AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Gotcha. I see,” Firefly said – and his voice was different. It wasn’t the playful guy he knew, but more like a disappointed parent.
Austin stood there, waiting, his mind whirling.
Maybe Giselle wasn’t there yet, but he certainly was. He was insanely in love with her and couldn’t see a world without her at his side – the problem was, he never focused on what creating that life would look like… and it was time to start.
He needed to think, plan, and talk with someone he trusted, who had been there before… and there was a room full of those men not ten feet away.
Plastering a smile on his face, even though his heart was hammering with nerves, ideas, worries, and a flurry of other emotions… he walked back into the classroom with the bag.
He didn’t say a word – and saw her eyes widen in surprise as she stared up at him in amazement, a smile touching her lips.
The entire to-go bag was filled with little buckets of spicy ketchup for her, so she had plenty… and could possibly take back a few of the packets if we smuggled them just right.
He wasn’t normally a rule breaker – but he would do anything for Giselle.
In talking to Romeo, they figured out that if they put the ketchup containers in Ziploc bags, wrapped them in bubble wrap, put them in a box, and hid it in her clothing… it might make it. Either that – or chance mailing a box of them to Giselle on base right before they left Texas, and it should be in Ghazni in a week or two…
“You didn’t…” she breathed, smiling at him with so much joy.
“It’s just ketchup,” he countered, meeting her smile.
“You are the best person ever.”
“I’m your person.”
Please say it,he thought wildly.Please say you are my person or that you love me… please?
“Thank you so much, Austin,” Giselle said quietly, hesitating, and looking around the room nervously. Was it because of what they were just talking about? Their future?
He felt something plummet inside of him and sighed. She obviously wasn’tthereyet.
… And he didn’t know how to reach her.
Silently, he sat down and ate.
CHAPTER18
GISELLE
‘Overwhelmed’…barely scratched on the surface of what she was feeling by the sudden hushed conversation directed at her. She had ten people all looking at her expectantly, smiling, and so eager… but everything she seemed to say, every question answered, those smiles began to disappear.
No, she wasn’t sure what was going to happen.
They were talking about massive purchases like houses or airplanes, not to mention major changes to her life and Austin’s. She couldn’t answer because she had no idea that ‘buying an airplane’ was a thing for normal people – and they all seemed pretty normal, so far.
They had barely just defined that Austin was incredibly interested in her. Nobody said anything about love yet… and she was terrified to put herself out there. If he didn’t feel the same way, she would be crushed. She already felt vulnerable in a way she had never felt before, because she loved him.
She’d fallen hard.
If it wasn’t the smiles and how he looked at her? It was the way he put himself out there, talked with her, and did silly things like the bag of ketchup packages sitting before her.
He listened and acted… and it touched her deeply, but couldn’t acknowledge it except with a thank you. How did you just blurt out ‘I love you’ over Whataburger spicy ketchup?
You didn’t.
There needed to be a moment and every good fairytale, fable, myth, and legend had a penultimate point where something changed. A crossing where there was no going back, no turning, but a burst of change that would forever mark that person.
Snow White bit the apple.
