Into the pool

[Acyl]

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Geeze, and I thought they where friends. This sounds more like a drill sergant.[/qupte]
"Friends" is a relative term. Look at it this way - he's still her employer, of sorts. Her boss, as it were. No matter how well they get along usually, that's still there. It reminds me of, well, Blackaeronaut's story and what we said about familiarity in a military chain-of-command. It can exist, and a soldier can be genuine friends with a superior. That doesn't mean that when something goes wahoonie shaped, you won't still snap back to protocol.
Or put it another way. I ran into my cousin a few times when I was in National Service - we were working around the same base for a few months. First cousin, known him all my life. But still, I was just an NSF Corporal. He's a career Major. So, of course, when I ran into him in uniform, I called him sir, and acted with familiarity but appropriate respect. If one or both of us were out of uniform, tho, it's all "Hey." "Hey, how's your mom?" "She's good." ... etc.
So, context.
As to the story itself...
I'm liking this more and more. I think, on balance, I do like the way you're dealing with the guy's world - the whole 'assume you know what I'm talking about' thing rather than exposition...letting the reader infer, or draw their own conclusions. It makes everything, I dunno, more real and richer. There's something to be said for explanation, but this is definitely good as well.
Mm. Romance and happy endings. =)

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-- Acyl