Sidelined

“No. You’re kind of my first Marine.”

He laughed. He wanted to say he hoped he was the last one too, but the moment was already fragile. She was on the edge of emotion like he had never witnessed before. He didn’t want to tip things in the wrong direction.

They drove in silence until Bolt pulled into the parking lot behind the squadron’s main hanger.

“This is it.”

“I don’t think I can do this.” Skye’s eyes welled with tears.

Bolt unclipped his seat belt and reached across the console. “Hey, it’s going to be ok.”

“I should have told you this last night.”

“What? What did you want to tell me?” He wiped a tear from her face. He struggled with the aching in his chest. This was damn near impossible.

“I’ll wait for you. I want to wait. I’ll be here when you get back.”

Bolt searched her eyes. “I told you, you don’t have to do that. I’m not asking you to put your life on hold.”

“I know you’re not. But I have to. I can’t let you fly out here today thinking I’m just going on with everything as if you’re not the most important person in my world. I’m waiting for you. Don’t try talking me out of it.” He smiled at the fierceness in her eyes.

“I won’t.” His mouth crashed against hers, drinking her in for the last time in six months. He wanted to memorize everything about her. The way her hair smelled, the way she tasted, the softness in that space where her shoulder met her neck—all of it—all of her.

He broke free from her lips. “Baby, I’ve got to go. Do you want to walk me inside?”

Skye opened the door and walked to his side. “I think if I have to drag out this good-bye I will break down. I better drive back.”

He handed her the truck keys. “I don’t want to picture you crying. You’re too beautiful for that.” He reached into the back of the truck and heaved one duffle bag on his shoulder and then the second one onto the other shoulder.

“I packed tons of snacks for you, and those powder drinks for you are all on top.” She pointed to the first sea bag.

“Thanks. I’m sure I’ll eat all of them before I get to Japan.” He was stalling. He didn’t want to turn his back and walk to the hanger. Everything he wanted was right here. “I’ll call you tonight from Hawaii. Ok?”

“Ok.” She plastered a smile on her face and stepped on her toes to kiss him again. “Bye.”

“Bye.” He turned toward the tailgate and listened as she started up the truck, the low rumble of the muffler filled his ears.

He saw Hollywood, Ranger, and Eagle gathered by the office door. He pressed his palm against his eye. He had to pull it together and fly straight before he reached that door. This wasn’t the way everyone was going to find out he had fallen in love.

Twenty-Six

Skye held her phone in her hand. It was more like a death grip. She counted over and over again how many hours it had been since Ben took off from Miramar and was supposed to land in Honolulu. He should have called by now. She paced around her apartment.

The afternoon crept by like spending the day watc

hing paint dry. It was day one, and she was already terrible at keeping herself busy. She tried to remind herself that just over a month ago there was no Ben Hardcastle in her life. She had plenty of things to do to keep her busy, like work. She searched for her briefcase before remembering she had left it at the office on Friday. She didn’t want her last night with Ben to be about anything but the two of them. And it was.

He was so sweet, cooking dinner for her. She sighed thinking about the candles he lit and the flowers he handed her. Ben had come a long way since their first botched one-night stand. He went from almost anti-relationship to committing to seeing her in six months. That wasn’t the stuff that flimsy relationships were built on. There was strength and steadiness in what they had. She knew that. She just wished the damn phone would ring.

She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but her eyes could only stay open for so long. She didn’t know what time it was when the phone started ringing. She sat straight up in bed, her TV blaring a rerun sitcom.

“Hello.”

“Hey, baby. Do you miss me yet?”

“Ben! Thank God, I’ve been worried.” She reached for her glasses. They must have fallen off when she was sleeping.

“Don’t worry. Everything is fine. We had a little engine trouble when we landed, so I got stuck at the hangar working with the maintenance crew. Looks like we’ll be in Hawaii an extra day.”