Bailey felt like a whole new person, she really did. She had new clothes, a few pairs of new shoes and she just got a hair cut. She now had bangs and a short bob, her hair barely passing her jaw line. She sighed and smiled as Cody drove to the grocery store.

“So why are we going to the grocery store again?” she asked.

“We’re going for food, why else would we go? We’re short now that you’re staying there. Why you so….joyful?” he smirked.

She laughed, “I don’t know? I feel like a new person, to be honest. I know that must sound strange considering I practically have a new life but now it kind of feels like it now, like its finally hitting me.” she smiled to herself.

“You got all that from new clothes and a hair cut?” he laughed.

“Yes,” she sighed as she turned her body towards him.

“I like the new look by the way,” he turned his head towards her and flashed a smile.

Bailey thought he had the most breathe taking smile ever. What was a guy like him still single for? Or was he single? She looked at his left hand and didn’t see a ring, so he wasn’t married. Maybe he had a girlfriend?

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she sudden asked, she couldn’t believe it to. She usually kept things to herself, well lately she has.

“No,” he softly laughed, then sighed as his smiled disappeared.

“Why’s that?” she was curious as to why this good looking guy didn’t have a special person at home.

“I rather not say. Why you curious all of a sudden?” he looked at her and studied her as she answered.

“I’m not sure actually.”

Cody could tell she was telling the truth, she wasn’t lying. Maybe she was just curious, only it felt like much more. Was she remembering him, little by little? He hoped not, he didn’t want her to remember how he treated her that last day he saw her, the day he broke things off.

After doing that and going to boot camp, he realized what a huge mistake he made. He wrote her during his time in boot camp and received nothing in return. He waited till he finished and when he came back he went to go and see her, he would have begged to be with her but she wasn’t there anymore, she moved and he had no idea as to where.

He had no idea where to look and her friends gave nothing to him, they hated him and he knew why, he broke her heart. After serving two years he decided he wanted to become a SEAL and that’s where he met up with Blake, on base. He was amazed that they talked so easily, he was shocked that Blake didn’t hold a grudge on him for what he did to Bailey. He told him that she was graduating high school in two weeks, what she has been up to for the past two years and what she was doing after she graduated.

He couldn’t believe it when Blake told him she was going to join the Army. Cody was pissed, he knew what kind of life that meant and he knew the danger now that they were considering woman on the front line in battle. She could have died, she did die then they brought her back though and now she has no memory, no memory of them even being together or all her training she did in the Army, no memory of her brother or her parents and other things as well.

Now Bailey could pretty much be anything she wanted, she could go back to school, get a career, live a different life then she would have if she were still in the Army. Instead she chose to be stripper, of all the things she could have set her mind to and she picked that, he had no idea why.

“I have a question,” he pointed out as he parked the car in front of the grocery store.

“Ok,” she said nervously, she had no idea what he wanted to ask, it’s not like she knew anything.

“You could have been anything, why did you choose to be a stripper?” he had to know, he wanted to now why she would chose that, it was like lowering herself only she had nothing to lower from.

Bailey didn’t expect that question and her response to that was going to be an honest one.

“It was late at night and I was walking past the club, I heard loud cheers coming from inside and I was curious. So I went inside and saw the strippers, I watched and was amazed by how graceful they looked on the pole. This wasn’t your usually topless club, there was some sort of high class when you walked into there and it showed in the strippers. I found it interesting and wanted to try it, it also looked like fun to be honest,” she told him with a sort of pride in her voice.

Cody couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Anyways so I took private classes everyday for two hours at some stripper school, I did that for a month and a half before trying to apply there, I wasn’t a stripper at first. I bartended and then sort of fell into stripping, I still bartend from time to time.”

“Blake is ok with this?” that was all he could say.

Bailey snorted, “Of course not,” she laughed. “You think he would be okay with that?”

“Apparently the answer is yes since your still stripping.” He was angry and he didn’t know why.

“The answer is no, but he sees how much it makes me happy and free to do what I want, I didn’t have that before, I know I didn’t. You don’t get to do what you want when you’re in the Army. I’m able now and though Blake might not agree with it he still allows it, I know he did some sort of background check on everybody and he checks on me from time to time.” She laughed, she couldn’t help it, the look on his face, “Don’t worry, it’s just for fun. It’s not a permant thing; I think I want to go to school.”

He let out a sigh of relief, he hated that she worked there, he hated that men looked at her, hated that they had dirty thoughts about her. He couldn’t say anything though because she wasn’t his, he had no right.

“Go to school for what?” he asked as he did a sweep of the parking lot.

“I’m not sure yet, haven’t decided but I’m sure it will come to me. Now are we going to sit here and talk or are we actually going to go get groceries?

“Are you still a smart ass?” he asked.

Bailey laughed, “Not sure about that one, you’d have to tell me.”

Bailey unbuckled her seat belt and was about to unlock her door and open it until Cody gripped her arm and stopped her.

“You don’t ever step out of this truck unless I say so, do you understand?” he softly told her.

Bailey forgot with the normal conversations and day she had so far that she was still in danger. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”

She moved her gaze from his grip up to his face; they were so close, the way he leaned over her, their faces inches apart, Bailey felt the stirring again as she moved her gaze down to his lips. She wanted to kiss him, she knew it, felt the need to feel them against hers and she had no idea where the need was coming from. She felt like kissing Matty sometimes at random times but this was totally different, the need was too much.