for @seesgood !
when caroline walked into the navy bar, she stuck out like a sore thumb. not because she seems uncomfortable or confused in anyway, but because she was new and every guy there wanted to be the first guy to talk to her. clay thought a lot about what it was like for a girl to jump into the lifestyle that he lived. especially someone like caroline who - as matt said, had no real concept was that navy actually did. he left without warning, couldn’t tell a soul where he was going and had to keep it all inside. anyone who jumped into anything more than a friendship with a guy who lived that type of life had to be ready for it.
however, that didn’t stop him from at least going to say hi. saying hi was harmless, right? after giving the guys a quick nod for a bit of confidence, clay took a couple steps towards the bar. “caroline?” he extended a hand, “its clay, we met this morning at the coffee shop with matt. i wanted to come by and give you a proper virginia beach welcome.”