Her Invisible Soldier: A Military Romance with a Twist

by Grace Risata

  She gave her son a hug that was extremely lacking in warmth, and kissed him on the cheek similar to the way you’d greet an eccentric aunt out of obligation instead of true affection.

  Dixon instantly stiffened, his rigid body language conveying the fact that he was extremely uncomfortable. Turning in my direction, he made an introduction that must not have been at all easy for him.

  “Alyce, I’d like you to meet my parents, Arthur and Joanna Wade.”

  “Who is this?” his mother asked in confusion, not even entertaining the notion that I might be dating her son.

  While everyone stared at each other awkwardly for what seemed like an eternity, I took an opportunity compare the men. Once you had them standing side by side, Dixon bore a striking resemblance to his father. Same high forehead, captivating eyes, and well-groomed beard, although Arthur’s was grey.

  Joanna, on the other hand, did not share their alpha personalities. With highlighted blonde hair that must have required a lot of upkeep, as well as obvious signs of plastic surgery to retain a youthful appearance, she exuded a ‘high society socialite’ kind of vibe. I had the feeling that if asked for her opinion on any topic, she would instantly defer to her husband to give an answer for her. Such a shame.

  “This is my girlfriend,” Dixon stated boldly, as though daring them to object.

  “I should have figured the only reason you’d actually show up would be to cause drama in an attempt to grab attention,” his father remarked with a roll of his eyes. “Does the woman even speak English or is she fresh off the boat?”

  A waiter dressed in a fancy tux chose that very moment to shove a tray of champagne right in the middle of our group.

  “I’m going to need something a bit stronger,” Arthur snapped at the man. “Bring a few glasses of whiskey for me and my son.”

  “No,” I immediately replied while vehemently shaking my head. “He’s not having a drop of alcohol.”

  Arthur’s anger at my bold contradiction of his direct order earned me a dirty look followed by a slow smile that surprised the hell out of me. Could the man actually have respect for someone who dares to stand up to him?

  Not quite.

  “I see,” he replied with an over-exaggerated wink. “This whole ‘girlfriend’ business is just a ruse in order to save Dixon the embarrassment of having to explain that you’re his sober coach. I’ve heard about those. Did that pompous judge assign you to babysit my son after his bit of trouble with the law? What will it take for you to disappear for a few hours?”

  Arthur opened his wallet and began to pull out hundred dollar bills.

  “Two hundred? Three hundred? Name your price, honey.”

  “Put your fucking money away right now,” Dixon snarled. “Alyce is my girlfriend, and to suggest anything else is an insult to both of us. You’d be wise to watch your words.”

  Isn’t this turning out to be a fun party? The way I saw it, I had three options. Pout like a baby and cry at the horrible way I was being treated, get pissed and start busting heads, or act as though nothing bothered me at all.

  Option three seemed like the most entertaining choice, and least expected of me, so that’s what I went with.

  “You have a very lovely home,” I politely stated while taking the brownies out of Dixon’s hand and passing them to his mother. “I brought dessert because my grandmother always told me it was rude to show up empty-handed. It’s an old family recipe.”

  After blinking a few times in shock, keenly aware that her husband and son were currently locked in a bitter stare down, Joanna took the pan.

  “Um…thank you, Alana. I didn’t know that desserts were popular in the Oriental culture.”

  Do not freak out, Alyce. Just smile and nonchalantly correct the ignorant fool.

  “My name is actually Alyce. It has a ‘y’ in the middle instead of an ‘i’ because I’m unique like that. I’m also not from the Orient.”

  A shapely blonde woman butted her way into the conversation and said, “Geez, mom. Welcome to the twenty-first century. They don’t like to be called Orientals. You’re supposed to say ‘Asians’ and be all politically correct.”

  Even if she hadn’t used the term ‘mom,’ I still would have been able to figure out she was Dixon’s sister. The leggy bombshell was a younger, sexier, edgier version of her mother. Sporting teased up hair, way too much make-up, and a haughty grin, I could tell she was a force to be reckoned with. Let’s add another member to the ‘I hate Alyce fan club.’

  “Desiree, have you had the opportunity to meet Dixon’s new love interest?” Arthur asked with a sneer.

  “I have not yet had the pleasure, dad,” she replied, suddenly taking way too much of an interest in me. “That’s a cute outfit. Maybe if you stick around long enough, Dixon will spend some of his inheritance and buy you something from a major fashion label. His money is what you’re after, right?”

  Wow. I’ve never felt so welcome in my entire life. How to counterstrike? Just as a witty retort was on the tip of my tongue, Dixon grabbed my hand and ushered me outside.

  “What are you doing? I was going to say something utterly brilliant and you ruined my momentum!” I complained, ready to march right back in there and tell her that I was after his cock and not his cash.

  “Alyce, I apologize for the way you’re being treated. This is totally unacceptable—”

  “Look at this food!” I exclaimed, completely interrupting him. I had never seen anything like it. There must have been twenty tables just filled to the brim with every delicacy known to man. “There’s a fountain that has chocolate instead of water. I see an ice sculpture carved into the shape of a mermaid! Holy hell, is that a tower of shrimp? How is all this staying cold?”

  Before these rich assholes decided to kick me out, I scooped up the nearest plate and weighed my options. Steak? Caviar? Lobster?

  “Are you kidding me?” Dixon asked, flabbergasted. “My family is being completely obnoxious and you don’t even care? Are you really that hungry?”

  I stopped and took a deep breath. Turning to look him straight in the eye, I admitted, “Of course I care, Dixon. I want your family to like me. There appears to be no chance of that happening, no matter what I do, so I might as well make the best of a bad situation. Would you prefer I caused a scene and started openly sobbing? Perhaps I can punch your sister in the face? That won’t solve anything. My plan is to eat away my pain. Are you going to join me or not?”

  He stared dumbfounded before eventually grabbing a plate of his own. Walking around the tables and taking whatever caught my eye, I had to force myself to leave the cheese where it sat. Cheese is my kryptonite, but I could eat that at home. I needed to save room for more important things. Such as dessert.

  “Well, well, well,” a snarky masculine voice spoke from somewhere off to my left. “What do we have here? Desi told me that my big brother actually decided to make an appearance with his new girlfriend, but I didn’t believe it. I guess she wasn’t lying after all. Aren’t you going to introduce me, Dixon? Don’t be rude.”

  I slowly turned around while stifling an eye roll, and pretended to be polite. Pardon me if I’m not excited about another cocksucker that wanted his turn to berate me. Unlike his older brother and sister, this guy just looked like a schmuck. If you googled ‘preppy snob,’ then his picture would be first in the search results. I’m not kidding. You name it, he had it. Polo shirt with the brand name carefully embroidered to show off his wealth, sunglasses most likely hiding the evidence of last night’s hangover, and a flashy watch wrapped securely around his wrist. What time is it? Douchebag time!

  “Drew, this is Alyce. Alyce, this is my younger brother,” Dixon explained, with no hint of emotion in his voice.

  “It’s so nice to meet you. Or should I say, ‘Ni hao?’ Would that make you more comfortable?”

  The arrogant prick started speaking fluent Chinese as though he had lived there his entire life. At least I think it was Chinese. It could
have been Vietnamese or Alien language for all I know. I’m from Michigan!

  “Shut your fucking mouth and leave her the hell alone,” my date warned. “I have no problem with beating the shit out of you right here.”

  Ignoring the threat as though it were never made at all, Drew kept running his mouth off.

  “I’m simply trying to be a gentleman to your guest, Dixon. Lighten up. You’re going to have to be social and mingle, you know. Several people are very eager to catch up and find out what you’ve been doing lately. I hope you have some lies planned. It’s not going to be very impressive to tell everyone you’re on probation, out of work, and living off your inheritance like the fucking loser that you really are. Oh look, here comes someone right now! Hello, Brooke!”

  Dixon’s face turned even more rage-filled than it had already been, if that were even possible.

  “Fuck,” he mumbled, instantly positioning himself behind me as though intending to use my body as a human shield. “Don’t freak out or anything, Alyce, but she’s my ex-girlfriend.”

  Of course she is. Could this day get any worse? Naturally I shoved a shrimp in my mouth and chewed it as fast as possible. If I had to throw down and shank a bitch, at least I wasn’t doing it on an empty stomach.

  “Oh my goodness,” the one called Brooke exclaimed excitedly, holding her arms out for a hug from Dixon. Unfortunately that was no easy task since he was hiding like a pussy. “I can’t believe you’re here! Come and give me a kiss! It’s been far too long. I’ve missed you, Dixie!”

  “Dixie?” I mumbled in horror while nearly choking on my shrimp. Never had my emotions been so at war with themselves. Should I laugh or be jealous?

  “Why don’t you introduce me to your friend, Dixie,” I purred seductively, giving him my best wink just to watch the man squirm.

  “Alyce, this is my…um…someone I used to…um…this is Brooke,” he stuttered helplessly. “Brooke, this is my girlfriend, Alyce.”

  “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone, Dixie,” Brooke remarked with a pout. “Have you two been together very long?”

  “It’s been…” How long had it been? It’s not like this was high school and I was keeping track of our week long anniversary or something. “…a while.”

  Brooke shrugged while smiling at me, and I couldn’t help but notice her beauty. She had the largest blue eyes, shiny long blonde beach-tousled waves that casually hung down her back, and minimal make-up that gave off an air of ‘I just crawled out of bed and this is what I look like.’ I probably shouldn’t mention her tits. They were fucking gigantic. I would have needed three hands to completely surround them.

  “I would totally offer to shake your hand, Brooke, but I’m currently full of shrimp,” I explained, popping another one in my mouth.

  “Have you tried the mini cheesecake bites? The green ones are key lime flavored and I’ve had two of them already. Not to be missed!”

  Wait a fucking minute here. Did someone just actually talk to me like I was a human being? Score one point for team Brooke.

  “Thank you.”

  My buddy Drew did not appreciate the lack of animosity between me and Dixon’s ex, so he decided to stir up trouble.

  “Alyce, did you know that your boyfriend got caught with his pants down while—”

  “Okay, that’s it. I’ve had enough of your fucking mouth,” Dixon growled, setting his empty plate down and starting to loosen his tie.

  “Not here, not now,” I warned, taking a firm hold of Dixon’s upper arm and dragging him away from the crowd of onlookers just spoiling for a fight between the brothers.

  I hurried down the staircase that led to a winding maze through fruit trees and perfectly manicured lawn. Once we were safely out of earshot of any other party guests, I found a quiet bench and sat down.

  Dixon took the spot next to me and hung his head in his hands.

  “I should have known better than to bring you here, Alyce. You have no idea how mortified I am right now,” he confessed, daring to glance up at me to gauge my reaction. “Why aren’t you freaking out and throwing punches?”

  “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m vastly outnumbered. There’s no way I can take them all. Is that why you brought me? To fight? To cause drama?”

  After all of his hemming and hawing before we left home, I knew he would rather have stayed away entirely. I just wanted to hear the words come out of his mouth.

  “No. I told you I would never purposely cause you pain. As a relationship progresses, it’s a natural step to meet each other’s families. You’ve already been asking about mine and I knew I couldn’t put you off forever. It just seemed easier to show you, if that makes sense. Had I tried to describe how awful they are, you never would have believed me. This is my way of ripping off the band-aid all at once. Here they are, in all their retched glory. I had actually hoped to accomplish two goals today. Number one, I wanted to prove to you that there’s no reason to feel bad about your mom because my family is equally repulsive. Number two, now that you know why I hate them, we can move on and never speak of them again. As far I’m concerned, we can leave right now. Mission accomplished.”

  “But…why aren’t you as evil as they are? How did you manage to turn out normal and not a racist?”

  Dixon smiled with relief and said, “I’m so glad you realize I’m nothing like them. My grandmother Sophie was an immigrant from Poland. I never understood how my dad could hate foreigners when he married the daughter of one. Also…when you join the military…you meet a group of guys that hold your life in their hands. I didn’t see African-Americans, Jews, Italians, Mexicans, Asians…I saw a band of brothers that had my back no matter what the situation. We were just trying to make it home alive. Skin color becomes the least important thing imaginable when you’re under enemy fire. We’re all human underneath. I’m closer to most of the soldiers I served with, than I am to my own parents.”

  I patted his knee with pride. I found a decent man.

  “Good answer, Luke. The force is strong in you.”

  He wrinkled up his nose in confusion, and then promptly moved on to another matter entirely.

  “Is there anything else you want to ask me?”

  Was that a trick question? Was I forgetting something important?

  “Um…no. Am I supposed to go all insecure on your ass and tearfully ask if you’re still in love with Brooke?”

  That wasn’t going to happen.

  Dixon raised an eyebrow in amusement at my lack of drama today.

  “No, sweet cheeks. That’s not what you’re supposed to ask. I was never serious with Brooke. We went out on a few dates and we…um…hooked up a couple times.”

  “Are you serious? You had sex before we met? Man-whore!”

  “You’re in rare form today,” he commented with a shake of his head. “I can’t believe how well you’re handling all of this. I’m impressed.”

  “Sometimes I can control myself. But only when there’s a full moon and the planets align in just the right configuration.”

  Dixon leaned over and softly kissed me on the lips. I wrapped my arms around his waist and tried to enjoy the moment. Yes, we were surrounded by assholes, but the trees and greenery were quite stunning.

  “This yard and grounds is truly breathtaking,” I admitted. “Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it sure gets you a nice house.”

  “About that…um…I have something else to tell you.”

  What now?

  “When I hinted around about you possibly forgetting to ask something important…I was talking about my inheritance that Drew and Desiree both alluded to.”

  “If you wanted me to know your finances, you would have told me,” I offered with a shrug. “I didn’t figure it was any of my business. I don’t need a sugar daddy, so I don’t care. If you start asking me for a loan, then things might change.”

  Dixon smirked and kissed me again, this time letting his hands roam up and down my back. I matched his enthusiasm and
then tenderly nuzzled my nose with his once we came up for air.

  “I inherited a million dollars when my grandmother passed away. She made me the sole beneficiary of her estate and completely ignored my mom and both of my siblings. Needless to say, it caused a rift. I think you asked me once about what I did for money and I told you I got a monthly check.”

  “I just assumed it was an army pension.”

  “No. I live off the interest generated from the trust fund.”

  “Okay. You didn’t have to tell me that. I’ll keep kissing you whether you’re worth one dollar or one million.”

  “I know, Alyce. That’s what I like about you.”

  “Really? I thought it was my brownies and perky tits?”

  Right as he was about to slip his hand under my dress, we heard loud voices approaching and Dixon scooted us out of view. We remained hidden by a large evergreen while eavesdropping on our unexpected company.

  “I’m telling you, Brooke, he’s only with her for one reason,” Dixon’s sister snapped angrily. “He brought the bitch for shock value and nothing else. There’s no real feelings for her.”

  “I don’t know…he seemed to stare at her like she was the only girl in the entire place. I think it’s more serious than you want to believe.”

  “I’ll tell you what I believe. She’s nothing but a whore gold digger out for the family fortune. You have to make your move and break them up before something dire happens. Do you want her to get knocked up and have slant eyed babies running around, sullying the Wade name? I think not!”

  Dixon’s nostrils flared and he made a move to bust out of our hiding place. I jumped on his back and wrapped a hand around his mouth to keep him quiet. He grunted in disapproval at a noise level loud enough to draw attention.

  Brooke backed up and peeked around the tree, clearly spotting us. Shit. Our cover is blown.

  “I don’t think they’re out here, Desi,” she insisted, keeping our location a secret. “Let’s go back to the house. I don’t want a bug to bite me. You know how my sweetness attracts the mosquitoes.”

  Dixon gave them a solid two minutes to walk away, and then he turned on me.