One Day You'll Be Mine: Steamy Contemporary Military Romance

by Hart, Alana

I looked over my son, whose body seemed to be getting lither by the day, and nodded. “Make sure you take the trash out first, okay?” He nodded, excitedly changing the trash. “Mom I’m going to do the dishes for you too, okay?”

  “Thank you sweetheart!” I beamed. My son was the light of my life. Since Hollis got home whenever he felt like it, I figured this one time wouldn’t hurt, especially since Kelli was spending time here for once. We cooked lasagna, made garlic bread, and enjoyed some sangria while Jordan had a non-alcoholic version made just for him. In my mind, he’d play outside until tiredness kicked in at nine, and take himself to bed at ten.

  Kelli looked at me incredulously. “You know Hollis is going to flip out if he comes home late to see Jordan outside playing past his curfew.”

  I shrugged. I was devoted to my husband, and my family, but I couldn’t care less. “Jordan’s getting ready to start school in a few weeks. He’s been on top of his personal studies, he’s never given me any problems, and he’s been well behaved at daycare all summer. He’s a good kid. I’m not going to tell him no just this once.”

  “As for Hollis,” I added. “He’s already not speaking to me. Maybe seeing his son waited up to see him come home will make him realize this is bigger than what we’re going through because we have a child to raise.”

  Kelli’s eyes were proud. “Look at you, being all rebellious. Keeping roses from another man on display, and then letting your son play until his father comes home. Just breaking all the rules today!”

  “Oh hush! Jordan’s a good boy.” I eyed the roses on the counter. They still looked like they were picked yesterday. “As for those flowers, they’re beautiful. And since they’re not from my husband, I tell myself they’re a reminder that even if I’ll never know who, someone else wants me.”

  “Whatever makes you smile, makes me smile,” she said, taking another sip from her glass.

  ***

  We sipped on sangria and chatted about whatever as we half-watched television. Eight came and went. Nine came and went. Jordan crawled inside at 10:30 PM, completely sweaty and tired, without me having to tell him.

  “Mom, have you called dad to see when he’s coming home?” he inquired. “It’s like 2 AM right now!”

  “No, darling, it’s not even midnight yet. You’re just up past your bedtime. I spoke to your father, and he’ll be home a little later than usual.” I lied, because I didn’t care to speak to Hollis. His pattern had become relatively obvious. He would stay out as late as possible to avoid the both of us for the time being.

  Jordan groaned. “I’m too tired to wait up.”

  “Take your shower, and prepare for bed,” I encouraged. “We’ll give him a little extra time to show up. If he’s not back by the time you’ve put on your pajamas, you’re free to go to sleep.”

  An audible groan escaped as he complied with my request. I chuckled, because usually he was the one that wanted to stay up all night, and I had to convince him to go to his room. But I held out silent hope that Hollis would walk in by 11, just to see the exhausted yet hopeful look on his Jordan’s face, and realize just how much he missed spending time with his dad.

  At 10:45 PM, the doorbell rang. Kelli and I looked at the door. “Who’s that?”

  “I don’t know. Nobody comes over – especially at night. And nobody ever rings that doorbell either.”

  The doorbell rang again, prompting me to lift myself from my comfortable spot on the couch. Wild thoughts filled my head as I tried to figure out who was at my door, and why. Was Hollis hurt? Was he in an accident? Was someone looking for him? Is there a fire? Do we need to evacuate?

  Whoever was behind the other side of the door was impatient. Rapid taps replaced the doorbell.

  “I’m coming!” I yelled out. I was frustrated that my husband disappointed his son yet again by not coming home on time. I was concerned that someone I didn’t know was knocking on the other side of the door. But their impatience brought out my annoyance.

  “Who is it?” I didn’t know what to expect when I reached the door, perhaps just someone from Hollis’s unit looking for him. I flipped on the porch light. There was a young man at the door. I was unfamiliar with him.

  “Presley.” He spoke casually. I looked at Kelli, and mouthed silently to ask if she knew him. Kelli threw her hands in the air, shrugging to state that she was just as clueless about this person as I was.

  I opened the door. “Hollis isn’t here –”

  “I know,” Presley said. He stood at 5’8” or 5’9” with jet black hair and bright green eyes. He was exceptionally handsome; the darkness of night couldn’t hide his beauty. I stepped back, and marveled quietly in his beauty.

  Could this be my secret admirer?

  “Well I don’t know what you want. I have no idea who you are. So why don’t you tell me why you’re banging on my door?”

  Presley smirked. He didn’t say anything, but corner of his lip curled with a slickness that said I know something you don’t.

  “You don’t know me, because I didn’t want you to,” he aggressed. “But if you’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on with your husband, I’ve got the answers.”

  My heart jumped up to my throat. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your husband hasn’t been at home because he’s been spending time with me.” He said.

  My head shook in disbelief. Why was this man wasting my time? “Okay, so you’re his new drinking buddy. Nice to meet you.”

  “No, you don’t get it.” His volume was low, but his words were clear and to the point. He cocked his head to the side. “I don’t want to put our business out in the open. May I come inside?”

  “What business?” I said, beginning to get defensive. “Why don’t you just say what you have to say already? I’d like to go to bed soon.”

  Kelli heard the rise in my voice. “Are you okay, Nat?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. I was just getting a memo from one of Hollis’ coworkers.”

  Presley scoffed. “I’m not his coworker.”

  “Friend. Drinking buddy. Whatever.”

  “Try his lover, bitch.”

  “Bitch?! Excuse me?” And did I just hear what I think I heard?

  Presley’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been trying to be civilized with you, but you’re being rude as hell right now, so the gloves are off. I’m the one who brought you those flowers.”

  It was a blow to my soul when he told me that. But the real blow came when he delivered a double whammy and said, “Your husband gave me those roses when he gave me this ring” – he hissed, holding up his hand – “and told me he loved me!”

  Chapter 8: Natalia

  I blinked twice. Was this really happening? Presley was indeed wearing a men’s engagement band; it was snugly wrapped around his neatly manicured finger. The band was a rich shade of gold, with a row of sparkling diamonds tucked through the center of the band.

  “How long has this been going on?”

  Presley looked around. “It’s almost midnight. And this is too much information to share with you on the steps. The hills have eyes and people are nosey. Can we please talk inside?”

  Grudgingly, I stepped back and let him in. It was then that I realized I invited a vampire into my home. His handsome appearance was that surreal. As he walked past me, I smelled the faint scent of Blue de Chanel, the same cologne Hollis wore.

  “Under normal circumstances, I’d say welcome, but well…” I trailed off, not knowing how to continue. “Just have a seat.” Presley nodded in acknowledgement, as if he too understood my position. Kelli’s face lit up when she looked at us, her eyes sparkling with questions about our unexpected guest.

  “Kelli, this Presley,” I said, gesturing toward the man who’d taken a seat on the individual chair Hollis usually sat in. “That’s who sent the flowers.”

  Kelli’s eyes sparkled, appreciative of Presley’s presence. “Hey!” She beamed, standing up to walk over and shake his hand.

 
“Not so quick,” I interrupted. “Presley’s sleeping with Hollis.”

  Utter confusion took over Kelli’s face when she heard that bombshell. She dropped her hand midstride. “I’m sorry. What? Did you just say what I think you said?” She looked at me, then at Presley, and turned to look at me again.

  “Yes.” Presley clasped his fingers together. “Hollis and I are lovers.”

  “I need more sangria.”

  “Sangria would be lovely.” Presley invited himself to the kitchen, following along after Kelli. I wanted to follow the stranger in my house, but my legs wouldn’t allow me to move.

  I looked at the clock. 11:23 PM. Hollis wasn’t home, but a man alleging to be his lover was. In my home, sitting in his chair that we’d gotten as a wedding gift, drinking sangria with my best friend, from cups I’d purchased just this spring. For our home. For our family and friends.

  All I could think to myself was, how? Hollis and I didn’t keep secrets. We knew everything about each other. We’d been together since we were teenagers. There was never a time when Hollis ever expressed interest in other men. Ever.

  Kelli and Presley re-entered the room, each holding a glass of sangria. Kelli brought an extra glass. She set it in front of me and said, “Here. You’re going to need this.”

  Still at a loss for words, I stood there, drinking Presley in. He looked like a Greek god, chiseled arms and muscles all over.

  Kelli stepped up to moderate the conversation. “Presley. Thanks for stopping by. Can you tell us more about your affair with Hollis? When did it start?”

  Presley spoke as respectfully as possible. “First, I want to apologize to both of you for springing up on your girls’ night in. This isn’t the way a woman wants to learn her husband’s cheating. Natalia, I’d like to apologize to you for calling you a bitch a few moments ago. It was disrespectful of me to call you out of your name. I was just upset because I realized Hollis lied to me.” He motioned with his half-filled sangria glass. “But hell, I realize he’s lied to all of us.”

  Presley confessed to meeting Hollis during PT. They were in different units, but those units shared gym time. Small chats in the locker room, and a few run-ins around town and on base led to them finding out they had a lot in common.

  “And it went from there,” he closed.

  “And he never told you he was married?” Kelli said. “You live on base housing too, don’t you? You’re not married yourself?”

  “My best friend and I are married,” he said. “She’s lesbian, has two kids from a previous marriage. She needs the benefits.”

  “Did you know Hollis was married?” I said, finally getting command of my faculties again.

  Presley looked me straight in the eye. “Yes,” he said, reflectively. “I knew he was married. But he told me you two had an ‘arrangement.’”

  “What kind of arrangement?” Kelli asked. She cocked her head, and crossed her legs, ready to hear the madness coming from Presley’s mouth.

  “He said he told you he’d fallen out of love a long time ago. But you both decided to remain married for Jordan, because you didn’t want to break up your family while he was young, and didn’t have anywhere to go if you left.”

  “The nerve of him!” I was fuming.

  “Natalia!” Kelli patted my knee. “Calm down! Jordan’s asleep.”

  My hands balled into fists as I attempted to control my emotions. I could feel my face burning from Presley’s allegations. I looked at the both of them. “Hollis and I have been together twenty years. He never told me he was gay!” Gesturing to Presley, I said, “You don’t even look gay yourself.”

  Presley smiled. “Not every gay man is effeminate or flamboyant.”

  Kelli cleared her throat. “Let’s get to the point. You said you knew about Natalia. Why did you make yourself known now? Why tonight? Fuck that. Why should we believe you?”

  Now it was Presley’s turn to become emotional. “Because Hollis was giving me the runaround about spending the night. It made me wonder why a man who wasn’t with his wife anymore couldn’t spend the night with a man he claimed he loved.”

  Pain etched across his face as tears started to fall. He explained that he was all right with Hollis pretending to be just friends in public, as the military was an unforgiving place for homosexual relationships. But as things grew, he wasn’t content with having him just in bits and pieces.

  When Hollis resisted moving things along because of the marriage, Presley realized he was being lied to. He called off their affair, telling Hollis he couldn’t be with someone who wasn’t going to be all in with him. That’s when Hollis showed up at his door one night, with a ring, and roses.

  “He asked me to marry him after he retired. When he retired, he’d be able to divorce you, and we could live privately as civilians without military scrutiny.”

  He looked down on his ring, fingering it as he spoke. “I was so happy, at first, but then I realized I’d be a fool to believe him at just his word. If you and he weren’t together, you wouldn’t need him to be home every night.

  “I was going for a midday jog last week, and I saw your car outside her house.” He pointed to Kelli. “We actually live on the same street. I placed the flowers there because I figured it’d give me the answers I wanted. You guys would be happily holding hands in public or something, or there’d be no reaction.”

  “So you were stalking me!?” I cut in, my voice shrill with disbelief.

  “No. But your schedule and habits are predictable,” he said. “My job requires behavioral analysis and pattern recognition. You keep to a pretty strict routine.”

  “Did you observe her when she saw the flowers?”

  I did, actually. I sit at the end of the cul-de-sac. I watched you trip, use your hand on the hot ass hood of the car, yelp, and then scream with delight over those roses.”

  He started to break as he said, “You looked so happy receiving them. At first I was amused, because I thought the joke would be on you. But the joy only lasted for a few seconds when I realized he was full of shit. He never told you anything. I was just his secret. The joke then, was really on me.”

  “Why are you here then?” I asked.

  “I felt we both deserved the truth,” he said, pulling himself together. “And to be honest, I’m in love with Hollis. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. No one’s ever made me feel the way he does.”

  He paused, then added. “And I know he loves me too.”

  He looked at Kelli, who said, “You still haven’t told us why we should believe you?”

  “Your husband has a birthmark on his inner thigh. He screams ‘Oh Fuck!’ when he comes. And he adores foot massages.”

  I gasped, and then swallowed. It was too much to hear, but I looked at Kelli, and nodded somberly. “He’s right about everything.”

  By the time he’d gotten this all out, it was close to midnight.

  “Where is Hollis now?” I asked. “Because he’s clearly not here, and you are.”

  “He’s at my place now.” Presley hunched slightly. “I drugged his meal, so he’s going to be out for the rest of the night.”

  “You what?!” I roared, standing up. I wasn’t a violent woman, and I had every right to be anything but loving toward my husband. But the fierce protector in me wouldn’t sit still while this man professed to slip my husband some kind of drug.

  “Seroquel,” he stated. “Nothing illegal. He’s just going to sleep really hard tonight, wake up, and think he overslept. That’s all.” I stepped toward him, when he held his hand up and pleaded. “I promise. He’s going to be fine.”

  Kelli stepped between us, shaking her head. “Natalia, sit down. Please. I’ve taken Seroquel. He’s right. It’s literally a sedative to the uninitiated.”

  I glowered at Presley, who looked more and more worn and torn up as moments passed. The strong Greek god now looked like an abandoned child trying to be grown.

  “How old are you?” I spat
. I sat down when I asked, but only at Kelli’s insistence.

  “23.” He said. “I turned 23 in May.”

  I did the math in my head. May. That was right around the time Hollis started working later than usual.

  “You’re wearing his cologne.” I said, remembering that Hollis’ Blue de Chanel was on his person as he walked past.

  “That’s what he bought me for my birthday.” He spoke quietly. “I love the way it smelled. I didn’t realize it would help him mask his activities.”

  “This sangria isn’t strong enough.” Kelly took her glass to the head, and then took the rest of mine. She turned to Presley. “You need a refill?”

  “No.” Presley stood slowly. “I should get going.”

  He looked at me regretfully. “I’m sorry you had to learn like this. I didn’t know he was still happily married. But I love him. I don’t know where you two both stand, but I love him. I just have to figure out how I’m going to deal with him when he wakes up.”

  His audacity left me speechless and immobile. Without another word, he escorted himself to the door and walked out.

  Kelli locked the door behind him, and then held me until shock wore off and I collapsed into a snotty heap of tears from the bomb that just exploded in my home.

  Chapter 9: Rose

  Ellis and I kept in contact nearly every day after the bomb attack. I realized I could never get too comfortable during communication with him.

  I tried not to watch the news. Everything on there was involved nothing but negative information, especially regarding ISIS and their lethal behavior against various people they’d held hostage. How many times would I be able to stomach knowing an innocent person lost his or her life, simply because he or she had fallen into this group’s hands?

  Things like that – Islamic extremists, terrorism – were why I was so proud of Ellis. He truly wanted to help the world, and he figured the best way he could contribute to global peace was by putting his life on the line for everyone.

  I fingered my wedding band as I looked at the picture on my nightstand. It was a picture of Ellis and me, along with my parents. My parents were quite skeptical of our relationship. My father served in the military. He claimed he “knew” what military men really did when they were away, and he didn’t want me to end up hurt. My mother, in general, was just very protective of me when it came to men. They came to love Ellis over time, especially as they got to know the charitable, honorable side of him.