But we stopped laughing when Banner’s lips met mine.
***
December
“I’ll write you as soon as I can,” Banner said, squeezing me so tight that every single molecule of oxygen left my lungs.
I squeaked out a ‘too tight!’ causing him to laugh.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m scared.”
A frown filled my face. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to leave you,” he admitted. “Everything’s been so fucking good over the last couple of months, and I’m rocking the boat.”
I smoothed my hand up his arm and squeezed his bicep.
“We’ll figure it out, Banner,” I promised. “It’s just that your dream starts a little earlier than mine. Soon we’ll be back together. And in the meantime, you’ll write me every single day that you can… won’t you?”
He rolled his eyes as if that was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.
“Of course. And call. I heard that it’s usually week three or four that we get our phones back,” he said. “Good luck with your cross-country meet tomorrow, and let me know immediately how you do on your SATs, okay?”
I lifted up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.
Backing away, I allowed his mother and father to have their chance with him.
Ford threw his arm around my shoulders.
“It’s okay, Little P. We’ll take care of you,” Ford teased. “And you can babysit. It’ll be like Banner never left.”
I snorted out a laugh.
“Banner should be out of bootcamp before your wife has her baby, Ford,” I said.
“True,” he agreed. “But he’ll still be there when he is finally done. You’ll just get to talk to him then. My baby will cure all your woes.”
“You just want to have sex with your wife and have a babysitter there when you want to.” Banner punched his brother in his arm.
Ford shrugged. “You gotta do what you gotta do.”
Snickering, I curled my arm around Banner and held on until his name was called.
When he pulled himself away, I could tell he didn’t want to go.
“Go, our dreams are waiting.”
He did.
The next twenty minutes we watched as he was sworn into the United States Navy.
I’d never been so proud in my life.
Chapter 28
Know this: you can damn well start over every fucking morning.
-Coffee Cup
Perry
Navy Graduation - Seven weeks later
I was nervous as fuck.
Oh, and I was also skipping school.
I looked over at my dad who was sitting in the straight-backed chair beside me and wondered how much longer this was going to take.
Then I heard the marching of boots as a man that looked important made his way up to the podium.
“Greetings, friends and family,” he started.
I watched for the next hour as the recruits filed in and the men and women spoke about boot camp. They told us all about what they did—some of which I knew because I’d become a grade-A stalker of the Facebook page that gave the updates. I’d also learned a lot from Banner. His letters and his calls, all he talked about was how great it was.
And I knew that he’d made the right choice.
And finally, finally, his name was called, and I practically bounced in my seat.
I hadn’t been able to find him in the sea of faces in the crowd.
They all looked the freakin’ same.
But seeing him now on stage, I would know that face anywhere.
Apparently he didn’t have the same problem finding me in the crowd as I did him, because the moment he could, he turned his gaze toward me.
I grinned wide and blew him a kiss.
He winked at me and caught my kiss.
My dad elbowed me. “Don’t get him in trouble.”
It was only as the ceremony ended, and they were released to come to us, that I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I had to go to him.
He’d obviously had the same thought because he was running my way the moment he was able.
We hit each other hard, and his arms wrapped around me as he buried his face into my neck.
“God, I missed you,” he growled against my neck.
I leaned back and slapped my hands onto his freshly shaven face.
Then I kissed him.
He returned this kiss with a flourish, making my knees go weak.
“Careful,” I heard said. “I don’t want her pregnant when you leave.”
I gasped into Banner’s mouth and pulled away, looking to my left where my father stood with his arms crossed.
“Sorry, sir,” Banner said as he pulled me to him and tucked me in close. Offering his hand to my father, he said, “It’s nice to see you.”
The rest of Banner’s family were on him then, kissing and hugging him and telling him how proud they were of him.
I couldn’t agree more.
And hours later, when he was finally able to go to our hotel with us for the next few hours, he pulled me into a small alcove and dropped a bomb on me.
“Will you marry me, Perry?” He held out a modest ring that made my heart stutter in my chest.
My mouth fell open.
“I’m seventeen, Banner!” I cried out. “This… are you sure?”
I mean, I was sure.
Banner was it for me.
But I didn’t know that he was sure.
I didn’t want to do this to him. He may change his mind, you know?
There was a long road ahead of us, and I didn’t want to tie him down. He may change his mind.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said as he studied my face with his beautiful eyes. “And that’s not what I’m thinking.”
I laughed. “What do you think that I think that you’re thinking?”
“I think that you think that I’m going to regret it. But I’m not,” he said. “I won’t ever regret anything that has to do with you.”
I felt my shoulders loosen.
“Ask me again when you’re done. I’ll say yes,” I promised.
He frowned. “That’s not the answer I wanted.”
I laughed then.
He put the ring on me anyway.
“That’s the only answer you’re going to get,” I said as I admired the ring.
“Keep it,” he growled. “That way everyone will know that you’re taken.”
And so I did.
Epilogue
I’ll get over it. Just gotta be dramatic first.
-Perry to Banner
Banner
One year and four months later
“MARCO!”
The old woman that gave out carts glared at me.
I ignored her and tucked my hat underneath my arm, screaming all over again.
“MARCO!”
It wasn’t the same time of day as last time I’d done this.
There were a considerable amount more people, all of which were looking at me with confusion.
I was standing there, in uniform, calling out for my girl.
I’d heard she was here from her father.
I’d stopped by her place first looking for her and found out that her dad had sent her here for some groceries.
Which led me to Walmart, right back where I was almost a year and a half ago.
“MARCO!”
I searched for my girl, not seeing her.
I missed her like crazy, and I couldn’t fucking wait to have her where she belonged in my arms.
After a considerable amount of discussion, it was decided that she would go to college locally for the first year after she graduated high school—something that I’d sadly missed.
Now that year was up, and I was here to take her home with me.
Not that she knew that.
I had a fe
w stops to make, first.
One was to the county courthouse where I would be marrying my girl.
The second was to her house to pack up her things.
The third was to the small apartment I’d gotten off base that we would make our home for the next couple of years while she went to school.
Once she was graduated and working, then maybe we could afford something else.
But for now, that was all we would need for a while.
Though, for that to all work out, I needed my girl.
“MARCO!”
That was when I heard the running footsteps, followed by the sobbing.
When I saw her, my knees went weak.
She had a fucking gallon of milk in her hand. A gallon of milk that she dropped as she hurled herself at me.
I caught her just like she knew I would and wrapped her up into my arms, burying my face in her chest.
People all around us started to clap and cheer, but I only had eyes and ears for my girl.
“You’re home,” she cried.
“I’m home,” I promised.
She pulled back. “I’ve missed you like crazy.”
Seeing her had been hard over the last year. We’d road tripped, flown, called, wrote letters and sent emails.
But having her there with me, in my arms? That was like a dream right out of a fuckin’ fairy tale.
“It’s time,” I said as I pulled back. “We have an appointment we can’t miss.”
She frowned. “What appointment?”
I put her down on her feet and reached for her hand, tapping her ring that she’d never taken off.
“The milk,” she said as she pointed to it.
I looked at it, busted all over the floor, and hesitated.
“I got it.”
I looked up to see an older man with a mop and a yellow bucket.
“Thank you,” I said.
He winked. “Thank you.”
Then I tugged my girl out into the parking lot.
Thirty minutes later, I made her my wife.
An hour after that, we packed her things.
Two hours after that, we had dinner with our family and friends.
Four after that, we got started on our new life by driving way too many hours across the country to our new home.
But it didn’t matter how long it took.
All that mattered was that I now had Perry Spurlock at my side.
Other books to try:
Kevlar To My Vest
(Trance & Viddy’s Story)
Prologue
Viddy
Please don’t leave me. You’re my best friend.
-Viddy
“Trance?” I cried into the receiver.
“Viddy? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Trance yelled into my ear.
I clutched Hemi closer to my chest and gasped in pain.
“C-can y-you c-come over? P-please?” I cried out.
I heard the sound of a car door slamming shut, and then the roar of an engine as it sped off in the background.
Normally, I’d nag at him about going too fast, but I was about ten seconds away from losing it, and I needed him here. Fifteen minutes ago.
“What’s going on, Vid? What happened?” Trance asked urgently.
He sounded like he was in a tunnel or something, which meant he’d put me on speakerphone. Which also meant he was at work, ‘cause he couldn’t be caught with a cell phone to his ear while he was driving his police issued vehicle.
“Hemi’s vet called. They told m-me he h-had cancer and he needed to be put to sleep. I knew it was something bad, but I couldn’t take him in until today. I didn’t have a ride, and Paul refused to take him for me.” I cried.
Oh, God. What was I going to do without him here? He was my best friend!
Hemi had started acting strange a few days ago. After several frustrating attempts to get my boyfriend, Paul, to take me to the vet so I could get Hemi checked out, he still refused. My sister was on vacation and there was no way I’d call her to come home for this. She and her husband deserved a little alone time before their baby came in a few more months.
This morning, when I’d finally gotten frustrated and called a cab, I’d never dreamed that it’d turn into this. First, the cab had nearly refused to transport us due to company policies about pets, but when the dam on my emotions broke, he’d relented, but only barely.
Then, as soon as we’d walked into Dr. Tucker’s door, they’d yanked him away from me so fast my head spun. I could practically feel the condemnation pouring off them at the state he’d been in. Yet, I’d called the vet numerous times in a vain attempt to get one of them to pick him up, and they’d said they didn’t offer those services.
That was when I started calling other vets, but with him being a new patient to them, they’d refused as well.
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. I’ll be there in just a few minutes. I’m on duty in the residential district right now, but it shouldn’t be more than ten minutes at the most.” Trance’s velvety deep voice said through the receiver.
Mellifluous.
That was the word that came to mind every time I heard it. So deep. Smooth. Rich and flowing. I wanted to put my lips up against his throat to feel the vibration that poured out with each word that was let loose from his mouth.
Trance was a very good man. When I’d had the privilege of being in his company, I felt alive.
It wasn’t often that I got to see him, though. He was a very busy man. He was a member of the police department as well as a member of the local motorcycle club, The Dixie Wardens.
“Thank you, Trance.” I whispered and then hung up.
Hemi was a nine year old English Setter with the silkiest fur I’d ever felt. He was a gentle, mid-sized dog with curly locks around his ears, flank, and face. I’d been told that he was snowy white with brown splotches, but that wasn’t what made him beautiful to me.
What made him so perfect was the way he’d help me wind through the house, moving little things that might trip me up. On our walks, around the apartment complex I’d just moved into, he’d steer me in the right direction, and always lead me back to our door.
He never barked unless someone was at the door, and always stayed close to my side.
Until he started acting weird.
He still stayed by my side, but he didn’t move as easily. I’d gone to fill his food bowl up and found it still just as full as it was the night before, and the day before that. Then his bathroom habits started to dwindle. He was going out more and more, staying out longer.
Then, yesterday, he stopped drinking water.
Now, Hemi had his head pillowed in my lap as I stroked his coat, and tried to do my upmost best not to freak him out with my crying.
“Oh, Hemi. I don’t want you to leave me.” I cried, tears dripping down my cheeks and most likely onto his face.
Fifteen minutes on the dot, after my phone call to Trance, I heard the front door open and Trance walk in.
The click-click of nails on the hardwood floor let me know that Radar was with him, too.
I could feel his presence like a shock, and knew instantly when his body was close.
He hunkered down beside the couch where I was sitting with my legs folded underneath me. Hemi’s tail thunked furiously on the couch beside me, making the whole couch vibrate with the intensity of it.
I felt the glasses covering my eyes lift to rest on the top of my head, followed by Trance’s thumbs wiping away my tears. “I’m here, baby.” He said reassuringly.
Any and all hope of not crying my eyes out fled, and I curled down until my head was buried into Hemi’s fur.
“What am I going to do without him?” I cried.
I could feel Trance as he stroked Hemi’s head, and finally Trance moved, shifting me and Hemi until we were both situated on either side of him.
I curled into his side, moving as close as I poss
ibly could.
My head was pillowed on his chest, one arm around his back and the other around his front, clutching at Hemi’s head.
Then I felt Radar’s head lay down on my leg, and I cried all the harder.
I’m not sure how long we stayed like that. I know it had to be quite a while, because once I was done with my crying, only little hiccups remained.
“What do you want me to do?” He asked softly, sifting his fingers through my hair.
I felt the rumble of the question vibrate through his chest, and a low deep thrum of contentment coursed through me. One that I never felt when I was in Paul’s arms. Never.
Which was why I’d never slept with him, despite his nagging about it.
“Will you take him to the park with me? I want him to play...” I started to ask, but the hard pounding at my door startled me out of finishing.
Then the yelling started. “Hey, Elise! It’s time to go. Remember? It’s Tuesday, we have to meet my parents for dinner!”
Why did he insist on calling me by my middle name? What was wrong with Viddy?
I didn’t move, and neither did Trance.
Radar did, however, go over to the door and started growling low in his throat.
“Hey, is that guy in there with you again? Is that his stupid fuckin’ dog? What did I tell you about him?” Paul snarled.
I lost it again. After everything he’d done to me lately, I just couldn’t handle his shit anymore.
Paul was not a nice man. He’d threatened me on more than one occasion on what he’d do if he caught me with Trance again. Not that Trance and I had ever crossed that line, but Paul didn’t care, and wasn’t willing to listen. Everything I did pissed Paul off, and I really just didn’t give a flying fuck anymore.
Paul could go fuck a duck.
I stomped hard towards the door.
Counting my steps, I got to seven and held my hand out, making contact with the door.
“Move over, Radar, I’ve got to get rid of the trash.” I said to the big boy who was still growling low at my door.
Turning the knob, I felt the full blast of Louisiana heat belt me in the face, as well as Paul’s anger.
“What the fuck have you two been doing in there? Your face is flushed, and you’re not wearing your glasses. You know how I hate that.” Paul chastised me.
Somethin' About That Boy Page 20
