He held the cup out to her with a slight bow of his head.“Happy to oblige.”
He wore his ACUs, the green and brown camouflage clashing with the red paint of her car.He wore his trousers tucked into the tops of brown suede boots and had his green beret pulled down over his right eye like a brim.Her eyes skimmed over the various badges and patches on his uniform, duly impressed with his accomplishments as a soldier.“You should be happy I got off on time today.Sometimes I get stuck.”
“I’m really happy you didn’t get stuck.”
The mostly hot brew tasted delicious.“I didn’t expect you until the middle of the week.”
He set the bag on top of the car, then leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest.“We got called back.We have to, ah, go somewhere.”
“Unofficially.”
He nodded.“Unofficially.”
She raised an eyebrow.“I’d ask if you could tell.”
“Don’t ask.Don’t tell.Wasn’t that a military thing?”
She laughed, “Now I really want to know.”
“Best not.Just trust the plan.And there is always a plan.”He tilted his head and looked down at her.Her heart rate accelerated slightly as she looked into his eyes.“But I’m free tonight.Can’t promise when again.Would you like my company?”
“What if I have plans?”she teased.
“Change them,” Jerry answered without a hint of humor.
Their schedules had not meshed since Thanksgiving two weeks ago.She relented, “Jerry, I would love your company.”
His eyes shone as his mouth formed a smile.“What time’s good for you?”
She took another sip of coffee and looked at her watch.“I need to sleep this shift off, or else I would be no fun.How about any time after five?”
“Let’s call it six-thirty.I haven’t slept in a couple of days myself.”He straightened and picked up the bag.“Hey.Close your eyes.”
“Close my eyes?”
“Last time I saw you in Germany, you were watching the sun rise with your eyes closed.Never seen that before.”She could not believe he remembered that.He nodded again with a tight-lipped grin.“Olive.Close your eyes.”
She raised both eyebrows but complied.Suddenly, the rich buttery smell of pastries filled her nose.Her mouth immediately began to water.
“Croissants, from my favorite bakery.I was going to bribe you if you said no.”
She opened her eyes and grinned up at him.“I could still change my mind,” she teased.
“That could be fun.Then I could change your mind back again.”Jerry chuckled and held the bag out to her.“See you at six-thirty.”
On an impulse, she shifted the bag of pastries to her right hand, which also held the coffee cup, and stood on her tiptoes to hug him with her free left arm.He barely hesitated as he returned the embrace.His strong arms felt good as they came around her.She didn’t mind the smell of his musky sweat and the faint smell of gunpowder and gun oil.He smelled very much like a man.“Thank you,” she said as she stepped back.“Get some rest.”
He ran a finger down her cheek.“You too.”
She could feel his touch long after he walked away.Feeling lighter, freer than she had just minutes before, she slid into her car and set the bag in the passenger seat.She caught her reflection in the rear-view mirror, trying not to cringe at the disheveled hair pulling out of her braid or the shadows of fatigue under her eyes.
Since when did she care about how she looked after a shift?
Shaking her head, she pulled out of the parking lot.The aroma of the croissants tempted her to dig into the bag before she was properly secured at home and could enjoy them to their fullest.She smiled and bit her lip, thinking about the handsome soldier who’d waited by her car.He’d clearly come straight from the field.The fact that he’d come to see her before going home meant a lot to her.
She remembered what it was like, coming in from the field, and all you could think about was a shower and a meal that didn’t involve opening a foil-lined bag and scooping the cold contents out with a long brown plastic spoon.
But he’d come straight to her.It electrified her to think that he might like her as much as she liked him, that he might miss her when he didn’t get to see her the way she missed him.
