10 Days After the Hurricane...

It started when I moved to a place I'd only been before for a few hours the day after I turned 22 HERE and then moved on to being flooded out by a hurricane less than two months later HERE. I ended that post by saying that my life took a major twist 10 days later. Here's that twist and the continuation of my story. Yes, in obnoxious third person, but it's how I deal sometimes.

She was really nervous walking into the B's house. Tonya had been wanting to introduce her to one of her husband's coworkers for the past two months. But, she'd never really been set up before.


She hugged Tonya, said hi to Tonya's husband Eddie, and walked into the living room.


She felt her heart stop. There was one of the most gorgeous men she'd ever seen sitting on the couch, checking her out out of the corner of his eye, as he talked to someone who was introduced to her as Don, another coworker of Eddie's.


She wondered what he thought of her.


Tonya and Eddie must be crazy to think that this guy would be interested in her. He probably had girls launching themselves into his path all the time, hoping to get his attention. No way would he want or need a set-up.


But, as the day wore on, the conversation flowed easily in the group. And she and X fell into an easy flirting banter.  They smiled at each other from across the room, even when it was the others who were talking. She didn't really hear much of what anyone else was saying.


X told her he had a tattoo on his upper arm- a Marine Corps symbol,  of course. She walked over to him, stood way too close, and slowly slid his shirt sleeve up to see it. She wondered if he could hear her heart pounding.


She stood on tiptoe, one hand on the tattoo, the other on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear that she liked it.


He smiled at her and teased her that she was too much of a good girl to have one. She agreed with him, bit her lip, and then admitted to having her navel pierced.


He placed a hand on each of her hips, his fingertips under her shirt and asked permission with his expression.


She blushed and nodded.


He inched her shirt up, running his hands over her hips and her stomach, then bent to inspect the piercing. He stood back up and whispered in her ear, "Beautiful."


She had to stop herself from sighing audibly as the two then took seats beside each other on the couch.  It was as if they were alone, for as much attention as they paid to the three other people in the room.  They began to have a conversation that didn't include anyone else.


He whispered to her- oh God, every time he leaned in close and whispered, her heart beat faster, she didn't know if she could take much more, she'd never felt like this- "Don's going to want to leave soon. He's my ride back to base, but I don't want to leave yet."


As if on cue, Don announced that he was going to get going and asked X if he was ready yet.


She blurted out, "I'll take him back to base later."


She didn't want him to leave and this was what he was hinting at, wasn't it? She hoped so.


Now that it was just the four of them, they decided to head into town for dinner. Eddie drove, with Tonya beside him, leaving them the backseat. They sat close and held hands, continuing their whispered conversations. She tried not to blush when she saw the smug looks Tonya and Eddie were giving them in the rearview mirror.


She couldn't stop smiling. She wondered if maybe she'd been wrong and that love at first sight really did exist and that this was it. They had an instant connection.


They couldn't stop touching each other or whispering during dinner and the drive back to the B's house.  She held her breath as they approached the main gate, hoping that the B's wouldn't decide to just drop off X right then. She wanted more time with him. She sighed with relief as they passed the base.


Once back, they cuddled up on the couch together. She felt like they'd always known each other, like they always would know each other.


Eventually,  it got late enough that she had to take him back to base. He drove her car since she wasn't sure where they were going. When they got to his barracks, they both got out. He to go up to his room, she to get in the driver's side.


When she got around to the driver's side, he cupped her face in his hands, then ran them slowly down her neck, down her sides, to her back, and then pulled her towards him and kissed her.


Kissed her breathless. Kissed her on and on. Kissed her so that she didn't ever want it to stop.


And then he broke away and asked her to go up to his room with him.


She knew what that meant and she'd never done anything like that before in her life.


But, it was him and there was no way she could say no to him.