eliza looked worried.

Hangman shook his head, “I can’t really talk about it, but yeah it’s not looking great.”

“Don’t tell me that!” Eliza cried. “You’re all coming home safe, sound, and in one piece.” She looked at him sharply. “Or else.”

Hangman laughed, “Or else what?”

“You don’t want to find out.” Eliza tossed her hair off her shoulder.

“I bet I don’t.” Hangman looked at her for a second, his expression suddenly becoming serious. “I’m coming back, don’t worry.”

Eliza rolled her eyes, “I’m worried about more than you, Hangman.”

Hangman laughed and shrugged, “We all know that deep down, I’m your favorite.”

“Sure, buddy.”

Hangman sighed before gathering up their trash. “Well, I need to go home and take a power nap before flying all night to train for said mission.” He got to his feet, offering Eliza his hand to help her up.

Eliza ignored Hangman’s hand and stood up on her own, smirking at him. “Thanks for dinner, Hangman. It was fun to hang out with you when you weren’t trying to show anyone up.”

Hangman laughed. “Then we should do it again sometime.”

Eliza squinted at him, “Are you asking me out?”

“If I was, would that be a bad thing?”

Eliza’s mind went to Rooster, but Rooster hadn’t asked her out, and here was Hangman who had always been up front about how he felt about her, asking her out. It’s not like Rooster and I are any kind of exclusive. Eliza thought. But do I want to go out with Hangman?

“Eliza?”

“Sorry.” Eliza tried to collect her thoughts. “You’re just the first person who’s asked me out in like six years, it caught me off guard a little bit.” She cleared her throat. “I’m not one hundred percent I’m in the dating headspace…at this current moment.”

Hangman’s smile had frozen in place, “I see.” He looked stunned. “Well, when you change your mind, call me.” He turned and walked quickly out of the Hard Deck.

Eliza cleared her throat and walked back inside, where Penny and Maverick were waiting for her. “What was his hurry?” Penny asked.

“Um, I think they had night practice.” Eliza cut her eyes at Maverick, trying to decide if she wanted to tell Penny what had just happened in front of him. Clearing her throat, Eliza decided he would find out anyway, Maverick may as well hear it from her. “Also he asked me out and I kind of said no.”

Penny raised her eyebrows. “Kind of?”

“I sort of put him on deferment.”

“What does that mean?” Penny asked, leaning on the bar.

Eliza looked at the floor, “I just told him I wasn’t in the dating headspace at the moment, because it was easier than saying ‘I genuinely cannot form a stable opinion about you and don’t know that you would be the version of yourself that I actually get along with or if you would be a cocky jerk, so I can’t decide if I want to go out with you.’”

Maverick laughed, “I’m glad Hangman got shut down. It’ll put him in his place a little bit.”

Eliza cocked her head at him and Penny slapped his arm. “I’m sure it’s fine, he’s just not used to getting told no.”

Eliza sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m going to go back into the kitchen and maybe never come out.”

Penny laughed. “At least he won’t be here tonight.”

Eliza snorted, “Small comfort.”

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments, questions, etc are welcome!

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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If you're like me and you have a soft spot for eighties music, check out this playlist that I made (and will be updating!) with the songs mentioned in ABOA as far as I've written (meaning you may get some sneak peaks into future chapters with the playlist!) Check it out here!

#all bets are off #sam speaks #sam writes stuff #sam gives music recommendations

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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All Bets Are Off: Chapter 9

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Drinking

Word Count: 2119

A/N: A shorter one for you guys today, because I've had an insanely busy week, but my goal is to have next chapter be pretty long and jampacked!

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At the Hard Deck, Eliza couldn’t help but look up excitedly every time she heard the door opening, hoping that it would be Rooster walking in, but the night got later and later, and he hadn’t shown up yet. Finally, Phoenix and Bob walked in, looking exhausted.

“Hey!” Eliza called, waving them over. “How are you guys doing? You look a little tired.”

Phoenix nodded, rolling her shoulders, “You know how we’ve been assigned this no-good-very-bad-basically-impossible mission?” Eliza nodded. “It got worse.”

“Oh no! I’m sorry.” Eliza went to grab them both beers, but then paused, “Is it a liquor kind of night?” She grinned at them.

Bob sighed and shook his head, “We report back to base at seven in the morning.”

“Beer it is.” Eliza set down the bottles and popped off the caps, glancing at them, trying to decide how to casually ask if Rooster was showing up.

“I think he said he was on his way.” Phoenix said, grinning slyly.

“Who?” Eliza could feel her cheeks flushing.

Bob rolled his eyes and turned to Phoenix, “She still thinks she can play it cool in front of us.”

“It’s cute, isn’t it?” Phoenix laughed.

“Oh, whatever.” Eliza walked away, feeling butterflies in her stomach at the knowledge that Rooster would be arriving any minute. She had texted him during the day, but had been advised by Penny not to expect a response while he was training. Taking a deep breath, she felt a moment of calm that was quickly chased away by a jolt of panic as she wondered what she would say to Rooster. How cool do I play it? She wondered, slipping into the kitchen for a moment of peace to strategize.

Minutes later, Rooster walked in, and was immediately accosted by Maverick. “What’s this I hear about your timeline being moved up for this mission?” He hissed in Rooster’s ear.

Rooster looked at him, stunned, “How do you know about that?”

“I have my ways.” Maverick waved his hand dismissively, “What matters is whether or not you’re going to be able to pull this off.”

“I’m not allowed to discuss the mission with anyone else.” Rooster said, attempting to move past him, but Maverick grabbed his arm.

“Come on, Rooster. It’s me.”

Rooster sighed, knowing that he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help wanting Maverick’s advice, “Fine, I’ll tell you, but no details and if I find out you told anyone else about this, including Penny, you’re dead.” Maverick nodded. “We’re only getting parts of the mission. So far the best we’ve been able to do is seventy percent complete.”

Maverick groaned, “What’s your timeframe now?”

Rooster glanced around nervously, making sure no one was listening in, and happened to notice Eliza walking out of the kitchen. “It’s…short.”

“How short?” Maverick moved in front of Rooster, blocking his view of Eliza.

“Why do you want to know?” Rooster asked, once again trying to move past him.

“Because,” Maverick put a hand on Rooster’s chest stopping him from walking any further, “I care about what happens to you.”

Rooster rolled his eyes and brushed off Maverick’s hand, “It can’t be much worse than the last one.”

Eliza had finally noticed Rooster and gave him a small wave and smile before being distracted by someone sitting at the bar. Rooster watched her thoughtfully as Eliza shook their drink in one hand while gesturing with the other one as she told a story that was making the sailor at the bar laugh, and Rooster made his way up to the bar, sitting next to Phoenix and Bob, who were both staring off into space and drinking silently. “Hey, calm down guys!” Rooster joked, earning a weak smile from Phoenix.

“Hey, look who finally showed up!” Eliza was walking over to them with a warm smile on her face, “I was starting to think I wasn’t going to get to see you tonight.”

Rooster smiled back at her, feeling suddenly much better. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”

Eliza flushed and her smile grew slightly, “What're you drinking tonight?”

“I’ll just have what they’re having.” Rooster pointed at Phoenix and Bob’s beers, and Eliza nodded, opening a bottle and sliding it across the bar to him.

“I get the impression that flight practice wasn’t a very good time today.” Eliza said.

Rooster ran his fingers through his hair, feeling a slight twinge of soreness with the motion, “I did five hundred pushups today.”

Eliza’s jaw dropped, “It’s physically possible to do five hundred pushups?”

Rooster nodded and flexed, noticing Eliza flush again and look away, “Only if you’re in peak physical condition like I am.”

Eliza laughed, “Alright, alright, no guns in the bar, please.”

“Not even these?” Hangman had just arrived and was now in a bodybuilder pose, showing off his admittedly impressive biceps.

“Especially not those!” Phoenix joked.

“So,” Hangman sat down next to Bob, who looked a little annoyed, “Have you all broken the news to Eliza yet?”

Eliza furrowed her brow, “What news?”

“Well, thanks to our super glamorous, top secret mission, we’ll be away all next weekend.” Hangman replied.

Eliza pouted, “So you’re abandoning me is what I’m hearing.” A doom dart pierced her stomach, Rooster was going on a mission where he could possibly get very hurt or even die, Eliza realized, glancing at him looking down into his beer with a very serious expression on his face.

Phoenix noticed the worried look crossing Eliza’s face and put a hand over hers, “Don’t worry, we’ll be back to bothering you by Tuesday at the latest!”

“Right, of course.” Eliza nodded. How did it not occur to me when I got a job at a military bar that sometimes they would be in danger? She thought, looking at Rooster again, who was looking at Eliza with that same serious look on his face. “You’re going to be back for the wedding, right?” Eliza asked him.

“Of course!” I’m going to that wedding, no matter what it takes. Rooster thought.

“Wedding? What wedding?” Hangman asked, looking back and forth between Eliza and Rooster with a slightly worried expression on his face.

“Rooster agreed to accompany me to a friend’s wedding that my ex will be in attendance so I don’t have to go alone and Grady gets to sweat a little bit.” Eliza replied, smiling at Rooster.

“That’s right.” Rooster smirked at Hangman.

Hangman leaned back on his stool, “Interesting.” He paused for a moment, “But you asked him?”

Eliza looked at him sideways, “Well, yes. It is my friend’s wedding.”

“Interesting.” Hangman said thoughtfully.

“If you say so, Hangman.” Eliza said before noticing someone across the bar trying to get her attention. “I’ll be right back, guys!” She called over her shoulder.

“How is this the way I find out about this?” Hangman hissed, leaning towards Phoenix, Bob, and Rooster. “This is very pertinent information to the bet.”

“Sorry Hangman, I just assumed Rooster told you.” Phoenix said, shrugging.

“But the bet isn’t over though, because she asked him, and he still has yet to ask her on a real date, right?”

Bob nodded, “That would be correct.”

“Interesting.”

Rooster smirked at him, “Is it? I didn’t think it would matter too much, because it’s not like she would say yes to a date with you anyway.”

Hangman snorted. “We’ll see about that.”

“You’re seriously going to ask her out after she asked Rooster to come to this wedding with her and not you?” Bob asked.

“And when exactly are you planning on going on this date?” Phoenix glared at Hangman, who shrugged.

“I’ll just ask her out at the next good chance I get, she’ll say yes, just like everyone else has, and I’ll be one hundred fifty dollars richer.” Hangman replied smugly.

Rooster finished the rest of his beer, and looked at Hangman, “You’re going to ask her out before the mission?” He asked.

“I might as well.” Hangman said. “It’s not like he’s going to, clearly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rooster raised an eyebrow.

Hangman grinned, “She asked you to a wedding and you have yet to ask her out.”

“So?” Phoenix replied.

“So, that tells me he doesn’t have the nerve to ask her out at all.” Hangman looked proud of himself, “Which leaves the field clear for me.”

“Hangman, we’re in the middle of one of the most difficult missions we’re ever going to fly. Neither one of us has time to take anyone out on a date.” Rooster replied, watching Eliza across the bar.

“Who said anything about the date being before the mission?”

Rooster sighed, looking thoughtfully at Hangman for a second, “Well, what do I care?” He said, shrugging. “It’s not like she's going to say yes.”

Hangman feigned injury, “Oh so confident right now, but how do you do when it counts?”

Rooster smirked, “I’ve never had any complaints.”

Phoenix rolled her eyes, “You guys better shut up, she’s on her way back.”

“Sorry about that. Can you believe the nerve of these people, trying to order drinks at a bar?” Eliza chuckled at her own joke, and Rooster’s heart warmed. “Oh, and Rooster, before you leave tonight, remind me I have some more details about the wedding to talk about with you.” She handed him another bottle of beer.

Rooster nodded, “Thanks, and I’ll probably head out after this beer. Early morning and all that.”

“Alright, let me grab Penny from the back and I’ll walk you out to your car.” Eliza smiled at him and reached over the bar to squeeze his hand gently before walking away.

Rooster turned to Hangman with a smirk on his face. “Still thinking about asking her out?”

Hangman was visibility fuming, “Yes.” He said tersely.

Penny and Eliza were walking out of the back together, in furtive conversation with each other, with Eliza clearly trying to get Penny to be quiet. “Let me know when you’re ready to go, Rooster!” Eliza smiled at him, walking away again to help another customer.

Rooster finished his beer, and caught Eliza’s eye, who smiled and nodded at him, hurrying around the bar to meet him at his stool. “Shall we?” She smiled at him.

“After you.” Rooster gestured for her to lead the way out of the bar, and the two walked away.

“Hangman, those two were made for each other, and even you have to see that.” Phoenix hissed as they left.

“‘Meant for each other’ doesn’t mean anything to me. I just need to get one date.” Hangman replied, drinking his beer, looking considerably less confident than he had when he walked in.

Rooster and Eliza walked close together as they approached his car, their shoulders brushing against each other softly, sending a thrill through Rooster with every touch. “The wedding is black tie, so I guess wear your snazziest uniform with the most medals and ribbons that you have.”

Rooster laughed, “Dress blues, I guess?”

“Sure.” Eliza paused for a second, “I can’t wait to see you all cleaned up and fancy.”

“Same here.” Rooster bumped her shoulder with his gently, “I’ll have to bring my A game to keep up with you.”

“And it’s about a two hour drive, so we’ll need to leave around 9:30 that morning, but one of my friends is getting a huge AirBnb for the afterparty, so we’ll be able to stay the night there.” Eliza felt a little nervous at the prospect of asking Rooster to stay the night with her somewhere, but was desperately trying not to show it.

“Sounds good.” Rooster said as they arrived at his car, also desperately trying to play it cool. “I’m really excited to get to hang out with you.” He reached out and took one of her hands holding it loosely for a moment before letting it slip back through his fingers.

“Me too! Plus, the look on Grady’s face when he sees us is going to be priceless.” Eliza laughed. They looked at each other for a moment then Eliza said, “I guess I’ll let you get home and go to bed.”

Rooster cleared his throat, “Right. Early morning and all that.” He looked at Eliza and then just as quickly, broke eye contact, suddenly seeming very nervous.

“Right.” Eliza laughed awkwardly as Rooster slid into his car. “Drive safe, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

Rooster smiled, “Right.” Eliza waved and turned to walk back into the Hard Deck, and Rooster suddenly realized how certain and casual she’d been about talking to him tomorrow. He smiled and turned up his radio, thinking about Eliza with each cheesy new wave song he listened to on his drive home.

As always, thank you for reading!! I love y'all ❤

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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New chapter of ABOA coming tomorrow! I can't wait for you guys to read it!!

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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All Bets Are Off: Chapter 8

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Swearing, I guess?

Word Count: 2700

A/N: It wouldn't be a Top Gun story without some flying scenes, IMHO, but I also slipped some nice Penny/Eliza bonding in there for your mind.

(Also I don't know anything about fighter jets or flying, so don't expect accuracy in that department 😉)

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Eliza was walking on air when she got to the Hard Deck that afternoon. “Well, good afternoon, Aunt Penny!” She was whistling Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears, and Penny didn’t miss her mood.

“What’s got you so perky this morning?” Penny grinned at Eliza, “It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with a certain handsome fighter pilot, would it?”

Eliza shrugged, tucking her hair behind her ear, “It might.”

“Whatever happened to all of this being just a ‘strategic move’ and just for the wedding, hmm? You’re awfully giddy for someone who doesn’t like him that way.”

Eliza frowned. “Do you want to hear about it or not?”

Penny laughed and clapped her hands excitedly. “Tell me, tell me!”

“Well, we hung out pretty much all day yesterday, and when he walked me out to my car, I was a little drunk and I don’t know what I was thinking, but I just kissed him on the cheek for no reason.” Penny gasped. “I’m not done yet!”

“What did he do?”

“Right then, he just stopped and looked like I had slapped him in the face.” Penny chuckled and Eliza held up her hand, “But then, I woke up this morning to a sweet good morning text from him.”

Penny’s jaw dropped and she clapped her hands again, “Can I see it?”

Eliza handed Penny her phone proudly. “I’m sold, I don’t know about you.”

“What did Phoenix say?”

“I haven’t even told Phoenix yet!” Eliza gasped. Hurriedly, she took a screenshot and sent it to Phoenix with a message saying:

“So look what I woke up to…”

Seconds later, Phoenix had emphasized the message and replied:

“I can hear the wedding bells already!”

Eliza flushed, “She’s planning the wedding.”

Penny replied, “I’m making a toast, without a doubt.” She stopped stocking the bar with glasses. “What do you really think about Rooster?”

“The more I get to know him, the more I like him. He’s kind of perfect.” Eliza shrugged, moving bottles of beer into a fridge. “But it does feel like he’s holding back for some reason.”

“Could it be possible that he just wants to take things slow?”

Eliza looked out the window at the beach outside, sighing. “I guess so, but it’s more like he’s catching himself than holding himself back, do you know what I mean?”

Penny nodded, “Well, it may comfort you to hear that Maverick told me that they’ve got some kind of big top-secret mission they’re training for right now. It’s entirely possible that he’s just distracted and waiting to wrap that up.”

“That does actually make me feel a little better.” Eliza walked over and gave her aunt a hug, “I’m so glad I came down here to live with you.”

“Me too, Elle.” Penny smirked at her, “I always told your mom she should have let you come spend the summer out here, then you could have already had your hands on Rooster by now!”

Eliza laughed, “Need I remind you that he is ten years older than me? If I’d ‘gotten my hands on him’ in high school, he would have been arrested.”

“I guess so, but I’ve always thought you two would get along.” Penny shrugged. “Something about the way you both relate to people, like you see their true self right away. Not to mention, you’ve got such similar backgrounds, I think you two could understand each other in a way that other people couldn’t.” She paused. “Especially Grady.”

“Yeah, well Grady didn’t understand much of anything about me in retrospect.”

“What kept you with him for so long?”

Eliza sighed, “The further I get from it, the less I understand it, but he just had a way of keeping me reliant on him. Grady is many things, but unintelligent is not one of them, and I think he just figured out the areas where I was weak and made sure I thought he was the only one who could help me.” She scoffed, tossing the rag she had been using to wipe down a sink onto the bar angrily. “I’m just frustrated that I let him isolate me the way he did, because if he hadn’t managed to do that, we probably would have broken up before we graduated. I knew better, even at that time, but I didn’t trust myself enough to listen to myself.”

“It takes a long time to get to the point where you can trust yourself like that. When I was in my early twenties, I was the same way! I wouldn’t stand up for myself, even when I wanted to, but once I learned how, I knew I could never go back.” Penny said, smiling sadly.

“I’m just trying to have grace for myself with it all, you know?” Eliza picked her rag back up and went back to cleaning. “It’ll never be helpful for me to be mad at my younger self for not utilizing skills she hadn’t developed yet.” Penny stopped what she was doing and looked at Eliza, eyebrows raised slightly. “Therapy, man.” Eliza shook her head and laughed.

“No, I was impressed! It would have taken me years to reach that level of peace when I was your age.” Penny looked at Eliza hard, “Do you feel ready for another relationship?”

Eliza stopped what she was doing and stared out the window again, thinking hard about her response. “I think so. I mean, there are definitely still wounds to be healed, but if I wait until I’m ‘all better’ to get back out there, I’ll probably always be waiting.” She sighed, “I do have to say, I did not plan on actually getting excited about and really into the first guy I met after Grady.”

“You may technically be missing out on dating around, but I personally think Rooster would be more fun.”

“Geez, Penny! Do I need to be worried about you?” Eliza laughed.

Penny rolled her eyes. “I’ve got more than enough on my plate, I’ll live vicariously through you, thank you very much!”

“It’s not like you don’t have your own relationship to live through.” Eliza winked.

“‘Relationship?’” Penny smirked.

“Oh, you know what I mean!”

“What are you going to do when you see him tonight?” Penny asked.

“I don’t really know, because things have definitely moved up a level, but we haven’t really had any conversations about, well, anything like that.” Eliza narrowed her eyes, looking thoughtful. “I guess I’m just going to act normal and see what he does.”

Penny threw up her hands sarcastically, “Where’s the fun in that?”

Eliza laughed, “I’m just trying not to embarrass myself!”

Penny rolled her eyes, “Whatever.”

On base, the pilots were assembled for another update on their mission. Admiral Bates was standing at the lectern with an even more sour expression than normal. “Uh oh.” Hangman said as he sat down across the aisle from Phoenix and Bob. “You don’t look like you’re about to tell us that the enemy cells decided to close up shop.”

Bates glowered at him. “Do I seem like I’m in the mood for jokes, lieutenant?”

Hangman cleared his throat, “No, sir.”

“Then I trust I can count on you to keep your quips to yourself then?” Hangman nodded wordlessly. “Good, because I am not about to tell you that the enemy cells decided to close up shop.” He took a deep breath, “What I am about to tell you is that our timeline is getting moved up, significantly.”

Rooster ran his fingers through his hair, feeling defeated. Just once, could we have a simple, cut and dry mission? He thought. “How much?”

Bates hesitated, and Rooster’s heart sank even lower. “We now have ten days until we fly out for the mission.”

There was immediate uproar among the pilots. “Ten days?” Fritz called from the back row, “You can’t be serious!”

“Yeah.” Phoenix added, “We’ve never actually successfully flown the mission!”

Bates pursed his lips, “You’ve pulled off similar things before.”

“Oh, so because we somehow managed to beat the odds once, we have to do it every mission now?” Hangman looked furious, and Rooster felt the same.

“This isn’t fair to us. We don’t even have a chance to succeed at this!” Rooster stood up. “You’re asking us to do the impossible and likely die trying.”

“Take a seat, lieutenant.” Bates boomed. “I have more to say.” He waited until the pilots calmed down before continuing, “Yes, your timeline has been moved up, but the Air Force is now providing you additional air support. They will be launching a wave of fighters in between the second and third flights that we’re launching to lay down covering fire and help us take out any additional ground forces that we may encounter.”

Rooster felt better for a moment, but then thought about his last attempt at flying the course. He’d barely made it two thirds of the way down when he’d been shot down, and even if he hadn’t been shot down, he still would have run out of time to reach the target before it was too well defended for him to infiltrate. It won’t matter if we have multiple flights if they see us all coming and have time to organize themselves.

“We have also assigned everyone’s roles.” Bates continued, and Rooster noticed Hangman sit up in his chair. “For the first flight, we’ll have Rooster as our bomber and Hangman as our gunner.”

Hangman turned around and grinned at Rooster, and Rooster’s heart sank again. Hangman was not known for being the best at being a teamplayer. “I got you.” Hangman mouthed to Rooster.

“Our second flight will be Fritz as the bomber and Phoenix and Bob as the gunners, and the third flight will be Fanboy as the gunner and Coyote as the bomber.” Coyote and Fanboy high fived, and Rooster wondered how they could be celebrating right now. “Our reserve teams will be Halo and Omaha, and Hardvard and Yale.” Bates looked out at the young pilots, wondering for what felt like the hundredth time if he was sending them to an early grave, but steeled himself and went on, “Let’s get to practicing.”

Rooster felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as he took off with Hangman not far behind him. Admiral Bates came over the radio, “Alright boys, you’re six minutes to target. No pressure but if you don’t nail this, your teammates may all die. Stay focused, you have the skills to accomplish this mission.”

Rooster swallowed hard, switched his radio to where only he and Hangman could hear each other and said, “This is not the time for you to be showing off, got it?”

Hangman’s laugh crackled through the radio. “I’m not a show off, Rooster! Besides, haven’t I proven that I have your back when it counts?”

Rooster scoffed and turned his focus back to the mission course. “We’re coming up on those first few anti-aircraft missiles, go up!” Rooster angled the nose of his plane sharply upwards, climbing to avoid the missiles’ range, with Hangman following suit.

They flew through the silent clouds, and for just a moment Rooster felt a glimpse of peace, but he was quickly interrupted by Hangman on the comms, “Down we go!” He called, and the two dove back down low, avoiding another set of missiles.

“You’re five seconds behind time right now, lieutenants.” Bates said. “Pick it up, we can’t send the next flight until you’re closer to the target.”

Rooster groaned and pushed on his throttle, picking up speed. “If I go much faster than this, it’s going to be hard to avoid the missiles.”

“I’m not having any problems!” Hangman quipped, and Rooster fumed.

“Three seconds behind now, keep going.” Rooster and Hangman were now hurtled over the course, narrowly avoiding the radar on the “missiles” that were scattered along their flight path. “Two seconds behind.”

“Come on!” Rooster growled, pushing even harder on his throttle

“Alright, gentlemen, you’ve caught up and are on time to target, sending the second flight in thirty seconds.”

Rooster could hear Hangman whooping over their comms. How is he enjoying this? Rooster thought angrily, ignoring the rush of excitement in his gut.

“Flight one, you’re now two minutes from the target; flight two, take-off in ten, nine, eight…” Bates counted down the second flight and soon, Fritz, Phoenix, and Bob joined the airwaves.

“T-minus four minutes to target.” Bob said, sounding nervous already.

Bates replied, “Keep your speed up, you have fewer missiles to avoid than anyone else, so you shouldn’t have a problem making it to target on time.”

“Why do they get the easy course and we get the hard one?” Hangman whined.

“Shut up, Hangman.” Rooster’s nerves were fried.

“Flight one, you will be on target in sixty seconds, Hangman, arm your weapons system now.” Bates sounded tense as well.

“Roger, roger!” Hangman called back, still sounding like he was having the time of his life.

Rooster began laying down suppressing fire as they approached the giant circle of rocks that was their target, and Hangman was counting down, “Payload drops in three, two, one!” Hangman fired two missiles towards the target, both of them missing narrowly.

“Miss!” Bates yelled, “Get out of there! Flight two, you are going to be flying into enemy defense in two minutes and thirty seconds. Air Force flight taking off in one minute.”

Hangman was swearing angrily over the radio, and Rooster’s arms were already hurting from the number of push ups he was going to have to do as soon as he landed. “I could have sworn I had it!” Hangman said.

“Yeah, well obviously not.” Rooster replied. “Maybe next time, take it a little bit more seriously?”

“Shut up, Rooster.”

“Flight two, you’re thirty seconds to target and one second behind time, pick it up!” Bates was still running the mission.

“I’m hit!” Fritz cried, alarms audible in the background.

“Is it critical?” Bates asked.

Fritz paused, “What?”

“Are your engines or missile launching systems damaged?”

“Well, no, but–”

“Then you keep going, flight two. Ten seconds to target.” Bates’ voice was ice cold.

“Launching missiles now.” Fritz said somberly.

“You got one hit and one miss.” Bates said, a hint of relief in his voice. “Air Force flight taking off now, they’ll hit targets A and B. Flight three, two minutes to launch.”

“Eat shit, Hangman!” Phoenix whooped.

“Yeah, yeah.” Hangman muttered, “Landing now.”

Hangman and Rooster landed at base, and hurried into mission command, where Bates’ second in command, Captain Leah “Racer” Kane, was waiting with a smirk on her face. “Two hundred and fifty a piece, gentlemen. Get to it!”

After what felt like hours, Rooster had finally finished his pushups and was collapsing into a chair in the hangar for debriefing. Hangman was noticeably more serious, and Rooster smiled to himself.

Bates walked in and cleared his throat, silencing the pilots’ quiet chatter. “That was not terrible, but you have to do better.” He looked at Hangman and Rooster, “For some of you, the mission was a complete failure, but thanks to the efforts of the rest of the team, you ended up damaging two camps and destroying one.”

Phoenix whooped quietly, high fiving Bob and Fritz. “You’re welcome.” She said to Hangman, smiling smugly.

Hangman rolled his eyes. “What’s to stop us from coming back and hitting them again while they’re down?”

“Because then we would need two teams like you, and it has been difficult enough getting this few of you to come close to accomplishing this.” Bates replied, “Not to mention the training and transportation costs, and potential casualties that would be associated with it.” He frowned at them, “But, it won’t matter, because you’re going to take them all out on the first try. Right?”

The pilots nodded, murmuring their assent. “What’s the plan if we never complete the mission before it’s time to go?” Coyote asked.

Bates’ glare intensified, “That won’t be a problem, because you’re going to complete the mission.” He clapped his hands together, “Take thirty minutes, and then reassemble back here to run the mission again.”

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it! 💙💙

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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New chapter of ABOA in less than 24 hours, and I've already got the next one locked, loaded, and ready for you guys! If you want to be added to the tag list for ABOA, click this post, and to check for updates on it, click this post!

#sam writes stuff #sam speaks #all bets are off

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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Hi friends!

You may have noticed my absence on your feed, and that's because last week was an interesting one for me.

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, I wanted to take a couple of days off to recuperate emotionally and get myself back into the ABAO headspace, and literally the day I planned on getting back to writing, my partner and I's cat ran away (he is now back home, safe), so obviously, I wasn't in the writing headspace for those couple of days either.

And coming this week, I'm working 44 hours and I have schoolwork due Wednesday, so expect the next part (with an updated taglist, oops) on Friday!

Thanks for your patience with me!

#sam speaks #all bets are off

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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All Bets Are Off: Chapter 7

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Drinking, Swearing, Brief mentions of parent death

Word Count: 3148

A/N: It's low-key/high-key making me a little giddy writing Rooster & Eliza's relationship grow, I've been with my current partner for almost three years now, and I'm drawing some inspiration from the beginning of our relationship. Hope you enjoy!

Masterlist | Tag List | Request

At the Hard Deck, Halo had managed to wedge her chair in between a very uncomfortable looking Rooster and Bob. Rooster looked up when Eliza walked in and smiled, but then just as quickly, his facial expression changed. Eliza looked behind her and saw Hangmann smiling down at her. “Hi again.” He said.

“Oh, hi!” Eliza glanced back over her shoulder at Rooster to see him looking at Halo. “Do you want to go sit?”

“Lead the way.” Hangman gestured towards the table and they sat down together. “You got a little sunburned today.” He said looking over her face.

Eliza pressed her fingers to cheeks, “I did, didn’t I?” She laughed, “What’s a poor ginger to do in California?”

“This isn’t your natural hair color, I thought…” Hangman trailed off, looking confused.

Eliza laughed again, “No, I’m naturally brunette.” She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her Instagram, pulling up a picture of her with slightly longer than shoulder length, straight, light brown hair smiling in a botanical garden. “See?”

Hangman took her phone and inspected the picture, “You look completely different.” He looked back and forth between Eliza and the picture. “Like you’re not even the same person.”

“Not in the slightest.” Eliza shook her head. “I tried to convince myself that that was my ‘natural state,’ but I would look at old pictures of myself in college, when I looked more the way I do now, and just miss the feeling of dressing like this. I like to put time and effort into my appearance and aesthetic, you know?”

Hangman nodded, “I kind of get what you mean. Almost like performance art in a way, right?”

“Hangman, that is exactly what I mean.” Eliza looked a little surprised, “How–”

“My little sister dresses very similarly to you, and we’re pretty close.” Hangman pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of him with a girl in full nineties grunge aesthetic.

“Your little sister looks cool as hell!” Eliza exclaimed.

Hangman smiled, “You two would get along really well, I think.”

“I’ll have to meet her one of these days!”

Rooster was half listening to the story Halo was telling him about something she did in a sorority in college and half watching Eliza and Hangman chatting amicably. “Rooster, did you hear me?”

“What?”

“I asked if you were listening to me.” Halo looked pissed.

“I got distracted, what were you saying?” Rooster forced himself to focus on her story.

“I was telling you about when my sorority went to Tuluum for Spring Break!” Halo continued to chatter, “We were staying in this tiny little cottage, four to a room, and we basically did nothing but drink, dance, and swim in the ocean. And we went to this tiny little island to get our palms read by this old lady…”

Rooster tuned out again, noticing Eliza put a hand on Hangman’s forearm. His entire body went cold as Rooster felt threatened by Hangman for the first time. His mind was racing, Maybe she really is just a physically affectionate person and we are just friends? She hasn’t encouraged anything romantic, except for holding hands, and how romantic is that as adults? Rooster wasn’t sure if he could trust his instincts with Eliza anymore and it felt like every single cell in his body was begging him to go over there and interrupt Hangman.

Rooster felt a hand on his arm, “Rooster, I called an Uber. I’m going to go.” Halo was standing up and putting her bag over her shoulder.

“Oh, okay.” Rooster smiled weakly. “Have a good night!”

Halo stared at him for a moment, her eyes scanning his face with a disappointed look. Halo looked over at Eliza for a moment, then back at Rooster. “Good luck with that, seriously.”

Rooster looked confused, “With what?”

“You know what I’m talking about.” Halo looked at her phone and started walking towards the door. “I think you guys would be happy together.”

Rooster watched her walk away, slightly bewildered. Am I that obvious? He asked himself. Rooster looked back over at Eliza, who looked away as soon as he looked at her, and he wondered if it was obvious to her as well, and if the fact that she hadn’t acknowledged it meant anything. No, she’s definitely given me signs, hasn’t she? Rooster stared into his glass, swirling around the whiskey inside slightly, feeling confused.

Eliza had noticed Halo leaving in a huff and made a mental note to discuss it with Phoenix later, and when she looked back over at Rooster moments later, he was staring dejectedly into his drink. He looks so disappointed that she left. Eliza thought, feeling a pang of sadness in her chest as she realized that she may not be competing with Halo, just not in the way she’d imagined. Eliza looked back at Hangman who was now talking to Fanboy about flight exercises in a hushed tone. For the first time since she’d arrived at North Island, Eliza felt a little lonely.

Finally, not being able to withstand the uncertainty of where things were with Rooster, she slipped away from the table and sat down next to him. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Rooster grinned at her, “Finally, you decide to come talk to me.”

Eliza feigned indignation, “I have been sitting over there, talking to nobody for like five minutes. You had ample time to come conversate as well.”

“Fair enough.” Rooster laughed, then looked at her sideways, “Converesate?”

“Yeah, you know, to make conversation.”

Rooster shrugged, “That’s just not really a very LA-sounding expression.”

“Well, just because I moved here from LA, does not mean that I am from LA.” Eliza took a drink of her beer and sat back, “I’ll give you $20 if you can guess where I grew up, and I’ll give you one hint: I do not have the accent of the region.”

Rooster squinted at her slightly, “Are you from the Midwest?” Eliza shook her head. “Are you from the northeast, like Boston or something?” He mimicked a Boston accent, “Cah-kis, right?” Eliza shook her head again, taking another drink. Rooster paused for a moment to think, then stared at her, looking alarmed, “You’re not Canadian, are you?”

Eliza laughed, “No. It’s basically the one region you haven’t guessed.”

“Are you southern?”

“Yessir,” Eliza slipped into a southern drawl, “Born and raised in Arkansas.”

“Arkansas?” Rooster wrinkled his nose.

Eliza laughed, “Hey, don’t hate! We gave this nation cheese dip, Bill Clinton, and Walmart.”

“No, I’m not hating.” Rooster looked her up and down. “You just don’t really look like you’re from Arkansas.”

“I left my overalls and my tractor back home, unfortunately.” Eliza smirked at him over the drink, feeling more comfortable by the minute as she talked to Rooster. “I ended up in Arkansas because my dad was from Little Rock, and when he died, my mom moved us back there to be close to his family.”

Rooster looked surprised, “I didn’t know your dad died, too.”

Eliza offered him a half-hearted high five, “Dead Dad Club?” She asked. Rooster felt his whiskey go up his nose as he choked on his drink. “No?” Rooster was too busy coughing up a lung to respond. “Okay, that’s fine, I’ll get you next time.”

Finally having recovered, Rooster looked at Eliza, “Do you remember how you said this island is weird?” She nodded. “You fit right in.”

Eliza threw back her head and laughed, and Rooster’s heart soared. “I guess so.” She placed a hand on his knee, and sighed, “Hey, I just have to ask–”

“There’s nothing going on with Halo.” Rooster said without looking at her.

“Cool.” Eliza said, looking relieved.

Rooster raised an eyebrow at her, “Cool?”

“She just kind of threatened me at the beach and that doesn’t sound like your kind of person, I guess.” Eliza said, still avoiding eye contact.

“And what exactly is my ‘kind of person,’ Eliza?” Rooster asked, his heart pounding.

“I don’t know, you seem like you would need someone to lighten you up sometimes, maybe.” Eliza shrugged. “Like you’re the one with your feet on the ground, you need the ‘head in the clouds’ one to balance you out.” Rooster just nodded in response, looking at Penny and Maverick talking at the bar thoughtfully. “I’m just rambling at this point.”

Rooster laughed, “No, you’re right.” He looked back at Eliza. “I do need a ‘head in the clouds one.’”

Eliza’s already pink cheeks were getting brighter. “Do you want another drink?” She asked.

“Eliza, you’re always trying to get me drunk.” Rooster said, “But yes. Knob Creek neat, please, and put them both on my tab.”

“Not a chance!” Eliza made her way up to the bar and got Penny’s attention. “Code red, Aunt Penny, code red!” She hissed.

“I don’t know what that means, Elle.” Penny said while shaking and pouring a drink.

Eliza beckoned Penny over, leaned across the bar, and whispered, “Things may or may not be happening with Rooster!”

Penny leaned back, “What?” She exclaimed excitedly. “Tell me more!”

“I don’t have time to tell you everything right now, I’m supposed to be getting drinks, and I can’t be gone too long.”

Penny nodded and made their drinks quickly, giving Eliza a big grin and a thumbs up as she walked away, to which Eliza responded with a slashing motion across her throat, looking at Rooster to see if he’d noticed, but Phoenix had taken Eliza’s seat and they were having a fervent conversation, when Phoenix looked up at her and smiled.

“I don’t know where we stand, the wedding is about a month away and I don’t know if I can wait, but I’m going to this wedding with her and I don’t want to run the risk of things going sour between now and then.” Rooster looked up at the bar, where Eliza was leaning over whispering to Penny.

Phoenix rolled her eyes, “I get that, but also you may just have to trust that things won’t go sour. Do you even have a specific reason why that would even happen in the first place?”

“We just don’t know each other very well yet.” Rooster said softly. “Plus, we’re going to be very busy with everything between now and then because the mission is scheduled the week before, and I don’t want to start something with her that I can’t dedicate time to.”

“Aw, Rooster!” Phoenix placed a hand over her heart, “That was so sweet!” She looked over his shoulder and smiled at Eliza as she approached. “All I’m saying is, just because you want to take your time, doesn’t mean that someone else will want to take theirs. You may lose your chance before you have the time to do anything about it.”

Rooster frowned, “Whatever happened to ‘Just get married already, you’re meant for each other?’”

“I’m just saying! She’s a hot bartender at a military bar.” Phoenix shushed him, and smiled at Eliza again as she sat down with their drinks.

“Hey, guys!” Eliza was grinning, handing Rooster his whiskey. “What were you guys discussing so intently?”

Rooster looked at Phoenix, “Just the mission.”

Eliza nodded, taking a drink of her beer, “Ah, top secret, right? Too sensitive for my civilian ears?”

“Too boring.” Phoenix shrugged, then got a mischievous look on her face, “So I want to talk more about this wedding you two are going to. Just how exactly are you going to make that ex of yours sweat?”

Eliza put a hand on Rooster’s knee, “My plan is to just walk in next to Rooster and just let Grady spiral from there.”

Rooster smiled at her proudly, “Just me being there is going to be enough, huh?” He rolled his shoulder back arrogantly, “Damn, I knew I was hot, but I didn’t realize I was that hot.”

Eliza scoffed, “Easy, Geraldo. That’s not what I said, is it?” Eliza shook her head and slapped his knee lightly, “Maybe you’re hot enough to scare him, maybe he’s dating a model now.”

Phoenix looked at Eliza, confused, “I thought he was lame?”

“He’s got a way of getting people who are way out of his league to spend more time around them than they would.” Eliza rolled her eyes, “A little manipulative, you know?”

“Rooster has never been manipulative.” Phoenix said, looking proud.

“Okay?” Eliza looked at Rooster, who was glaring at Phoenix.

“Thanks, I guess.” Rooster shook his head slightly, glancing down at Eliza’s hand, which was still resting on his leg. Eliza noticed his eyes and slipped her hand away, looking slightly embarrassed.

Eliza cleared her throat, “I mean, we’ll have to look at least a little couple-y,” She locked eyes with Rooster, who was smirking slightly, “Just to sell it, that is.”

“Naturally.” Rooster grinned, placing his hand on her knee, making Eliza grin as well. “I guess I can live with it.”

“Thank you for your sacrifice.” Eliza rolled her eyes and laughed.

Phoenix looked back and forth between them. “I cannot wait to watch this happen.”

“Watch what happen?” Rooster asked.

Phoenix just laughed and stood up. “I’m heading home, you kids have a good night and be safe.” She winked, tossed her bag over her shoulder, and headed up to the bar to pay her tab with Penny.

“Heading home, Phoenix?” Penny asked, calculating her tab.

“I figured I would get out of those two’s way.” Phoenix pointed at Eliza and Rooster. “Let them get on with their pining.”

Penny laughed, “They’re something else, aren’t they?” She handed Phoenix her bill. “I certainly hope they get out of their own ways and get together, one of these days.”

“I have no doubt that they will.” Phoenix replied, walking away from the bar, “They may just need a bit of help is all!” She called over her shoulder, grinning.

“What are the odds that was about us?” Eliza said, watching Phoenix leave.

Rooster swirled his drink thoughtfully, “Almost one hundred percent I would say.” He laughed, “I say, we let her have her fun.”

Eliza nodded, “No reason to rain on her parade.”

“I can hear the Southerner in you now.” Rooster chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“‘No reason to rain on ‘er parade.’” Rooster twanged in an exaggerated Southern accent.

Eliza slapped his chest lightly, “I do not sound like that!”

“‘Ah do not sound lack that.’”

“Have your fun, California. Whose state has to subsidize whose, how about that?” Eliza crossed her arms.

Rooster laughed, “I don’t think that’s exactly the flex you made it sound like.”

Eliza’s serious expression broke and she laughed, “Maybe not.” She finished her drink and looked at her phone. “It’s late and I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to follow Phoenix and Halo’s lead and head out.”

“I think I’ll do the same.” Rooster stood up and followed her up to the bar. “Penny, put this good woman’s drinks on my tab.”

Eliza whipped her head around, “Absolutely not!”

Rooster handed Penny his card, “I insist.”

“Rooster, you’re too sweet!” Eliza reached up and scratched his back gently, smiling up at him fondly, and Rooster’s knees almost buckled.

“You’re welcome.” Rooster stammered, feeling his face flush.

Penny smiled at them, “Have a good night, you two!”

Eliza waved goodbye to Penny, who was giving her a thumbs up. “See you tomorrow!”

Rooster walked Eliza out to her car, “Get home safe, Eliza.” He smiled at her warmly.

Eliza smiled back at him for a second, before stretching up onto her tiptoes to kiss Rooster’s cheek. “You too, Rooster.”

Yet again, Rooster found himself standing there stunned as Eliza pulled away, his mind reeling with what had just happened. Numbly, Rooster pulled out his phone and went to text Phoenix, his fingers hovering over Eliza’s name as he resisted the urge to text her, even though he’d just seen her.

“She just kissed my cheek, got in her car, and left.”

“WHAT??”

“I literally haven’t moved from where I was standing… What do you think it means?”

Rooster shook his head and walked over to his car; he looked down at his phone again and saw Phoenix had replied.

“Rooster, come on! What do you think it means?”

Rooster sighed, his first thought was that it meant that Eliza had feelings for him, but he kept doubting himself.

“So, you don’t think it would be weird for me to text her tomorrow?”

“If you send her a good morning text, I can guarantee you she’ll be thinking about it all day.”

Rooster grinned, drumming his hands on his steering wheel happily.

“Thanks for the tip.”

Rooster started his car, turning on his music. Just Like Heaven by The Cure was the first thing on shuffle.

“‘Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick, the one that makes me scream.’ She said, ‘The one that makes me laugh.’ She said, and threw her arms around my neck.”

Rooster rolled down his window, cranked the volume, and sang along, feeling lighter than he ever had. He couldn’t stop thinking about Eliza and Rooster didn’t want to, he was finally starting to feel like Phoenix was right, that maybe Eliza was also developing feelings for him. Hangman crossed his mind briefly, and Rooster felt even more elated. For once, Rooster couldn’t wait to wake up and get to flight exercises tomorrow to rub his progress with Eliza in Hangman’s face.

“You, soft and only! You, lost and lonely! You, strange as angels dancing in the deepest oceans, twisting in the water. You’re just like a dream, you’re just like a dream.”

Rooster began pondering what to send Eliza the next morning, he couldn’t believe how nervous he felt over a simple text message, and spent the rest of his drive home mentally writing and rewriting his message. As he pulled into his driveway, Rooster felt confident in his message, and went to bed with a smile on his face, dreaming of the way Eliza had smelled: sunscreen, roses, and sea salt. Only 24 more days until the wedding. Rooster thought as he fell asleep.

Eliza woke up the next morning and couldn’t believe her own nerve. Just kissing Rooster like that, with no provocation, what had come over her? A fair amount of alcohol, I guess. She thought, remembering the stunned look on Rooster’s face as she had gotten in her car, and looking into her rearview mirror to see him frozen in place. Did he think it was weird? She wondered, rolling over to pick up her phone.

Eliza’s heart jumped into her throat when she saw a text from Rooster.

“Good morning, Eliza. I loved hanging out with you so much yesterday! I hope today is great and hopefully I’ll see you tonight at the Hard Deck.”

Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it! As always, my inbox is open for request, comments, questions, etc!

Taglist

@thegirlwhowishesonstars

@yupppppsposts

@burningcoffeecupp

@chey-13

@the-untamed-soul

@utterly-in-like

@jayla1234

@madison--xoxo

@massivealienartisaneagle

@caelipartem

@datingbtr

@strawberryfox-16

@marissabo

@heaven-bvck

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

Text

All Bets Are Off: Chapter 6

Opening Info

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC!Penny’s Niece

Warnings: Drinking, Swearing

Word Count: 3148

A/N: I can't wait for you guys to read this one!! When I tell you I've been staring at it in my post queue!! Hope you and enjoy, and as always requests are open!

Masterlist | Tag List | Request

Eliza had first serve and she stepped back behind the line, lining up her serve, tossing the ball into the air, jumping up after it and slamming the ball. Rooster managed to get in front of the ball, bunting it back over the net. Eliza leaped into the air again and slammed the ball into the sand inches away from his outstretched fingers as Rooster face planted.

“A valiant effort.” Eliza called as she turned to receive her team’s cheers. “Maybe I’ll let you get one in, you know, for your ego.”

Rooster grimaced as he dusted sand off his torso, catching Elsa’s eyes following his hand slightly. “I appreciate the consideration.” He grunted.

Eliza lined up her next serve, and Rooster didn’t even touch it, or the next one, or the next two. “Come on, Rooster! This is getting boring!” Hangman jeered.

“I’m on your team!” Rooster yelled back.

Eliza laughed, “This one is a soft one, okay?”

Rooster shook his head, “Just give it to me.”

Eliza bunted the ball over the net, directly to Rooster, who popped the ball back over. Eliza vollied it back, allowing Rooster to spike the ball. As the ball passed over the net, Eliza jumped up, tapping the ball back down gently, where it landed in the sand, before Rooster could even move.

“And that’s six out of ten, Eliza shuts Rooster out!” Fanboy cheered as he walked over to Rooster, holding an empty water bottle like a microphone, “So, Rooster, any words after your crushing defeat?”

Rooster scoffed, “At least I got beat by the best.”

Eliza grinned at him from across the net, “That’s the spirit, Rooster!”

After the game, Eliza jogged over to where Rooster was grabbing a water bottle from the cooler. Annoyingly, she had barely broken a sweat, compared to Rooster who was dripping. Eliza said “Good game, Rooster. Sorry I didn’t go easy on you, it’s just not in my nature.” She shrugged and smiled.

Rooster found he couldn’t be even a little bit mad at her, and smiled back, “It’s kind of nice to get beaten so hard. It’s good for the ego.”

Eliza bumped his shoulder with hers and grinned wider, “Thanks for inviting me, Rooster. I’m really glad I met you.” She paused for a moment, “You guys. I’m glad I met you guys.”

Rooster wasn’t sure whether she was sunburned or blushing, but replied, “We’ve loved having you around, it’s been nice for… us to get to know you.”

Eliza cocked her head at him and smiled when he hesitated, and he knew that they understood each other, but he still couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Before he had a chance to say anything else, Halo was calling him over to cheers to their loss with the team. As he jogged over, Rooster noticed Halo staring daggers at Eliza, who seemed to be oblivious to her gaze. “Sorry I couldn’t bring it home for us.” Rooster said, raising the beer he’d just been handed.

Halo rubbed his shoulder, “It was just fun to watch you out there!”

Rooster knitted his brow at her and took a sip of his drink. Once the group resumed conversation, Rooster tried to slip away to get back to Eliza, but Halo grabbed his arm. “Come on, Bradshaw, you’re not slipping away from us so easily!”

Rooster gave her a close lipped smile and took another drink of his beer, looking back at Eliza, who was now talking to Bob and Phoenix by the drinks.

“So, what’s this I hear about you and Rooster going to a wedding together?” Phoenix asked, grinning at Eliza.

“Well, I figured who better to make an ex feel like something of a failure than to bring the exact kind of person he would have worried about when we were together with me to a wedding that I know he’s going to be at?” Eliza shrugged.

Bob laughed, “You’re not as sweet as you come across, are you?”

Eliza just smirked and took another drink of her beer, casting a glance over at Rooster. Eliza did a small double take when she noticed Halo grab Rooster’s arm and smile up at him. Her stomach turned, and Eliza quickly looked back at Phoenix and Bob, who had noticed her watching Rooster.

“I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.” Phoenix whispered.

“I’m not–” Eliza caught herself, she had been about to say “not worried about her,” but she thought better of it and finished her sentence with, “...sure what you’re talking about.”

Phoenix rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”

Bob hadn’t lost where the conversation had been going, however. “So, why would your ex have been worried about Rooster?”

“Because I’ve always had a thing about the eighties, and he looks like just stepped out of a Tony Scott movie.” Eliza shrugged, trying her hardest to come off as nonchalant, “I’m not going to deny that he’s good looking, too.”

“Who is?”

Eliza froze. “A young Harrison Ford. We were talking about Star Wars.”

Rooster raised his eyebrows, “You’re a Star Wars fan?”

“Huge.” Eliza looked around at them, “I’m not kidding!” She held up her arm, revealing a Millenium Falcon tattooed over her elbow.

Phoenix looked perplexed, “Hmm, I guess so.” She shook her head, “Rooster, remember when you were good at volleyball?”

“I’m still good at volleyball, Eliza is just some kind of pro.” Rooster smiled at her.

“Not pro, just collegiate.” Eliza smirked at him and winked, and Rooster’s heart raced.

“Way out of our league.” Rooster couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Oh my God, Bob!” Phoenix grabbed his arm, “We have to go over there right now!” She dragged him away, shushing him as he stammered out questions.

“Everyone here is weird.” Eliza said, laughing.

“I wish I could argue with you.” Rooster finished his beer, and tossed the bottle into a nearby trash can. “‘Leave it better than you found it,’ right?”

Eliza grinned, “I’m rubbing off on you.” She blushed slightly, feeling slightly self-conscious about her word choice. Eliza finished her own beer, and threw it into the trash can as well, and let her hair out of her ponytail. Rooster couldn’t take his eyes away from her as Eliza ran her fingers through her hair, raking it back up into a ponytail again.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Rooster felt like the seconds after the words left his mouth were some of the longest of his life as he waited for her reply.

Eliza smiled wider, “Sure!” She gestured to the cooler, “Shall we walk and drink?”

Rooster nodded, and grabbed them both beers, “I’m glad you’re having fun, everyone really likes you.”

Eliza laughed, “I think we went over this already.”

“I guess so, but it bears repeating.” Rooster gave her a long look, and Eliza felt butterflies in her stomach. “So, this wedding.”

Eliza nodded, “The wedding.”

“What exactly is the situation?” Rooster asked, “Am I your boyfriend?” Eliza raised her eyebrows at him. “For the wedding, I mean.” He added.

“I hadn’t really thought too much about it honestly.” Lie. “I guess we keep it kind of mysterious? We can just say ‘We came here together.’ and leave it at that.” Eliza shrugged, thinking it over, “But, I’m not going to lie, it would be satisfying to see Grady’s face if I told him we were together.” She smiled at him for a moment. “You know what? Why not?”

Rooster cocked his head slightly and smiled, “Should I shave for the occasion?” He stroked his mustache thoughtfully.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.” Eliza said, realizing as it came out of her mouth that she’d responded too soon. Rooster was smirking at her, and she cleared her throat. “I mean, it suits you, so I don’t think so, but if you want to, obviously I can’t stop you.” She suddenly became very interested in the ocean, and wouldn’t look back at Rooster.

Rooster ran his fingers through his hair, “I guess I’ll have to keep it since you like it so much.”

Eliza gritted her teeth slightly, and forced herself to meet his eyes; she summoned up all her nerves and choked out, “Good.” That didn’t sound as confident as I wanted it to.

Rooster laughed. “I mean, how could I be Geraldo without the stache?”

Eliza was smiling, “I mean that’s what I have you saved in my phone as, so yeah, you definitely have to keep it, or else it just won’t make any sense!”

Rooster stopped. “Do you actually have me saved as ‘Geraldo’ in your phone?”

Eliza laughed and pulled out her phone, showing him his contact, and sure enough, “Why would I lie about that?”

Rooster asked, “Why am I the only one with a nickname?”

“I guess you’re just special.” Eliza kept walking, and looked over her shoulder, “Or maybe I found out the backstory of your call sign.”

Rooster smirked, “I told you, locker room jokes.”

“I’m not asking any questions!” Eliza said, her cheeks noticeably flushed. “At least, not any more questions.”

Rooster smiled and bumped his shoulder into Eliza’s. “I’m an open book.” He winked.

Eliza threw her head back and laughed, “Damn Hangman, when did you learn how to possess people?”

Rooster clasped his hands over his heart, “Ouch, Benjamin!”

“It’s ‘Benjamin,’ now, is it?” Eliza stopped, crossing her arms and pretending to pout. “Fine, Bradshaw.”

Rooster stopped, pretending to square up with Eliza, “I’m not afraid of you, volleyball goddess.”

“You should be, Lieutenant Bradshaw!” Eliza replied, putting up her fists and dropping into a fighting stance. “For all you know, I’m also a jiu jitsu expert!”

Rooster stopped, “Are you?”

“Maybe!”

Rooster looked at her for a second, “Drop your phone.” He said. Eliza looked confused. “Come on!”

“Rooster–”

“Just trust me!” He begged. Eliza dropped her phone, Rooster looked at her for a moment then picked her up and carried her into the ocean, tossing her gently into the waves.

Eliza popped out of the ocean, spitting and stunned. For a brief moment, Rooster was worried that she was mad, but then Eliza looked up at him with a smile, “You’re so dead!” She lunged forward, taking him out by the knees and knocking him into the surf. “And you’re supposedly one of the finest the military has to offer.”

Eliza flexed as she stood over him, and Rooster took the opportunity to grab her by the waist and drop her back into the water. “I let you get that one.” He replied.

“Sure you did.” Eliza said, pausing for a moment and then lunging at Rooster again. This time he caught her by the waist, but as he went to drop her in the waves, she wrapped her arms around his neck at the last moment, pulling him into the water with her.

Rooster sat up, wiping water out of his eyes, and looked down to see Eliza on her knees, looking up at him and laughing. They seemed to realize the position they were in simultaneously, and Eliza shot to her feet, while Rooster took a big step back.

“There you guys are!” Hangman was jogging down the beach towards them, stopping at the edge of the water, “What were you guys doing?” He crossed his arms.

“Rooster here just had to take his revenge for the volleyball game.” Eliza called back, panting.

“Well, we’re about to light up the grill, so you guys should come back.” Hangman turned on his heel and stormed away.

Eliza smiled at Rooster, “I guess we should rejoin the group.”

“Had to happen sooner or later.” Rooster looked disappointed.

Eliza stretched out her hand, smiling when Rooster laced his fingers through hers, “Let’s go, Geraldo.”

Rooster and Eliza were still holding hands when they walked back to the group, dropping them quickly when Phoenix did a double take. “What the fuck?” Phoenix mouthed to Eliza, who just shrugged in response.

Hangman was glaring daggers at Rooster on one side of the fire, as Rooster and Eliza sat down next to each other, their legs barely grazing against each other, and on the other side of the fire Halo was staring at Eliza with a deathly serious expression on her face.

Coyote was manning the grill, and soon called Rooster over to help him with the burgers. Seconds after Rooster stood up, Eliza felt a tap on her shoulder. Halo was standing behind her, frowning. “Can I talk to you?”

“Uh, sure.” Eliza stood up and followed Halo a few steps away from the fire. “I don’t think we’ve actually been formally introduced, I’m Eliza, and–”

Halo held up a hand. “Save it.”

“Oh okay.” Eliza was confused.

“What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Rooster?” Halo crossed her arms.

Eliza looked over at Rooster by the grill, then back to Halo, “We’re friends, why?”

Halo breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh thank God! I’d heard a rumor that you guys were going out already.”

“I mean, he is coming with me to a wedding in about a month, but that’s platonic.”

“You don’t sound entirely sure all of a sudden.”

Eliza opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before stuttering, “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here.”

“What’s going on here is I have been laying the groundwork with Rooster for weeks, and then you come in and suddenly you’re all he talks about.” Halo looked over her shoulder at him. “I just wanted to make sure things weren’t going to get complicated between us.”

Eliza smiled, “Okay, I see.” She shook her head slightly, “Look, Halo, I don’t want things to be complicated between us either, and I’m definitely not going to get sucked into any kind of competition with you, so how about we both just continue to be normal human adults, and not threaten each other with vague drama?”

Halo looked stunned. “I–okay.”

“Cool!” Eliza smiled, “I was going to grab another beer, do you want one?”

Halo shook her head, still looking a little shocked, “No thanks.”

Eliza smiled and walked away, bumping into Phoenix at the cooler, “What was that about?” Phoenix whispered.

“Apparently, Halo has been laying ‘groundwork’ with Rooster and I’m interrupting it.” Eliza rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how to really take it, honestly. I’m obviously not going to stop hanging out with Rooster, but I also have left the drama phase of my life far, far behind me.”

Phoenix rolled her eyes, “Halo can be a little catty, but she’s entirely harmless. Her bark is way worse than her bite.”

Eliza laughed, “Then I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” She looked up at the grill and found Rooster was already looking at her, Eliza grinned, and he raised his beer to her. “I’ve also literally never heard Rooster talk about her.” Phoenix snorted into her beer.

Rooster walked over, “Ladies.”

Phoenix laughed, “I love the way you said ‘ladies,’ but were only looking at Eliza.”

Rooster tore his eyes away from Eliza to make eye contact with Phoenix, “Hi Phoenix.”

“You know I’m messing with you.” Phoenix stopped for a moment and then looked back and forth between them, “So, you two came back from a solo walk soaking wet, and holding hands. What was that about?”

Rooster looked at Eliza, clearly unsure of what to say next. “We’re–I just–well, we were just kind of… I don’t know what to say that won’t sound like a euphemism.”

Phoenix laughed, “Why are you worried about sounding euphemistic?”

Rooster rolled his eyes, “Because of you!”

Eliza laughed, “I’m going to sit back by the fire, thanks to someone, I’m absolutely drenched and now I’m getting cold.”

“Oh, shit. Here!” Rooster tossed her the towel he’d brought. “It’s clean, don’t worry.”

“At first, I wasn’t worried that you would hand me a dirty towel, but now that you said that, I am.” Eliza chuckled, nonetheless, she wrapped the towel around her shoulders, enjoying the way it smelled like him: sandalwood and bourbon.

Watching Eliza sit down by the fire, Rooster whispered to Phoenix, “I don’t know what to do about her.”

“What do you mean?”

Rooster sighed, “It feels like she just wants to be friends.”

“Right, she was holding your hand as a friend.” Phoenix said, rolling her eyes. “Rooster, nut up.”

Rooster looked at Phoenix, stunned. “What?”

“Seriously, dude. Ask her on a real date. She’s obviously going to say yes, and you're obviously meant for each other.” Phoenix sighed.

“I’m not doing anything to risk going to the wedding with her.” Eliza was laughing with Bob as he struggled to keep a s’more on a skewer. “What if I ask her out and she says no? I can’t imagine she’d still want me to come with her.”

Phoenix placed her hand on his shoulder, “I swear you’re overthinking things.”

Rooster shook his head. “Maybe so, but I can’t risk it.”

From across the beach, Hangman called, “What do you hooligans think about moving this party to the Hard Deck?”

The group cheered, and Rooster found himself looking at Eliza across the fire, admiring the way she glowed when she smiled and laughed, and feeling a rush of giddiness when he thought about how far they’d come since the last time he’d seen her like this, sitting across a campfire. Eliza smiled at him, oblivious to the small ruckus going on around her as the group started packing up. Hangman came up behind Eliza and touched her shoulder, offering to take her chair.

Rooster felt a hand on his shoulder and looked down to see Halo staring up at him. “Hey Rooster, I’m a little too drunk to drive, can you give me a ride?”

Rooster looked back to Eliza, who now had her back turned, throwing away trash. “Sure, I guess.” Halo looped her arm through Rooster’s and she leaned on him as they walked up the beach.

“Oof.” Hangman said to Eliza. “Looks like someone has their eyes on your man?”

Eliza rolled her eyes. “Please, Rooster isn’t ‘my man,’ and anyone can have their eyes on him, as far as I’m concerned.”

“That’s good to hear.” Hangman smiled at Eliza. “Can I help you carry anything?”

Eliza smiled back at him, “Hangman, I’m starting to believe the ‘excitable puppy’ excuse. You’re a gentleman sometimes.”

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: I’m a joy.” Hangman leaned over and picked up her bag. “Lead the way, Miss Benjamin.”

Eliza laughed, feeling a little more flustered than she’d expected to, “Follow me, Lieutenant Seresin.”

They walked out to her car and Hangman loaded Eliza’s bag into her backseat. “I’ll see you at the Hard Deck?”

Eliza smiled as she got into her car, “See you there!”

Thank you for reading and I hope you loved it! Chapter 7: coming soon to a tumblr dashboard near you!

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

Text

All Bets Are Off: Chapter 5

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x OC!Penny's Niece

Warnings: Drinking (you can probably count on that one for every part), Swearing, Smut (18+, Minors stay away!)

Word Count: 4660 (lol)

A/N: A lot happens in this chapter! We also get to see a little bit more of Hangman in this chapter! Thanks for reading, and as always my inbox is open!

Masterlist | Tag List | Request

Eliza woke up the next morning still thinking about the fact that she had asked Rooster to come to Margot's wedding with her. That took balls on my part, for sure. She shook her head, and rolled over to grab her phone, texting Ian:

“He said yes.”

Eliza watched him read her response, before Ian replied:

“I told you he would. Didn’t you see how he was looking at you all night?”

Eliza held her phone close to her chest for a moment, feeling a rush of sudden giddiness, and replied:

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ian simply replied with two eye roll emojis, and Eliza got up to get ready for the day; she decided a jog on the beach would be the best thing to clear her mind. No shitting where you eat, Eliza. She reminded herself, It’s just for the wedding and piss off Grady, nothing more.

Eliza found herself struggling more than she’d anticipated to keep her thoughts off of Rooster as she jogged: how velvety his voice was, how confident he made her feel, and how fun and easy he was to talk to. Eliza felt like she’d known Rooster for years, and had to remind herself that it had only been about two weeks. Eliza began comparing Rooster and Grady in her mind. Where Rooster was brave and decisive, Grady had been unadventurous and largely afraid of commitment; where Rooster made Eliza feel alive and like she could truly be herself, Grady had made her feel like she constantly had to dilute herself. Even Aunt Penny approves… Eliza thought, before catching herself. No, this is the first time I’ve been single in years, I don’t need to rush into something with someone like him.

When Eliza returned home, she was bored and pacing around her living room, with a few hours to go before her shift at the Hard Deck, and she was finding it even harder to keep her mind off Rooster. Eliza picked up her phone and typed out a message to Phoenix, pausing before she hit send:

“Hey! Would it be weird if I asked you for Rooster’s number?”

What am I doing? She thought, This is not the way to get your mind off him. Eliza went to delete the message, but paused again, Unless, I just get him out of my system! For all I know, I don’t actually want a relationship with him, I could just want to fuck him and move on.

Eliza hesitated again for a moment, then pressed send. Fuck it. She thought, What’s the absolute worst that could happen?

Rooster had just finished a run as well when his phone buzzed on his kitchen counter, it was a message from Phoenix:

“I think you should know that a certain someone just asked me for your number…”

Rooster’s heart leapt into his throat, he hurriedly typed back:

“Give it to her!”

Phoenix laugh-reacted to his message, then responded:

“Just did.”

Rooster set his phone back down his kitchen counter and took a couple of steps away from it, steeling himself for the fact that the next text he got could be from Eliza. Maybe she wants to talk about the wedding? But she said that was about a month away… He wondered.

Sure enough, moments later his found buzzed again, Rooster slowly raised the screen to his face, his heart jumping when he saw a text from an unknown number that read:

“Hey Rooster! It’s Eliza Benjamin. I hope you don’t mind, but Phoenix gave you my number!”

Before he had time to respond, another came through:

“I was just wondering if there was any kind of documentation you needed from me to get away from the base for the wedding, which is in Orange County.”

Eliza was proud of herself, she felt like that was a good conversation starter that was also casual. Eliza found herself feeling nervous again, as watched him read the messages and start to respond.

“I should be able to get the paperwork through pretty easily, but just in case, will you send me a picture of the invite?”

Eliza’s phone buzzed again:

“Also, what's the dress code for this wedding? Am I showing up in dress whites?”

The image of Rooster in dress whites made Eliza’s face flush, she replied:

“I think so. It’s an evening wedding, so it’ll probably be pretty formal.”

Eliza thought for a second, and then feeling bold said:

“I can send you a picture of my dress so you can kind of get an idea if you want…”

Rooster groaned, and ran his fingers through his hair while he considered a response. While he desperately wanted to see Eliza in her dress, Rooster wasn’t sure if it would be weird to ask. She did offer… He thought to himself. Rooster thought for another moment, and realized how long his typing bubble would have been up on her screen.

“Sure.”

As Rooster pressed send, he wondered what her dress must look like. Rooster knew she had a great body, and he selfishly hoped she’d show it off, but he knew Eliza to be more low key than most. Before he had to consider any further, his phone buzzed again, and an image loaded on the screen: it was a picture of Eliza in a deep green silk dress that hugged her every curve. Rooster’s breath caught in his throat as he typed a reply, his fingers shaking slightly:

“Gorgeous, as I expected. I’ll have to step it up to be seen with you.”

Rooster smirked at his response, proud of it. Running his fingers through his hair again, Rooster thought about how much Eliza affected him. While there was no doubt she was one of the more beautiful people Rooster had ever met, Eliza was also kind and outgoing and always seemed truly interested in what the person she was talking to had to say, even with Hangman. Hangman! Rooster thought, Have I won the bet?

Hurriedly, Rooster called Phoenix, who answered sleepily, “Hello?”

“Phoenix, I may have won the bet, but I’m not sure if it counts.”

“Really?” Phoenix sounded much more alert. “I wondered why she asked for your number. Do tell.”

Rooster sighed, feeling slightly self-conscious. “Eliza asked me to go to a wedding with her to get back at her ex.”

Phoenix was silent for a moment, “Rooster, I don’t think you technically won the bet, since she asked, but you’re going to.”

“What do you mean?” Rooster’s heart was pounding.

“Eliza specifically asked you to go to a wedding with her, and she told you she wanted you to come to make her ex jealous?” Phoenix asked.

“Specifically, to make her ex feel insecure, but yes.” Rooster thought for a second, hazily recalling the conversation and wishing he hadn’t had quite so much to drink, “She said it’s because I’m a handsome fighter pilot who looks like her favorite TV show characters or something.”

Phoenix whooped loudly, making Rooster jerk the phone away from his ear and swear, “Sorry, Rooster, it’s just you’ve got her on the hook now, you just have to reel her in.”

“Phoenix, I have no idea what that means.” Rooster was pacing his kitchen, “If you have information will you please just tell me instead of feeding me weird little metaphors?”

Phoenix laughed, “I don’t have any more information than you do on this, but for what it’s worth, if I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t ask a guy to a wedding with me unless I was at least okay with some romantic shit happening between us.”

Rooster grinned, “Thanks Phoenix. Did I wake you up, by the way?”

“The both of you did a little bit, but it’s worth it.” Phoenix paused for a moment, “Do you want me to do some reconnaissance for you?”

Rooster thought for a second, “Are you going to be low key?”

“I’ll do my very best, scout’s honor.” Phoenix quipped.

“I’m not sure I believe you. How do I know you won’t just tell her I asked you to ask her about me?” Rooster felt very nervous.

“What, are you afraid she’ll find out you like her?” Phoenix laughed again, “You both obviously like each other, and are just being shy about it. I think you should just get over yourselves and get married already, personally.”

“Ha ha.” Rooster sighed. “I don’t know that she likes me, I just think she likes me better than Hangman, and while I’m happy to have won that battle, I don’t think it means I've won the war.”

Phoenix huffed. “Whatever, Rooster. Now can I go back to my hangover nap, please?”

Rooster laughed, “Yeah, sorry. I’ll talk to you on base later.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Phoenix groaned as she hung up the phone.

When Eliza arrived at the Hard Deck, she found Hangman sitting on the steps outside, with a bouquet of flowers in hand. “I don’t think Penny’s mad at you, Hangman, she just likes making you buy rounds.” She smiled down at him.

Hangman grinned back, looking cocky as ever, “Actually, these are for you.”

Eliza’s jaw dropped slightly, “For me? Why?” She hesitantly took the flowers from Hangman, noticing right away how amazing they smelled.

Hangman shrugged, “I don’t always make the best first impression, especially on beautiful women. I just get a little excited, I suppose.”

“So you’re saying that you’re not an over confident flirt, just an excitable puppy?” Eliza knit her brow, moving past Hangman to unlock the door. “So I’ve heard.”

“Precisely.” Hangman nodded.

“Well, come inside, I’m sure Penny has a vase for these somewhere, and I’ll get you a drink on the house as a thank you!” Eliza called over her shoulder as she walked in.

Eliza walked back into the kitchen, leaving Hangman alone at the bar; he pulled out his phone, and sent a picture of the empty Hard Deck to Rooster.

“You’re not the only one who gets alone time with her at the Hard Deck.”

Rooster read his message immediately and texted back:

“Happy for you, buddy.”

Hangman rolled his eyes, and looked up to see Eliza walking out of the kitchen with the flowers in a vase, she set them on the bar and smiled at them, “There, now I’ll be able to look at them all night.” Eliza looked at Hangman thoughtfully, then asked “What can I get for you, Hangman?”

“Just whatever IPA you like best.” Hangman answered, trying his hardest to look genuine.

Eliza wrinkled her nose at him, “IPA?”

“Or just whatever you recommend.”

Eliza nodded, opening a bottle and handing it to him. “So Hangman, I’m giving you a rare second first impression, try to beat your first first impression.”

Hangman grinned, “Well, I should have started off by asking you how you got into bartending.”

“I actually started off as a barista, but I picked up a couple of shifts as a favor to a friend, and fell in love with it. I got a job at that very dive bar, and worked there until I got my first big job.” Eliza smiled wistfully, “Bartending really is the job for me, it’s like being a barista, but you’re allowed to be mean to the customers.”

Hangman laughed, “Fair enough. What did you study in college?”

Eliza smiled, “Look at you, all interested!”

“I told you, I’m trying to make a better first impression.”

Just then, Penny walked in, preventing Eliza from responding, “Hangman!” She said, “You’re not who I expected to see in my bar an hour before it opens.”

Hangman finished his beer, “I was actually just leaving, Penny.”

“Oh, were you?” Eliza asked, looking a little disappointed.

“Yeah, I’ve got to be at the airfield in an hour.” Hangman said.

“And you just drank a beer?” Eliza asked, shocked.

Penny laughed, “Welcome to North Island, dear.”

Eliza shook her head, “So, I guess that means you and the gang won’t be here tonight?”

“No, but I’ll be sure to tell them you said hello.” Hangman smirked slightly and Eliza rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure you will.” Eliza waved to him as he walked out of the bar.

“What was he doing here?” Penny asked, looking suspicious.

Eliza shrugged, “He brought me flowers and said he wanted to fix his first impression with me.”

“Hmm, I wonder what he’s up to…” Penny wondered.

“Hey, maybe he’s just actually interested in me because I’m going to be a part of his life, whether either of us likes it or not!” Penny just shook her head and chuckled in response. “It may make you happy to know that I invited Rooster to come with me to Margot’s wedding next month, and he said yes.”

Penny clapped her hands excitedly, “Is Grady going to be there?”

“Of course, Margot’s fiance was his roommate junior and senior year, I think Grady may be a groomsman.” Eliza said casually.

“Oh, you’re sly, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re considering a relationship with Rooster, but you’re not willing to risk it unless you know you like him, so you’ve created an opportunity to find out while still giving yourself an out, if you don’t like him after all.” Penny said with her arms folded, “I admire your cleverness, I really do.”

“Oh please, Aunt Penny! It’s so a strategic move to get back at Grady. A man like Rooster would have had Grady shaking in his boots if he and I were ever in a room together, much less alone. If I let Grady think Rooster and I are dating, he’ll be thinking about it for the rest of the year, maybe his life.” Eliza scoffed.

Penny shook her head, “And then, when you and Rooster fall in love, the joke will really be on Grady, won’t it?”

Eliza started counting bottles in one of the fridges, “I really don’t know where you’re getting these grand ideas from, Aunt Penny. He’s arm candy, nothing more.”

“Do you realize that you’re setting yourself up to live out the plot of a romance novel?” Penny stood in front of her at the bar, “Please tell me you can at least see where I’m coming from here.”

Eliza raised an eyebrow at Penny, then shook her head. “I think it’s wishful thinking on your part making you see what you want to see.”

Hangman came strutting into the hangar where the pilots were meeting for a brief seminar before doing night time runs of the simulated course to see how they could handle shooting blind. “What’s up everyone?” He smirked as he sat down behind Rooster, Phoenix, and Bob.

“Where have you been?” Phoenix asked.

Hangman sat down and leaned back in his chair smugly, “It’s funny you should ask that, I actually have a message that will answer that question.”

There was a moment of silence, “Well?” Rooster asked.

“Well…” Hangman paused again.

“Jesus Christ, Hangman, just tell us so we can all get on with our lives.” Phoenix grumbled.

“Eliza. Says. Hello.” Making eye contact with each of them word by word.

“So, you were at the Hard Deck?” Bob asked.

“Is that what you texted me earlier? Because that was not very long ago, so you couldn’t have been there for longer than ten or fifteen minutes, tops.” Rooster said, crossing his arms.

“I wasn’t there for long, but I did leave her with a gift that she said she would display on the bar all night so she could look at it.” Hangman said smugly.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. “What did you bring her, Hangman?”

“Flowers.” Hangman replied, looking incredibly proud of himself. “Flowers that Penny also appreciated.”

“That sounds like a stretch.” Rooster said.

Hangman cleared his throat, “Fine, flowers that Penny didn’t seem to actively hate.” He shook his head, “Why doesn’t she like me?”

Phoenix laughed, “Because she has two rules and you break one of them like once a week!”

Hangman sat back and rolled his eyes as Bates began their seminar.

As the night went on, Eliza found herself missing Phoenix and Bob’s friendly faces, but looking for Rooster’s desperately in every person who walked in, just on the off chance that he would come by after whatever top secret flight practice he was doing. Much to her disappointment, the last call came with none of them showing up, and Eliza was locking up the door and walking out to her car in no time. Oh well, it makes sense that I’ll see him a little less now that he’s got this big mission. She thought, I do have his number, I could send him a text! As she pulled out her phone, she noticed the time: 2:37 am. I can’t text him this late at night. She thought, slipping her phone back into her pocket. On the other hand, She pulled her phone back out, He does know I’m a bartender, and what time the Hard Deck closes, so it makes total sense, actually.

“Missed you at the HD tonight! Hope all went well with flying and you didn’t have to run too many laps or whatever the military makes you do… hope to see you again soon!”

Maybe it was the two beers in her system, maybe it was the subconscious influence of her Aunt Penny, but she felt strangely confident as she pressed send.

Rooster awoke with every muscle in his body aching from what felt like thousands of push ups he’d had to do the previous night during a night time practice run. Every single time they’d flown the mission, they’d been shot down by the several anti-aircraft missiles the Air Force had now confirmed the location of. Rooster ran his fingers through his messy hair and checked his phone, immediately excited to see a message from Eliza; he thought for a moment, then typed out a response:

“And I would have preferred to be there. I wish it was laps, I’m currently using my feet to send this message, as my arms have fallen off due to the sheer number of pushups I had to do last night.”

Rooster laughed to himself, knowing that Eliza would find it funny as well, and hopped in the shower, allowing the hot water to work the knots out of shoulders. As showered, his thoughts drifted to Eliza, specifically, her in her black bikini at the beach. Rooster began stroking his cock gently as he pictured her soft, tan curves, lightly glistening with sweat, and began speeding up slightly as he remembered her running through the surf, her long braids sticking to her skin. Rooster’s mind returned to his often revisited thought of pulling her back gently by the braids, this time he imagine her still wearing her bikini top as he fucked her in his car the way he’d wanted to that night. Imagining himself pushing deeper and deeper inside her with each thrust, imagining the way she would gasp and moan when kissed and sucked on her neck, Rooster was already close to coming, and knew what thought would push him over the edge. He imagined her bent over, tilting her head back to look over her shoulder at him, eyes blown out with lust, and he could almost hear her whispering, “Rooster��”

With that thought on repeat in his mind, he finished, his hips thrusting stutteringly into his now slick fist, and Rooster gasped, having to almost physically hold himself back from moaning her name into the silence.

Rooster finished his shower and checked his phone again when he got out, seeing a text from Eliza which read:

“I bet your arms look even better now. ;)”

Rooster punched the air, then felt embarrassed despite himself.

“Come see them at the beach? We’re having a beach volleyball tournament, and you’re welcome to come watch or play!”

Eliza texted back immediately:

“What time and where?”

On the way to the beach, Eliza’s mind was racing, she’d been flirtier than ever before with Rooster and he’d definitely reciprocated. Maybe Aunt Penny is right? She thought, before shaking her head. No, I can’t think that way, because I’m enjoying being single and not looking for a relationship.

As she drove, she listened to Depeche Mode, trying to figure out how she was going to act when she was with Rooster face to face.

“When I’m with you baby, I’m out of my head. And I just can’t get enough, and I just can’t get enough!”

The song felt a little too real, but Eliza let it play.

“All the things you do to me, and everything you said. And I just can’t enough, and I just can’t get enough!”

Eliza knew she had to steel herself to see a shirtless, shiny Rooster, but she was also going to have to contend with this new version of Hangman, who she didn’t quite know what to make of yet, he certainly seemed to be trying to turn over a new leaf, and it wouldn’t be fair to deny him that, Eliza decided. He’s no certainly no Rooster, in any case. She thought.

“We walk together, we’re walking down the street, and I just can’t get enough! And I just can’t get enough!”

Eliza certainly didn’t feel like she could get enough of Rooster, every interaction left her wanting to know more and more about him, and she felt like he may have felt the same way, but before she had time to think much further, she was pulling into the beach’s parking lot.

Stepping out of her car, she noticed Phoenix and Hangman’s cars, as well as several other cars she recognized from the Hard Deck, but not Rooster’s. Without thinking she sat back down in her car, and turned it back on, having decided to pretend to have arrived just as he did so she had an excuse to walk down to the beach with Rooster. What’s wrong with me? She thought. This is so high school.

A few minutes later, Rooster came barrelling into the parking lot, blasting Duran Duran. Eliza grinned, loving that they had such similar taste in music. She watched him park, waited for him to turn his car off, then Eliza shut hers off, stepped out, and waved to Rooster. “Hey there!” She called walking towards him.

Rooster grinned and walked towards her, stopped a few steps away, tossing the beach towel off his shoulders, and flexing his admittedly noticeably larger arms for Eliza’s approval. She pretended to fan herself, and Eliza said “Do you have a permit for those guns? Because I don’t think California is an open carry state.”

Rooster laughed, and threw his towel back over his shoulder. “So, are you spectating or playing?” He asked as they walked down the beach together.

“Playing, for sure!” Eliza replied. “I love volleyball!”

“Nice! Hopefully you’ll be on my team, so I don’t have to beat you.”

Eliza just laughed, “Love the confidence, Rooster.”

As they approached the group, Eliza filed in line next to Phoenix where the two team captains, Halo and Fanboy were preparing to pick teams. Halo went first and chose Rooster for her team, causing a slight twinge in Eliza’s gut when he smiled at Halo as he walked over. Eliza tore her eyes away and focused her eyes on Fanboy, who, much to her surprise, smiled and said, “Eliza.”

As Eliza walked over to stand by Fanboy, she smirked at Rooster and said, “I suppose you’re going to have to beat me.”

Rooster felt himself flush, if he wasn’t crazy, then he felt like the chase was on. He ignored Halo was trying to lean into Rooster’s view, and called back, “I hope you can take it!”

Eliza simply laughed and shook her head as Halo and Fanboy continued picking teams. After the teams were chosen, the players assembled on the sand court, with Eliza positioning herself directly across from Rooster, who grinned at her, looking confident.

Eliza’s team started off the game with Fanboy serving the ball skillfully over the net, the other team vollied and returned, and when the ball was back on their side, Eliza made eye contact with Phoenix, who was playing as the setter, and motioned towards herself. Phoenix nodded and set the ball to Eliza, who leapt into the air and spiked the ball, which buried itself into the sand a couple of feet behind Rooster. Eliza and her team erupted into cheers as Halo’s team stood stunned on the other side of the net.

Rooster stared at Eliza in shock, and she called back, “Did I forget to mention that I played a little junior high, and then in high school, and then in college?” She grinned, as Rooster threw up his hands.

The rest of the game went quick, with Fanboy quickly wiping the floor with Halo’s team, and at the end of the game, Halo explained the next round of the tournament, “Alright winning team, divide up four v four, and play to fifteen!”

This round Eliza was playing Fanboy, Phoenix, and another pilot named Omaha, and they proved to be better than their competitors as well.

They then moved into two versus two, with Eliza and Phoenix demolishing Fanboy and Omaha. After that round, Halo announced that it was time for the winner’s tournament, and that whoever won the game would then be challenged by a member of the losing team.

“Sorry, Phoenix, but I’m afraid I have to do this.” Eliza said solemnly from across the net, before mercilessly spiking the ball just out of Phoenix’s reach.

Phoenix gasped and panted, “I mean, you don’t have to do this!” She replied.

As they played, Halo’s team consulted as to who they were going to send up against the winner. “It’s obvious that Eliza is going to win, and I say we send Rooster up against her, to throw her off.” Said Coyote, and many of the others nodded in assent.

Halo laughed, “Why would that throw her off? I’m the best player, why don’t I go up against you?”

Coyote rolled his eyes, “You may be the best player on our team, but you don’t stand a chance against her. Rooster and her have that weird tension going on, we’ll use that to our advantage.”

Halo looked noticeably put out, as Rooster asked, “Don’t I get a say in this?” He paused for a moment, “Also, what tension are you talking about?”

Coyote scoffed, “We don’t have time for that, their match is almost over. Everyone in favor of Rooster versus Eliza, say aye.”

The majority of the group murmured their agreement, and Rooster was soon getting his shoulders rubbed by Yale as Coyote and Halo attempted to give him a strategy talk. “Your main advantage is that you’ve got about a foot of height on her.” Halo said.

“We have seen that she can make up for it in vertical.” Rooster argued.

“It’s still your best choice, if you can just keep her from getting the ball over the net, you can keep the advantage!” Coyote said.

“Fine, fine.” Rooster muttered, but he was not looking forward to going up against Eliza.

Soon Phoenix and Eliza’s game was over, and Fanboy called over to Halo, “Who have you chosen to sacrifice?”

“Rooster.” Halo replied, pushing him forward slightly.

Rooster swallowed hard, and stepped forward, prepared to meet his fate. He stood across the net from her and shook her hand, but from the way Eliza was grinning, Rooster knew his team’s strategy of trying to throw her off wasn’t going to work. Well, how bad can it be? He asked himself, backing up, and readying for Eliza’s first serve. “Sorry in advance for this, Rooster!” Eliza called.

Rooster simply grimaced in response, and prayed that he wouldn’t be too humiliated.

Hope you enjoyed this latest installment as much as I enjoyed writing it! My inbox is open to comments, questions, critiques, etc! 💙

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samwritesstuff97 · 2 years

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All Bets Are Off: Chapter 4

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x OC!Penny's Niece

Warnings: Drinking, Swearing

Word Count: 3612 (I got a little excited)

A/N: Chapter 4, and we're starting to get to the meet of it! I did say this would be a slow burn, and now the match is being lit!

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Rooster crawled into bed, a little more drunk than he’d planned on being and reflected over the evening. Was he misreading signals or had it seemed like Eliza was interested in him? Or was she just nice and trying to make friends in a new town? He rolled over and faced his window, staring at the glow of the streetlight outside through his blinds. What if she treats everyone like this?

He shook his head and turned back over, looking at the clock: 3:25 am. Rooster signed. Might as well try and get some sleep.

Rooster opened his eyes and found himself in an empty Hard Deck, he walked up to the bar, looking for Penny, when he heard the kitchen door open behind him. When he turned, Rooster found Eliza standing there, wearing a tiny black dress and a smile. “Hi.” He said hesitantly.

“Hi Rooster.” Eliza was walking towards him, stopping inches away from him and sliding her hands over his chest. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?” Rooster asked, still confused. “Did we have plans?”

Eliza smiled coyly, “Not exactly…” She was running her fingers through his hair, and Rooster felt his knees start getting weak. “But I have some ideas of what we could do.”

Rooster placed one hand on her lower back, and used the other hand to tilt her chin up. “I think I can think of a few things as well.” He leaned in and kissed her. Eliza tasted like honey and whiskey, and Rooster could feel himself getting drunk off it.

Rooster ran his fingers through her hair, tugging it gently, eliciting a soft moan from Eliza, who had begun kissing and nibbling on his neck. Rooster reached up and slowly shifted the strap of Eliza’s dress off her shoulder,

Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Fuck.” Rooster swore, it was his alarm going off entirely too early. The first thought on Rooster’s mind was getting through the day so he could get to the Hard Deck and see Eliza.

Annoyingly, Hangman was waiting at the entrance to the hangar when Rooster arrived, “I heard you and Eliza had a ‘moment’ last night.” He said, looking cocky, as usual.

“Yeah, we talked for well over an hour after the Hard Deck closed.” Rooster kept walking, trying to pretend Hangman wasn’t on his heels. “I think it’s safe to say I’ve already made more progress with her than you’re going to.”

Hangman snorted, “I haven’t even been trying, buddy.”

“Interesting strategy.” Rooster stopped at one of the tables that had been set up.

Hangman sat down at the table behind Rooster, leaned forward and hissed, “Next time the two of you have a little talk, she’ll be telling you all about the great date we had.”

Rooster turned around, “Why are you even bothering with this bet in the first place? You’re not the relationship type.”

“There’s plenty of fun to be had without getting into a relationship, and you can still take a shot at her when I’m done.” Hangman winked.

Just then, Phoenix walked in and sat down at the table next to Rooster. “Tell me absolutely everything about last night!” She said, clapping her hands in excitement.

Rooster blushed, and said “It wasn’t a big deal, we just talked about why she’d moved and all of that.”

Hangman leaned in and placed a hand on Rooster’s shoulder, “And why was that exactly?”

“Ask her yourself.” Rooster scoffed, shrugging Hangman’s hand away.

Phoenix ignored Hangman and put her hand on Rooster’s other shoulder, “You mentioned a couple of tension-y moments?”

Rooster cut his eyes at Hangman, deliberating as to whether or not to discuss this around him. Fuck it. He thought, It’ll do him some good to hear this. “When we were saying goodbye, there were a couple of moments where it felt almost a little romantic? I flirted with her a little bit, and it felt like she was flirting back, but then she pulled away a little bit—“

“See?” Hangman interjected.

“But,” Rooster went on, “When I walked her to her car, she definitely flirted with me.”

Phoenix gripped Rooster’s shoulder tighter, “What did she say exactly?”

Rooster looked at Hangman, who looked perplexed and a little jealous, “Well, when she was getting into her car, she just sort of, I don’t know, touched my chest for like a second too long.”

Hangman rolled his eyes, “That’s nothing!”

“Has she ever even touched you, Hangman?” Phoenix asked.

“Well, no, but—“

“See?” Phoenix copied Hangman’s tone.

A hush fell over the room as Admiral Simpson addressed the assembled pilots, “Pilots, I’ve gathered you all together again because of the success with your last mission with Captain Mitchell,” Simpson looked at Rooster and Hangman, “Albeit a nontraditional success.”

He moved over to the lectern at the front of the tables and tapped the screen, pulling up an aerial map of what looked like jungle. “We have received intelligence that there are enemy training facilities located in different locations under the cover of the jungle in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Not only do these cells pose a threat to the US and its allies, they pose a threat to the locals in the surrounding area. This is a combined arms mission with the Air Force, who are doing reconnaissance and trying to triangulate the locations of the enemy's cells with as much precision as possible, because the area is sporadically populated with civilians.”

Simpson paused and changed the slide, it was now showing a schematic of a jet that Rooster had never seen before. “This plane is intended to be to follow up to the F-35. It’s still in the prototype phase, so you will be among the only people in the world who have ever heard of one, let alone flown one. Much of the knowledge we have about these planes is entirely theoretical, and you will be doing the bulk of the early data collection for these planes.”

Fritz raised his hand, “Sir, are these planes actually ready to fly a mission like this?”

Simpson’s jaw tightened slightly, “We’ll find that out as we go.” He sighed, and stared out at the young pilots in front of him, “If you have any more questions, please direct them to Admiral Bates, who will be overseeing your training.”

Rooster and Phoenix exchanged apprehensive looks, but when Rooster looked back at Hangman, he had a wide grin on his face. “Look at him,” Rooster hissed to Phoenix, “He’s eating this shit up.”

“Of course he is, he’s Hangman!”

Bates stepped up to the lectern, and changed the slide: now showing a flight pattern of four jets. “For the mission, we will have three flights of two teams: each with one gunner and one bomber, and two reserve teams. You will depart slightly staggered from each other so you will arrive at your targets as close to the same time as possible, giving our enemy as little time as possible to organize against you. The two bombers will drop payloads over a training camps while the gunner lays down covered fire and prevents any anti-aircraft missile hits.”

Rooster raised his hand, “Should we be expecting anti-aircraft missiles?”

“Very possibly.” Bates replied, his face inscrutable. “For now, it’s time to start practicing. Who will be on what team will be determined by your performance in these practice sessions, so I suggest you fly every mission as if it were the real deal.” Bates stared out at the pilots for a moment, with a similar look to the one Simpson had had on his face, a look that made Rooster’s stomach turn slightly. “Hopefully, we’ll have more information to pass on to you in the coming days, but we may not have time to do as much reconnaissance as we want. Every day that we wait is another day hundreds of innocent civilians are in danger.” He shut down the slideshow and clapped his hands together, “You’re dismissed. Go get suited up.”

After a long grueling day of painfully tedious bombing practice, Rooster, Phoenix, and Bob were relieved to be walking into the Hard Deck. “Just when I thought we might be getting to rest on our laurels a bit, they come up with something completely different, and yet somehow just as difficult to pull off.” Bob sighed.

Rooster shook his head in response, pushing open the door, and immediately scanning behind the bar for Eliza, much to his disappointment, he didn’t see her.

“Hi all!” Penny called when she saw them, “Why the long faces?”

“Penny, if you thought the last mission was going to be bad, this one might be worse.” Phoenix groaned, pulling out her card. “Scotch, neat, and keep it coming, please.”

“Yes ma’am.” Penny looked at Rooster and Bob.

“I’ll have what she’s having.” Bob said.

“Same here.” Rooster was looking around the bar again, trying and failing to be inconspicuous.

“Eliza isn’t working tonight, but she mentioned that she and a friend may be stopping by a bit later on, Rooster.” Penny said, putting the glasses down in front of them.

“Oh, I wasn’t–”

Phoenix laughed, “Of course you were!”

Rooster grimaced and knocked back his drink, enjoying the burn in his throat as it went down. “Since I’m that transparent, I may as well ask if you know about what time Eliza is coming by?”

Penny grinned, pouring him another one, “Probably in about an hour or so.” She pulled out her phone, “Oh actually, they’re on their way now.”

Am I really going to ask this? Rooster thought, I won’t be able to relax unless I ask. “What kind of a friend is it, out of passive curiosity?”

Phoenix oohed at Rooster, as Penny said, “Just an old college buddy, I know she mentioned he was in town for work, so I don’t think he lives around here.”

“He?” Phoenix asked, looking at Rooster, who simply tilted his drink to her.

“He,” Penny confirmed, looking over their heads at the door, “...Is walking in right now.”

Rooster whipped around to Eliza walking in front of a tall man who looked like the frontman of an indie band. “Hey guys, I’m so glad you’re here! This is an old friend of mine, Ian. And this,” Eliza gestured at the group, “Is Bob, Phoenix, and Rooster.”

“Pleasure to meet everyone!” Ian looked around, “This bar is different from everywhere in Chicago.”

“Chicago?” Phoenix asked, “What brings you to California?”

“I work in the marketing department of a tech agency, and our home office is in San Diego. I’m here for our big annual meeting, and couldn’t resist stopping in to see this one in her new stomping ground!” He laughed, “I assume you’re all taking care of her?” Rooster wasn’t sure if he was projecting, but it felt Ian looked at him when said that.

“More the other way around.” Bob grinned, “Eliza is the best bartender who isn’t Penny I’ve ever met.”

Eliza laughed, “A very diplomatic answer, Bob.” She looked at their glasses, “Scotch all around, huh? Rough day at the base?”

Rooster groaned, “You could say that again. We’ve been picked as the pilots who have to do the never-before achieved, strictly theoretical missions, evidently… again”

“Doesn’t that just mean you’re the best of the best?” Ian asked.

“No, the best of the best just walked in.” A voice came from over Ian’s shoulder.

“Ah, of course.” Eliza said, looking a little annoyed already, “Ian, this is Hangman, Hangman this is a college buddy of mine, Ian.”

“I’m the only ace in the group here, Ian.” Hangman gestured up and down his body, “You’re looking at the best fighter pilot of this generation.”

Ian knit his eyebrows together, “Cool.” He turned to Penny and handed her his card, “Could I get a gin and tonic, and a vodka soda with two limes for the lady here.”

Eliza laughed, “You remember my old drink!”

Ian feigned surprise, “You mean you’re not slamming vodka sodas these days?”

“I can’t picture you being a party kid.” Phoenix laughed.

“Eliza here partied with both the business students and the art students when we were in college.” Ian said, patting her on the back.

“I wanted to make sure I got the full experience!” Eliza said, sitting down on the stool next to Rooster and smiling at him, “I wanted the best of both worlds.”

Penny slid Ian and Eliza their drinks and said, “Don’t forget the theater kids, Elle. If I remember correctly, you ran with that crowd for a while there.”

“Theater kids, huh?” Hangman raised his eyebrows at Eliza. “I wouldn't have pegged you as the theater type.”

“You should hear her sing!” Penny called over her shoulder, walking away.

Eliza whipped her head around after her, “Penny!”

“It’s true.” Ian said solemnly, “Our Eliza played Sophie in Mamma Mia! our senior year.”

Eliza was staring at him, stunned, “Two of my favorite people in the world, betraying and embarrassing me in front of my new friends.”

“Well, now you absolutely have to sing for us.” Phoenix said, smirking at Eliza.

“Oh, that was years ago, please.”

Phoenix’s face lit up and she looked at Rooster, “Rooster will sing and play piano with you! It’ll be great, the whole bar will love it!”

Eliza looked at Rooster apprehensively, who looked at Phoenix, who nodded encouragingly at him, “Do you know any REO Speedwagon?”

“Do I know REO Speedwagon?” Eliza scoffed, taking him by the hand and leading him to the piano, several people noticed, and a hush fell over the room.

Rooster cracked his knuckles and smiled at Eliza, who was looking at him, still slightly wide eyed. “It’ll be great, just follow my lead.” Rooster began to play the opening notes to Can’t Fight This Feeling, and Eliza felt herself relax as he started to sing.

“I can’t fight this feeling any longer, and yet I’m still afraid to let it flow,”

Eliza joined in, harmonizing with him softly, and Rooster felt a chill flow through his body.

“What started out as friendship has grown stronger, I only wish I had the strength to let it show.”

Back at the bar, Hangman was rolling his eyes at Rooster and Eliza who were now fully singing out together, obviously having fun. “Is he serious?”

“What, you don’t think singing a cheesy eighties love song with a girl is a good way to get her to like you?” Phoenix asked.

Ian looked at Phoenix sharply, “Rooster’s pursuing Eliza?”

“You could say that.” Phoenix replied, avoiding Ian’s eyes.

“That’s not going to go well for Rooster.” Ian said.

Hangman leaned in, “And why is that?”

“Eliza has a strict no ‘workplace romance’ rule now. She met Grady because he was a regular at the coffee shop she worked at at the time. When they broke up, Eliza swore she would never go down that road again, and as far as I can tell, Rooster is a regular at this bar.” Ian shook his head, “If you don’t want him to waste his time, you might want to pass that along.”

Hangman sat back on his stool, “An extra layer of challenge, I see.”

Bob glared at Hangman, “What are you talking about?”

“Just that now, not only do we have to convince her to go out with us, we have to convince her to break a rule of her own.” Hangman shrugged.

“What’s this about ‘we?’” Ian asked.

“Hangman, don’t.” Phoenix said warningly.

“Oh nothing, it’s just a little bet Rooster and I have going as to who can get her to go out with us first.”

Ian looked around at them, “Are you serious? What is this, a mid-two thousands rom-com? Is Freddie Prinze Jr. going to walk in at any moment?” He shook his head again, “You’re really asking for it.”

“Asking for what?” Hangman said.

“You don’t want to piss off Eliza. She left Grady’s life in shambles, which he deserved, but was no less scary.” Ian answered. “I’m not sure exactly how she did it, but about a month after she left him, he’d lost his job and his parents were so furious over what he did to Eliza that they wouldn’t support him, so he ended up couch surfing.” Ian looked at Eliza, who was now standing up by the piano, singing into an empty beer bottle and grinning at Rooster. “On second thought, he may be willing to get her to break her rule. I haven’t seen her look at anyone like that maybe ever.” He said thoughtfully.

Penny had walked back over, “I think she would.”

Hangman looked at her incredulously, “I’m shocked and offended again that I get in trouble for being nice to her, and you’re actively in favor of Rooster dating her. Rooster may be outwardly nicer than me, but I’ll say it again, he’s not known for being the boyfriend type.”

Penny shrugged, “He already treats her better than Grady ever did.”

The song ended, and Eliza and Rooster bowed before walking back up to the bar laughing, Eliza leaned against Rooster slightly, squeezing his arm and smiling up at him, and Rooster felt like everything in the world went away except for the two of them, until Hangman’s voice broke through his consciousness. “You two are quite the songbirds.” He said, glaring at Rooster slightly.

“It was fun,” Eliza laughed, “I don’t think I’ve really sang in front of anyone else since college.”

“You’ll have to make it a tradition!” Phoenix said, trying to catch Rooster’s gaze. “Hey Rooster, can I talk to you for a quick second?”

Rooster knitted his brow, “Sure?”

Phoenix pulled him away by his arm and whispered, “Ian just gave me some very interesting information.”

“Tell me!” Rooster felt his heart racing.

“Well, he said that because her ex-fiance was a regular at a place Eliza used to work, she doesn’t want to get into a relationship with another regular.”

Rooster groaned, running his fingers through his hair, “At least that means she probably won’t get near Hangman.”

“But!” Phoenix held up her hands, stopping Rooster’s spiraling thoughts, “Ian did also say that he’s never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you ‘maybe ever.’”

Rooster looked over at Eliza who was laughing at something Penny had said. “I don’t know how to take that.” He sighed.

“It’s a good thing! Penny is in favor of it, too. You’ve got the foundation, you just need to build the house!” Phoenix said urgently.

Rooster watched Eliza talking to Ian, Bob, Hangman, and Penny. “I don’t know if I care about the bet too much anymore.” He said softly.

Phoenix smiled, “Then you definitely shouldn’t give up!”

The night was coming to a close, and Penny had called last call. Hangman, Rooster, Bob, Phoenix, Eliza, and Ian were still at the bar finishing their drinks. Phoenix sent a text to Bob under the bar:

“We’ve got to get Rooster and Eliza alone if we can!”

Bob glanced up at her for a moment, before typing back furiously:

“I agree, but how will we get Hangman to leave?”

Phoenix thought for a moment, and replied:

“We sacrifice poor Ian.”

Bob looked up at her with raised eyebrows, and Phoenix said, “Hey Ian, weren’t you saying earlier that you wanted to get a look at Hangman’s medal collection that he keeps in his car outside?” She raised her eyebrows at him, nodding her head slightly to Rooster and Eliza, who were in deep conversation about the merits of various new wave bands, and hadn’t noticed them.

Ian looked confused for a moment, then caught on, “Oh, yeah! Hangman, will you show me your medal collection that you keep in your car outside?”

Hangman looked confused, but relented, “Sure, follow me.” He set down a wad of cash on the bar, and left, Ian close behind him.

Phoenix turned to Bob, Rooster, and Eliza and said, “I think I’m also going to look at Hangman’s medal collection in his car outside. Bob, you’re coming too.”

She stood up, and Bob went to follow her, “I guess I’m coming too!”

Eliza turned to Rooster, “Why does everyone want to see Hangman’s medal collection all of a sudden?”

Rooster shrugged, “They’re drunk?” Eliza shrugged, enjoying the comfortable silence between them, before turning to Rooster with an introspective look on her face. “What are you thinking?” He asked.

“You wouldn’t want to do me a favor, would you?” Eliza asked.

“I most likely would.” Rooster replied, “What’s the favor?”

Eliza looked away, “It’s kind of embarrassing, but another friend of mine from college is getting married in about a month, and I was going to bring Ian with me, but he had a business trip come up, and Grady is going to be there, so I really don’t want to show up alone, and basically I was just wondering if you would be willing to be my date for the evening?” She rambled.

Rooster looked at her thoughtfully, “Why me?” He asked.

“Truthfully, you would make Grady really insecure.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you’re a handsome, hot shot fighter pilot who looks like the leading man in most of my favorite TV shows, and Grady was never really that secure to begin with.” Eliza was blushing.

“Handsome?” Rooster grinned at her.

“I’m sure you own a mirror.” Eliza replied, struggling to meet his gaze. “Will you come with me?”

“Of course I will.” Rooster finished his drink and stood up, “Anything to make a piece of shit ex-fiance squirm.”

I really hope y'all enjoyed this latest installment! I just finished chapter 5, and can't wait for y'all to see it!

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