American Bad Boy: A Military Romance

by Eddie Cleveland

  “Well, what’s a fairy tale without a happy ending?” Mack stops our dance and looks me straight in the eyes. I think he’s going to kiss me, my lips are already pushed up into a pout and instead he slides down onto his good leg, kneeling before me.

  He lets go of my hand and reaches into his tuxedo jacket, pulling out the familiar velvet box that held the engagement ring he gave me on the Ferris wheel. It isn’t just familiar because of his proposal. It’s because ever since he walked out of my car at the police station that ring has been sitting on my bedside table in that very box.

  “How did you get that?” I don’t mean to accuse him; I’m just surprised to see it back in his hand.

  He lifts the lid, and sure enough, it’s the same ring. “Chelsea snuck it into my pocket before we left,” he smiles up at me, his eyes twinkling.

  Of course she did. She’s so stealthy.

  “Lauren, will you give me the chance to start over with you? To fulfill the destiny, I’ve known was mine since I was six years old? Will you become my wife?”

  In my mind, I can still see his round face at six. His sweet smile that transformed into his irresistible smirk over the years. “Yes, of course I will. Yes!” I hold out my trembling hand and Mack slips the ring back into place on my finger. I know in my heart that it will never be taken off again. What Mack and I have can never be destroyed. Fate has just pushed us back where we always belonged. In each other’s arms.

  Mack stands back up and wraps his arms around me, his lips softly opening mine until our tongues finish this dance for us. In each other’s arms. It’s where we’ve always been, it’s where we’ll always be. Until death do us part.

  Nobody said it was easy Oh, it's such a shame for us to part Nobody said it was easy No one ever said it would be so hard I'm going back to the start.

  Epilogue

  Lauren - Present Day

  “What a gorgeous day, “I look up at the dark blue sky and breathe in a lungful of air that somehow feels cleaner. Like it always does in September.

  “You wanna talk about gorgeous? Look at you two,” Mack leans over and kisses me on the cheek and then over further to kiss our ten month-old daughter, Honor, on her button nose.

  Honor giggles and grabs her daddy’s face with both hands and slobbers with an open mouth down the side of his beard. She hasn’t quite perfected the art of kissing yet.

  Mack laughs and wipes the baby drool off with the back of his arm.

  “Can I hold her?” Chris interrupts.

  I’ve gotta admit, I was nervous when I first learned I was pregnant with Honor. The age gap between her and Chris seemed too insurmountable for them to ever be close. I’m so happy that my fears were unfounded. Her big brother might be a lot older than her, but their bond couldn’t be better. He absolutely adores his baby sister. If anything, it seems like the age gap has worked to his benefit. He’s had eleven years of being an only child and soaking up all the attention, he seems relieved to share the limelight with someone new. We’ll see how that goes once the infamous teen years hit, but right now, I’m just enjoying living in the moment.

  “Sure, bud. You can hold her.” I carefully move Honor into my son’s arms. She’s still not walking yet, but she’s so squirmy she can be difficult to hang onto. Luckily, today she’s feeling pretty snuggly, so she tucks her head in against Chris’s chest and shows off her new teeth in a tiny grin. With her mocha skin and large brown eyes, she’s already breaking all the baby boy’s hearts.

  “Guys! Hey! Look, you’re on the kiss cam!” Chelsea excitedly points to the giant screen across the stadium. I look over to where her finger is waving and, sure enough, Mack and I are smiling at ourselves from across the field.

  “Well, we wouldn’t want to let them down, now would we?” Mack wraps his arms around me tight. Our lips find each other, tenderly at first, but like every kiss with Mack, the spark of passion quickly ignites and burns like a sparkler in a child’s hand on July 4th.

  Around us, I can hear clapping and whooping for our lip lock. However, above all the commotion I can hear Chris groaning. “Mom! You’re embarrassing me!”

  I pull away from Mack and save my son the public humiliation of his parent’s love.

  “Thanks for letting us know about the camera, Chelsea,” I look over Mack to her but she doesn’t hear me. Now that the intermission is over, she’s completely immersed back into the game. My sister the super fan. I can’t help but wonder if she would be so invested in the game if Cameron Armstrong wasn’t the quarterback on the field right now.

  My money is on no.

  “Are you nervous about being the old man on campus?” I nudge Mack in the ribs.

  Ever since Mack got a job as an outreach coordinator with the Wounded Warrior Project, he’s been thinking about going back to school. He loves going around to the military hospitals, talking to other veterans, and their families. And they love him. With a story as public as Mack’s has been, they know they’re getting the real deal when he talks to them. Now he’s enrolled here, at the University of Colorado, part time so he can take some psychology courses. I don’t think he’s ever going to chase after a psych degree, but he’s dedicated to learning as much as he can so he can help his men.

  “I know you can’t be talking about me,” Mack teases. “Cause this guy,” he points his thumbs at his chest, “is in the prime of his life. Are you worried about your husband being the big man on campus?” He turns my question around on me.

  I’m not. It isn’t because Mack isn’t sexy, or funny, or doesn’t still have little bimbos that flirt with him from time to time, because all of that is true. It’s because I know he loves me. Only me. Always me.

  “Should I be?” I smile up at him, just because I know I have nothing to worry about doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear it from him, too.

  “Of course not! You know that,” he throws his arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze.

  “Yeah, I do.” I lean my head against his shoulder and breathe him in. Even after sleeping next to this man for two years, I still think there’s no greater aphrodisiac than his scent.

  “Did you see that?” Chelsea screams and points to the field. It’s over! They slaughtered that game.” She yells excitedly.

  I didn’t really see it, with Mack and my beautiful children distracting me, this game was little more than background noise on a perfect day. Still, I appreciate that Cameron got us these seats. Now that we’ve sat this close to the field twice, it’s spoiled me. I could never sit in the cheap seats for an entire game again.

  Mack’s arm slides off my shoulders and he jumps to his feet as the players clear the field. I stand up next to him and take Honor back into my arms, giving her a kiss on her chubby cheek.

  People around us start to shuffle around and gather their things to leave, but Mack doesn’t move. I have a feeling I know why.

  Sure enough, I see Cameron pull off his helmet and slowly jog over to us. It’s like I’m having a flashback to two years ago, but I have a feeling that this time he’s not coming over to talk to Chris.

  I glance over a Chelsea and she’s running her hands over her hair nervously. I swear these two are like a couple of kids admiring each other across the cafeteria at lunch, but never saying ‘hi’ to each other. It’s too bad that king quarterback Armstrong has been too busy indulging in his own fan club for the past two years. I really thought him and Chelsea would’ve at least gone on a date by now. I’m not sure who’s more disappointed that it never happened for them, me or her.

  No, I’m kidding. It’s her. Definitely her.

  “Hey man, great start to the season! You’re killing it out there,” Mack shakes Cameron’s hand.

  “Thanks, gotta shine for all those scouts, right? Apparently college doesn’t go on forever. Eventually they hand you a piece of paper and ask you to leave campus.” He smiles over at Chelsea.

  I look at my sister and her grin could stop traffic. Subtle. Real subtle.

  �
�Awesome game, Armstrong,” Chris holds out his hand confidently. My heart swells with pride. He’s quite a bit taller since he got a tour of this stadium a couple years back. I’m so grateful for Mack and Cameron talking to him and helping him get the closure he so desperately needed.

  “Hey man, long time no see,” Cameron shakes his hand. “Did you ever make it onto the team?” He looks at my son and I can see that Chris is flattered that the quarterback remembered his goals.

  “I did. I’m a running back on the school team,” he puffs his chest out proudly. He has every reason to be proud. After I got Chris a fresh start in a new school district, you never would have known he had been the same kid who had been expelled. He studied hard and got on the honor roll and his report cards went from a day we both dreaded in the year to glowing.

  “Great job, man. Keep working on it and maybe you’ll be the one catching a scout’s eye.” Cameron claps his hand on Chris’s arm.

  “Well, you’re really making a name for yourself here,” Chelsea interrupts. “I bet you’ll get picked up the draft first,” she smiles.

  “I’d like to think that’s true. But I thought I made a name for myself in high school too, but you don’t remember me from back then do ya?” He puts her on the spot.

  Chelsea fidgets a little and furrows her eyebrows together. “Uh, yeah, sure I do.” The lie is so painfully obvious; it makes me grimace.

  “Yeah, it sounds like I made a real impression,” Cameron teases her. “I’ll tell you what, how about you give me your number and I’ll take you out next Friday. This time I’ll make sure you never forget me,” his eyes narrow and his voice drops.

  “I’d like that,” Chelsea answers. I think we have a winner for understatement of the year.

  As my sister types her digits into Cameron’s phone, I look up at Mack. I’m so happy that I’ve already found my man. The father of my children. My soulmate. My forever.

  “Let’s give these two some space,” I whisper up at him. He looks down at me with his crystal blue eyes and for the tenth time today I remember how lucky I am. How lucky we are.

  “Sounds good. And then when I get you home, I think we should go find some space of our own. I have plans for you,” he murmurs.

  “I’d like that,” I steal the understatement of the year award from my sister in three small words.

  “Chelsea, we’ll meet you in the car, ok? I want to get Honor’s stuff packed up. No rush though, ok?” I look over at my sister.

  “Sure,” she answers without taking her eyes off Cameron Armstrong. I suppose it’s not hard to see why, with his sandy brown hair and dark blue eyes, he’s got a boyish charm about him that he never lost after high school. It’s nice to see that he’s looking at her with the same degree of desire tattooed across his face.

  As we leave them to chat, I look over my family. My son, growing up into a wonderful young man. My daughter, whose whole life is open to possibilities. My husband, who is helping me write the chapters of my life, one page at a time. I gaze at them and know how my story is going to end.

  When I glance back over my shoulder to Chelsea and Cameron, I can’t help but wonder if their story is just beginning.

  * * *

  THE END

  Thank you for reading my first novel. As a recently retired military veteran, this story was important to me. After growing up in a military family and serving for twelve years myself, I've watched too many suffer from PTSD. I wanted to tell a story about the scars that go unseen in our wounded and bring their struggle to light.

  I appreciate you giving my first book a chance and if you want to be the first to know when Cameron and Chelsea's story comes out, please subscribe to my Newsletter or drop by and say hi on Facebook.

  Copyright © 2016 by Eddie Cleveland

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.