Perfect Soldier: The Complete Story (5-Part BBW Military Romance Novel) (13 page)

Chapter
Two

Catherine

I stuck around for a bit and thought about going up
to the lookout tower to watch his plane to take off, but I couldn’t take being
in public anymore. I needed a good cry and didn’t feel like doing it around a
bunch of strangers. If I did, someone would inevitably come over to comfort me
and ask what was wrong, but I couldn’t even begin to explain all the emotions
that were running through me. As pathetic as crying in the car sounded, it felt
like the most appropriate thing at the moment.

But as I walked to the car I felt my phone vibrate
in my purse. I pulled it out and wiped the tears from my eyes. Two texts from
Colt. They were short, but sweet.

My only response was:
Stay safe. I love you.

Then a strange thing happened. When I got back to
the car, I didn’t feel like crying anymore. Instead, I felt the strong urge to
power through, to stay strong for Colt. So as sad as I was, I tried to smile.
What he and I had was great. Yes, there were tough times ahead, but we’d make
it through. When he came back, I’d have finished at least another semester of
classes. Maybe we could take a long vacation together. We both deserved that,
right?

Inevitably two questions entered my mind:
Would
he be back? And if so,
when?
But I did my best to try to brush them off.
Be strong, I kept telling myself. Yet, no matter how much I tried to ignore
this nagging thought, it continued to resurface. I said a silent prayer as I
started up the car, driving out of the darkened garage and onto the road
leading to the highway.

By now the sun was starting to emerge, clearing away
the clouds of a previously gray morning. I decided to take it as a sign of good
things to come. Being unhappy and anxious wouldn’t bring Colt home any more
quickly; it was time to face life head on. He
would
be back. He
promised
he’d be back. I just had to try my best to believe that was true.

***

Colton

As I boarded the plane that day, I wondered about
the future to come. It might sound crazy, but I wasn’t really worried about
heading overseas. I was more concerned about Cat and how this time apart would
affect us. The hardest part of life in Afghanistan wouldn’t be the early
mornings, the bad food, and the missions; it would be life without the one
person I truly loved.

For right now, I was simply heading to Maryland, not
exactly a dangerous flight by any standard. After a few weeks of training, I’d
be back over in the desert.
Damn
. Part of me couldn’t believe this shit
was happening again. It’s not that I wasn’t dedicated or that I took my duties
lightly, but why
now?
Why couldn’t I get placement at some base
stateside? Or maybe on another international base in a non-combat zone?

Maybe it wasn’t my place to question these things,
but I hated being pulled away from Cat like this, especially at such a crucial
time in our lives. We’d only known each other for a few months. Would time
apart so early in the relationship threaten to derail it? I shook my head as if
to get rid of that terrible thought.

I lay back in my seat and closed my eye, attempting
to get some sleep. It wasn’t surprising I’d gotten very little of it the night
before between the frequent, last-minute sex sessions and the bouts of anxiety.
Hopefully, I’d get some rest. I wanted to be fresh when I arrived on base.

***

Catherine

The next few weeks weren’t so bad. Colton was busy,
but still being in the States, he was able to text. At night we’d have long
conversations on the phone. Every night, however, it would come time to say
goodnight and I’d have to hang up and go to bed alone.

Each time I lay there thinking about him, feeling
cold and lonely. I slept restlessly on those nights without his arms there to
keep me warm and secure. Our lives, our bodies had become so integrated that it
was a learning experience living apart again. I pulled the blankets tighter around
me; I bought a new comforter and flannel sheets even, but nothing seemed to
work.

Before long the late night phone calls ended. Colt
was headed overseas. No more long conversations, no more texts. We were about
to enter a period of complete silence. I had no idea how I would deal with it,
but the fact of the matter was that I would have to. It was as simple as that.

***

Colton

Life at the base wasn’t all that bad. I could text
Cat whenever I had free time and I also got time to call her at night. Certainly,
it was not a perfect substitution for pressing up against those perfect curves,
but at least it was
something
.

But as the days drew closer to flying overseas, I
started getting more depressed. I’d draw out our conversations on the phone,
just trying to hear her beautiful voice, the easy rhythm of her breathing. It
made me feel calm and relaxed. How long would it be before I’d hear her
soothing, sensual voice speaking into my ear? I didn’t even want to think about
that
.

The day I boarded my flight to Afghanistan it was
even worse. I could hear her crying on the phone. She spoke through her sobs,
telling me she loved me. It was hard to hear that. Not because I didn’t love
her, but because I knew I might have been lying when I promised her I would come
home. I prayed we would be united,
but how could I be sure?
How could I
make such a promise without knowing what the future had in store?

I boarded a military plane to Afghanistan with even
fewer bags than I had when I left Oklahoma. We were travelling lightly; all the
essentials would be provided for us at the base. All I brought with me were a
few personal mementos to remind me of home, not the least being a picture of
Cat and I, my arm around her shoulder outside during the first snowfall of the
past winter.

I smiled sadly whenever I looked at it. This picture
was all I had left.

Chapter
Three

Catherine

The last phone call I had before Colt left was
devastating. Hearing his voice just made me want him to stay all the more. But
by now there was nothing I could do to change the course of events; he was
going abroad whether I liked it or not.

He sent me one last photo of himself before he left:
a selfie of him outside the military plane he was boarding. I had to laugh.
Colt never took selfies. But I knew he did it to cheer me up, to turn a solemn
event into a lighthearted one.

He looked handsome in the picture, but then again I
always thought he looked handsome. I can’t tell you how many times I looked at
that picture before falling asleep at night, hoping the sensory image would be
impressed in my memory, hoping somehow Colt would appear in my dreams as
vividly as in real life. I was absolutely dying to be close to him again.

Life had been difficult of late. Classes were
excruciating. My midterms had come back with mediocre grades. I knew I’d been
distracted from my studies with all the drama of Colt leaving so suddenly. I
could make it up when finals came around, but it would take a whole lot of
extra time with my textbooks. To top it off, work had also been more stressful;
one of our waitresses had quit and moved out of town, so the rest of us were
forced to pick up extra shifts.

But just when all of it seemed like too much to
bear, I opened my mailbox to find a letter from Colt. I nearly fainted when I
saw the name on the envelope. In his words, I found an escape from the everyday
stresses of my life.

***

Dear Cat,

I hope this letter finds you well. We
just touched down in Kabul. It’s nighttime here, which means we can’t travel,
so we’re being held over in a base inside the city limits.

Tomorrow I will find out where I’ll be
headed for the next few months. Of course, by the time you receive this letter,
I’ll already have my assignment – undoubtedly providing security and stability
in some place in the middle of the damn desert that a high-ranking general has
determined is absolutely crucial strategically. Ah, such is life! Not sure when
we’ll actually be heading out; I get the impression we need to do another round
of intensive training first.

It’s weird being back; it feels
different from last time. The streets seemed safer as we drove through them
tonight. Granted, it’s a bit different out in the more remote provinces, but
overall I have a good feeling about this – even more so than when I left home.

Anyway, there isn’t much else to tell
you. The flight was long, but you already knew that. I hope everything is going
well and that you’re having success in your classes this semester.

Love,

Colt

***

Dear Colt,

I’m glad to know that you’ve made it
there safe and sound. Of course, you know it wasn’t the flight over that I was
worried about ;-).

School is going fine for the most part.
I didn’t do so hot on my midterms the other day, but it’s no big deal – I can
always make it up on the final in a few months. Work has been tough now that
Stacy quit (did you ever meet her? I’m not sure if you ever did, but you should
have – you hung around the bar long enough ;-)). Everyone has been working to
cover her shifts until we hire a new girl to fill the open position.

Overall, things are fine, nothing I
can’t deal with. I just find myself so bored without you around. My bed is
empty and it makes it harder for me to fall sleep at night. I know that’s only
going to get worse now that you’re overseas.

I hope you’re doing well. Please take
care. And, of course, you know I love you.

Please please
please
be safe,

Cat

***

Catherine

It was awhile before I heard from Colt again. I
figured it was just the slowness of sending mail around the globe. I tried my
best not to pay it any mind. Instead, I went about my day with a certain
pragmatic duty. My course schedule was rigorous, after all, and ultimately left
me with little time to worry.

That’s not to say that the occasional bout of panic
never entered my mind. Sometimes I wondered if the silence between us was
something more sinister; what if he had been injured and was lying inert in a
hospital bed… or
worse?
But I tried not to dwell on things like that. No
new was good news, right?

Besides, constant worry wasn’t going to do either of
us any good. It’s not like my anxiety was some magic shield that kept Colt safe
from harm. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was powerless in the
situation. All I could do was hope and pray that we both came through
everything unscathed.

But then a few weeks later I received a response
that explained the long interlude without contact.

***

Dear Cat,

I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in
such a long time, but the fact is things have gotten intense here very quickly.
I hope you didn’t freak out when you read that last sentence, because I don’t
mean intense as in dangerous, just insanely busy.

We’ve been going through some very
in-depth training, collaborating with a group from Special Ops. As you might
expect, I can’t provide any details here, but we’ve just received our
assignment and will be transporting our equipment via convoy in the near
future.

I think it’s going to be really
exciting. We’ll get a chance to engage with the locals for much of the time,
but we’ll also be going out on certain highly-focused missions. I think life
here has really improved since my last tour; things definitely seem safer and
there’s a good amount of buzz and high morale amongst my fellow soldiers.

That being said, I hope you’re keeping
your head out of the newspaper. I know reading about the situation here will
only make you worry about me. But trust me, I’m fine.

Honestly, my biggest problem so far is
not being on tour with Tyson and Garrett again. Those guys mean a hell of a lot
to me and its strange working with a new group. But in general most of the men
seem like real straight-shooters, good people to have around in sticky
situations. I just have to remember that we’re all soldiers in the end, and
that alone should be enough for us to trust one another.

I’ve got to run. Please write soon.
Reading your letter was the highlight of the past few weeks. Don’t be surprised
if I’m slow to respond. Like I said before, I’m going to be stationed pretty
remotely so it could take a bit longer for your letters to reach me and vice
versa.

Love,

Colt