The story was simple and he was attentive to every detail.
I wasn't meant to have that day off, but I did anyway and knew how I wanted to spend it.
I was gonna surprise my boy that night.
My plan was simple, have his friends lure him out for the night so I could surprise them.
What I didn't expect was for those same friends to get called back onto base at the beginning of the night. So there I was, still 30 minutes away from the venue.
A good enough time for him to make a new friend. A really good one.
He didn't see me, but I saw him. His the hands that once held mine and touched me intimately do the same to her. I couldn't blame him. She was beautiful. Fit in the places I'd never be.
A jawline to kill. And kill she did. Any hope I had of marrying the boy in front of her was gone.
I did what I do best. Sucked up my tears and left. I wasn't gonna pop. I wasn't gonna let the fact that I had traveled miles just to see him tonight, even when I was running on very few hours of sleep.
I knew I wasn't gonna make it home so I parked at a truck stop and slept in my car. Uncomfortable, but needed.
"That's when I found you."
I nodded, tearfully. You took my hand and ran your thumb over my knuckles, soothing me somewhat.
We stayed silent, me knocking back tears and sipping my coffee wishing it was tequila instead. You were in uniform, ignoring the stares of patriotic patrons and solely focusing on me.
The bell rung overhead the entrance and shuffling was heard. We both turned around, watching as my boy and buddies all stopped, taking the scene in front of them in.
I quickly pulled my hand out of yours and stood up, only looking one person in the eye.
"You're a cheater."
"You cheated."
Ah, great minds. Its why we got along so well.
"Don't pull that shit on me." I snapped.
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Let's talk outside."
And we did. There was yelling, some curse words. Then finally, he quieted.
"I saw you last night." I looked down, dragging my toe into the dirt, "You had your hands on some girls ass and your tongue in her throat."
He didn't say anything.
"They cancelled me last night, that's why I came to surprise you. You can ask James and them, they were in on it."
Again, silence. You were stunned presumably.
"Robert found me sleeping in my car at the gas station. He brought me out for coffee and was just asking what I was doing when he knew longtime couples usually stayed at the hotel."
"You called him by his name."
I shrugged, still not looking up. I crossed my arms tightly across my chest, clenching my jaw. "He asked me to."
The door above opened again, his buddies walking out with heavy eyes. "We're heading back to base, dude."
"Yeah, I'm coming." They all stopped short.
"I'll take you, Calvin."
His buddies turned back around, only James patting his heavy hand on my shoulder as they all left.
"No thank you, Sergeant. I have paperwork I need to file and I'd like to get a head start on it."
With his keys in his hand, he have one nod and they all left, leaving me and Sergeant Robert Griggs to ourselves and the nosey stares of onlookers.
It was silent until he chuckled, "Imagine having to tell his E3 having ass that you're dating his Sergeant."
I laughed, somewhat uncomfortable, "its a good thing I'm not."
He shrugged his left shoulder, a smile lifting his cheeks, "Not yet at least. I'd like to see you again, Rosemary."
I threw my thumb over my shoulder, pointing to the direction the boys had left.
"It won't be right away. We'll do it the way everybody else does it. I'll meet you here, next week, the same time you always come."
I shook my head, "My schedule is constantly changi-"
"I'll give you my number. It'd be completely up to you if we contacted each other or not."
