My Knight in Uniform

Chapter 1: The Beginning

I closed my eyes and let the warm Idaho sun engulf my bikini clad body as I lay on the dock of the our family-owned lake house. I loved the sun. And I loved the summer heat. There's always something just so relaxing about laying back in the sun, with nothing to think about and in the quiet of the lake- aside from my phone sitting between my cousin and I, playing the soft tunes of folk rock and blue grass and country tunes that we'd grown up with. I crinkled my nose as a song I didn't like came on, and quickly skipped it.

I looked over to my cousin to see her in a position identical to mine- nothing unusual for us, though. We've been carbon copies of each other since the moment she was introduced to the Caldwell family along with her mother and younger brother Noah. It didn't matter that they weren't blood- the moment my Uncle Jim brought them to meet us at home in Oregon, they were family. Cece and I had light ash brown hair- her's like chocolate milk and mine with a honey tint; both light eyed, her's hazel with green specks and mine a light blue that were identical to those of my brother David and known to turn grey with the weather. We were both of average height, nearly identical with about half an inch difference. It was quite the wonder that we weren't sisters, but we may as well have been with how close we'd become within a mere five minutes of meeting at the tender age of twelve.

The one big difference between the two of us was our love lives- or my constant lack there of.  Cece always managed to capture all the boys' hearts (and the occasional female here and there) every where we went- not that they ever mattered. Her heart belonged to Kyle, and Kyle alone. It became a game for us to keep count of the number of boys after her with each outing. She certainly deserved the title of an unintentional heart breaker; she was undeniably gorgeous without effort and she had the type of personality that caught peoples attention. She was friendly, carefree, and loved to laugh.

I on the other hand... it seemed as if I was wearing boy-repellent. I wasn't ugly, nor was I nearly as beautiful as Cece, I was (am) just kind of...average. Sure, Cece and I had the same kind of personality, but I've always been much quieter- not that I was shy, but I wasn't oozing with the charm that Cece seemed to. Cece was the salt lick that attracted the deer while I was a camper wearing scent-a-way, invisible to the crowd.

"I got another letter from Kyle in the mail," said Cece, sitting up on the dock. Kyle had just graduated high school and swiftly joined the military. He'd left for boot camp in Illinois at the at the beginning of June- it was now the weekend of the Fourth of July.

"What did he say?"

"Here, you can read it- I don't have any secrets to keep from you," she laughed, and handed me the paper folded up and tucked away in her bag.

I smiled as I read through it- he'd written everything in all caps because he said that that's what they're taught at boot camp. "Cute," I grinned, handing the letter back to her. "You're lucky, you know. You have somebody who loves you- not to mention he's a man in uniform...my one weakness! I wish I had someone to write," I giggled and took a swig from my Pepsi.

Cece turned towards me, eyes wide and a grin that I'm surprised didn't split her cheeks. I flinched away, the mischief in her eyes giving away the trouble ahead. The mischief we both shared but right now I was terrified of it.

"Oh my god!"

"W-what?" I asked, my stutter presenting itself after being triggered by her sudden enthusiasm.

"Maddy. Oh my god. I have an idea," she said, the grin still stretched across her face. "I'll get you your military man. I'll ask Kyle to give your address to one of his friends to write to you! It'll be perfect! And you'll make him fall head over heels for you and you for him! And then you'll get married and have mini Madelyns and, of course, you'll name one after me and than you'll you live happily ever after! Just like a fairy tale and-"

"Cecelia! Stop," it seemed as if I couldn't get her rambling to end soon enough.

"What?"

"Cece, there's no such thing as 'happy ever after' or a knight in shining
armor. Fairy tales aren't real- and true love only exists for a special few. And besides, even if Nathan gave my address to someone, they wouldn't write to me," I said, putting an end to her frivolity.

"You're wrong. They're lonely out there, they'd be lucky to write someone like you."

"Tell you what," I said after thinking about it for a moment, "if you give my address to Kyle and all that, then I'll give it a chance. Just know that I highly doubt anything will happen- and this isn't a fairy tale, you goof."

She just gave me a knowing grin and nudged my shoulder with hers. "You know you want it to happen, Maddy. Military men are your greatest weakness- you melt into a puddle anytime you see one."

I hid my face in my hands and giggled. She was absolutely right, but I knew I wouldn't be receiving a letter. I'd never had much luck in the love department- or lucky in anything for that matter. It was best that I keep reality in sight and not get my hopes up.