by June Gray
“So come.”
I sighed, my defenses already starting to wear down. “I can’t. I’m a responsible adult now.”
He huffed. “Okay.”
“Okay you give up?”
He released me. “Okay you’d better go to work before I tie you up and throw you into my luggage,” he said with a slap to my rear.
“Sounds kinky,” I said and shook my ass at him all the way to the front door.
Several hours later I found myself standing in Will Rogers airport, bidding Henry goodbye once again. I was starting to get the feeling that being with him meant that I would forever be standing on this side, always the one to watch him leave.
“Are you going to see your friends?” I asked after he checked in his bags.
He shrugged as he glanced towards the security gate. “Maybe. If time permits.”
“How about your ex-girlfriend?” I teased.
He grinned. “Definitely. I’ll make sure to see all of them,” he said and tickled my side.
“Are you staying with your parents?”
“Yeah. They actually sounded happy to see me.”
“Maybe things will be different,” I said, squeezing his hand as we walked towards the security gate.
“Maybe.”
Once we reached the security line, he turned to me and grasped the sides of my head, pressing his lips to my forehead for a long while. I closed my eyes, inhaling his scent, my body already missing his solid presence.
“You should come out to Cali,” he said. “Even just a few days.”
“I’ll try,” I managed to say through the ache in my chest. “I don’t have much time-off saved up.”
He held my face in his hands tenderly as he planted soft kisses on my lips, then on my nose, and finally on my forehead. “It’s just eighteen days,” he said and I got the distinct feeling that he was saying it more to reassure himself. “I’ll be back long before your birthday.”
“You’d better,” I said. “I’m thinking a costume party to celebrate my birthday.”
“Are you going to wear that Tomb Raider costume again?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.” I kissed him one last time and pushed at his chest. “Get going, buster,” I said with false cheer.
He quirked one dark eyebrow and looked down at his watch. “You want me to go already?”
“The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll come back,” I said simply, not saying that waiting here with him was torture, that it reminded me too much of that day back in March when we were separated for six months. “So scoot.”
He grinned and kissed me one last time before he joined the short security line. It took him all of five minutes to reach the metal detector and another thirty seconds to collect his things and slip back into his boots.
Then he turned one last time and winked before heading off into the terminal. I watched his steady, unassuming gait until he turned the corner and was completely out of view, already making plans of my own, sure that the next time I found myself in an airport, I would not be standing on this side of the gate.
THE STORY WILL CONTINUE IN RETREAT, TO BE RELEASED IN DECEMBER 2012
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank my husband once again for answering all of my questions regarding the military.
To my beta readers: Beth, Lara, Alicia, Kerry, and Shannon. Thank you for helping me out once again and for your willingness to help. I cannot express how much your friendship means to me.
To Dyann, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. Thank you for answering my questions and giving me insight into the military life.
To my editor at Clean Leaf Editing: thank you for fitting me and my novelettes into your busy schedule!
And thank you once again to the readers for coming with me on this journey, for caring to see what happens to Henry and Elsie.
Visit June Gray’s Blog for more information on upcoming projects, news, and short stories.
Table of Contents
Copyright
DEDICATION
1 | TENDING THE HOME FIRES
2 | HOMECOMING
3 | PROBLEMS IN LOGISTICS
4 | SHOCK AND AWE
5 | PEACE TALKS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
