Six months later on a walk with Kelly …

…since we’re on this subject, are you going to fill me in on you and Conner?” Kelly asks.

“Why would you ask me about Conner?”

“Really Olivia? I’m opening up and being honest with you. You and Conner being together is like this frigging bizarre elephant in the room.”

“How long have you known?”

“Since our senior year, when you took off on two different weekends to be with him.”

“Jennifer told you?”

“Oh please. Meredith told us the second time she took you down to Monterey with her to visit her brother. Behind your back, Sam started calling you her sister-in-law.

“Meredith made me swear I wouldn’t get involved with her brother.”

“No, she made you swear you wouldn’t add her brother to your entourage of men you play with.”

We walk for a while in silence. My mind spins. Meredith has known the whole time but never said anything? How can this be?

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you and Conner?” Kelly asks interrupting my head spin.

“We skype, we e-mail…we live on other sides of the world. When I’m with him…nothing has ever felt like it. I’ve never had this kind of connection with any other guy.

“Even Max?”

“Max, he gets me, I get him. He’s comfortable. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“Have you ever thought of …”

“Going out with him?” she nods. “Yes…but … it would ruin our friendship without leading to a relationship.”

***

“Coming,” Meredith calls as I knock on her door. “Hey, why the surprise visit?”

“You’ve known about me and Conner since we first started going down to visit him almost two years ago, and you never said anything?”

“You’ve been dating my brother for almost two years and never thought I would notice?”

“You made me promise not to date him.”

“I made you promise not to turn him into one of those pathetic guys you play with…I’m still not sure who is more pathetic, you or him.”

“Why, what has he said?”

She rolls her eyes and moves away from the door and heads to her kitchen. “Does this conversation require a beer or something stronger?”

“A beer will do…wait…you’re not mad?”

“You’ve been going out with my brother for two years…how big of an idiot do you think I am? Don’t you think I realized something was up our senior year?”

“But I dated Rashad.”

“I’m hoping you were with Rashad when you were just flirting with my brother. I assume you took those two weekend trips when the two of you were…?”

“We were trying to figure it out.”

“And you didn’t think I would be suspicious…how about you landing in Jordan, ten miles away from my brother. I figured you really had to like the guy if you were willing to live in a hell hole just to be close to him.”

“I got a lot out of my year in Azraq.”

“I’m sure you did.”

“So we’re cool?”

“Yes, we’re cool.”

***

Six months later …

 

 

The time moves slowly as I find myself pacing while I wait at passenger control by the San Francisco airport. Why is it taking so long? Another groups of passengers exit…then I spot a big strong soldier. My heart jumps into my throat. When he passes the control door, I lose all composure and run to him. He catches me in his arms.

“You would think being away from each other would get easy, but I miss you more each time,” I moan into his ear as I grasp his shoulders and take in his smell.

“I can’t believe you didn’t schedule us for another aid mission.”

“I figured you needed a vacation that was away from it all.” He doesn’t answer, but the kiss I get is enough.

“Come on, I don’t want the cops to arrest us for indecent activities,” he says.

“We’ll go back to my place. You can wash up before we head to your sister’s for dinner.”

 “I hope wash-up is a euphemism for…”

“Sex, I haven’t seen you in over four months. You know what that means.”

“Sex over shower.”