Hello there, again! Thank you for reading my story! My chapters will be relatively short, as I just find that best for my schedule and writing style. I'll be updating often, so please check back! Thank you for reviews!

I only own Esther! :) Enjoy!

Chapter Three-

Next thing she knew, Esther found herself between two men. They introduced themselves as Tipper and Talbert. When she smiled and shook Talbert's hand, a peculiar feeling grew inside of her and she blushed. He was so, so handsome.

Nasty Sobel, as she had learned, was making them run up a 3 mile mountain in the blistering Georgia heat. He kept yelling questions at them, and Esther didn't know any of the answers. Until he yelled, "And what company is this?" Finally! An answer she knew! At the top of her lungs she shrieked "EASY COMPANY!" and her high voice was easily heard over everyone else's. Sobel glared back at her, obviously livid he had to train a woman. Talb looked over at her and supportively smiled. When she noticed him, her sweaty face blushed. Boy, was he handsome!

She mentally slapped herself, as she reminded herself that she was here to train so she could fight. Finding love should be the last thing on her mind. But man, was he easy on the eyes.

A guy in front of her got his leg caught in a painful looking pothole, and Sobel snarled at anybody that tried to help him. A sudden nausea swept over her, she hadn't run this hard since her P.E. days in High School. Only 18 and nearly 19, Esther had just graduated, and nobody in her class would have guessed she would be doing this now.

Running hard with her arms pumping, she met Winters by a stone and she copied the other men by slapping the stone. Once she had reached the top of the mountain, Esther made her way down. The breeze greeted her beautifully, and the wind drowned out her loud panting. For once, she was able to enjoy herself.

That night, everybody introduced themselves. Malarkey stuck out his hand and his sweet face turned the same red of his hair when Esther winked at him. Guarnere was next, and he made a comment about her sissy hands. She started to chuckle, and then Bull came up to her, with a giant cigar hanging loosely in his mouth. His hand seemed to devour hers, and it disappeared into his goliath palm. In the distance Luz could be heard cracking a joke about Sobel, with one of his spot on impressions. Muck and Penkala were chorusing their laughter. She had gotten acquainted with them earlier, and as Malarkey walked over to greet them, Esther couldn't help but smile. Shifty, who was about the most handsome thing she had ever seen, stuck his hand out for hers. But he quickly snatched it up and brought it to his lips. Good Lord, were they soft. She melted inside, but stayed stern as all the boys whistled. She was already in love this company.

Every time she glanced over at Perconte he would be gazing at her, and then he would wink. All the boys had informed her that he had for the hots for her. Great. He was cuteā€¦ but elf cute. Hoobler, oh, Hoob. He always blushed when she even spoke a word to him. He was as adorable as Dixie.

As Esther replayed her meetings with all of Easy in her head, the thought of Dixie had hit her hard. Even though she was so busy with training, her baby sister was always on her mind. She sat up and scooted to the edge of her cot, as she was bothered with her sudden ping of homesickness. As she leaned against the wall, her hand once more went up to her neck and she began to fondle the locket. Her stirring had awakened her neighboring Tab.

Talbert had become her closest friend as the past weeks wore one. He understood her feelings, as he had a kid brother back home in Kokomo. They went on long walks, where they spent hours chatting about everything under the sun. When they shared these special moments, Talb always had a certain look about him. When he arose from his bed to hers, the moonlight highlighted that certain look. Inside she swooned, but was soon reminded of Dixie and let out a sigh.

Floyd sat next to her, and nonchalantly brushed a strand of hair from her face, revealing her quickly swelling eyes. He silently brought her into a hug, and hot tears began cascading down her face. Everything about this place reminded her of home. Bull's cigar reminded her of her father, and the habit he never could kick. When she would pull her hair back into a tight French braid, she began to miss her mother. And when the American flag caught her eye, Dixie's sweet face flashed in her memory.

Crying had always drained all of her energy, and she soon drifted off to sleep whilst in Talb comforting hold. He gently lay her down, as he knew she would need her rest for the hard training Sobel had prepared for them the next day.

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