I remember once when I was younger, begging my father to let me pet one of them. He had answered sharply with a “They will bite your hand off,” and ever since then I’ve been terrified of them. They looked friendly, though, with their tongues sticking out of their mouths like they were actually smiling.
I showed the military police my military id (definite perk of having a Marine for a father) and sped through the open gates of the base. Everything was cleaned up from the small hurricane that had come through. The town was back to its normal beauty.
My foot pushed down on the accelerator as my eyes bounced to the several small gravel side roads that I knew the military police liked to park on to catch people speeding. I was hoping the speed demons were on my side today so I could get away with doing fifty in a thirty-five-mph speed zone.
Once I found the giant, white buses glinting in the early morning sun, I felt my stomach clench. The last time I’d seen these white buses was when I said goodbye to Alex and the rest of his unit. This was such a familiar sight; I’d said goodbye to so many people in my life, but this time was different. Much different.
I pulled into a tiny parking spot between two minivans and took a few deep breaths, inhaling the new-car air freshener scent trapped inside my car. I clasped my eyes shut at the digital clock on my dash that read 8:37 a.m. I puffed my cheeks anxiously and exited the car, rising up on my tiptoes to scan through the many Marines dressed in their deployment uniforms, surrounded by their families, mustering up the courage for their final goodbyes.
I walked a little further and my eyes quickly found a striking inconsistency. In the midst of families clamoring around their military members dressed head to toe in deployment gear, there was a short, bald man in a sleek, black, tailored suit. That’s why I locked onto him; he stood out sharply. My gaze lingered on him a little longer before I moved a bit closer and saw the person whose hand he was shaking: Luke’s. My head inched to the left, wondering who the hell that man was, but that was just the thing about this whole situation: I was so wrapped up in Luke, yet I didn’t really know much about him.
Sure, I knew what his dick felt like inside me (amazing). I knew that he came fr
om South Carolina. That he’d almost gotten shot on his last deployment… and that was about it.
The closer I got to Luke, the more my ears stood at attention, trying to listen to what he and the man were discussing.
I heard the bald man mumble as soon as I stepped up behind Luke’s back, “I know how to reach you if we need anything else. We’ll get this taken care of, Lucas.”
Hmm. Interesting. As soon as the man peered to the side of Luke’s tall frame, he spotted me and gave a faint smile before dropping Luke’s hand and walking away.
“Who was that?” I asked, and Luke whipped around fast.
He paused, and his lip twitched. I walked a little closer to him, trying to gauge his reaction.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d come, Doc…” he said slowly, deliberately.
I cast my glance away from his stare. “I wasn’t sure I would, either.”
My heart felt weak in my chest as I took in the crowd: small children clinging to their military dressed parent, a woman clutching the dear life out of her husband’s hand, another loved one wiping away the tears that were streaming down her face.
It made me feel physically ill. I wished saying goodbye was something that got easier with time, but it never did. The worry always stayed right there with you, no matter what.
Luke took a step forward, his camouflaged hat casting shadows near the brim of his nose. We stood close, scanning each other’s faces. I could feel myself moving the extra few inches it took to get to him.
Once I did, I grabbed the hands hanging down by his sides, interlocking our fingers. It’s all or nothing, Cammie.
“I couldn’t not come say goodbye…” I started, and his eyes dipped just a fraction. I looked away, feeling my outer shell break into several pieces, all of which were crumbling to the ground. “I feel really silly saying this, Luke.” I cleared my throat. “But, I like you.” I let out a small laugh, “I mean, I more than like you but saying ‘I like-like you’ sounds completely ridiculous and immature.”
His low chuckle warmed me from the inside out, and then both of our smiles fell when we heard a rough voice yell, “Last call. Get on the bus, Devils!” The person barked the last statement out, and I practically jumped.
Luke swallowed and brought his face up to mine once more, “You know, this is my fourth deployment and…” His eyes moved to my mouth, “this is the first one that I have had to physically make myself get on that bus.”
My smile was barely there as I kept the tears hidden. I only nodded my head when his hands found their way onto my face, cupping the sides of my cheeks. I stretched upward and wrapped my small hands around his wrists. Luke brought my forehead to his mouth, planting a small tender kiss there, and I melted.
My heart ached in my chest, and I whispered, “You’ll write me?”
“As much as I can.”
I nodded again, my forehead still pressed to his mouth.
“Be safe, okay?” My voice was barely loud enough for him to hear and I knew he had to go board the bus any second now. He was already pushing the limits.
Suddenly, he backed away. Standing an arm’s length away from me. His mouth curved up on the side, and then he took his fingers, making a perfect square and closing one eye like he was snapping a picture.
I laughed, “What are you doing?”
“Remembering your face…” Then he made a snapping sound with his mouth and winked.