The Marine I Know

Chapter 17

Belle's P.O.V

I wake up to notice the living room empty and voices coming from the kitchen. I wrap the blanket around myself as I walk into the kitchen. My mom is sitting at the counter with a glass of wine and a box of tissues. Parker sees me and comes to hug me.

"What did you do to my mom?" I say to him, upset. I go to my mom, but she stops me in my tracks.

"Belle, I'm fine." I look between the two of them.

"She talked about Peter," Parker says. All the memories of my dad and I start going through my head, and I sit down at the bar, wrestling with myself as tears of my dad come to light. Parker finishes up dinner and turns off the stove before coming around the corner to wrap me in his arms.

"We met when we were in college. Peter was the local star basketball player, and I was the girl who played in the local marching band. Every girl fought for his attention, but somehow, I captured his. We hung out a few times before truly asking me to be his girlfriend. Once everyone saw how happy he was, they began to call us the couple that was meant to be." Mom starts then continues once she takes a drink of her wine, "He wanted to serve his country as what his dad and uncle did, and by this time, we were married for a year. He told me how risky it was, but as long as he loved me, nothing was going to happen. This is around the time Belle was born. Your father loved you very much and told me that you got your looks from me. He also told me that even if something were to happen, he wanted you to be happy and by the looks of it, Parker; you might've met the girl of your dreams." She finishes, grabbing another tissue as the waterworks start. My father loved her very much and treated her like a lady.

"Mrs. Mitchell, why don't you go lay down. I'll take care of dinner for tonight." Parker suggests, and I look up at him with a smile on my face. Mom nods and goes to sit down at the dinner table, and Parker goes to stand in front of me. "I want to treat you like a princess just as your parents did if you're okay with it." I smile and kiss him on the lips. Parker finishes dinner and sets everything out on the table. There was bread and fettuccine Alfredo on the table, and immediately, my stomach starts to growl, earning a laugh from mom and Parker. We fill up our plates and eat in silence, Parker and I sneaking glances at each other while smiling.

"Thank you, Parker," I say, grabbing his hand and laying it on the table. We finish our meal, and then mom cleans up the dishes, letting Parker, and I have a moment. He stands up and holds his hand out for me to take, which I do, and he guides me to the living room. He finds the CD player and puts a disk in. Amazed by Lonestar starts playing.

'Every time our eyes meet, This feeling inside me Is almost more than I can take.'

Parker turns around to face me and holds his arms out. I put my hands around his neck while he wraps his arms around my waist. I look up into his eyes as we dance to the music. I lay my head down on his shoulder, enjoying the comfort of being in his presence.

Parker's P.O.V

Dancing with Belle makes me the happiest and the luckiest guy in the world. The song ends, but we still dance as if we're in our little world.

"Belle?" She looks up at me, hazel eyes twinkling with happiness. I lay my lips against hers, and we kiss, all feelings apparent. I tighten my arms around her waist as she runs her hands up my neck and through my hair. Suddenly, I can feel her body start to shake, and she pulls away, looking down. "Hey, what's wrong?" I tuck a finger underneath her chin, and she looks up, tears in her eyes. I remove both my hands from her waist, and I rub my thumb across both cheeks to catch the stray tears.

"You leave tonight." She starts crying and I pull her in for a hug, rubbing circles on her back.

"No matter what, I will always love you and please don't lose that." She starts crying and looks up at me with a slight smile on her face. The doorbell rings and I help Belle up so she can answer the door. She walks over and opens it, our friends coming inside.

"We wanted to come by and see you before.." Lilly starts, not daring to finish the sentence. Belle comes back, and I lay my arm across her shoulder, snuggling into my embrace. She looks up at me, her hazel eyes trying to stay positive, but I know her well enough to know she is scared. I lay a gentle kiss upon her lips and then touch her nose with my nose.

"I love you, Belle," I whisper, and she smiles.

"I love you too, Parker." She replies, wrapping her arms around me, leaning her face against my chest.

"Awwwwwwww you guys are so adorable." Clare gushes, and Belle hides her face in my arm, and I laugh.

"No need to be embarrassed." I chuckle, and she looks up, acting like she's so mad at me, but I can see her teasing me in her eyes before smiling and laughing. My phone starts ringing, and I excuse myself from Belle's embrace, moving into the dining room to answer the phone. "Hello?"