The Boat

The mission was simple. Board the vessel, secure the package, then exfil. Everything had gone smoothly until on his way out of the boat, while heading toward the aft, one of the armed guards decided now was a time to take a smoke break. He stood dead still, trying his best to fade into the shadows of the white ship, but knowing that his black wet suit would give him away if the guard looked in his direction. He tightened his hand on his knife,

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The Glance

She stared at him from across the room. He was busy talking to another guy about something, his speech so animated as his hands flew around while he spoke. She could just imagine what deep, intellectual conversation he must be having. The smile on his lips and the crinkle in his face giving away his enthusiasm for the topic. She couldn’t help but feel a rush in her pulse as she lingered along his long lines. The jeans he wore fit nicely enough. Faded. Torn and threadbare in just the right places. His left hand stuffed into his pocket, the silver watch on his wrist glinting the light from the room off its metallic surface. His button front shirt with its taupe brown color a perfect complement to the cowboy boots he wore.

She quickly looked away as his head turned in her direction, hoping he didn’t catch her looking at him. Her breath caught in her chest.

Once said…

I sunk my eyes down from her gaze. “That’s not what I meant to say.” I said as sheepishly as I could.

“Oh? Really? It sure sounded like that is exactly what you meant.” Her voice oozing with venom.

“I just meant… I mean… that’s not what I meant… it’s just…” I looked up at her, trying my best to give her a smile to disarm her. “I love you?” I said as I curled my lip up on the right side, hoping that my boyish grin and charm would disarm this horrible mess.

Coming Home

Sara glaringly looked at her watch again. The plane had landed almost 10 minutes ago and her anxiousness was starting to get the better of her. She shook the sign that she held in her hands as the other women and children around her bustled and brimmed with anticipation. It had been the longest 9 months they had ever had together, or rather, apart, and now she stood there in the terminal, waiting.

Hadn’t she waited long enough? Why couldn’t they just let the men off the plane so they could come home? Why couldn’t they just get on with it already? Her hands started ringing the cardboard sign almost tearing the paper that she had worked so hard over the last two weeks to get just right. It had to be just right. For him.

The woman standing next to her reached over and touched her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts and causing her to jump. “First deployment?” she asked. An inviting smile on her face disarming Sara’s immediate desire to be left alone.

“That obvious?” Sara responded back to this new woman, her hands relaxing a bit on the sign.

The Text Message

“I can’t stop thinking about you.”

I stared at those words, the tiny blinking cursor at the end flashing, begging me to hit delete or send. My heart raced in my chest and I knew that sending this would change everything. Up until this point, we had flirted. The comments about how good she looked in this outfit or how she had a nice smile or even how that color really complimented her eyes. This though, this would be crossing that imaginary line between fantasy and reality. This would make it real.