After that last action-packed day, Deniz thought her dynamic with Fatih would continue this way. Constant bickering, commotion, and plenty of power struggles...
But surprisingly, Fatih's intimidating attitude toward her had vanished. On the contrary, he was now behaving very professionally.
He listened to Deniz respectfully in meetings, and when she came to have permission documents signed for many incidents on site, he approved them without insisting. Most importantly, he wasn't scowling anymore.
This situation had allowed Deniz to breathe easier. She was now closer to her team as well. And the only thing she could think was, "I guess everything is falling into place."
She had woken up to another one of those mornings.
Since arriving, she had felt sluggish on site. Having a regular exercise background, being less active than before bothered her.
That's why she had decided to go running in the mornings. But waking up close to the soldiers' assembly time and running among so many men would make her uncomfortable, so she had started running in the area behind the housing containers.
She had put on black athletic leggings and a tank top; she had gathered her red hair into a ponytail.
Just as she put on her headphones, she went outside to run that morning again.
After a few laps, her pulse had risen considerably but her lungs had opened up nicely. Practically every breath filled her lungs to the brim. However, she was startled by a barely visible shadow she saw from behind the bushes and stumbled because she wasn't watching where she was going.
She had collapsed to the ground with a shrill scream.
When she raised her head, she saw Captain Fatih watching her with surprised eyes.
Fatih looked amazing again in his military uniform with his clean shave. He bent down and extended his hand:
"Are you okay?" he said.
Deniz would have preferred the thing in the bushes to be a bear right now; because she was covered in dirt everywhere, including her face.
She immediately pulled herself together and sat cross-legged on the ground, starting to brush herself off.
She turned to Fatih with a sharp look:
"Do I look okay? Why are you sneaking up on people!"
Fatih was giggling, he couldn't help himself.
"Why are you laughing?" Deniz said, narrowing her eyes.
Fatih, trying to hide his laughter,
"I apologize, even the greenest private here knows how to take cover in danger. I didn't think you would jump out in front of me like that," he said.
Though Deniz found it strange that Fatih, who had been speaking brazenly and without distance from the first day, was now behaving so respectfully, what he said seemed funny.
Her dimple had appeared slightly on her face; she started to giggle.
"I'm not a soldier, Captain! The last danger I encountered was my next-door neighbor's Chihuahua attack in New York," she said.
Now Fatih was really laughing.
Deniz's laughter had also increased in rhythm. As their laughter filled the valley, Fatih's eyes remained fixed on Deniz's eyes for a moment.
Then suddenly he returned to an official expression.
Noticing this, Deniz had also wiped the smile from her face.
She cleared her throat:
"Is there a problem, Captain? I chose this place because it's away from your training area. If it's going to be a problem..."
Fatih immediately interrupted:
"No, I didn't come about that. We had a meeting at 8 o'clock at the main headquarters. Kubilay Bey was going to attend, but he just called and said he wanted you to attend. He said he might be late today."
Deniz said in surprise,
"Well, why did he wait until the last minute? Besides, why didn't he call me?" she said.
Fatih indicated his phone with his head:
"Actually, I called you three times too," he said with a smile.
Deniz quickly pulled out her phone and stared at the screen in astonishment. Because there were exactly five missed calls.
Her eyes widened,
"I'm so sorry, Captain, I think when I turned down the music, I also turned off the call sound," she said.
Fatih said,
"No problem. Since you didn't answer, I came to find you. But it would be good if you hurried, we're going to be late."
Deniz looked at the time, she really had very little time left. Then she surveyed her appearance.
"I'll get ready right away, but I'm covered in both dust and sweat, I'll take a shower and come back," she said and quickly got up and started running toward the housing container.
"A very quick shower, I'll be right there!" she called after her.
Fatih, hands in his pockets, was watching her with pleasure. Then he murmured with enjoyment:
"Actually, you smelled wonderful... But anyway, so be it."
Deniz had really kept her word. She had quickly taken a shower and put on her black suit that she had kept ready. Inside, she wore a white satin shirt.
But since she didn't have time to dry her hair, she had left it loose; she had taken a comb, a hair clip, and some makeup supplies with her. After all, even living in such conditions, she was a woman and always wanted to pay attention to her appearance.
She reached for the shoe rack and chose a small heeled shoe.
When she came out, Fatih was leaning against the hood of the military vehicle, busy with his phone.
When he heard Deniz coming, he raised his head... but froze.
Deniz approached him, separating her hair strand by strand with her hands, the clip held in her mouth. When she arrived, she gathered her hair into a small, messy bun at the nape of her neck.
But Fatih was watching her as if frozen.
With an impatient expression,
"Well, come on Captain, didn't you say we were going to be late?" she said.
Fatih shook himself as if waking from a hypnosis. He averted his gaze and swallowing,
"Of course, you're right. Please, get in the car, let's go," he said.
Deniz immediately jumped into the car and the journey began.
Fatih was driving in such an excited manner for the first time. The main headquarters was about a 45-minute drive away. A vehicle in front of them, and two armored vehicles behind them were following.
Deniz looked at the vehicles following them in the rearview mirror,
"This wasn't a terror zone, why are we going with so many people?" she said.
Fatih answered without taking his eyes off the road:
"The danger here isn't just terror. Many weapons and drug smugglers use this position. Our establishment here is a situation they don't want. We've been sabotaged many times for months."
Deniz's eyes opened with curiosity.
"So that's why no construction crew stayed permanently..." she said.
Fatih nodded in confirmation.
Deniz said, "I thought you were also assigned here with us."
Fatih smiled. "Actually, I came to the region 5 months before you."
Deniz asked curiously:
"I see... Well, it must have been difficult to go on an arranged date all the way to Eskişehir," she said.
Then realizing what she had said, she quickly turned her face to the window and covered her mouth.
She was cursing herself internally:
"You're having a proper dialogue with the man for the first time, and you go and make a crack. You deserve everything, stupid!"
Fatih spoke after a bit of silence:
"It was my annual leave... When the engineering team ran off, I had some free time, so I went back home."
Deniz was too embarrassed to even look at his face. She just swallowed and nodded.
But Fatih, taking pleasure from Deniz's flustering, continued:
"So, do you kidnap arranged marriage candidates as a hobby?"
Deniz was taken aback.
"No! What does that have to do with anything! I told you, it was for my sister!" she complained.
Fatih was laughing now.
"Let your hair down," he said.
Deniz said in surprise,
"What?! Why would I let it down?" she said and crouched toward the door, screaming internally:
"What is this maniac planning!"
Fatih slowly extended his hand and touched the nape of Deniz's neck.
Water droplets were trickling down from her nape onto her shirt in tiny drops. Deniz was suddenly flustered. She couldn't make sense of this sudden electricity on her skin.
Then Fatih showed her the water droplet on his hand.
Fatih, with a sincere expression on his face,
"Your hair is still wet and it's also wetting your shirt. There's still 45 minutes until the end of the journey. Let it down so it can dry," he said.
Deniz swallowed and nodded, removing the clip from her hair. She let down her red hair.
The heat and gentle breeze coming through the window were making her hair fly like a melody.
Shortly after, Fatih was startled by that orange scent filling his nose.
This woman's scent was making his head spin. His body had practically ignited, even with this tiny contact.
He cleared his throat and sharpened his gaze, focusing back on the road.
Deniz, with the embarrassment she experienced, fixed her eyes on the window. And she was just silently praying for the journey to end as soon as possible.