Letters To My Soldier

Letter Eighteen

June 2018

Cabin Part 1

"But," I smile at Riley and Valerie before grabbing Heath's hand in mine, "more recently, he's my boyfriend."

I felt Heath squeeze my hand and visibly saw his tense shoulders relax.

Riley nods his head up and down, looking kind of ridiculous, "Cool."

An awkward moment passes before Valerie, ever the instigator, says, "Thanks for the great introduction, guys, but really, I think everyone knows who I am."

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from smirking. It was such a Valerie thing to say.

"Right, well we're packed so...let's hit the road?" I ask and turn on the alarm and lock up the house behind me.

I drag Heath behind me and watch as Valerie and Riley get into Riley's truck.

Heath snickers behind me, "That was nice. Meeting the exes."

He cocks an eyebrow at me when I turn to glare at him, dropping his hand.

"Not funny."

I open the door to get into the driver seat but Heath's arm suddenly snakes around my waist and turns me to press a firm kiss on my lips.

"We'll figure this out," he says when he breaks away, gesturing to the two of us, "We will work this out and be together, if you want me."

"Heath, you told me in your first letter to not impose my self pity on you. I wouldn't have offered up my home or be where we are at right here if I didn't want this, it's just...I'm not sure how it's going to work."

"I honestly don't either, " he says and lifts my chin, "But I'm willing to figure it out. I want you Priscilla."

I pull him closer to me and melt into him. He knew that my slight hesitation meant I had doubts, yet he was still willing to be with me, to try this crazy relationship we had brewing her between Connecticut and Afghanistan.

"Only nine more months," he whispers.

"Hmm?" I ask because my brain was seriously inactive for a moment there.

"Only nine more months when I get back, then I'm done."

"What about staying in Virginia?" I ask, "Are you thinking of retiring-"

I'm interrupted by a loud horn.

"You guys coming, or what?" Valerie asks from her passenger seat.

"We'll talk later," Heath kisses the top of my head before climbing into the passenger seat of my car.

~X~X~X~X~X~

The ride was spent with listening to music, Heath calling up friends he hadn't talked to since his ROTC days, just to catch up and reconnect, and learning more and more about each other-face to face this time.

We didn't continue our conversation from before, our moment broken for the time being.

We arrived at the cabin two hours later and let the guys unload the stuff while Valerie and I headed to the kitchen to check for cleaning supplies.

"Here's what I propose," I say as I lean against the center island in the kitchen, "We'll use the rooms on the left side of the house, you two can you the right. I don't really care what equipment from the outhouse you use. Do anything you want, I guess. We'll just keep to ourselves."

Valerie nods, not looking at me and says feebly, "Okay."

Her weak voice surprises me. Where was her usual anger?

"Hey, you okay?" I ask and walk around to face her.

She looks up with a stony expression and nods, "Yeah. I'm fine."

She grabs some Clorox wipes and goes to her side of the cabin to go clean the bathrooms and the bedrooms. I do the same dutifully and it helps to clear my mind of everything and anything, serving as the greatest besides eating.

It's when Valerie walks in an hour later with a sad expression that my resolve crumbles.

"P, I've really missed you and," she looks up at the ceiling-she never was one to really articulate how she felt, "um, I was hoping to spend time together on this trip. Riley and I are leaving for the West Coast in two weeks and I didn't want to leave the way we left off and looking back on it, I was being stupid and just...jealous."

We stare at each other before I nod with a slight smile, "I'm sorry too, Val."

"So you forgive me?"

I nod slightly, "Well, let's just hang out tonight and see what the guys want to do tomorrow, okay?"

Valerie nods with a sigh, "I get the feeling you don't really want to hang out too much."

"I came here to be with Heath first and foremost," I admit. Our time was more limited, and as daunting as it was to think about, I didn't really know if I would ever see him again.

"Okay," she says and asks in a tiny voice, "Do you think we'll ever be the same?"

I shrug my shoulders and stuff my hands in my pockets, "I don't know, Val. Our lives are going in different directions. We're growing up. I'm not sure if that also means we're growing out of each other, or not."

Valerie rubs her neck, "I get what you're saying."

"For tonight let's just try to forget..."

"Without the alcohol this time?" she asks with a coy smile.

I grin wryly and say, "Without the alcohol."

~X~X~X~X~X~

We all huddled around the bonfire-which was really just concrete fire pit built into the patio-with blankets and pillows and Red Bull. Heath sat beside me, his arm rapped around my shoulders. His fingertips drew lazy pictures on my bare arm, giving me goose bumps and just, unngh, did he look yummy in firelight.

I giggled mischievously at my own dirty thoughts and Heath peered down at me, "What are you laughing about?"

I kissed his chin all the way up to his jaw before whispering in his ear, "I was just thinking about how good it felt to fall asleep in my boyfriend's arms last night. Do you think he'd want a repeat?"

His eyes darken as a slow smirk graces his lips, "Hmm, I think this boyfriend of yours would have to be mad if he turned you away..." he nuzzled his face into my neck, kissing my neck to my collarbone and just rested his forehead on my shoulder, reminding me so much of our first kiss. To think back then I didn't know what his lips felt like or how he tasted. Cause now? It was burned into my brain and I would never tire of it.

"Oi, I can do without your PDA," Valerie interrupts our moment. I look up to see her and Riley roasting marshmallows.

Heath plays with the dog tags that are hanging around my neck with a sigh, "I really wish we came here, alone."

I pull him down slightly so I can whisper in his ear again.

"I can think of a way we can."

"Be alone?" he asks like a little boy on Christmas.

"Mhmm," I nods and ask with a smirk, "How do you feel like camping?"

"Miss Prom Queen? Camping? How absurd!" he teases.

"I wish you were still socially awkward right now."

He tugs me by the dog tags to kiss my nose.

"Camping it is."