To Be Loved By You - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Orders

Author's Note: Here it is, guys! The beginning of the end! This was a really hard chapter to write because... Well, you'll see. All I'll say about it here is that Bill warned us!

His heart hammered in his chest and his feet felt heavy with every step he took toward Thea's apartment. When he found himself in front of her door, he couldn't make himself knock. The pounding in his head made it hard to think and his body refused to move from his spot in front of her door.

Suddenly, he remembered what her father had said all those weeks ago as they stood together by the grill. "She's going to get scared again." Bradley wiped the sweat from his brow as panic spread through his veins like fire. "She's going to get scared and try to push you away."

How was he supposed to tell her the news his commanding officer had shared with them that day? How was he supposed to protect her from her fears when he had to be the one to make her face them? How was he supposed to tell her that his squadron was being deployed for six months?

He didn't know where yet, but he knew that he would be overseas running missions on enemy territory. Besides, the where wouldn't matter to Thea. He knew that. All that mattered was that he was leaving and he may not come back.

Just like Charlie.

—

Leaning over the bathroom sink, she swiped the mascara wand across her lashes. When she was done, she pushed away from the sink and fussed with her hair until it fell just right. A part of her wished she was getting ready to go out with Bradley, but it had been a while since just she and Stef had done something together.

She smiled as she recalled the reason for their lack of girl time: Bradley. Now that their month was over and Thea didn't feel the need to cram a lifetime of moments, kisses, and love into thirty days she felt like she could take time away from her soldier to spend with the other people in her life.

Moving through her loft, she grabbed her purse and keys. She checked her watch. If she left now, she would be early but she decided that was okay. She would get to the restaurant early and get them a table.

When she opened her door, she was surprised to see Brad waiting for her. He was still in his flight suit and while she found that odd, she couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked.

Until she met his eyes.

He was sweating and his skin was pale. "Brad?" She took his hand and stepped closer to him. "What's wrong, darlin'?"

Despite the sickly look on his face, his lips twitched up in a smile at the sound of his newly assigned endearment. She would have given him a pet name sooner but not using one had been a way to distance herself from him. Since she had promised them both that she wouldn't do that any longer, she'd started using the name that had almost slipped from her tongue on more than one occasion.

When he didn't say anything, she pulled him inside and closed the door behind her. She let her bag and keys fall to the floor as she cupped his cheeks in her hands. "You're scaring me, Bradley."

Still, he said nothing.

Her phone started to chime a little melody that she recognized as Stef's ringtone. "Shit." She ran her thumbs over his cheeks. "It's Stef." She looked down at the bag holding her phone. "I'm gonna tell her that I'm not coming out."

She started to move away from him to answer the phone but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard him say, "I'm being deployed, Thea."

Looking back up at him, she wondered if she'd heard him right. Surely, she hadn't. They had only known each other for such a short time. It had only been a couple of weeks since she had admitted to them both that she cared enough for him to fight her fears.