Mil SO (Military Significant Other)

11. Dinner and a Show

When we got to Heath’s house, we went up to his room. This wasn’t uncommon, I went to his room all the time, but Piper had an open door policy that applied to all of her kids. Heath’s room was a lot like the set up of the cave. The only difference being that he didn’t have a Ping-Pong table in his room. We were watching TV in his room. I was sitting on the couch with Heath’s head in my lap. I played with his hair subconsciously as we watched ‘Wolf Blood’ on Netflix. I convinced Heath to watch the first episode with me and ever since, we were hooked. I felt Heath shift in my lap. I looked down to find him smiling up at me.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” he asked. I chuckled and rolled my eyes at him.

“What do you want?” I asked playfully.

“I want you to go on a Valentine’s Day date with me,” he said. I chuckled and bent to kiss him gently.

“Deal,” I chuckled. I almost forget that it was coming up.

“I love you,” he smiled. Those words still made me tremble slightly with pleasure. He made me forget every bad feeling I’d ever felt when I was with him. He sat up and pulled me over his lap before he kissed me again. Only this time, he didn’t make any move to stop. His hand gripped my waist as his other held my cheek. My hands went to his neck and pulled him closer to me. He groaned and slid his hand down my thigh.

“Izzy!” Hadley yelled, running into the room. I smiled and slid off of Heath’s lap just as she jumped into mine. I chuckled and kissed her cheek. I think I was Hadley’s favorite person whenever I came over now. She’d gotten in the habit of calling me ‘Izzy’ which I didn’t mind at all. Hadley giggled and kissed my cheek before snuggling into my chest.

“Hey! Where’s my hello kiss? I haven’t seen you all day, nugget,” Heath said with a fake pout. Hadley only chuckled and hid her head in my chest. I laughed and held her gently. Heath looked seriously hurt.

“Hadley, let’s give Heath a kiss,” I whispered excitedly. She perked up and looked to him before looking back at me. I leaned over and kissed his cheek and she followed suit. Heath chuckled at her as she started telling us all about her exciting day in kindergarten. She eventually wore herself out and fell asleep on me. I smiled at her gently and stood to move her into her room.

I walked down the hallway with Hadley in my arms and Heath following me. After settling her in her bed and tucking her in, I turned and quietly closed her door behind us. We made our way back to Heath’s room and I sighed contently.

“She loves you, you know?” he said. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I know we were going to be here tonight, but why don’t we eat dinner at my house. You can meet my aunt and uncle,” I suggested. I felt a pang in my chest at the fact that my parents would never meet Heath, and vise versa. Heath nodded in agreement and kissed me gently as if sensing my mood change.

“It’s going to be alright, babe,” he said softly. I sighed and shook the feeling. He took my hand in his and led me downstairs. Piper, Kaden, and Brooklyn were in the kitchen preparing dinner.

“Hey, we’re going to eat over at Iris’s place,” he said as he grabbed his keys and led me out the door, giving them no time to argue. He drove us to my house and we went inside. Surprisingly, my aunt and uncle were actually home.

“Aunt Charlie, Uncle Peter, this is Heath, my boyfriend. I hope you don’t mind but I invited him to stay for dinner,” I introduced him. Aunt Charlie smiled warmly at him.

“It’s no problem at all. Why don’t you show him around while I finish up here. Dinner is almost ready,” she said. I nodded before leading him around our less extravagant house. I showed him the different rooms and functions before we just hung out in my room.

“They seem pretty cool,” Heath said. I shrugged.

“They are. I just wish they were home more. That’s why I’m always over at your place,” I said.

“And here I thought you came over my house all the time because you wanted to hang out with me,” he said in mock hurt. I chuckled and pushed his shoulder. He grabbed a hold of my hand and pulled me into a kiss.

“Dinner’s ready!” my aunt yelled. We went down to the dining room and took our seats as dinner was served.

“So, Heath, what grade are you in?” my uncle asked.

“I’m a senior, sir,” Heath answered. My aunt and uncle exchanged a look before they just started asking Heath a bunch of different questions. It felt like an interrogation really. I could feel my anger rising with every question they asked.

“So Heath, are you just dating Iris to get in her pants then?” Uncle Peter asked. I stood abruptly and glared at him.

“That’s enough,” I warned him. “Just because there’s an age difference doesn’t mean anything. You two are five years apart. What? You married Aunt Charlie just to get in her pants?” I asked him.

“Iris, you’re blowing this out of proportion, it was just a question,” my aunt said. I fixed my glare on her too.

“You’re harassing Heath and you have no right to. Not only are you not my parents, but you’re never even around to give a rat’s ass. Heath and I have been going out for a month. We’ve been best friends since I got here. His mother is more of a mom to me than you are. You never asked, or cared enough to ask, who’s house I’ve been going to all this time. You never asked to meet my friends. And you sure as hell are never home when I get out. That’s why I’m always with Heath… because you are never here,” I ranted. I huffed out a breath when I finished and went upstairs to my room.

I sighed and sat on the edge of my bed. I can’t believe them! I can’t believe I went off of them like that. I knew they were trying their best, but at times, it felt like they just didn’t care at all.

“Iris,” Heath’s voice said unsurely. I felt tears prick my eyes at the sudden emotions that hit me. Heath moved to my side quickly and pulled me into him as I sniffled.

“I think I’m about to start my period,” I cried. He laughed and kissed my head.

“I know you try hard to, but you don’t always have to be so put together all the time. It’s okay to go off on people after what you’ve been through. It’s okay to have panic attacks and cry,” he assured me. I buried my head in his chest and just let it all out.

I wish my parents were here to meet Heath. I wish my whole family were still alive. I wish I could play volleyball again. I wish we were still on base. And something I never really gave thought to before; I missed my best friend, Carter. Carter and I grew up together. Our father’s were normally stationed in the same place so we were always together. After the incident, I cut all ties that would make me think of my family, Carter included. But now, I missed him.

“I love you,” I said softly once I stopped crying. He smiled lightly and kissed me quickly.

“I don’t want to leave you alone, but I should probably get back home,” he said. “I’ll come pick you up in the morning, okay?” he said. I nodded and moved to allow him to get up. He pulled me into a deep kiss before pecking me one last time and leaving.

I sighed and pulled my phone out of my back pocket. I scrolled through the names until I found the name I was looking for. I pressed call and brought the phone up to my ear.