first_in_time | Trivial Matters [For Splendid

"I've never been to an army base before," Rose told Barbara as they pulled up outside the community hall, "do you think we'd be able to drop the boys home and have a look?"

"We don't have clearance. We wouldn't be allowed in." Barbara smiled at her friend.

"But you snuck in."

"That was different."

Dressed as nicely as they thought necessary for a fund raising trivia night, Barbara and Rosie locked the car and disappeared inside to find their table. Rosie looped her arm around Barbara's, as she often did, and grinned when she saw all the men in uniform. Barbara was having a little more trouble locating Ian - a great number of them looked the same from behind - then she saw him turn to laugh at something Stephen had said.

"Come on!" she said brightly to Rosie and the two women picked up their pace to meet their group.

"Gentlemen, this is my friend Rosie," Barbara told him once they'd joined up and she could reach for Ian's hand with her own. "Is there any reason uniform is being worn this evening?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

first_in_time

"I do not!" Barbara protested and as a result, didn't hear the next question. "Sorry, can you repeat that?" she called to the man and he did. Barbara thanked him and wrote in an answer. While waiting for the next question, she rested against Ian.

From:

splendid_roman

"I don't mind if you do fight dirty," Ian whispered to Barbara. Then he took the pen from her and doodled on the answer sheet. Although since he couldn't draw, it was just spirals he fitted into the margin.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara put her hand back on Ian's leg, although the place she rested was more the upper part of his upper thigh. She squeezed and rubbed back and forth.

"How's that?" she whispered back.

From:

splendid_roman

"Because it's fun," he whispered. Then nudged Barbara as another question was read out, although he kept hold of the pen.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara discussed the answer with Stephen and went to write it down before realising that Ian still had the pen.

"May I please have the pen back?" she asked nicely

From:

splendid_roman

He couldn't ask her for a kiss in return, so he held it out, but kept hold of it when she took it.

"Would you two like a room?" Stephen asked, grinning.

Ian blushed and let go of the pen, leaning away from Barbara.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara arched her eyebrows. "Don't be so hypocritical, Stephen. You've been nothing but overly flirtatious and borderline infatuated with Rosie since you met her forty minutes ago. And besides, we only get to see one another once every week or two, so I think we're allowed to be a little cuddly or flirty. At least he hasn't tried to show off at every opportunity."

She looped an arm around Ian's, since he was now leaning too far away for her to rest her head on his shoulder or cuddle up to him a little more. Alan reached out and slapped the back of Stephen's head.

From:

splendid_roman

"Ow," Stephen complained. "And Ian would be showing off if he thought he needed to."

"Barbara likes me perfectly well as I am," Ian said, his chin raised a little.

From:

first_in_time

"I do, yes," she added and then leand over to kiss his cheek without hesitation.

Rosie pulled a face. "You guys act as though you've been dating for years-"

"How long would you date for, Rosie?" Alan asked. He tried to seem casual but looked far too interested in her answer.

From:

splendid_roman

It felt like they'd known each other for years. Because they hadn't there was a lot of things they didn't know about each other, but Ian felt as comfortable with Barbara as if he had known her for years.

"As long as I needed to to make sure he was the right man for me," Rosie replied.

Alan seemed satisfied with that.

Having collected up the history round answers, they announced the next round was sport.

"I don't know anything about sport," Rosie admitted, as all three men sat up straighter, "so I think I'll powder my nose."

From:

first_in_time

"I think I'll join you," Barbara said and stood up with her. She noticed, as she stood, that Brown still had his arm tightly around the woman he walked in with whose expression hadn't changed much. She still looked a little terrified.

From:

splendid_roman

Rosie hadn't noticed, but then she had no reason to look over at Brown, who'd she'd never met. "You really like Ian a lot, don't you?" she asked Barbara, once they were in the Ladies.

From:

first_in_time

"I do, yes. I just wish that we could spend more time together." Barbara wet her hands and tried to tame a little more of her hair. "I told him that I loved him about a month ago when I snuck onto base. He didn't return it but I'm holing that he will soon."

From:

splendid_roman

Rosie paused in her digging around in her handbag to look over at Barbara. "Well, he should. What man wouldn't fall in love with you." She found her lipstick at last and reapplied it.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara moved a few pins around her head as she spoke; "I think he wants to fall in love with me, he certainly hasn't distanced himself since I said it, but I have to be patient. Which is difficult in all honesty."

She paused while concentrating on what she was doing with one stubborn curl. "What about Stephen and Alan? You'll have to make a decision there."

From:

splendid_roman

Rosie pressed her lips together, then sighed at her reflection. "They're both so sweet. Do I have to choose?"

From:

first_in_time

"Yes!" Barbara giggled, "I wouldn't worry too much about hurting feelings. There'll be other trivia nights and dances where they can meet someone."

From:

splendid_roman

"Well, perhaps I'll decide at the end of the night." She dropped the lipstick back into her bag, a habit that explained why she had trouble finding it. "Maybe by then I'll prefer one over the other."

From:

first_in_time

"I'll ask you if you don't tell me, you know that," Barbara said and pulled out her own lipstick to touch it up. Once she was finished, it went carefully back in her bag and she adjusted her dress so that it sat better.

From:

splendid_roman

"I will tell you," she promised, running her hands through her hair so it sat just a little more pleasingly. "I suppose we should go back out and see how manly they've been with the sports round."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara grinned at her friend. "Yes, I suppose we should."

She let Rosie lead the way and rolled her eyes when both Stephen and Alan got up and, for the second time that evening, tried to hold out her chair for her. Barbara sat next to Ian and tried her best to ignore them.

"How did you go with that round?" she asked Ian.

From:

splendid_roman

"I think we got them all right," Ian said confidently, putting a hand on Barbara's knee.

"It was easy," Stephen agreed, smiling at Rosie.

"Would anyone like another drink?" Alan asked, standing up. "We've got a little while before the next round."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara, Rosie and Stephen nodded in agreement, barbara asking for water since she was driving home, and Alan went to the bar. Since Stephen was doing nothing more than trying to draw in all of Rosie's attention, barbara turned to Ian and asked: "would you like to go for a walk?"

From:

splendid_roman

"All right," Ian agreed, since it would be good to get some time alone with Barbara. "We only have ten minutes though."

From:

first_in_time

"That's a shame but I'm sure we'll be alright," she said with a smile and took hold of his hand at her knee then stood from the table. Barbara might have told Rosie and Stephen where they were off to but she suspected that they wouldn't have cared, or wanted to know.

Outside it was a lovely night, and a few other couples had the same idea as Barbara and Ian. As they walk around to the (hopefully) less occupied side of the building, Barbara pulled Ian's hand around her waist.

"You look quite dishy in your uniform," Barbara told him with a smile, "it has been difficult to not pull you away sooner."