Page 9 of Behind the Cascades
Nodding my head, I try once again to figure out how to delicately tell her my thoughts. "Long-distance is hard. Really fucking hard. I've seen more guys on deployment get broken up with, cheated on, and divorced than I can remember. They give us briefings on it at least once a month—how to handle a heartbreak without killing someone, basically. The culture that surrounds relationships in the military is scary. No one is loyal." With a deep breath, I continue. "All that being said, I don't want that to happen between us. I will do everything in my power to make sure you know how loved, appreciated, and dedicated I am to you, no matter the distance. I love you too much to lose you because you don't feel valued."
Tears well in her eyes as she nods. "I love you, too. I've waited ten years to be able to call you mine. Now that I have you, there's no way I'm going to let you go. You’re it for me, Hayes. No one else could ever compare.”
My heart swells with her words. I've wanted her for so long; hearing her say she feels the same is enough to get me through the next couple of years. I don't know if I'll renew my contract after this deployment, but I still have time to decide.
"Before I leave, though, I'm flying you out to me, or vice versa, at least twice a month. Phone calls, face times, sexting, the works. I want to talk to you all day, every day."
"Ooh, sexting? I'm intrigued. Tell me more about all the dirty things you're going to send to me."
"I'd rather show you so that when I text it to you later, you knowexactlywhat I'm talking about."
I trace her bottom lip with my tongue and watch as her eyes darken with lust. She immediately grasped the back of my neck and drew me into a savage kiss. Kissing Charlie is like an electric shock running through my body; adrenaline spikes through me, chasing more ecstasy every time. It's easy to get lost in the moment, forgetting we are sharing a suite with our closest friends.
That is, until a loud knock, that sounds more like someone pounding sounds from the door. "Hey! Get out of bed, take a shower, and get dressed! You're not wasting the rest of our vacation locked in this hotel room." Odessa shouts while still banging.
"Dess, I love ya. But I really hate you right now!" I holler back. I was seconds away from being inside Charlie when Odessa's shitty timing had to ruin my moment again.
"Don't care! We've been waiting all day for you. We're hungry!"
Charlie chuckles underneath me and kisses my jaw before whispering, "We could finish this in the shower."
I've never moved as fast as I have at those words. Jumping out of bed, I lift her under her knees and carry her into the bathroom. She giggles the entire time and I want to bottle up the sound and keep it forever.
This trip, this moment, this connection—it's all I ever wanted in life but was too afraid to ask for. Charlie's it for me. She always has been, but now there's no denying it. This woman has wrecked me for all other women, there isn't any woman in the world that could come close to comparing to her.
Chapter Six
Hayes
Monday, March 6.
The team sits in the small conference room, twiddling our thumbs, waiting for the big news we are about to hear. It’s almost a guarantee that our orders finally came in and they’re sending us out. We’ve been working on specialized trainings the last few weeks, getting everything nailed down to perfection. My only hope is that our leave date isn’t until June.
Charlie and I have been dating long-distance since my birthday. Every fiber of my being is madly in love with her. We visit each other as often as we can, call each other all the time, and text even more. I was worried about long-distance, but Charlie makes it easy. She’s been staying busy with work and school still, but her graduation is at the end of May. The company she works for offered her a full-time position but she wasn’t sure she would take it until she knew for sure when I was leaving. I have a feeling today is the day we’ve been dreading.
When the senior officers come in with grim expressions, everyone's shoulders sag at the same time. Some in relief, some in dread—all with the understanding we are deploying soon. The newer guys are eager to get out there and do what we've been training to do. Those of us who have done it a few times know exactly what to expect. A shitstorm of fighting a battle that never seems to end and the realization that not everyone in this room may come back.
“Eight weeks. Mosul, Iraq. There will be three other teams working in the area, but our objectives are not the same. You aren’t to be seen or heard.” I’m not surprised to hear that. Our team is designed to be different. To be the best.
I can feel Drew staring at me but I simply shake my head once. Neither of us are the most terrific at math, but we both know that ‘eight weeks’ means we won’t be making it to South Carolina for Charlies graduation or birthday. They fall close to the same weekend and we already had our flights booked.
The hardest part is that I know she's going to be devastated but won’t show her emotions to me. She’ll throw on a brave face for me, and then cry when we get off the phone so that it doesn’t add to my mental load.
The phone rings and rings and rings, each ring grating on my nerves. I've been trying to call Charlie all day, but she's been in and out of classes. We've missed each other every time and the nerves of telling her have only grown to a suffocating level.
Finally, her sweet voice answers. "Hayes! Babe, I miss you! Sorry we've been playing phone tag all day. It's been so chaotic here between classes and work."
"It's okay,” I say as I crunch through a mint. I wish I could muster up some more enthusiasm, but I hate disappointing Charlie and I know it’s coming.
"What's wrong?" This woman knows me better than anyone else. The first sentence I’ve spoken and she’s already onto me.
I took a deep breath and then puffed out my cheeks when I let it out. "We received our orders this morning."
The line goes deadly silent as she starts to absorb what that means. “Shit."
I nod, despite that she can't see it. “Eight weeks.”
Her sharp inhale is the only thing that gives her true feelings away. "Okay, well, okay. One year is a drop in the bucket. Right?"Problem-solving mode, like she needs to convince me it’s okay.
