Her Invisible Soldier: A Military Romance with a Twist

by Grace Risata

  Debbie rolled her eyes, most likely fed up with Nina’s loud ramblings driving all the men away. It hadn’t escaped my notice that a few young studs had begun to approach the table, saw Nina flailing her arms like a lunatic, and abruptly changed course.

  “I don’t care if I never see either one of them again,” Debbie admitted. “Kassie was a skank who tried stealing my boyfriend. I’m over it. Let’s quit talking about them and focus on getting some action of our own. You need to call dibs on your cowboy, Nina, so I can make my pick and get to work. Alyce has clearly made her choice, so she’s not involved in our first round draft pick of the hot bodies.”

  They began a loud conversation of who got which man, and I spared a glance in Dixon’s direction to see how he was holding up. Unfortunately the man must think we’re all crazy after listening to our bizarre conversation. I’d have to say that he looked more amused than anything else.

  “Are women always so rowdy?” he whispered in my ear. “Your co-worker is nearly wasted after a wine cooler, and Debbie sounds like she’s going to recruit half the bar for an orgy.”

  “What the hell are you doing here anyway?” I asked, evading his question. I wanted to get some insight into his motive for showing up out of the blue at a place where he knew I could be found. While waiting for his reply, I polished off the rest of my beer.

  “I should probably grab you another drink, sweet cheeks. I wouldn’t want you to get thirsty.”

  I clamped a hand down on his arm before he could make a move.

  “Answer the question,” I demanded.

  He looked around uneasily and finally confessed.

  “I couldn’t stand the thought of you in some dive bar, getting hit on by sleazy assholes. You’re fucking gorgeous, Alyce. I knew it would take about ten seconds before a random douchebag got up the nerve to approach you and throw out a lame pickup line. The more I thought about it and imagined it in my head, the angrier I became. I got jealous, and the next thing I knew I was walking in here with the sole purpose of beating the life out of anyone that might have dared to touch what was mine.”

  “So you stormed into the place, saw I was sitting with two other chicks instead of any guys, yet still had to claim your territory like a dog pissing on a fire hydrant?”

  “Maybe that was for your benefit as well as mine. I couldn’t get your words out of my head, Alyce. A good man is hard to find and you have to hold on tight. Maybe…it’s even more difficult to find a woman like you.”

  “Like me?” I asked. What did that mean?

  “Someone as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside,” he admitted, staring deeply into my eyes. “No one in their right mind would put up with my bullshit. But…you…you take it all in stride and still refuse to give up on me. Even though sometimes it feels like I’m invisible to the whole world, I know I can count on you to be the one that really sees me, Alyce.”

  Holy shit.

  Where had that come from?

  I was truly touched by his heartfelt words and tried to form a decent response, but the stubborn oaf changed the subject entirely.

  “So how come we’re in a bar that strangely reminds me of ‘Footloose?’ If Kevin Bacon comes waltzing in with that chick from ‘Sex and the City,’ I don’t think I’d be surprised in the slightest. I didn’t know you had a thing for cowboys.”

  Back to reality. I figured the rare, brutally honest version of Dixon wouldn’t last too long. At least I had him for a few seconds anyway.

  “The birthday girl is the one with a lady boner for anything in a ten gallon hat. I actually have a different type altogether,” I confessed with a wink. “I get turned on by emotionally unavailable jackasses that have Shakespeare tattoos and a fine appreciation for seventies porn movies.”

  He raised an eyebrow and insisted, “There was nothing wrong with that movie. Besides, I’m only unavailable to anyone that’s not you.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah. Out of all the women in this place, you’re the sexiest.”

  “That’s really not much of a compliment, seeing as how you scanned the room for a whole thirty seconds before making a beeline in my direction,” I informed him. Someone was working very hard to charm me tonight.

  “Once you see perfection, you don’t keep looking.”

  Wow.

  I leaned in and kissed him softly, taking what was obviously mine.

  “I’m a sure thing, Dixon. You don’t have to woo me.”

  “I don’t want you to jump off the boat, Alyce.”

  Huh? We were in a cowboy bar. What boat?

  Noting my confusion, he repeated my speech from several hours ago.

  “When the water gets choppy, you stay on the boat. Don’t jump overboard. Tie the rope around your waist,” he reminded me. “Just because you have someone, doesn’t mean you get lazy. It takes work to keep them. I’m putting in the work. Do I have you?”

  “Completely,” I mumbled, wondering what the fuck was going on. Usually declarations of feelings were done in private after a particularly satisfying round of sex, not in a random bar amongst strangers. Perhaps this shitty place had mystical powers I was unaware of? Whatever the reason, I was just going with the flow and not doing anything to rock the boat, pun intended.

  But it would do me no good to stare into those sexy eyes all night long. I was here for the purpose of celebrating Nina’s birthday and I should probably focus on that for a little while. Taking a deep breath and turning away from Dixon, I instantly noticed that we were alone at the table.

  “Where did everyone go?” I asked in confusion.

  “They got up and left after I started whispering sweet nothings in your ear,” he explained, pointing to the dance floor where a strange ritual appeared to be taking place. A line of women were re-enacting a dance routine, all moving in unison except for Debbie. The poor woman stood on the end and tried to replicate their motions even though she lagged a full ten seconds behind everyone else.

  “What are they doing? Is that a flash mob or something? Their choreography is actually pretty decent.”

  “Are you kidding me, Alyce? They’re line dancing!”

  “But…why?”

  I failed to see the point in copying everyone else’s moves. Wouldn’t it be better to stand out with your own interpretation of the music? They look like robots. Well…all except for Debbie. She just looked like her battery was winding down. Judging by the way she stuck out her boobs and hiked up her already short dress, I think she was about to bail on the whole thing and grab the nearest cowboy for a quick bathroom fuck.

  “Do you honestly know nothing about country music?” he asked with a hint of exasperation.

  “Did you hear one country song on the entire playlist I made for you? Fuck no. Because I hate that shit. Please don’t tell me you actually enjoy this music, Dixon. That might be a deal breaker.”

  “Look at Nina,” he said while nodding his head in her direction. “She’s obviously enjoying herself. Don’t you want in on that action? I never pegged you as someone afraid to try new things.”

  Sure enough, Nina was laughing her ass off. The second she saw me looking her way, the woman began waving her hand in a futile effort to get me on the dance floor.

  “It’s her birthday, Alyce. I think you’re legally required to go over there and join her.”

  “Why don’t you go do it then if it’s so fucking important?” I challenged, knowing full well that he would never do anything like that. To my surprise, he stood up and walked right into the middle of the dancers and took the spot next to Nina. That asshole immediately fell into the perfect rhythm and practically led the entire group.

  All eyes turned to the only man in line, and complete strangers began to hoot, holler, and clap in appreciation of his masterful moves.

  “Do you believe this shit?” Debbie asked me, sliding back onto a stool and wiping sweat off her cleavage. “It’s not a total shocker that you’re banging Dixon because I had a suspi
cion that something was going on. Do you remember when you got in that argument with Kassie when she told you about our bet? I’m the one that sensed your chemistry from all the way across the room, but that tramp thought I was nuts. Glad to see my instincts were correct. That being said, I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that Dixon Wade is not only being friendly to strangers, but he’s line dancing. Like actual real line dancing to a country music song, Alyce. What the fuck? Is he always like this outside of the veteran’s center?”

  “No,” I replied in complete astonishment. “He has a chip on his shoulder the size of a small planet no matter where he goes. I’ve never, ever, seen this side of him. Maybe I could picture him head-banging or something, but sure as shit not line dancing. I mean…why? It’s just tapping your boot heel, stomping your foot, and spinning around. Am I missing something?”

  Debbie shrugged her shoulders as though also unimpressed, but then something changed. Dixon stopped dancing, turned around to all the ladies on the dance floor, and huddled them up as though they were discussing a game-winning Superbowl play.

  “What’s happening?” I asked Debbie. “Is that part of the dance?”

  “How do I know?”

  All the ladies left the floor and went their separate ways, except for two that marched up to the jukebox and started pressing buttons. A tall redhead let out a piercing whistle to get everyone’s attention and then shouted, “If any of you fine men are looking to impress us single ladies, I suggest you get your behinds front and center to start shaking what your mama gave you!”

  The next song began to play and the whole place erupted into raucous shouts, catcalls, and general pandemonium. No less than twenty men swarmed the dance floor and began to gyrate like cowboy strippers.

  Nina staggered over to our table and squealed like a teenage girl.

  “Can you believe this? It was all Dixon’s idea! He told me that the best way to figure out who’s great in the sack is to watch them dance. They’re going to put on a hell of a show! This is the best birthday ever!”

  She wasn’t kidding.

  Evidently whatever song that was picked just happened to be a tried and true favorite of all the guys. Their dance was way more provocative than anything the ladies had attempted. Instead of slow boot tapping and spinning around, this involved jumping and shaking your ass.

  One man in particular stood out from the crowd.

  Dixon Fucking Wade.

  “Are you seeing this, Alyce?” Debbie asked, mouth agape, drool nearly dripping down her chin. Her head was spinning as though she couldn’t decide which man to look at first.

  “Uh huh,” I mumbled, unable to tear my eyes away from the spectacle. There were a lot of mind-blowing moves such as kicking up your knees like a Rockette or swinging a leg backwards and touching it with your hand, but my personal favorite involving holding your belt buckle and thrusting your crotch as though you were fucking something invisible.

  “Nina, get out your fucking phone and start taking a video of this shit,” I ordered, completely frozen and unable to do it myself.

  “Yeah,” Debbie mumbled agreeably. “You can text it to me so I can play it back while I masturbate later.”

  Nina and I began to gag as Debbie’s comment sank in.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked the crazy woman sitting next to me. “Some things you just think to yourself and don’t say out loud!”

  “Don’t be that way, Alyce,” Nina chastised. “We are in the circle of truth and none of Debbie’s thoughts are wrong. I think tonight is an epic milestone in my life and you two are now my new best friends forever. The three musketeers. The three amigos. The Golden Girls.”

  “There were four Golden Girls, genius,” I informed her. “Why can’t you two just be a pair? Like Batman and Robin. You don’t need me.”

  I had a bad feeling that these ladies were going to get clingy in a hurry, and I was not looking for a girl posse that texted me every twelve seconds and made me pose for endless selfies. No thank you. Not interested.

  “Come on,” Nina complained, “You’re the one who said it would be fun to go out in a group for my big day and that’s why you brought Debbie along. I need a girl squad to have my back if shit goes down.”

  “Good thing we showed up then, hmm?” a pair of distinct voices chorused from directly behind us. “No way can you three innocent ladies handle all those sexy men on the dance floor!”

  We slowly turned around to find ourselves staring at a very familiar set of twins.

  They weren’t looking at us though; their eyes were locked firmly on the group of male stripper cowboys. It took exactly two seconds before awareness set in and Kassie nearly had a heart attack.

  “Oh my holy hell…is that Dixon?” she asked in utter amazement. With a flip of her hair, a lick of her lips, and a megawatt smile now firmly in place, her sights were set on a new target. I suppose I should say that I think her mouth was trying to form a smile. It was hard to tell with all the Botox.

  Shit just got real. Not only were the twins wearing matching red dresses that fit them like a second skin, every ounce of their body language screamed, “I’m here to see and be seen.” They were clearly on the prowl.

  Debbie must have noticed the sudden change in the air, because she took one look at me and raised an eyebrow.

  “Your move, Alyce,” she whispered. “Don’t let her get your man.”

  I shook my head very faintly so as not to draw attention to myself. It really wouldn’t have mattered because Kassie was completely focused on Dixon anyway.

  “Let this all play out, Debbie. We’ll see where it ends up.”

  “I saw where it ended up with my boyfriend. As your friend, I’m warning you...”

  “Been there, done that, lost a hockey player in high school. I know what she’s capable of. So does Dixon. Let’s see her try. It ain’t happening.”

  It’s not that I was so confident in my awesomeness that I thought Dixon would be immune to her charm, but rather that I wouldn’t let things go that far. I was older, wiser, and not above beating the shit out of Kassie.

  Maybe I also wanted to prove to Dixon that I wasn’t that girl. In the same way that he wanted a woman who was trustworthy and didn’t need to be checked on constantly, I had no desire to be the clingy chick that freaked out every time someone looked at her man. That’s not how I rolled.

  As the song ended, all the men gave each other high fives and fist bumps, clearly proud of their slick moves. Dixon made his way to our table with a huge shit eating grin on his face. The instant he saw Kassie and Kennedy, the smile faltered ever so slightly.

  “Wow,” Kassie bubbled, holding a hand to her chest in order to draw attention to her massive double D knockers, “that was awesome! I had no idea you could move like that! You are amazing, Dixon!”

  Really? You call him a pathetic loser to his face and act like he’s the shit under your shoe…but now you’re going to flirt with him? Did she actually think that might work?

  He completely ignored her and pulled up a stool right next to mine.

  “Have I changed your mind about line dancing yet, Alyce?” he asked, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close to his sweat-covered body.

  “I have no idea where you learned how to do that, but I definitely need a private performance later.”

  “That can be arranged,” he whispered, cupping my face with his hand and going in for a kiss.

  I heard Kassie’s loud gasp and knew I was in for trouble.

  Game on.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “What’s up with you two?” Kennedy asked with a hint of annoyance, looking back and forth from me to Dixon.

  Since when did I have to share every detail with her? It’s not like she could be bothered to text me about the little switcheroo scheme she’s been playing.

  “Yeah, I really didn’t get a chance to talk to you this week. You know…what with you being gone and all…”

&nb
sp; The twins pulled stools up to our table, not caring that it was becoming increasingly crowded.

  “You look great, Dixon,” Kassie purred, cocking her head and again running a tongue over those Botox enhanced lips. “The make-over suits you. I always knew there was a diamond hiding underneath somewhere. All we had to do was pull it out.”

  “Whore,” Debbie coughed loudly, then sputtered and launched in a full coughing fit in an attempt to hide her blatant disrespect of Kassie.

  “Excuse me?” Kennedy responded. “What did you just say?”

  “I didn’t say anything at all. I just swallowed wrong. Air must have gone down the wrong pipe.”

  “I didn’t know you knew how to swallow at all, Debbie,” Kassie commented sweetly. “Maybe if you’d have done that more often, then your boyfriend would have stuck around.”

  Wow. I didn’t think Kassie would go there…but she did. Everyone at the table froze and went silent as if waiting to see what might happen next.

  “Don’t you talk about my new friend that way,” Nina warned, waving her now empty wine cooler as though it were a weapon. “Maybe she’d rather spit. It’s a woman’s prerogative.”

  Kennedy rolled her eyes and explained, “I think she meant that Debbie never sucked cock at all, Nina. Perhaps you should lay off the drinks for a while.”

  Nina was about to reply, when a handsome young cowboy came up to our table and loudly cleared his throat. Every head turned in his direction and he immediately took a step backward in shyness.

  “I was just wondering…if maybe she’d like to dance?” he asked, pointing to Debbie before addressing her directly. “I know a few steps and I was thinking I might be able to teach you a thing or two…”

  My friend squared her shoulders, gave the dark haired stud a winning smile that showcased her pearly whites, and held out a hand for him to take.

  “I would like that very much,” she replied demurely.

  They walked off, but not before Debbie turned around one last time to stare at Kassie and silently mouth, “Bite me!”

  It’s good to see we’re all mature here tonight.