I sit on the edge of my bunk, excited to finally be getting some rest after being on patrol all night. I’m exhausted, and my head is pounding from the lack of sleep. I look around at the bare, cinderblock walls, and shake my head at the spartan furnishings. How is it that just a week ago, I had a beautiful, vivacious, and sexy young woman within my grasp? Then, the world changed. Now I’m in this shitty, dusty room, with a roommate that farts in his sleep and won’t ever shut the fuck up.
I know I’m being an asshole. Tucker is nice enough, but he’s not the problem. Being back just reminds me that I don’t have Tony with me this time. This tour is definitely my hardest just because I miss my best friend so much. Everyone here wants to swap stories and have a pissing contest about nothing. It’s so dumb that I don’t talk to anyone unless I absolutely have to, and I’m not interested in making friends. I do my job, like a good teammate and soldier, and I go to my bunk. After only a couple of days, I’ve started to get used to the repetitiveness of my daily routine. Make that my depressing, daily routine.
Maybe I’m too old for this shit.
I pull off my boots and flop back on my bed. My head lands on a hard object and I turn around to see what’s on my bed, rubbing the back of my neck where it made contact. It’s a small cardboard box, and I look at it, perplexed. This must be the package Tucker was telling me about.
I pick up the box and look at the shipping label:
Susie Monroe
39283 S. 4th St.
Remford, IA 52591
Very interesting.
Before opening it, I remember out last moment together. It was that day we met, when Susie came flouncing out of her house in that slutty little outfit. Oh, how delicious she looked. I was tempted to bend her over that fence and take her right there because she knew exactly what she was doing. Eighteen, bullshit. Age is nothing but a number because that girl is sex on legs.
I almost came undone when she actually did touch me. Her dainty hand rested lightly on my arm, and I had to get her hand off me before I yanked her over the fence and marched her into my bedroom for some long, hot loving, consequences be damned.
I’ve thought about her every day since that moment. Her long curly hair and her creamy skin visit me in my dreams every night. I replay her bending over and giving me a full show of how thick she is. I imagine her big Double D breasts sitting up while she crossed her arms and damn near shoved them at me.
But she’s in high school, I tell myself over and over again. I can’t help but feel like a pervert. What grown man preys on a high schooler? Susie can’t handle me, despite what her body says. I need a woman. I need someone my own age.
But oh God, Susie had the body of a woman, that’s for sure. In fact, she had a better body than all of the women I’ve met. She’s luscious, curvy, and not afraid to show it. Plus, she’s eighteen so technically, everything’s legit.
I shake my head, disgusted with myself. These thoughts are fucking wrong and I know it.
Confused by my feelings, I open the box slowly and carefully peer inside. Inside, there’s a ziplock baggie of delicious-looking chocolate chip cookies, just like she promised. I open the bag and take a deep inhale, like I’m taking a hit.
The aroma of these cookies takes me back to when I was a little kid. My mom would make cookies and let them cool in the window. I was always outside playing with my friends, but that smell got me every time. I would leave them and go in to spend time with Mama, absolutely devouring the soft and warm cookies she had just pulled out of the oven.
I take the bag out to see if there’s anything else in the box. Sure enough, at the bottom is a small note. I take it out, placing the empty box on the floor. The note is on pink paper and carries a faint vanilla scent that wafts up and dances around my nose. I bring the note closer to my nose and take a deep breath.
“Oh Susie, I know you smell so good,” I whisper to myself. I continue sniffing the paper like a pervert until my curiosity gets the best of me. What does the note say?
I carefully unfold it and read what’s inside.
* * *
Dear Brady,
I hope this note finds you well. I’ve kept my promise to keep your house safe from Shorty McShort Shorts Joe. Also, I really hope you enjoy the cookies. They’re an old family recipe and my personal favorite. But I want you to know, that’s not the only cookie that I have for you to eat.