AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It looked like a two-year-old drew them… but his smile, the love in his eyes for his wife, and the look on Gretchen’s face were mesmerizing.
“I brought you some flowers, babe…” Perry had said, giving his wife a goofy grin – who immediately drew the curtain, blocking them off from everyone else.
Giselle knew the two were kissing – and exchanged a pointed look with her coworkers, who were also fawning over the sweet attempt at romance. There were no flowers out here – but the fact that he’d drawn them, was thinking of his wife, obviously worked in his favor.
It was stupidly romantic and if some guy had done that for her? Yeah, Giselle would have had much of the same reaction. In fact, shewantedsome guy to do that corny stuff for her.
She wanted Austin to be ‘that guy’ and was scared to be disappointed.
Picking up the two water bottles, she taped the packets of drink mix pouches she’d ordered online for herself to them. Getting to her feet, she stretched for a minute, before putting a bottle in each hand to start her run.
Leaving the building silently, she nodded to one of the other girls that was headed into the barracks, rubbing her eyes wearily in fatigue. Man, she understood that exhaustion. Sometimes the heat just zapped you and other days it wasn’t as bad.
As she entered the evening air, she took a deep breath. It wasn’t too bad out, not like the other night. The sun was setting, glowing on the horizon. She saw a few others taking advantage of the evening, jogging as well.
Yeah, this was going to be a mess, a mistake. It was going to get back that ‘one of the Army girls was talking to an Air Force guy at the fence’and then she would have people breathing down her neck.
… People like Captain Logan.
Trying not to be obvious, she glanced over towards the fence and saw a few people doing the same thing — jogging. It was getting late and usually the base went ‘lights out’ around nine in the evening. As she made one lap, she began the second one and started looking for her pilot.
Her pilot?
Her shoe slid slightly on the gravel and sand as she straightened up, following the path once more. Her eyes were searching the landscape as she got closer to the fence in the distance… only to spot someone had stopped and was kneeling, tying his shoes.
A dark-haired man… just like the other day.
That had to be Austin.
Goldilocks, ha!
Her heart hammered in her chest and her brain started chanting out a mantra obnoxiously…
Don’t be excited, keep it real. Don’t be excited, keep it real… Don’t be excited, keep it real. Don’t be excited, keep it… reallllly cute?
Nuts!
The man was handsome.
As she jogged forward, she slowed and caught her breath… only to see a smile appear on his shadowed face.
“Giselle?” There was such a hopeful, wistful note in his voice that the tiny girl inside of her perched on a prim cushion in the dark recesses of her mind literally squealed in delight, making herself known.
“Austin?” she began hesitantly, looking around and saw most of the others had left the path, heading up to the buildings in the distance. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You,” he said simply, and then they both stood there for a few minutes awkwardly.
“Water?” she asked, holding out a bottle towards him. He nodded, and that seemed to spur him into motion as he revealed a napkin, holding two large cookies that had seen better days.
“There were no bananas,” he admitted, smiling sheepishly as he looked at her in the dim light. She couldn’t tell what color his eyes were and almost wished there was a spotlight nearby. “I certainly wasn’t coming empty-handed either.”
“It’s no problem,” she began politely and extended the water bottle through the fence towards him. “There’s an electrolyte drink pouch on the side, if you want it.”
He took the bottle, and she hesitated, extending her hand through the fence… and he shook it politely, before she drew it back to her side.
“Again, nice to meet you.”
“I’m glad you decided to come.”
