Baby Makes Three

I left that part unsaid but it hang in the air nonetheless.

His answer left me shocked.

“Then let’s leave the emotions out of it.”

He said it like it was the most logical thing in the world and the only response I could muster was, “What?”

“We both have a lot going on right now with school and everything. A relationship will only complicate things so let’s keep it strictly physical. We’re great together. And med school is going to be stressful as hell, we both need this release. Even though we just fucked, I want you again. And I know you want me too. Let’s be friend with benefits.”

I definitely should not agree to that crude proposal.

That is what my head said.

My mouth seemed to be in agreement with my body though because, after a few heart beats, I said, “Okay.”

We would have sealed the deal with a kiss but my cell phone started to blare form its position in my bag.

Time to get back to reality.

Chapter Nine: Wyatt

After tossing and turning for many, long hours, I finally fell into a restless, troubled sleep. I wanted sleep to be easy but instead my brain wouldn’t let it go. Whatever the hell it was.

Even though I was out of the military I still slept like I was. I was trained to sleep lightly, to be able to wake up at a moment’s notice. I don’t know when the last time was I fell so deeply into sleep that I forgot my surroundings.

Sleep like that was luxury and not something to indulge in enemy territory when the squad could be attacked at any time. Being back in civilian territory hadn’t been enough to change my sleep pattern I developed over the last few years.

Tonight, in my dream, I was seated around a table with a group of five other guys. We were all dressed in camouflage gear with patches proclaiming U.S. Army.

We had just come back from a successful mission and were having a drink at a local bar in a small town in the Iraq to celebrate. The town was known to be friendly to American soldiers and we had thought ourselves safe enough.

We had been ribbing a newcomer to the group Luke Temple, just before all hell had broken loose. In typical fashion, Luke just been initiated into the group with a bunch of pranks, the latest of them left him running around the base nude with nothing but whipped cream covering his dick and a bright pink bowtie around his neck.

Luke’s face was red as the rest of the guys, including myself, laughed. He took it well though, guffawing with the rest of the men as jokes were made about the sight of his bare ass fumbling around the camp in search of his clothes.

I ki

nd of felt bad for the barely twenty-year-old guy. My own initiation into the group had been no less embarrassing. However, it was funny remembering the horrified look on his face when our base camp leader had spotted his mad dash.

A fresh round of laughter sounded at the table just before the world exploded.

The sound deafened me as my body was flown with the force of the blast. When my hearing came back, lots of noise intruded, hurting my ear drums.

My vision was blurred and a dull ache started to pulse on the back of my head.

I was disoriented and confused and for a moment I lost all my senses

“Medic,” someone yelled and I recognized the voice of my squad leader. “Medic, we need you over here!”

The voice grounded me and my focus became clear. My training kicked in and I got to my feet.

My job was providing medical support to the others.

It was my role in the group but most importantly, it was who I was.

I rushed over, steeling my muscles when my legs threatened to buckle under me.

People were screaming and some - those who could – were running away from the scene. Words I couldn’t understand were being shouted with panic and fear in the pitch and tone. Smoke and debris were making it hard to breath and faces were darkened with the mess the blast had created.