But I couldn’t imagine giving it up. I lived for the battlefield. It was the only place where I felt alive, felt right. I needed the feel of metal in my hands as I hunted down America’s enemies and destroyed them. That was what I was trained to do, and it was what I did very, very well.
I wasn’t supposed to get attached to anyone when I was home. And truthfully, I barely knew Piper, but I could already feel something tugging me toward her. I’d never felt something like it before, and didn’t know what it meant. But I knew that I wasn’t going to be staying around for long, and I couldn’t risk letting things go to far.
“Good morning.”
I looked up. Piper smiled at me. She was wearing my dress shirt from the night before.
“Morning,” I said.
“Last night was . . . “
“Yeah,” I said. “I know.”
“We need to get down for the breakfast. I should get going.”
“Okay.”
“See you later?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
She smiled and went back into the main room. She got changed back into her dress and then left.
I sat back down on the bed and breathed in the smell of sweat and sex. The memory of the night before came tumbling back through me, and I was practically hard already just thinking about Piper.
She was something fucking special. I’d never been with someone like her before.
I stared at the door and could see myself wanting more, needing more.
That was exactly what I couldn’t risk.
“Fuck,” I said out loud to myself softly.
Fucking Syria. I shouldn’t have done that last night, shouldn’t have let myself feel something like that. SEALs weren’t supposed to get close to anyone, since we could be called on to die at any moment. I was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for my country, but I didn’t know if it was fair to ask someone else to be involved with a man like that.
I stood up and automatically began to pack. I didn’t have much to put away, since everything I carried fit inside of my field pack. I was trained to pack light and fast, which I did. Once I was dressed and everything was tucked neatly into the bag, I stood there, surveying the room.
I knew that I was expected at breakfast. I looked down at my watch and shook my head.
Another time, maybe.
I quickly left the room, getting away from the smell of Piper that still lingered in the air. I grabbed a cab out front and it drove me out to the airport.
I stood in line at security and let my mind wander. I only had a few days before I had to ship out, which meant it just wasn’t worth trying to see Piper again. Besides, we didn’t even live in the same city.
I shook my head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. I didn’t know why I kept thinking about her. It didn’t matter. We had one night together, just a one-night stand. I’d never left a woman like this before and wanted more, and yet there I was, still daydreaming about Piper.
I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking. Maybe she was angry that I skipped breakfast and disappeared, or maybe she didn’t care. I had no clue if she saw it as just another one-night stand, or if she wanted to see me again.
It didn’t matter. I didn’t fucking matter. I was going to war. I had to forget about this fucking girl and move on with my life. I couldn’t afford to be distracted, not when my job was so demanding.
Soon, I was through security and I found myself sitting at the terminal, flipping through my phone. My flight wasn’t for another couple hours, and so I had plenty of time to kill.
And plenty of time to think.
I leaned back in my plastic padded chair and sighed. I was going to keep obsessing about seeing this girl again. I just fucking knew it.
I might as well do something about it.
I found the hotel’s phone number on their website and called the front desk.
“Hello, how may I help you?”
“I’m looking for a guest that’s staying with you.” I paused, realizing that I didn’t know her last name. “She’s there for a wedding. Her name is Piper.”
“Last name?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t have it.”
There was a pause. “One moment.” I heard her typing. “We have a Piper Bowers here.”
“That’ll work.”
“I’ll put you through.”
There was a pause and then the line began to ring again.
It rang and rang. I was about to hang up, figuring she was still at breakfast, when suddenly someone grabbed the phone.
“Hello?” she asked, breathless.
It was her. It was Piper. “Hey,” I said.
She paused. “Gates?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Oh. Why weren’t you at breakfast?”