Into Your Arms

We're Back

You arrived on base later that night, and although everything appeared to be the same, it felt different. The last time you were here, you were engaged to the love of your life. You had both decided to hang up your helmets, and begin a life together. While you were sad about leaving that part of your life behind, you were at the time excited for your future of becoming Mrs. Pete Mitchell. Things had drastically changed. You were now back on your old stomping grounds, single, and a Registered Nurse.

You looked up the address to the house that you would be staying in, which wasn't far. When you arrived, you lazily threw your bags on the floor and headed back out to find a bite to eat. Not wanting to fall into the same routine as when you were younger, you attempted to find ANYWHERE except the Hard Deck to stop for a quick meal. And to be honest, you needed a drink, because your nerves were eating you alive. As fate would have it, most restaurants were closed down for the night, and unless you wanted to eat top ramen at your place, you would need to drive to the Hard Deck. And that is exactly where you ended up.

As you pulled up, it was just like you remembered. Centered right on the beach, lights shining from the inside out, and a crowd full of tan uniforms. You hesitated, but pushed yourself to get out of your car and head inside. It was already 9:30, and you had to be up early tomorrow morning, so eating and doing it quickly was crucial right now.

You walked in, and immediately were immersed in flashbacks of your previous years here, growing up. You found an open seat at the bar, and sat down. You did not see any familiar faces, while you did expect to see Penny, but she was nowhere to be found. You ended up ordering a burger, along with a tall beer. As you sat and waited for your food, you mindlessly scrolled on your phone. You had received a text message from one of your best friends, Juliana. It read "Hey there! I hope you made it safely. Please keep me in the loop on your new beginning! And maybe, find me a man..or two..love ya!" You laughed to yourself, just as your beer arrived. You took a sip of your beer and it tasted like God himself poured the glass. You took another sip before you decided to gulp it down rather quickly. You were so engrossed in how delicious your drink was, and the funny text from your friend, that you were completely oblivious to the man that took a seat next to you. He was tall, probably 6'0", sandy brown hair, with a mustache. Normally, you weren't big on the whole mustache scene, but he tended to pull it off (perfectly). He wore a Hawaiian shirt, loosely draped on his shoulders, jeans, and a white tank underneath the top. He had his sunglasses sliding ever so slightly down the bridge of his nose, eyes locked on the beautiful bartender who had served you. "Hey gorgeous, I'll have my usual," the gorgeous man said. The bartender gave a quick and flirtatious smirk, and then turned around to grab a bottle of whiskey. She poured a glass, and served the man. As he took the glass, his fingers lightly brushed over hers, which made a small blush creep upon her perfectly tanned skin.

Not long after, the bartender served you your burger with fries. You began to devour your food; you were hungry, and needed to be up early. You liked to be up even earlier than you had to be, to help prepare yourself for the day and what was to come. While eating, you had ordered a second beer. Beginning to down your beer, the man spoke. He turned to you, eyes gleaming, and gushed "Wow little lady, any man should be so lucky to have a woman who loves a good burger, and can down a beer in 10 seconds flat." He amused himself. You made eye contact with him, and then playfully rolled your eyes. You had no time for nonsense and pickup lines that you knew would only end you up in one place (his bed). "I'm definitely not the woman who orders a salad on a first date," you mused. This caused a chuckle to erupt from deep in his chest. He stuck out his hand "the name is Bradley. It is 100% my pleasure to meet you." For a second it felt like you were getting lost in his eyes and the smoothness of his words, but you abruptly pulled yourself back to reality. "Elena. And you're right..it is YOUR pleasure," as you stuck out your hand for a quick shake. Confidence was sexy, and you knew you had just enough.

You paid your bill, and downed the rest of your beer before picking up your purse to head on home for the evening. Bradley was still sitting beside you at the bar, drinking his whiskey. The more he drank, the more he tried to keep the attention of the bartender. They must have been seeing each other, or she was a new conquest of his. Either way, the dude was trying hard. He saw you getting out of your chair when he stood up. "Well this was fun, we should do it again sometime beautiful," Bradley stated, with a smirk plastered on his face. "You seem to be pretty entertained, I don't think my presence is really necessary," you spat out, attempting to make your way to the exit. Bradley followed close behind, and you both ended up at the door of your car. "Hey hey now, I'm just a single man. I work hard, and I like to play..harder," his voice getting more gruff toward the end. "Well, it looks as if neither I, nor the bartender, are going home with you tonight, so have fun playing..with yourself," you grinned cheekily and hopped into the drivers seat, securing your seatbelt. Bradley was at a loss for words. He had never met a woman who tested him and had such a quick wit about her. He was used to women falling at his feet, or more so in his lap. You turned the engine over and started to back out of the parking lot. Bradley stood there with a grin on his face, completely taken aback at the girl, no WOMAN, he had just met. He silently kicked himself for not trying to get your number, wondering if he will ever get the chance to see you again. You were not the type of girl to get played and toyed with; you were the woman that needed to be wined, dined, and romanced.

You pulled up to your house, and got out of your car with a spring in your step on the way up to the front door. You saw the house next to you had their lights on, with a pretty sweet bike sitting out front. You secretly hoped it was a gorgeous and single man, wanting to whisk you away on the back of his bike to your happily ever after. You sighed and walked into the big and empty house. You cleaned up for the night, and laid in bed. You didn't have a TV set up yet, so you scrolled on your phone looking at all of your social media apps. It made your heart feel full seeing all of your friends happy, and living their lives. You saw a picture of your niece that your sister had posted, and she absolutely just melted your heart. She was turning a year old next month. You couldn't wait to see her again. You began to yawn, and knew it was time for bed. You plugged your phone in, set your alarm, turned off the light, and snuggled into your body pillow. You slept like a baby.

The next morning, your alarm started sounding at 4:30 AM. The sound of the alarm made you want to throw your phone across the room, but you needed to get up, nonetheless. It would be your first day of instructing the new Top Gun class, and you could hardly wait. You got ready for your day, and decided to take a few minutes and enjoy your coffee on the patio, overlooking the ocean. You heard the sliding door open to the house next to you. You looked over for a brief second; your breathing halted and your heart stopped. "Elena?" you heard the man say. "Pete?"you responded. Well, that explains the bike out front..