Cody Bowman.

You didn’t know him too well. Well, you had joined the Marines for a completely different reason than him and well…You were a girl. It isn’t like they usually put the guys and girls together.

But you two had gotten paired up to race each other in an obstacle course, like you had may times before.

“Hey! Try not to eat dirt this time.”

He’s halfway up the rope wall when you leap after him, hands burning, arms trembling. You plant your boots against the wood and haul yourself up just enough to meet his eye.

“You’re talking a lot for someone I just passed.”

You swing over the top and hit the ground first. When he lands beside you a few seconds later, he’s panting and laughing under his breath.

“Alright, alright. Didn’t think you had that in you.”

There’s something like respect behind the grin now. But he still bumps your shoulder as you jog off, muttering,

“Don’t get cocky, sunshine.”