Chapter Two

21 years old

IT TOOK ALMOST THREE YEARS BEFORE WE MADE it back to North Carolina. In that time, I thought of Alana every single day. I wrote her letter after letter and tied them all together, sticking them in my bag. Sometimes I would write her when something happened to us, or if Jeremy was up to his usual antics. Other times, I would be so homesick that I would write to her as my only connection back to the one person that meant anything to me anymore.

But, I figured that she’d gone away to college and forgot all about me. Just from one afternoon, I knew that she was destined to be successful in anything she did. Alana is the kind of woman that deserves nothing but love and the very best a man can give her. By the time three years was up, I was expecting to see her with a kid and a man standing by her side. One that could give her the house with the white picket fence and be there every single night when he got off of work. Not a used-up man at the age of twenty-one.

What did I have to offer her? Nothing. As far as I was concerned, I would live my life in the military. Jeremy and I had already decided that we wouldn’t worry about love or finding that special someone. We would make sure that we served our country and that would have to be enough for us. In the meantime, there were plenty of willing women to have a good time with. They never filled the hole that meeting Alana created; it was more a need for release than anything else.

Jeremy was still out, looking to find every single woman he could fuck with no strings attached. All I wanted was a little peace and quiet. To concentrate on living my life and being the best soldier. We finally had a day off and Jeremy decided that he wanted to go to the beach again. We had just spent so long surrounded by nothing but dirt and sand, it’s the last place that I wanted to be. But, that may be the one place that I could see Alana again. So, I decide to go with him. Even if it was a long shot.

We’ve been at the beach for a while now. I’ve been looking for Alana with no hope of seeing her as the afternoon turns to evening. Finally, just as I’m about to be resigned to the fact that I’ll never again see her, I spot the girl that captured my attention in one afternoon and I’ve never been able to forget her.

Alana is lying on a towel on her stomach. She is facing the other way so she has no clue that I’m here or staring right at her. I thought she was beautiful before, but now she’s magnificent. On full display is her toned and tan body. Her luscious curves and beautiful hair call to me. Without any hesitation on my part, I make my way toward the goddess. My feet seem to have a mind of their own as I stealthily move toward her spot on the crowded beach.

“Alana, is that you?” I ask once I get close enough to say something to her without yelling.

She startles and quickly turns her head toward me. At the same time, she whips her sunglasses from her eyes, and flashes one of her full smiles at me. I can’t help but stare at her full lips and wonder what they taste like. For a minute, we’re locked in a stare off as we take in the changes of the past few years. I’ve put on muscle from having nothing to do other than workout. My skin is tan and I know that I’ve got the beginnings of a beard growing.

“Gerald? Is that really you?” she suddenly asks, starting to sit up before she remembers that her top isn’t tied. “Well, I’d sit up, but at the moment I really can’t.”

We both laugh at the predicament she finds herself in. I want to sit down and spend the rest of the day with her, but I don’t know if I can. Has she found the man that she deserves to live with until the end of time? Does she want to visit with me? So many questions run through my mind and I don’t know how to ask them. Of if I should just say a quick hello before turning and walking away from her.

“Well, are you gonna sit down and visit or just stand there all day? Tell me where you’ve been that you never called me,” she says, maneuvering so that I can sit next to her and she doesn’t expose anything.

“What have you been up to?” I ask, sitting down next to her and trying to relax.

“Not much. I went to college and finished a liberal arts degree. There’s not really anything that’s called out to me, so I figured I’d at least graduate with a degree in something. Other than that, you see what I’m doing,” she says, her musical voice pulling on my heartstrings and gaining my full attention.

“No guy in the picture?” I ask, needing to know the answer before I go any further.

“Nope. See, I’ve been waiting for this guy that took my number a few years ago. Only, he never called me,” she says, making my jaw drop at her response. Surely, she must be kidding. “I’m serious. I don’t know what it is about you, Gerald, but I haven’t been interested in anyone since meeting you.”

“I’m sorry, Alana. The day after we met, I got informed that we were shipping out. We had to get ready and there wasn’t time to get away from base for anythin’,” I tell her, reaching out to push a piece of hair behind her ear that fell in front of her face. “I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to call you. Trust me, I thought about it. Whenever we got time to make calls, I wanted to call you. But, by then I’d figured you met someone and I didn’t want to hear it from thousands of miles away.”

“Well, you’re here now. When are you leaving again?” she asks, reaching behind her to tie her bikini top before sitting up.

“I don’t know. For the time bein’, we’re not leavin’. I have some time here on base,” I answer, waiting to see what her next move is going to be.

“Well, let’s get out of here then. I’m sure we can find something better to do than sit on a beach,” she says, standing up to slide on a pair of tiny shorts before gathering her belongings.

I didn’t have a car, so we left in hers after I found Jeremy and told him my plans. My shitty day turned into one of the best days I’ve ever had in my life. We talked, laughed, and spent the day driving around. She pointed out some of her favorite places as we wound our way through town. When the sun started to set, we were sitting on a bench off of some trail that Alana took us to. She snuggled up next to me as I wrapped my arm around her. As soon as I touched her, I felt a tremor run through my body. It’s something I’ve never felt before.

We’d been sitting on the bench for a while in the dark, not doing anything including talking. It was comfortable and peaceful. Two feelings that I haven’t felt before. There’s never been someone that could make a peaceful and calm feeling wash over me with just a simple touch. Before I could think about the feelings too long, Alana surprised the hell out of me. She leaned up and pressed her plump, kissable lips to mine. An electric current ran through my body and I jolted at the sensation.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pull her closer to me and deepen the kiss. Alana winds her arms around my neck and begins to explore my mouth. We finally pull away after a few minutes of the best kiss I’ve ever experienced in my life. Alana’s lips are swollen and her chest is rising and falling with every breath she takes as she tries to get it back under control. I’m not faring much better at the moment.

“Um, that was,” Alana says, words completely failing her as she settles back into my side. “We’ll definitely be doing that again.”

“Yeah, I’d say we’ll be doin’ that again,” I say, pulling her closer to me.

We spend the rest of the night locked in our own little world. It’s honestly been the best night of my life so far and full of memories that I’ll carry with me forever. Alana is going to be my wife one day. I already know that. She’s the type of girl that will be able to handle me being in the service. She’ll be strong enough to make the family that I’ve always wanted. One where our children know without a doubt that they’re loved and wanted. The way my mom made me feel when I was growing up.

The next day we spent the entire day together. I brought her the letters that I wrote her and made sure that she didn’t open a single one while I was with her. I didn’t want to see her face when she read them. Most of them were nothing more than the ramblings of a young man stuck in a desert on his first mission. I talked about the dreams I had and what I wanted out of life. In one letter I told Alana how it was growing up and why I’ve never been back to the house that sits empty; waiting for me to return one day. And I included some of Jeremy’s crazy antics to keep the boredom away when we were at camp with nothing to do.

Alana took me to a small fair with a few rides, games that I won her some cheap stuffed animals at, and food that was out of this world. We sat on a hill, wrapped up in one another as they shot fireworks off that night. Before she took me back to the base, we danced under the stars with her car radio softly playing in the background. I don’t dance, but for Alana I’d do anything she wanted me to. Especially to see the smile on her face. She drove us to an empty field of wild flowers not far from base. I’ve never seen it before and I’m glad that she wants to spend a few more minutes alone. If I could manage it, I’d never leave her side. Alana is destroying my world for any other female to even try to enter it.

“I don’t know what it is about you Gerald Johnson, but I’ll wait until the end of time for you,” she says as the song ends, looking up at me with her innocent eyes filled with wonder.

“Alana Miller, I’m gonna marry you one day. We’re gonna have a big family and then we’ll live the rest of our lives surrounded by our children, grandchildren, and everyone else we consider family,” I tell her, leaning down to give her a kiss.

Alana leans up to meet me. Another spark races through my body the instant our lips touch. I deepen the kiss and feel her melt into my arms. One second we’re standing up, the next instant we’re lying on the blanket she laid out. She pushes me onto my back and I let her, wanting to see how far she’s going to take this. Once I’m settled, she straddles me and begins to kiss me with a vigor that I’ve never felt before. Alana is putting every single one of her feelings into this kiss and I’m making sure I pour everything I have into it in return.

I rest my hands under her shirt against her bare skin, relishing in the feeling of contentment that settles deep within me. She breaks the kiss long enough to take her shirt off. Once Alana removes her bra, I reach behind me to take my shirt off. I need to feel her skin on skin. Her soft skin brushes against my body causing tremors to pebble my skin with goosebumps. As I run my hands up her back, I can feel the same reaction on her.

Slowly, Alana rolls us so that my body is covering her. I feel her snaking a hand between us as she slides it down my chest toward the jeans resting low on my hips. Raising my body up just enough for her to continue on her path, I feel her undo my jeans and carefully lower the zipper before sliding her hand inside them. I’m not wearing any underwear, so she immediately finds my cock. I suck in a breath as her delicate fingers wrap around my length.

“Don’t gotta do this,” I tell her, not wanting to stop, but knowing I will if she says the word. “I don’t have any condoms.”

“I want to. Tonight, is our night. That way we both have the memory to last us no matter how much distance is between us,” she says, tightening her grip a fraction while pumping her fist up and down. “I’m good with whatever happens. Told you, I’ll wait until the end of time for you.”

I roll us to our sides so that I can undo her jean shorts without her losing contact. Alana kicks them off once I get them low enough that she can. We spend the next little while exploring one another’s bodies; getting lost in the moment. When Alana decides that enough exploring has taken place, she rolls me to my back, pulls my jeans off after removing my boots, and straddles me.

I pull a hard nipple into my mouth, sucking, nipping, and lashing it with my tongue as Alana lines herself up with my hard length and slowly slides down. Gasping as she hits the bottom, I pull her down to kiss me. Alana slides up and down my shaft as she begins to pick up speed, chasing the release that’s building in her body. I never let her mouth go as I reach between us to rub and pinch her clit.

“Gerald!” she yells out, her movements becoming erratic as an orgasm rips through her.

I grab her hips, digging my fingers in as I guide her movements. Alana is completely spent as she collapses on my chest. Thrusting up, I enter her body over and over again. My spine begins to tingle and I feel the building of my release coiling tight in my body. It takes a few more thrusts into her warm body before I still and call out her name. At the same time, I feel her pussy tighten around me again.

Wrapping my arms around her, we lay together coming down and catching our breath. I gaze up at the stars and know without any doubt that Alana Miller was made for me. While I continue to rub my hands up and down her back, Alana settles into me and releases a content sigh before looking down at me. For a few minutes we look in to one another’s eyes, shutting out the world around us. I’m lost and feel like I’ve come home. It’s not a feeling that I’m used to and I want to grab onto it and hold it tight to me forever.

“We should probably get you back,” she says, regret at the thought of being separated lacing her voice.

“Yeah. I don’t want you to think that this is all I’m chasin’ after, Alana,” I tell her, pulling her face down for a slow, leisurely kiss that blows me away.

“I know you’re not. Gerald Johnson, you’re mine forever and I’m yours. No matter where the military takes you, I’ll be waiting for every second we get to spend together,” she says, sliding off of my still hard cock.

We get dressed in silence, sneaking looks at one another. I help her fold the blanket before reaching for her hand and walking back to the car. Alana drops me off and I watch until her taillights disappear from sight. I didn’t know then that we’d barely spend any time together over the next few years. Talking on the phone and sending letters isn’t the same thing as holding her, looking into her gorgeous eyes, or being able to take her out.