The Soldier Next Door

The thing about life is that it is never constant.

The only constant I can assure myself at present is Ana and the baby. What changes is everything else. The choices and decisions you make will never remain the same. Though some things are certainties, and that is your dreams. They, too, might change, but the thing is that you are constantly dreaming about something.

The measures that you will go to achieve these things do measure you as a man. I believe that if you always play it safe, then you are purely just a coward. You sit, and you wait, and you let fate decide for you what is going to happen next. But the thing with fate is that it takes you down that road you ever so often avoid taking.

Well, I am not that man; I am a dreamer. And when I dream, I dream big.

So I am finding myself at a place that I do not want to be. I am at a crossroads, with a difficult decision to make. Do I turn right and put my dreams aside, turn them away and start a new life? Or do I turn left, and follow those dreams, embrace who I am? Whichever way I go, whichever choice I make, it will define whom I will become once again.

While Matty is getting ready to head off to the barracks, I watch him as the nervousness starts to creep up in his face. The man is going to do good, he just needs to believe in himself, and this is what I will remind him of, “Hey, Matty, I will see you out there?”

He only cocks his head and looks at me with a frown, “Did the Misses say yes?”

“Well, we still need to discuss that one, but…”

Then he interrupts me, for Ana has just stepped out of the room, and in an instant, we change the conversation to the baby and ya, that wedding thing that still needs to happen. Now that wedding thing, well, that is not going to happen until I can walk without these damn crutches. The baby will be here in three months; Ana is, to put it politely, the woman is big; there is no way that we are going to look like the odd pair out in our wedding photos.

After messing around for half an hour, the time comes for Matty to leave. As I show him off, I give him one big brotherly hug, “You will do good out there. Just keep your head up.”

He looks at me with concern in his eyes, “Why don’t you just come back to being a Marine? Why have you got to go be all fancy?

“Hey, you know me, I have to do it bigger. But like I said, we will see each other out there. But just promise me one thing.” Those damn tears start to build in the corners of my eyes. I promised myself that I was not going to do this. But ya, what the hell, “Be safe out there.”

“Bro, you are going to make me go with red eyes to the barracks, then I coming back to smack you.”

I only but burst out in laughter as I see him disappear down the driveway, making his way to the bus stop. If I was ever a proud brother, then this is the moment. It seems Matty has grown all up from chasing girls and playing with techy shit.

And playing is Ana standing behind me, twirling her finger in her hair; now I know the woman has something on her mind, and that twirling thing means that she is waiting for me. So I take my steps as slowly as I possibly can and take a seat somewhat nervously next to her, waiting for that very smack that she has been wanting to give to me.

“Soldier, let us talk about this. Are you serious about this Raider thing?”

“Boo, I am not going to lie to you…”

She immediately interrupts me, “Yes, because I will slap you if you do. Now I heard what Matty said, why don’t you just be a normal Marine?”

“Boo, where is the fun in that.”

I watch her as she grinds on her teeth, and I know that she is controlling that urge to smack me between the ears, “So, this is what you are going to do?”

“Only if you say yes.”

“Well,” she starts. “I know that if I say no that you are going to walk around here the whole day and feel absolutely sorry for yourself, and I don’t want to be the person that makes you so unhappy.”

“So, does this then mean it is a yes?”

“Yes, soldier.”

“Boo, I…fuck…what do I say?”

I watch as her eyes begin to pool with trickles of tears, “Just go be the best Raider.”

She does not approve of what I am set to do; yet though she still remains by my side. Without any hesitation, this woman loves me with all her heart. She, in her own right, owns my heart, this body that is carved to perfection, and every flicker of my soul. This all belongs to Ana.

And it is this Ana that only but leans in closer against my sculpted chest, breath by a breath, she moves her deep cherry lips, closer and closer, with only one wink… our lips touch. She tastes like cotton candy and feels smoother than those silk pajamas that hug her body around her perfect curves and belly.

It takes me back to our first kiss; it is freshly carved in my memory; it only feels like it was only yesterday. With my eyes wide open, I admire the beauty that lies in her; with those brown eyes, she looks straight into my soul. She knows more than anybody else who Ethan Hunter really is, and for parts, she is the one that turned him whom he has become

Every time that she is close to me, it still sets my heart racing. The sweet smell of her perfume is the only scent that brings pleasure to my senses. With those deep cherry lips, she can drive a man beyond crazy.

She runs her hand through my hair and pulls me even closer; the world around us has completely faded away; she is my only focus. I place my hand at the small of her back, and she splays her hand against my chest.

“Ethan.”

“Ssshhh, boo.” I place my finger around her cherry lips, preventing her from saying yet another word.

We lean in a little closer, inch by inch, we move until our foreheads are gently touching. I stare deep into her brown eyes; I cannot fight against the thoughts that she has run through my mind. I totally come undone as she floods all my senses. My heart is beating so loud; it feels like I am going to explode. With hands that are slightly trembling, I whisper in her ear.

“I love you so damn much, boo.”

My hand drifts to her hips and settles there for a minute before I pull her closer into me. She inhales sharply and gasps as I lift her onto my lap. She locks her arms around my neck and runs her fingers through my hair. I begin to nuzzle her neck with soft kisses, so soft they felt like whispers. Her lips come closer to mine, and our breaths mingle. My heart flutter inside my chest.

For what seems like an eternity, we just stare into each other’s eyes.

She looks down at my slightly parted lips. We both lean into each other in slow motion, never breaking eye contact once. Then we begin to close the gap even more than before.

With a slight pull of her hair, I bend her head backward, giving me easy access to her lips. My warm breath lingers just for a second; I feel that I cannot breathe, I cannot move, my entire body stiffening.

Then she kisses me.

When she kisses me, my brain lights on fire, and the warmth spread throughout my entire body. I am addicted to her, I cannot bear being without her, and I can barely breathe when she is around. These kisses are my salvation and my torment. I live for them, and I would die with the memory of them on my lips. I dedicate my life to being with her, for I know that if I lose her, I will lose myself. She is the half that made me whole.

I never set out to fall in love; to me, love was a small fickle thing. Love made a man weak, and being a Marine weak is the worst kind of place you can find yourself in. Love was a thing for dreamers, a thing that is chased by people with their heads in the clouds and not their feet on the ground.

Love found me when I was not looking. I was not paying attention. It drew me in and kept me captive. It made me feel and experience so many feelings all at once. It took me on a journey that I know is not even close to ending. I know that it won’t be easy and that I am going to get broken sometimes, but I know for a fact that it is going to be worth every second of my life.

After what seems like being away for hours, we part and put our foreheads together.

Then she looks at me with a strained look on her face.

“Boo, what is it?”C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.

“Something is wrong, soldier.”