Chapter Eleven - Sophia

The next six days passed all too quickly. I performed my shows at night and afterward, Derrick would come to the meet and greet to see me and we’d sneak away to my room as soon as we were able to. He told me the entire base was talking about us, but he didn’t seem to mind. Eventually, someone would leak it back to the US presses and the story would be splashed all over the place. The network wouldn’t care—if anything, they’d appreciate the extra publicity.

My final concert was set up for Christmas Day, and was being held in a different venue to allow more soldiers to attend. There would be a Christmas feast in a few hours and then the concert and a longer sing-along portion for some extra entertainment. I was looking forward to spending more time with Derrick—who had the day off from duty—but it was bittersweet, as I would be leaving the next evening to fly home again.

I dressed quickly and hurried out of my room to meet Derrick for breakfast. We’d planned to spend as much time together on our last day as we could. The smell of cinnamon rolls floated out of the double doors and my mouth watered as I pushed inside the dining hall. Derrick was already inside, hanging around by the doors, waiting for me with two plates in his hands, each one full of the massive pastries. He smiled wide when he spotted me and held up the plates. “I snagged the last two. Otherwise we would have had a thirty-minute wait for the next batch.”

“Nice work,” I said, crossing the heavy traffic to get to him. With his hands full, he couldn’t embrace me, but I stepped into him and wrapped my arms around his waist before propping my chin on his chest and saying, “I’ll get coffee.”

Derrick dropped a quick kiss to my forehead. “I’ll get a table.”

We made a good team. I glanced back at him as I walked toward the buffet table that served as the coffee cart, with giant carafes of coffee, pitchers of milk and cream, and a variety of sweeteners. Derrick was weaving through the tables, smiling and tossing out greetings as he went. He was obviously well liked and respected on the base. Even if his friends did heckle him from time to time. He’d introduced me to Marcus the day before when he’d taken me on a brief tour of his office and while the man had given Derrick some ribbing, it was obvious he was happy for him. For us.

Us. The word could still stop me in my tracks. It was mind boggling at how quickly Derrick and I had meshed together. Even though our time was limited, everything kept building as though there were no deadlines hanging over our heads.

After breakfast, Derrick took me for a long walk around the base, showing me the sights of the city that could be seen from within the perimeter of the base. We stopped at the courtyard that lay below the balcony we often visited after the sun went down. Derrick looped an arm around my waist, and I leaned into him as we stood under the sliver of shade underneath a potted tree. “Have you gone out into the city? Or does your work keep you here at the base?” I asked, glancing up at him.

“Most of what I do is here, but when we go out to train the local forces, we’re out in the city.”

Fear clutched at my heart. Over the last week and a half, I’d become used to the base and had almost forgotten that we were in the middle of a war. But looking out at the city and seeing the damage that had been done, I was brutally reminded. The idea of Derrick going out into the danger…it made my stomach clench. I’d never even seen him with a gun. A lot of the other soldiers and MP’s were armed but never Derrick. I had let that lull me into another false sense of security.

“How much longer will you be here?”

Derrick leaned over and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Three more months. I’ll be shipping back to Fort Benning at the end of March.”

I nodded.

“Although I might have to see about making a pit stop in New York…” he added, smiling down at me. “That is, if you don’t get sick of me between now and then.”

I laughed softly. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Good. ’Cause, I gotta say, three months sounds like an eternity as it is. If I never got to see you again…” his words trailed off as he glanced away, seeming to gather his thoughts. “I’ve never had this before, Sophia. I’ve been on three tours of duty and I was always single and unattached. Sure, I missed my family and friends, but it wasn’t something I thought about or obsessed over every day. Now, with you, I don’t know how I’m going to keep myself from going crazy. I’m gonna turn into one of those guys with the calendar and big Sharpie marks that count down the days.”

I smiled and placed my palm against the side of his face. “Me too.”

Derrick captured my mouth with his, the kiss doing the rest of the talking as the words ran out.

****

Later that evening, Derrick skipped the Christmas dinner to come hang out with me backstage in my dressing room. Which equated to me running late and still only being half dressed. My signature red dress lay draped over the back of a chair and with the things Derrick was doing to my body, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to put it back on. We lay intertwined on the couch, kissing and talking and laughing together as though we weren’t about to cross over into the final twenty-four hours left together.

“Mmm, you’re bad for business,” I purred, lavishing in the attention he was paying to my breasts as they peeked out from the demi-cup bralette that was meant to boost the girls under the tight red dress. “I should be doing my warm ups right now…”

“I can stop if you want,” he said, nipping at my ear.

“Mmm, no, don’t stop.”

Derrick chuckled against my neck. “You are gonna need another coat of lipstick before you go out there.”

“Probably some clothes too…” I added with a laugh.

“Definitely.” Derrick grinned and stroked his thumb over my exposed nipple. “This is just for me. No one else.”

“Likewise,” I said, gripping his cock through his pants.

A knock sounded at the door and I bristled, silently pleading that it wasn’t Jenna on the other side. “One-minute warning, Sophia,” an unfamiliar male voice said through the door. It was probably one of the lighting guys, now sent to do Jenna’s bidding so she could steer clear of me and Derrick.

Good.

“Be right there,” I replied.

Derrick groaned. “Damn.”

I didn’t make a move away from him. Not just yet. I wasn’t ready to be parted from him.

Derrick guided my face to his and kissed me, not stopping until he was sure every last bit of my lipstick had been smudged away. I giggled at his red pout when we parted and hurried to wipe away the traces from his face before reluctantly getting up to get dressed and refresh my smeared lipstick.

Derrick watched me with hungry eyes as I adjusted my undergarments and stepped into my dress. The way he watched me had my skin hot and eager to get right back out of the heavy gown. I forced myself to spin around and then craned around to indicate I needed help with the zipper. I pulled my curtain of hair out of the way as Derrick pushed off the couch. His hands slipped between the parted fabric and ran down my spine, igniting the heat into flames. I shuddered at his touch. “You planning on finishing what you’re starting there, soldier?” I teased, flashing him a grin over my shoulder.

Derrick answered by ducking his head down to kiss my bare shoulder blade. “Until the very moment you have to get on your plane home.”

My heart squeezed at the reminder. I pressed my eyes closed for a moment, willing away the sadness. Derrick removed his fingers from my skin and zipped up the dress. I missed the touch of him instantly. “Well? How do I look?” I asked, spinning around.

“Like an angel,” he replied, smiling at me.

“In red?”

Derrick chuckled. “Well I didn’t want to say like a little devil…although…”

I smacked his arm playfully. Derrick caught my arm as it whipped back and he dragged me against him. He stroked my cheek. “You sing like an angel, baby—but in bed—that’s all devil.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. He kissed me on the forehead to avoid wrecking my lipstick.

“You want to watch from backstage?”

“I can do that?”

I nodded and traced my finger over the softness of his lips. “Mmhmm, and then after I’m done, we can escape back to my room.”

Derrick grinned, the look in his eyes said that he was already dreaming up what we would do once we were alone again. “Sounds pretty damn perfect to me.”

“I thought so too.”

I flashed a wicked smile, a vivid series of daydreams swirling around inside my mind as I took him by the hand and led him out of the dressing room. I wove through the makeshift backstage area and positioned him so he could see the stage but wasn’t in the line of sight of the cameras.

The music kicked up and I knew it was my cue to go.

“Showtime,” I said, leaning forward to give him one last kiss before making my way onto the stage.

I greeted the large crowd of soldiers and basked in a round of cheers before launching into my first song. I made a point to work the stage and smile at as many people in the audience as I could, but my gaze kept roving back to Derrick every few bars. He watched the whole show with a smile on his face, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so supported and adored by a man.

As the show came to a close, the music kicked over to a more sing-along style selection and a few of the other singers on the tour came to join me on stage. I made my way over to the side of the stage and waved at Derrick, trying to convince him to come out with me. He shook his head and protested at first, but after I gave him a pouty-lipped expression, he caved and came to share my microphone for the last round of Jingle Bells. The crowd went wild as Derrick leaned in and sang along with me.

It was the perfect moment and it was cut short all too soon.

In the middle of the final chorus, a series of loud booms sounded in the background. My eyes snapped to Derrick’s and my stomach sank as his eyes went wide. Another series of booms tore through the audience and Derrick’s shoulders thrust back. He was on full alert. I scanned the crowd and noticed that most of them were taking on the same posture. This wasn’t normal. Something was wrong. The music continued and I stumbled to get to my next line. The audience stirred as the sounds grew louder and then, all at once, a loud siren wailed and everyone sprang into action.

The music faltered as the musicians stopped playing. “Derrick, what’s happening?” I asked, reaching for his hand.

“I don’t know,” he said, squeezing my hand.

A group of four soldiers approached the stage and started barking out commands. “Leave everything here, we need to get you to safety.”

“What’s going on, Lieutenant?” Derrick asked, not letting go of my hand.

One of the women that had approached cast him a wary eye. “Our guests are being moved to the west bunker. There’s been an attack within the green zone. Report to your CO.”

Derrick met my eyes and I caught a glimmer of fear reflecting back at me. “Go with her, Sophia. She’ll keep you safe. I’ll come for you as soon as I can.”

I clung to his hand as he started to walk away. Right before we broke apart, he kissed the palm of my hand and then let it drop.

Then he was gone, swallowed up in the crowd of troops.