Military Romance Collection

by E Cleveland

  As Maroon 5 belts out a slow one, we quickly stampede off the floor in different directions as Adam Levine begins to serenade us. It doesn’t take long to spot Mack, he’s exactly where I left him three songs ago. Luckily for me, he looks just as sexy as he did three songs ago too. I navigate through the obstacle course of tables and chairs until I reach the back wall he’s leaning against. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was hiding.

  Unfortunately, for him, he’s not hard to spot. Hovering around six feet tall, with chiseled shoulders that even his tux jacket can’t hide, he can’t exactly covertly disappear behind a plant in the corner or something. Mack has a face that makes every girl in the room melt and a body that they all wish they could lay beside. It used to make me jealous, all the attention he gets, but he’s never cared about anyone but me. It’s been that way since we were kids and it’ll be that way until we’re old. Besides, everyone knows that Mack’s taken. They can take their chances with Cameron Armstrong instead.

  As the quarterback of our high school football team, Cameron’s never had a problem getting attention from the girls. With his sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes, the fact that he’s the second best looking guy in the school doesn’t hurt either. I’d give him a second look, if I wasn’t already with the best looking guy. And if he wasn’t a non-committal manwhore.

  Mack’s eyes light up when he sees me, like I just woke him from a dream. I love when he looks at me like that. If there were other girls in the room, you wouldn’t know it by the way he smiles at me. It’s like I’m the only woman in the world, let alone in the dance hall.

  “C’mon. It’s your turn to dance with me,” I tug on both of his hands and try to pull him off the wall. “Just dance one slow song with me and then I won’t bug you anymore.” I plead.

  “Nah, I’m gonna sit this one out.” He doesn’t budge an inch. I could throw every ounce of strength I have into trying to move him, but it wouldn’t matter. He’s built like a stack of bricks. Hard, cut, strong bricks that have made every girl jealous of me since we started going out.

  “Just one song.” I persist, still pulling feebly on his hands. He won’t give in. I know he won’t. “Why did you ask me to come to the prom with you if you weren’t gonna dance?” I stick out my bottom lip in a pouty face that I hope will sway him. “I spent weeks picking out this dress, I’m never gonna look this good again. I don’t want to waste the night standing by the wall.”

  He doesn’t need to know that by weeks I mean months. As in, I’ve been planning what to wear to the prom since school started this year. I smooth my hands down over my royal purple gown. After looking at every neon colored dress ever invented, I turned down the flash for understated elegance. I truly feel like a princess with the intricately beaded halter and the floor length chiffon skirt. All that’s missing is my glass slippers.

  That and my prince charming.

  Mack Forrester is many things. Usually words like “hot” and “rebel” are used to describe him. But he isn’t a prince, and the only thing he’s good at charming is my clothes off.

  “The song is almost over. Just dance with me for a minute. Just till the end of the song.” I try again. Mack just smiles at me and tilts his head to the side.

  “You do look gorgeous,” his voice rumbles. “But, I didn’t come here to dance. I brought you because I knew it was important to you.” He pushes himself off the wall and stands up straight, lifting my hand up over my head and twirls me in a circle. I squint my eyes and the room swirls around me in a kaleidoscope of color. My dress billows out, exposing my legs to the air, and then cocoons back around me. I feel like the tiny ballerina I used to watch spin around in my mother’s music box.

  No one would dance with her either.

  Mack yanks me tight against his chest and fixes me to the floor with his blue eyes. “Besides, there’s a lot more to do on prom night than just this,” he nods his head toward the swaying couples behind me. “I do plan to dance with you,” he smirks his cocky little half smile and my heart flutters. I’m sure he can feel it thudding in my chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll spin you all around too, but for my dance that pretty little dress of yours has got to go.”

  I don’t mean to press my breasts into him. It’s not like I want to encourage him. I just can’t help it. Mack knows how to mesmerize me with only a look. The song changes to another slow one and I manage to snap out of my lust trance.

  “Fine, if you’re not going to dance with me then I’ll just find someone else who will.” I look into his eyes and fight my instinct to kiss his hovering mouth.

  “Who? Why are we wasting time here? Let’s just get out of here, Lauren.” His voice is thick with desire. I can almost feel myself being hypnotized by it. But I refuse to give in that easy.

  Somehow I find the strength to step away from his warm body and scan the room. My eyes stop on Joel Brickman. Not ideal by a long stretch, but I know my former chemistry partner won’t turn down a dance. I smirk at Mack and walk away from him, making sure I add a little Shakira to my hips as I make my way across the floor. I know Mack’s watching my every move, so I might as well put on a good show.

  I stride up to Joel and grab his arm. “Come on, let’s dance.”

  It isn’t a question. But, it doesn’t seem to matter. He’s at my heels like the love-struck puppy dog he is.

  We’re quickly absorbed on the ballroom floor by the other couples twisting around in slow circles. I glance at Joel and am rewarded with the familiar smile I’ve seen for the past eight months in every science class. His look says I’ve just made this guy’s night. Hell, I probably just made his year. I check over his shoulder to see if Mack is watching and feel satisfied when my boyfriend’s smug smile begins to twist into something else. Jealousy.

  Joel glides me around the floor and my view of Mack is obstructed by other slow-dancing couples. I finally stop twisting my head around like an owl and just focus on the guy I’m dancing with. His large brown eyes are searching my face. Desperate to find significance in our meaningless dance. I’ve sat next to him all year, yet I’ve never really looked at him before. He’s actually not a bad looking guy. His sandy hair sweeps across his forehead and frames his big eyes. The eyes that won’t stop staring at me.

  Staring into me.

  I need to make him stop.

  “I, uh, wanted to say thanks for being my lab partner all year. It was great working with you.” I interrupt his thoughts in an attempt to drag him back into reality. I can’t look into those eyes any longer. Instead I focus on my hand against his shoulder. My almond skin against his snow white jacket is striking.

  “I can honestly say that it was my pleasure, Lauren. Did you get into nursing?” He looks so hopeful, like my future genuinely matters to him.

  “I did,” I beam. I can’t help it, I’m pretty proud of myself. “I got a full scholarship at the University of Colorado, can you believe it?”

  “Of course.”

  I suddenly realize that I have zero idea of what Joel’s plans are after graduation. I’ve talked to him almost every day this school year, but now that I think about it, I can’t recall any of the details he’s told me about his life. At all. A flash of guilt washes over me.

  “Are you going to university?” I ask shyly. I can’t believe how self-centered I’ve been. My mind is struggling to come up with one thing I know about this guy other than the fact that he’s good at science and crushing on me hard. I’m coming up blank.

  If he’s offended, it doesn’t show. “I did. I’ll be at Colorado U too. I got into the engineering program.”

  “Oh, congrats.” I feel like a jerk for not knowing that. But not enough of a jerk to stop searching over his shoulder for my boyfriend. When I’ve rotated back around enough that Mack’s back in clear view, I can see he doesn’t look impressed.

  Good. Serves him right for refusing to dance with me. I smile to myself.

  I see Mack pushing his way through the tables and chairs until he’s no
longer in view. The song is almost over and this time when I spot Mack he’s at the edge of the dance floor. The last note is being sung as he springs toward me like a tiger from the bushes.

  “Thanks for the dance, Joel.” I smile and step back. I thud right into the human pillar that is my boyfriend. I feel his arms wrap around my body as he pulls me against him possessively.

  “All right, you’ve made your point. Let’s get out of here.” he hisses in my ear.

  Joel looks at me, then over my shoulder, smiling politely. “Thank you for the dance, Lauren. I’ll see you on campus next year.” He gives my hand a quick squeeze before dropping it back to my side. Before I even have a chance to respond, I’m being guided toward the exit with a sense of urgency.

  I don’t bother looking back over my shoulder as we leave. There’s no point. My future is with Mack.

  Scratch that.

  My future is Mack. And nostalgia has no place in his plans.

  2

  Lauren

  2004

  “Where are we going?” I allow him to guide me through the front doors and into the night air. Instead of walking toward the valet parking, he tightens his grip on my hand and leads me down the side of the building behind the hedges.

  Mack stops and turns around quickly, almost knocking me off balance. Luckily, his hand steadies me before I have a chance to twist an ankle in these heels. I don’t know why I ever let my sister, Chelsea, talk me into wearing them. I’m the kind of girl who practically gets vertigo from a quarter-inch heel on my flats.

  I balked at the 6-inch heels she originally campaigned for. “I’m not a stripper! I’ll break my damned neck in those.” I pushed the crushed velvet shoes back into her arms. She wrinkled her nose at me and gave me that look she always gives me when she thinks I’m still acting like a baby. I hate that look. I hate it so much that I’m teetering on 4-inch heels on the lawn of the Colorado golf club, trying not to snap my ankles.

  Thoughts of Chelsea’s “helpful" fashion choices flit away as soon as I look into Mack’s crystal blue eyes. Even now, after twelve years of looking into them, I’m unable to look away. That color, it unnerves me and soothes me at the same time. They’re like waves crashing against a Hawaiian beach, if you could only manage to stay on the sand and listen, you’d be captivated by their tranquility. But instead, you find yourself trying to surf them, obsessed with the idea of taming them, knowing full well the danger that lurks beneath.

  He leans into me, his frame pressed up hard against mine, and I let out a small sigh. When his soft lips find mine, my eyelids flutter closed. The thudding bass from the dance hall is drowned out by my own heartbeat. When he steps back, it takes me a second to stop making a fishy face at the night air, my lips still desperately trying to kiss a ghost.

  My eyes snap open and this time all I can see in Mack’s eyes is lust. I look over my shoulder, we’re barely ten feet away from the front door. These cedar hedges would’ve been an awesome fort hide out when we were kids, but they aren’t doing much to hide us as adults.

  “Mack, if you think we’re gonna mess around here … there’s no way.” My voice is a strained whisper.

  “Oh come on, Lauren. You think I’m gonna try something here?” He pretends to be offended.

  I do, actually.

  If I know anything about Mack, and I know a lot, it’s that he would try to have sex with me anywhere.

  Any place.

  Any time.

  God, I thought that I was helping him gain some maturity and restraint when I insisted we wait until my eighteenth. If anything, I think all that waiting turned him into an animal. Not that I’m complaining.

  “I just wanted to kiss you. No funny business,” he puts his hands up in surrender. “Jeez, what kind of perv are you anyway? Thinking about getting naked in the bushes? I always knew you were a wild one,” he smirks.

  Heat rises in my cheeks and I tilt my head away. I don’t want him to see it written all over my face how much the idea really does excite me.

  “Well, what are we doing then?”

  “You’ll see.” His eyes twinkle brighter than the stars above us and for just a moment, I wonder if I should go back on my “no-sex-in-the-hedges" policy. He weaves his fingers in mine and steadies me by holding my arm with his other hand as he leads the way around the country club. The light gets dimmer as we sneak around the building to the back until we’re stumbling through the darkness toward a garage.

  What the?

  “Ok, just wait here a sec. I’ll be less than a minute. I promise.” He stifles my questions with a quick kiss before he quickly jogs over the grass to the shadows.

  I squint to watch him approach the garage. Out from the side door pops a young man who Mack clearly knows. They look like old buds, clapping each other’s shoulders and laughing. I watch Mack dig out his wallet and give the guy a couple bills and then his buddy disappears back inside. Is he getting drugs? No, that’s not like Mack. Some booze? More likely, but I don’t know why he’d have to get it back here. There’ll be tons of drinks at the after party.

  I watch as Mack waits by the door and listen to the crickets in the distance, punctuating the night air. The serenity is short lived as a grinding noise fills my ears. The large garage door slides up loudly as white light spills out into the darkness. Inside are rows of golf carts lined up like little soldiers.

  The guy steers one of the carts out the front door and comes to a jerky stop by my boyfriend. I watch as they shake hands again and then Mack jumps in the cart and drives out over the grass toward me as the garage door slinks back down, keeping his transaction a secret. His cocky smile is pasted in place as he pulls up beside me. I can’t help but return it.

  “Hop in,” he pats the empty seat next to him casually. Like he’s not breaking a bunch of laws right now. Like we’re gonna go putt on the green and have a few rounds of golf.

  I’m sure there will be a few rounds involved, I’ll even get to practice my long and short stroke.

  How can a girl resist?

  3

  Lauren

  2004

  I climb into the cart. As soon as I have my dress tucked in around my legs, Mack is speeding up across the green.

  “Whoa, slow down. I don’t want you to flip this thing!” I clutch the bar over my head for stability.

  “Relax, you know I’ve got you.”

  I do know.

  I know he’s looked after me since I was six years old and fell off my Rainbow Brite bike. He wiped the tiny pebbles from my skinned knees and the tears from my eyes. I can’t even count how many times he’s soothed away my fears or sadness since that day. I can’t imagine how many more times he will in our future. Mack wraps his arm around my shoulder and I drop my head against him, breathing in his scent. Wherever we’re going, I know I’m safe in his arms.

  He drives us up a fairly steep slope and I listen to the night air rush by us. If I listen close enough, I can almost hear our story on the wind. Our history being played out and our destiny unfolding. I can almost hear the songs and laughter of our childhood being erased by the loving murmurs of our years to come.

  Mack reaches the top of the hill and parks the cart. He slides out onto the green and pulls a blanket out from behind the seat. He smoothly spreads it out over the grass with a flick of his wrist before walking over to me and extending his hand to help me out of the cart.

  Kicking my heels off, I step out onto the cool grass. Once we reach the blanket, I notice I can see the reflection of the moon and stars in a small lake below.

  “It’s beautiful!”

  “That lake looks like a swamp compared to you.” he answers, his voice low. He walks up behind me and slips his arms around me. His lips quickly find their way to that tender spot on my neck that he knows drives me crazy. I remember back in seventh grade when Mack left a hickey on that spot. Mom wasn’t impressed. I smile at the memory and close my eyes as tingles of desire prickle along my skin.

  He cu
ps his hand against my cheek and guides my mouth back to his, our tongues dance against each other to a song only they can hear. Mack pushes his body tight against mine and I lean back against him, instinctively grinding my ass back against his hardening cock. Butterflies erupt in a frenzied flight inside my chest just from feeling his excitement through our clothes. We’ve only been having sex for a couple months now, so each time is still new and naughty. I hope the thrill never goes away.

  I turn around to face him, eager to look into his eyes. To see his face when he undresses me. His pink lips hover over mine, the heat of his breath billows over my cheek, making the warm night feel frosty in comparison. Mack’s fingers trail down over my face as he looks into me, like he’s lost in us. In more than this moment. In more than the sex. In all of us. His eyes flit back into focus and he presses his lips down against mine in a bruising kiss.

  His hands find my zipper and make quick work of tugging it down far enough that my breasts are exposed to the night. Mack flutters soft kisses down my neck and across my collar bone. My stomach twists up tight in anticipation of his wet mouth finding it’s way to my nipple. When at last he does, I throw my head back and look up at the bright moon as small ripples of pleasure radiate through me. With my arms laced around his neck, I’m practically hanging off of him while he kisses my nipple, licking around it and then flickering his tongue over it. The air feels icy against it as he abandons my left nipple for my right and I arch my back hungrily, hoping he’ll never stop.

  Slick desire is blossoming between my legs and spreading to my panties. As his tongue twists and teases my nipples, I cry out to the stars, surprised by my own voice. Mack stops and looks down at me, his smirk ever present.

  “Sorry, that was kinda loud.” I look down.

  “Mmmm, I like it,” he teases. “Let’s see if I can get you to really make some noise.”